My buddy has an R50 which is just over the 50k service warning. It's going to be expensive to do it Mini's way at a dealer.
Anyone know what could happen if this service is skipped? Oil and other regular stuff is always up to date, so it comes down to the cam belt and maybe other lurking troubles. Should it be changed by 53,000 miles?
The car already has a loud power steering pump. What would you do?
Any advice would be appreciated.
The car is a non S, white 2004, manual. Looks perfect!

 

Just my opinion, but I would reset the computer myself for the service light then either take it to a local trusted garage or do any preventative maintenance myself. My local garage does a much better job than my dealership and for about 1/3 of the cost

 

Look up the inspections...
most likely inspection2 is the one due...
inspection one is usually due at about 30,000, and insp 2 closer to 60,000
most of the items are basic inspections and prevenitive checks...
Cabin and airfilter are 2 things due...not sure on a justa, but maybe a belt...
Other items, like brake fluid is a 2 year item, and radiaror fluid is 4( i think).
PS pump is operated on condition...but the fan should be checked.
Since most of the checks are prevenitive, the $$ is mostly labour...but it can catch small items while cheap to fix before they become more $$$ issues, or become a major safety issue..

A 3rd party shop might save lots of $$$...many places that know mini's often charge a fraction of what dealer charge...simply lower overhead.

 

Thanks for the ideas ZippyNH and Teamrubixcube. That's just what I'll have him do. His other big worry is the power steering pump which is groaning while it's working. He's found a secondary manufacturer for them and is lining up the plan. Is there a thread on that, I wonder...? I spend most of my NAM time on the Clubman corner.

 

The pump is a big dc motor...with the hydrolinc pump sttatched with an electronic controler....
you can buy rebuilt or remanfactured pumps, but this only gets you s new hydrolic pump, and new brushes on the pump....the comutor on the pump (winding side) and the electronics are not touched....so a new pump at about $500 is the best option for most. The electronic fail, leaving the pump running 24/7 or the windings on the comunator fail..leaving an intermitant issue...so rebulds only really relilibility solves a hydrolic leak....others are a crapshoot. Pre 2005 pumps tened to be noisy....post 2005 were partialy redesgined to be more quiet.
Most common issue is fan dies, letting pump run hot...and heat is an electric motors biggest enemy...should ne checked at every oilchange.
A diy'er might take a chance when a pump fails with a $200 rebuld, and with free labour..might get lucky...but with time and down time costing most folks $$ and frustreation, new is a much better option imo.
Most of the inspection can be done, even an hour or two at a time, and things fixed, corrected a lubed, over a few weekends...but done right can save $$

 

I took my car to an independent German car/Mini specialist for its 50k mile service. I got new plugs and wires, a new serpentine belt, an oil change, and new cabin and air filters.

It was all preventative.

To the OP: the PS pump on my 03 R50 has been loud but perfectly functional for the 40k miles/ 18 months I've owned the car. I personally wouldn't go through the time and expense of replacing it just for being loud.

 

The pump on my 2002 R50 was also loud. It eventually failed by contnuously running and killing the battery. So I disconnected the plug on the pump and drove around with hard steering until I could buy a new pump for $595 online. Installed it myself in a couple hours on a Saturday and all worked great. It is a very easy DIY. It's 6 months and no problems. The new pump runs much much quieter. I'm happy I bought new and not rebuilt.
The car is simple to maintain and perform preventative maintenance.