Newby here. My wife and I (okay, mostly my wife) have owned a 2006 Cooper (base model, hardtop) since new. The only maintenance that we've done are the following:
--Oil changes at the dealer for the first two years (I think) that were covered by MINI/BMW
--Oil changes (synthetic) every 10,000 miles or so at Pep Boys
--Replaced power steering components at dealer, just out of warranty (that was $1300, and I've heard this is common enough that it should be a class action law suit)
--Replaced the engine air filter and cabin air filter occasionally--and again for each in the last week
--Replaced tires twice
--Brake job, which included replacing the rotors

The question is what else should we do. The car has 62,000 miles on it.
The manual simplifies all maintenance to something like "maintenance I" and "maintenance II" whereas most makes will tell you what to do at 5,000, 10,000, 15,0000 miles, etc. MINI doesn't mention mileage, for the most part. I spoke with a service adviser at a MINI dealer and he told me, without much specifics, that I probably need something in the area of $1000 to $1300. This was somewhat surprising. I'm pretty handy, and I'd do a lot myself if I knew what it was. (On other cars, I've done brake jobs, valve jobs, and replaced a transmission, so I've got some experience.) I'd also go to someone else other than the MINI dealer, as well. Just wondering how people here feel about avoid the dealer. They charge $190 for oil change, which is $140 premium over the other guys.

EDIT: THIS IS A CVT MODEL AND I LIVE IN LONG BEACH, CA.

For what it's worth, the car runs just fine right now.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help.
Mike

 

Find an independant mini shop, or maybe a independant bmw shop...
The complete list of items for insp 1 and insp2 is posted in many theads and in the manual...
A few items...fluid changes for brakes and radiator are based upon time...

 

Off the top of my head....

Transmission fluid change
Serpentine belt replacement
Radiator flush and change... might want to go ahead with the thermostat while at it
Check you control arm bushings

 

I can't tell where you are located so I am not sure if your prices will match however my MINI dealer has a defined list of items they perform for the service I and II intervals. Even if you don't use them for the service, ask them for the list. Then you can DIY from there.

I don't have the car anymore, but I think the last service I had them do was like $500 and that included a cvt fluid drain/refill for my automatic.

An oil change is $95.

I also use independent shops. Let us know what area you are from and we might be able to point you to someone.