I do and it just seems that some of the questions/observations posed are easily answered by reading the manual. Temp chime in particular. I know it's pretty dry and boring, but I wouldn't dream of driving something I'd saved a long time for without knowing what to expect and how to take care of my mini and what to do when certain things happen.

I'm still waiting for all the buzzes and rattles to take place, but my mini is only a month old with less than 500 miles so I guess I've got a bit of a wait. Buzzes and rattles really annoy me so I'm trying to prepare myself for it. Hopefully it won't happen too badly or not at all.

Have fun all. The winter weather is upon us and while I won't drive her through the slush and mix of sand and salt, she'll get a good workout on the nicer days. Really looking forward to spring and summer this year.

 

When we got our MINI, the owner's manual stayed in the bath room for about two weeks, and provided some interesting reading while "doing the daily business".

 

What you work out of your bathroom?

 

I refer to it as The Bible or The Good Book.

 

I read it from cover to cover when I got my MC.Now I look up stuff all the time.

 

I downloaded the .PDF from the Owner's Lounge about 3 weeks before the car arrived. I printed a copy and it too found its way to the bathroom. When I picked up the car and my MA went over it with me, I discovered that I had retained quite a bit of information.

 

The best advice before visiting a dealer for a problem is RTFM.

Half the time, the dealers don't know how things are supposed to work or how they can be made to work. The programmable options are a perfect example. Without first reading the manual, you'll be defenseless against the dealer.

"They all do that, sir..."

Edit: ...or, more likely, "None of them do that, sir..."

 

I have also read it from cover to cover. Since I own 2 MINIs I am very familiar with the '02 and '04 versions of the Owner's manual. I also own a German language version of the '04 Manual for hobby/collective purposes (Sorry don't know German).

There are 2 areas, IMO, were the owner's manual coverage is rather deficient:

1)The operation and full functionality of the CVT transmission.

2) Operation and full functionality of the Harman Kardon stereo system.