Well, if you just want the look then put them on but don't add the wiring - no chance of dealer problems then

I don't know what the likelihood is of the lights being associated with a warranty issue since I haven't heard of too many instances of electrical problems, but nevertheless you might want to meet up or talk with local enthusiasts and see what they have to say about that dealer's service dept in general. Perhaps it will shed light on how they have handled mods and warranty stuff in general.

As for mods and the warranty, the MMA sounds good but in fact the dealer can simply refuse to work on your car or deal with the aftermarket parts if they wish.

 

Good for you in thinking ahead. MINI hasn't been too keen on messing w/ the wiring harness...weird things can happen. However, enough folks have negotiated what you're talking about, perhaps they can speak to this specific issue. Check with your local dealer about the project, too...they may have some input of a less theoretical nature. Could be a deal breaker...the MINI warranty is very good and valuable.

My concern would be more about aesthetics. Rally drivers needed more lights...so they look right on a rally car. We don't, generally, and they can look excessive or even rediculous in my humble opinion. I'm not saying don't do it...I'm just recommending thinking it through fully from all angles.

If, for some reason, you decide to do it...please post pics! If you decide not to do it, don't worry...you'll find other ways to obsess over your car. I have!!!

 

Have you thought about the Dinan modifications. It is the performance division of BMW. They have packages for the MINI. Adding the Dinan package will not void the warranty. Dinan and Mini will work together if there are any problems.

 

Really? That's news to me. My understanding is that MINI will not warrant any Dinan parts. They only warrant and support JCW components.

Can you post a link where MINI claims to provide full warranty support on Dinan parts?

 

I called my dealer and asked if adding lowering springs would void anything with my warranty. He said, and I quote, "the only thing that would not be covered under warranty are the new springs". I said, so if my control arms go bad somewhere down the road, they are still covered? He said that was correct. I find that hard to believe - but at the same time, I have my new springs sitting and waiting in my closet

 

Tell them to put that in writting and then I'll believe them


In this country, what's not spelled out on a piece of paper is basically worthless.

 

Get it in writing...

As for Dinan, you just need to have a MINI dealer that does Dinan, otherwise you just take it to a Dinan shop if there is an associated issue (as far as I know). Dinan can provide info on what dealers are authorized Dinan dealers as well.

 

Not true.

Dinan is a tuner out of Morgan Hill, CA that offers performance packages for both BMW and Minis.

There are some dealers that are "authorized" by Dinan to perform warranty work on their packages. These repairs are not covered by the factory but by an agreement between Dinan and said dealer.

The JCW is the only "high" performace package that carries any sort of factory warranty.

 

Seriously, man, I have heard that line before. Talk is cheap when there is no money involved.

BMW/NA's semi-official line to the Dealers does not support that position. According to our regional PUMA rep, the simple act of having one aftermarket item installed on the car voids a whole range of components in their eyes.

I had repairs to my wiring harness (an issue so widespread a TSB has been issued) voided because the local PUMA rep told the Dealer that the act of fitting the pulley could have resulted in damage to the harness when the engine was jacked up.

People who have installed aftermarket springs have had dealers refuse to fix rattles, etc.

I agree with eVal and C4 - get Mr. Helpful Dealer to put that little gem in writing.........

If you need to go the mod route, have someone perform the work who offers a warranty - be it Dinan, Webb, etc.

 

Trust me, I didn't believe it for a minute... But i'm not about to go asking for something in writing - as it will only cause them to really think about it and draw more attention to it. I know i'm rolling the dice here, but thats the risk i'm willing to take. I won't go complaining when i hear those rattles or squeaks. As i know it's on me at that point and I will deal with it on my own. But I want my car to look and feel the way I want it to feel - not how the factory tells me to.

 

My car is modded to the teeth. If something fixes, it will more than likely be covered by Mr. Webb...........

 

puma
n : large American feline resembling a lion [syn: cougar, catamount, mountain lion, painter, panther, Felis concolor]

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University


Can't figure what that has to do with a MINI yet.

 

Mod away, but it's always a good idea to put aside (at least in your head) a percentage of the cost of the mods as a repair fund. If you want to play, you have to pay. Once you change the car, you can't really expect BMW/MINI to fix every little thing that goes wrong with it. At the same time, I feel that it's not reasonable for the dealer to say that your new shift **** caused your rear brakes to fail.

Lets face it. A lot of times it's a crap shoot, and a game with the dealer. In my previous car I had a "chipped" ECU. I specificly paid more to get a spare ECU so that I could put my stock one back in when I went in for service at the dealer. Deceptive, and slightly underhanded I suppose. But I also never had any expensive engine/trans repair work done that might have been caused by the chip so I never profited from the deception (it was only to prevent the question from even coming up). Considering that other models with the same engine had different ECUs with more power then I had made me confident that my modification wouldn't cause any excessive engine wear.

I changed to a short shifter, which I was very upfront about, and if there had been a problem that was caused by it I would have worked it out with the dealer, or my independent shop.

Just keep in mind that the real suprise might come when you sell or trade the car with mods. You won't get the money back. I think that it's even unlikely you'll get the money back if you go with JWC parts. They are only worth more if you happen to have modded the car the same way the buyer wants to mod it. And then they loose the fun of modding the car which is likely why the wanted to mod it in the first place

 

BINGO! You just nailed it.

You mod a car to please YOURSELF, and no one else. The amount of a radical mod will be inversely porpotional to the ability to sell or trade when the time comes. I absolutely love what some of the people on this board have done to their cars. But some of these same people are going to have a tough sell unless they find someone else with either their same taste or are willing to overlook that radical mod, whatever it may be.

 

Reading these threads really sobers me up when I start thinking 15% pulley, lowering springs, etc., for my 06 MCS with not quite 2k on it. This car is my only car (I don't have a spouse who I can rely on for rides to work if something goes wrong with the car). I don't trust my dealer (who is 170 miles away), Tom Bush Mini, for being fair if the car breaks under warranty and I've modded it. I don't have that kind of money to outfit a shop to work on my car or to hire lawyers to fight for a warranty claim.
I'm thinking I'll just do some cosmetic changes with this car and leave the drive train alone. I really want to mod, but there is too much at stake for me if something goes wrong.

 

The good news here is that even if you don't add any mechanical mods, it's still a great car

 

Is there ralley lights that come under factory warranty? I have seen the driving lights (2) that we can get form dealer however is there a ralley light set (4) that can be installed by the dealer to stay within the warranty?

 

Wow, mega-replies, I knew I came to the right place. Thanks all.

If there's one thing that I can glean from all this, it's that it would just be safer to wait 'til the warranty expires for any major mods. Concensus seems to be that the four driving light set up is a safe mod, but after reading all this, I think perhaps I'll contact my dealer directly before even doing that much.

To the one poster who advised aginst it on a purely aesthetic basis: I guess it's all about personal taste, no offense taken or meant. Me, I love that look, and it reminds me of when I first saw and fell in love with a mini during a trip to London as a kid. I would certainly want them more for looks than functionallity.

Is a roof decal a safe mod??

 

NO. Again, go look at the MINI2 threads and letters from BMW about this.

 

Depends on what you put on it. My likeness is copyrighted.