I've been reading these forums for a while now and I just decided to join the forums today. So I am pretty new to this kind of thing. I have a lot of questions and I know there are some posts already on some of the questions I have, but I want a clear understanding before I delve into the world of Mini Coopers

I've had my Mini for 2 years now. Purchased it back in the winter of 2010 with very low miles 17k. I've always wanted a Mini Cooper but was hesitant to get one because they were considered impractical, but once I saw this one with its low mileage and 6 speed I caved and bought it. It wasn't until a year later that I was looking at them again and realized I might have short changed myself when it comes to special features so I began looking into it. Now I know I won't get everything but there are a few things that I want to change.

The first thing I need to tell you about this car was that it was in an accident. I didn't know this until afterwords when I tried to use my horn and found that it was missing entirely. When I purchased the car it was not listed as having an accident so I am assuming that all the repairs were done under the table and never reported. Once I learned this I was very sad because I never wanted to purchase a car that was damaged. But I am stuck and I still love my Mini regardless.

So as you can see the first thing I would like to talk about is the missing horn. When I went to the Mini dealer in South Florida they quoted me 500 dollars. I did not have the money at the time so I had to pass. But now I moved and need to have a horn in my car after a semi truck tried to merge into me without seeing me and of course I had no horn to let him know that I was there. So my question is where can I get a horn...I do believe I need the wiring as well for it as that was what the dealer told me. Also can any one quote me a price for one. Will it cost me the 500 the dealer was telling me?

My next concern is my headlights. I haven't done a lot of night driving and in Florida where I previously lived the roads were so well lit that I've never really noticed how dim they are. I will be doing quite a bit of night driving now since I will be taking night courses at my university and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania where the streets aren't as well lit as Florida and now with things like deer and other wild animals I want to have a good set of headlights. I started looking into HID kits. I was reading that the bulbs were too long and that there was no way to secure the ballasts. Has anyone bought one of those HID kits and was able to get the bulbs to work or do I need to switch out the entire headlights? How can I tell if the headlights I have fitted will support the HID?

Since moving, my car now sits out in the sun daily. My boyfriend's old car sat out in the sun and the paint was damaged behind repair except to repaint the entire car which is a hefty job. What is the best way to protect the paint from the sun? Is there a good wax? Should I get a car cover? The car cover would be a bit cumbersome since I live in an apartment and don't have anywhere to store it when I am not using it. Or can the car cover be stored in the car without taking up space? I'm leaning toward finding a good protective wax.

The next thing is the plastic molding around the wheels. Something must have gotten on them and they are peeling and damaged. Can I change those out? Are they an easy installation and can I buy them from a website?

This next questions is more of the last thing I do to the car if I ever wanted to. My car did not come with the sunroofs. I thought that was a standard feature in the 08 models but I guess not and so I do not have any. I have read that retrofitting them would not be a good idea since they can cause the car to leak when it rains. Is there anyone with a successful sunroof/moonroof fitted after they bought their mini?

The last thing and this is the smallest easiest fix is that the driver side vanity mirror cover is broken. Where can I buy a new one?

I know this is a lot of questions and a lot of useless information was thrown in but any advice and help would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and patience.

 

Hello UnluckyCharm (what a sad moniker)!
Congrat's on the new MINI and wanting to keep it nice! I too have a 2008 "S". -they are a lot of fun.

For the horn, are you good at fixing things yourself? If so you could purchase the parts and install it yourself. Otherwise, if you want to save some money but not do it yourself what about looking up some mechanics and shops in your area that will do it. I'd guess you can have the horn fixed for a lot less than the dealer (dealers, any dealer is always the most expensive way to go. Inpendant shops can be just as good). There are plenty of online websites that sell OEM parts for our cars like horn parts, etc.

For protecting your car from the outdoor elements. The sun is really bad, and the best thing you can do is cover the car. Will you be driving the car every day? if so a cover wouldn't be good, because your car will get dust and dirt on it from wherever you drive and park it, then putting the cover on and off a dirty car will create fine scratches (follow me)? So, the next best thing would be to put a good coat of wax on the car every 4 months or so (since it will be sitting out the wax will deteriorate more quickly). Can you park under some shade or a tree? The sun is the enemy of paint, so even parking in the shade is good. As far as waxes there are a ton. I only use top of the line waxes that are not sold in stores. (not to sound snobby, -sorry if that came off like that). I like "PS21 wax" it isn't too expensive (about $35 a jar) and doesn't leave residue. If you want to go for a really good wax my personal favorite is from "DodoJuice.com" ...their waxes are AWESOME. -pricey, but NICE! Waxing is an entire thread in itself, ..Just be sure you get one that has some kind of sun/uv protecting abilities. I park my cars indoors so I don't have to worry about the sun and the wax I get is mostly for bringing out the depth of color. yet I believe each of the brands I mentioned have a line that protects. Also many people like "Prima" brand. There are actually a ton!! Look in the "detailing" section and you'll find waxes that are good at protecting.

The wheel arches, ...they are peeling? like coming off the body of your car? Yes you can replace them, look online. I did a search and it looks like you have many options (ebay, online retailers, the factory, etc). If they are faded you can use a product called "forever black" to restore their color, yet not sure that many MINI's suffer from faded wheel arches (like Jeeps do). I don't want to recommend any company over another, but I just went to one co's site and it looks like wheel arches, new ones are around $50 or less each. -that was at quick glance. I may be wrong though. Also, they are pretty easy to install, this should be something you can do yourself. It is mostly a matter of removing screws/bolts to take the old ones off and removing the marker lights which just twist and pop out).

hopefully this will get you started, ...do a search on NAM, most of your questions are answered in more depth in a various thread.

 

Oh wow thank you for that response. I guess the wheel arches are fading, it's spotty in spots so I was worried that they couldn't be repaired I will be looking into that forever black for the wheel arches. If I do not have to replace them and can repair it than it will be incredibly helpful.

I like to think I am pretty handy when it comes to fixing things. I am the oldest daughter in my family and we never had boys so my dad trained me to be able to fix things if they break. I would need some kind of guide though to follow for the horn so I don't mess something up. I will look into it further.

As for the cover I. Unfortunately where I live there is very little tree cover and I would be in my car most days. So I will look into waxing. I want the good stuff so I can protect the paint as much as possible so even if I have to go expensive that is fine.

Thank you for your advice. I've been browsing the forums and I'm trying to get as much answers as I can.

 

sure, glad to help.

yes, look in the "detailing" section, there you'll find answers to what kind of exact wax to get.

 

On further inspection of the wheel arches they are indeed peeling not fading. Is there a fix or do I have to buy new arches?

 

can you post a photo? maybe a somewhat closeup of the part or parts that are peeling? ...is it like plastic that has been scratched off? or are the arches falling off from their mounting points (as if the screws aren't holding the arches on correctly)? ..

 

I can tell you now that it's the plastic being scratched off. I can get a picture for you in a bit, but the arches are not falling off the car. They are attached firmly to the car. Lol. Sorry if I made it seem like that.

 

Wow, so somebody wasn't kind w/ their arches! ...maybe something was brushing against the arches, ...like kids bikes (in a garage)? or something. You could take them off, sand the damaged areas, then paint w/a primer that adheres to plastic, re-sand, re-primer then repaint. Doing this will fix the damage, yet they will not look original, as they'll be smoother since you'll have to sand out the peeled areas. If you can afford it and you want to keep them stock looking, i'd probably try replacing them.

They are $95 to replace each one.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item2

(you can look elsewhere and may be able to find them cheaper). Oh, check some of the online used auto parts places, ...like salvage yards but online. I bet you can get them for 1/2 that.

if it were just a few tiny peels or scratches then i'd say to try to delicately sand them off... but it sounds like you have pretty severe damage?

 

Here are some photos of the wheel arches. Its all on the driver side; both front and rear arches are pretty much like this.

 

hmm, i can not seem to view the photos? (It may be because I am on a work computer)?

...but if it is only 2 arches, the least expensive and best fix would probably be to replace them. You'd only need 2, which would be about $200 new.

 

I will wait until you can view them. I had some trouble loading them up on the first try and had to go back and redo them. But they are loaded up now.

I was hoping it was a simple fix like the forever black you mentioned, I have some other things I want to take care of on the car that I know will need changing and if I can save 200 dollars that would be great. Plus I am do for a service it seems and that in itself is expensive.

I am browsing the forums when I get the chance and I am learning a lot and getting ideas.

 

Okay, the photos came through.

That is bizarre, it is as if a coating is peeling off. Mine and other MINI's I've seen look to have molded plastic arches w/ no coating, ..so it is odd that they are peeling. Now I get what you were trying to convey.

I honestly don't have any specific recommendations. You can try Forever Black, but i'd guess that you would see an outline of everywhere they are peeling after applying the forever black. ..it would fill in the discoloration, but not take away the peel effect.

I am wondering if there is a solvent or something that you can use to remove the rest of whatever is coating the arches?

anyone else reading this have any ideas as to what this is and how to fix it??

 

you know, i wonder if someone did put a coating of paint, or funny enough forever black on them to get them darker? ...and that is what you are seeing that is peeling?

I think you are going to have to find some kind of solvent that is strong enough to remove whatever that is, but gentle enough that it doesn't ruin the plastic OR the paint of your car should it come in contact w/ it.

 

Now I don't know what to do. I was very excited that there could be a simple solution. If there aren't anymore post on this thread I might have to make a new thread for just the arches and post the pictures again. See if anyone else can help or has any other suggestions. Honestly the topic of the discussion is misleading so I think many people are skipping over it. But you have been a big help for me.

 

good luck "un"luckycharm.
sorry I couldn't help more.

I think a solvent of some sort is going to be the ticket, -yet without knowing what is on the arches it would be a case of trial and error w/ solvents.

yes, if you can't rename this thread, then maybe repost your question on a new thread.

 

Looks almost like someone sprayed the arches with plastic dip.....and now it's just doing what normally happens after a while.

Wonder if WD40 would remove PD ?

Anyone try that before ?

 

How do I go about this trial and error process without ruining the arches even further? If there is something I can try without damaging them even more then I will try it but if there is nothing I will just blacken them with Back to Black or Forever Black and wait until I have the money to buy them possibly one at a time.

 

As far as replacing the arches, our terriers chewed one of them up on out car and I don't see how you can be getting those spots unless someone put something on the plastic. There should be no coating on them. What I'd try first is get some Meguiers plastic/rubber cleaner/protector and soak them real good with the stuff. Leave it on them real thick for a day or so and see if it helps. If not and you don't want to coat them and want them looking better, buy some new ones. I think you can find them for about $50 each. If you get to removing them, be real careful with the plastic clips that hold them on, they break off real easy, the terriers pulled ours off and broke all the clips. You have to get inside the wheel well, probably remove the well cover which is held on by push in plastic holders, I think only about 5 of them. Once you take the wheel off you'll see real easy. Then you have to get some needle nose pliers or similar and release the hook from the clips from the inside so you can push them out. Don't try pulling on them with the arch or you will break them. Here's the link to parts for your car. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do?vin=tl85368 Get the part numbers and do a search for the number and with a bit of searching you can find the parts. I think I got all my parts for my wheel well at miniofsouthatlanta. The dogs chewed up the well part, the arch had some bite marks on it, but I just left it that way and replaced the well part. Here's the parts you're looking for. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...23&hg=51&fg=16 the clip for the arches looks like item 10 or 15.

The horn, if the wiring is there, that should be easy. Get an electric air horn or one of the Buick sound alike.

I can't help with the headlights, but ours are real bright, so maybe you have some sort of aftermarket ones?

 

Thank you for the advice. I will try and soak them and see if I can remove whatever is on them. Do you have an suggestions on what type of abrasive cloth to use? Or should I not scrub them and let them soak? If not I will have to buy new ones. It's only two of them.

 

If you want to rub on them, use scotchbrite or similar. It won't hurt the plastic unless there's a coating on it and then it probably won't matter. The part for the clip if you get the new arches is 07137073915 it's real confusing looking at the parts. Get enough to redo all of them, they're real brittle. I think there's 5 on each side. I looked at replacing the arch, and like I said, I'm pretty sure they can be had for about $50.

 

Thank you for the advice. I will try it out this weekend.

 

Definitely appears to be a coating that is wearing off. Another reason to use Black Wow because this would never happen.

I would take some media reducer and wipe them down to remove the paint/coating. Some 91% alcohol could also be tried. Use a slightly rough towel like a white painters rag. Get them in bulk from Costco.

Richard