Hi everyone. I just got my 2013 Mini HT. I would like to get the mud flaps and thinking of doing the install myself. Note: I have never changed a tire in my life but thinking I can tackle this as long as it is straight forward. Yes I am female however not afraid to do the job as long as it doesn't take a lot of special skill other than patience. I can use my husbands hydrolic jack but I think he might want me to do this myself (probably to prove the point that I can't). What do you think. Doable?

 

Definitely doable. You'll need to take off the rear wheels to get access, not the fronts, tho.
If the dealer doesn't give you the instructions, they're available online, and actually pretty good.
You don't need to drill any metal, just the wheel well liners. A little cutting for the fronts, too - nothing major -utility knife is good enough.
Fair warning -they really don't do much to keep the rear clean.... I was hoping...
Good luck.

 

Oddly, much more involved of an install than they first appear to be. I watched them be installed on a club members car by a tech at the local MINI dealership and was surprised at how long it all took. Quality stuff and a quality install, just more involved than I thought it would be.

 

I've done the front flaps on my 2012 Cooper. I consider myself somewhat handy but have less experience with cars. I've done my own install on a rear sway bar, painted my calipers, and do my own oil changes.
Having said that, I found it much easier to take the tires off to do this. If you haven't even taken a wheel off before, then I'd suggest having it done for you. When I did this, the first one took about 30 minutes, and the second took about half the time.
So doable? Yes. If you're really serious about attempting this pm me and I'll give you some details to make the job easier.
Mick

 

Definitely doable! There's some great instructions with pictures in the Gen2 How To section. You can look them over and gauge for yourself whether you want to do it, but from your description of being somewhat handy and having patience I think this will be a great project for you.

Front (do this one first - it's easier so you can build your confidence):
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...s-install.html

Rear:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p-install.html

For me the hardest part was reaching under/inside the bumper to attach the rears. I had to get just the right angle with my body and arms. I think that was the only part where being a woman worked against me - I'm not a fan of lying on the driveway under the car. Smaller hands are an asset though.

What's more motivating than proving to your husband that you can do it by yourself?

 

Ah, yes...getting those clip nuts on the rear of the screws was a bit of a pain.
I found that using an appropriate stream of 4 letter words seemed to help, tho.

 

HA! Maybe that's why I usually stick to indoor home improvement projects rather than driveway projects - don't want to frighten the neighbors...

 

Those smooth out any auto or home improvement project.