So, yeah. Cant afford to take my 08 Cooper S to the shop anymore so I am going to attempt to do more of my own maintenance.

Lately, my bone-stock mini with 90k miles has not been as "peppy" as it used to be. No check engine lights, but it seems to "bog down" when accelerating on occasion. Is there any common things I should check? Spark plugs were done at 60k.

I thought I would start simple and do the basics: oil change and an air filter, and get a cheap bluetooth OBD2 scanner to read any codes. Will there be any codes to see even though the CEL is not on?

thanks!

 

Valves need to be cleaned..

 

Valve carbon buildup is probable, and how long have the spark plugs been in there? Changing them is easy and quick.