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Hello! Just bought a Mini yesterday, and just registered here today. Awesome car, always wanted one, finally did it. :D
Anyway the car I bought is a 2012 base model Cooper with just 6300 miles on it. I'm assuming it's an "R56" lol. Got it from Carmax, so I couldn't get much info on what was done service wise.
How likely is it that this car has ever been to its first service? Should I do a service right away or wait for 10k (oil, etc)?
A dealership can tell what's been done to it using the key fob. This is especially useful for people who don't know which dealership has been used for service. I think the service warranty is 4 years so it's close. Owners can get free service once a year no matter how many miles.
I would change the oil unless you know it's been recently done, and with full synthetic oil. If it's still under warranty make sure it's MINI approved oil or it might cause problems.
Do you have any service history for the car? Coolant and brake fluid are measured by time and it would be good to do both if they have never been changed.
Hello! Just bought a Mini yesterday, and just registered here today. Awesome car, always wanted one, finally did it. :D
Anyway the car I bought is a 2012 base model Cooper with just 6300 miles on it. I'm assuming it's an "R56" lol. Got it from Carmax, so I couldn't get much info on what was done service wise.
Take the key Fob to any MINI dealership and they should be able to read it's service history for you. I doubt that there is much.
How likely is it that this car has ever been to its first service? Should I do a service right away or wait for 10k (oil, etc)?
Depending on the dealership, it may have seen one.
Yes you should change the oil and filter, unless you know when it was last done. This way you now have a reference point for changing oil.
Good to know about the keyfob thing, I'll swing it by the dealer just to see if there's anything. The car didn't come with any history papers, only a carfax report which unsurprisingly showed nothing.
I do my own work at home anyway so I'll do the oil/filter and whatnot. I'm coming from working on Hondas, Nissans and BMW's so I got plenty of research to do on these Mini's. Taking it out for a good detailing this Saturday, and hitting some twisties. Car reminds me of my old Miata.
Wow! A 2012 Base with 6,300 miles!? My 2012 "Justa" has 69,000 miles and I still love it.
Yeah when I saw the the listing I busted my **** on over there to get it! The price was decent as well, so that was a bonus. It was a win for me finding it because I don't really like the face on 2014+ mini's (with the huge connected grill). The last gen is definitely my favorite looking mini.
At the same time though, buying a 4 year old car that's barely been driven has me slightly concerned about its condition, since I've heard stories about what happens to cars that aren't driven. I'm sure it's all fine, drives great and all, but I wanted to see what others would do if they got this car in terms of immediate servicing, etc.
I think for now I'll head on over to the dealer just to get the key fob read and also pick up a few items. Planning on doing a Mobil 1 5w30 change on Sunday and doin another at 10k just to have the intervals at neat round numbers.
The car does have a couple minor issues I'm noticing though. The aux port is flakey and drops audio sometimes, so I'll have to fix that (probably have to remove the console? or maybe hardware my bluetooth aux adapter to it). The dash also creaks a bit, mainly where the big speedo is. I assume this is normal though.
Afaik key fob tells what upcoming maintenance is needed. Doesn't have past history. At least that is what the SA told me.
I've bought two Mini's used. My 2009 MCS had 22,000 on to when I bought it, and my 2013JCW had 6000 miles on it. I took both cars to our local Mini service and they "read" the fob.
It could be that the fob interfaces with a dealer service data base that will only show what service has been performed at Mini dealers, but they were able to give me the "indicated" service history for both vehicles.
It may be as simple as the fob only providing the VIN to the database.
I've bought two Mini's used. My 2009 MCS had 22,000 on to when I bought it, and my 2013JCW had 6000 miles on it. I took both cars to our local Mini service and they "read" the fob. It could be that the fob interfaces with a dealer service data base that will only show what service has been performed at Mini dealers, but they were able to give me the "indicated" service history for both vehicles. It may be as simple as the fob only providing the VIN to the database.
. The aux port is flakey and drops audio sometimes, so I'll have to fix that (probably have to remove the console? or maybe hardware my bluetooth aux adapter to it).
My Aux port is finicky about which cable I use....it drops audio on some cables and is perfect on others....this is on both the 08 R52 and the 09 R55....you might try a different cable before you buys parts....
My Aux port is finicky about which cable I use....it drops audio on some cables and is perfect on others....this is on both the 08 R52 and the 09 R55....you might try a different cable before you buys parts....
Yeah I had the same thought and tried a couple of cables yesterday with no luck. I don't think I'd replace the part anyway, my reasoning being if it's failed at 6k miles, and it seems to be happening to other people, then it's just a poorly designed part. For now I'll just make do with making sure the cable is inserted juuuust right, and cut out the pig tail later on to hardwire the aux leads, or solder on a real 3.5mm port to the oem leads.
Other than that the car's been awesome, I have a shift **** project coming up which I'll share when it comes, and some photos of the car too.
