With all of the bad economic news, I thought I would bring something positive to the forum. Getting repairs made at your MINI Dealer has its advantages!

Nearly two years ago with about 55,000 on my '02 "S", my high pressure power steering hose failed. The dealer replaced it to the tune of about $400.00 for a hose/labor! Ouch! Researching it afterward, the high psi hose sells for about $200.00 which is actually in line with some other car manufacturers high pressure hoses. To make the repair the dealer had to drop the sub frame to get access to the hose. I didn't feel as ripped off after I looked at the facts and the amount of repair labor involved to make the replacement.

So off I go.... until last week. Now with 91,000 miles on the MINI, the hose failed again! I called the dealer and to my surprise, being that the repair was under two years, DOWNTOWN MINI in Orlando was replacing the hose completely free of charge! Now that's change I can believe in!

When I asked them about the 2 year warranty on the repair, they told me that they/MINI stand behind the repairs they make to the car. So in the end, I could have maybe saved $50 by going to an independent shop, however the extended repair warranty makes the dealer service a positive experience. Some replacement parts are warranted for life on the part and two years on labor. Ask your MINI Dealer.

To date my '02 "S" with 91,000 miles has had three repairs for a total of about $1,100 (not counting brake pads, oil and tires). I am very pleased with my first gen MINI. Even the a/c still blows ice cold in our brutal Florida temps while sitting in traffic every day on the clogged I-4 motorway!

 

Well at least some of us are fortunate enough to have problem-free MINIs... I suppose I "could" say my car is reliable... and probably in some twisted sense, I think it is... but this car has cost me a pretty penny over the years... so let's see... here are the items repaired/replaced, so far, not under warranty:

1.) Transmission and clutch components
2.) ECU
3.) Passenger side drive axle
4.) Radiator
5.) Power steering line

And the worst part about all this... I'm still making payments and this also doesn't account for all the mods I've done so far, too... I mean... to go through all that... it has to be love, else just stupidity... but feels better to think of the former.

GotMINI