Has anyone seen a service manual yet? I'm a little anxious to get my hands dirty I guess. I'm sure they have them at the dealerships, but I would like to acquire a copy of my own.

Jason

 

Minime762,
This topic was discussed a while back.
Do a Search for service manuals.... If I remember correctly.... there are none available at the moment.
Hope this helps.
SW

 

There is a simple way to get it... If you already have the VIN number, or the production number to your car, then you can log onto http://www.miniusa.com, and go to the "Owners Lounge" almost in the top, right corner. There you can do some cool stuff like track your mini, or download the entire service manual which can be read in Acrobat Reader...

 

Unfortunately, the manual you can download is the owners manual, which comes with every MINI. I want the manual with all the maintenance procedures in it. Thanks for the help though. Other MINI owners may not have been aware of the availability of the Owner's Manual online. It's always good to have a bcakup in case one disappears. I did email miniusa.com requesting info on service manuals, and I will pass on any info received.

Jason

 

Others have posted wanting the Service Manual on other boards. No one seems to have been able to get an answer if one will be avalible. BMW apparently provide their service shops with tech info via the www.(not a public site). Great for the service departments because you allways have the latest service bulltens, not good for the shade tree mechanic because you will never have access. It not know of this is how BMW is going to work with MINI but it wouldn't suprise me. You could hit the Bentley service manual site though and request a MINI manual. If enough people do they may develope one. Bentley is hands down the best service manual producer out there. Ask any X/ owner. :smile:

 

Yes, I suppose I didn't read carefully enough... About the Service Manual though, that may be a little challenging to find... If you do find it however, let us all know :smile:

 

Here's a little update for anyone who's interested. I emailed miniusa.com requesting info on obtaining a service manual. I received a reply today, and the response was a personal message (it addressed points I brought up specifically) from a representative saying essentually that they understand my interest in tinkering with my new vehicle, but the service manual would not be available to the public (i.e., MINI owners) due to the need for "special tools" and procedures required for performance of engine work on MINIs.

Later in the day, a MINI representative called me to ask about my MINI experience in the interest of customer service. He asked if I had any comments to pass on to the MINI engineers. This gave me an opportunity to address the issue of a service manual, so I made the suggestion that MINI owners have access to it. He seemed taken aback by this, and said he would pass it on to his supervisors, and that they should be able to get me one. I assume he wasn't familiar with the situation or MINI's stance on the issue, but I remain hopeful...

I also told him that was the only issue where I was less than 100 percent pleased, and that I love my MINI. And it's true. In the end, the service manual issue is minor, since I am sure Bentley or Haynes or Chilton will come around to publishing one (keep those letters going to Bentley! They are being flooded with requests!).

Well, I better go...my MINI is feeling neglected!

 

Yeah - but even VW has special tools needed for xcertain areas - but you can buy these from just about anywhere - including the dealership.

I personally think that Mini wants us to keep our hands away from the internals for now - and may release a manual down the road.

Note - there is a CD-ROM for sale that has the SM in it - one was on ebay for over $750. And this CD-ROM did have a part #, but cannot be sold to the public yet.

Bentley's in UK will have a SM by end of year for the standard Cooper.

-Peter

 

I work for an authorized distributor of a premium German automobile mfg. (not BMW) for Central America, we do not release service manuals for our products to the public. Such literature potentially provides our dealer network's competion with the knowhow to capture service or tuning business. Our counterparts in New Jersey (BMW USA headquarters) most likely want service business to remain captive of the USA dealer network.

Take a mechanic out to a strip club. He'll be more likely to copy a manual for you.

Cheers

 

Bentley Publishing is coming out with a service manual for the MINI this September for $100.00. It's listed on their home page and you can preorder. Hope that helps.:smile:

 

It's $67.97 at Amazon.com. I have mine pre-ordered. They also say it'll be available in September.

 

got mine yesterday by ups. ordered it from www.bentleypublishing.com
on 3/21/04. it's a big 900+ page book with lots of pics, tool references,
wiring diagrams, torque specs, etc., etc.

 

Now in stock. Mine is due any day now.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2636026

 

splicer,
did somebody at wally's tell you this? i also have one on order from them, but they said it i wouldn't get it until after sept 30. bentley would not give out any info on the walmart order.

thanks

 

Wow, wal-mart beats amazon's price, even after shipping, by $5. Anyone think the prices will fall even more when they are in-stock anywhere?

Any comments on errors etc? I've considered waiting for a 2nd edition.

 

<did somebody at wally's tell you this? i also have one on order from them, but they said it i wouldn't get it until after sept 30. bentley would not give out any info on the walmart order.>

Got an e-mail reminder that my order was now "in Process" . Checked the site and it did say " In stock". Now back to "Pre-order" on the site. Oh well.......

 

I'm still waiting from Amazon. If you're considering ordering a Bentley, try somewhere else if you want it quicker

 

Saw this string and made me realize:
I ordered my Service Manual, from Amazon, back on June 29 – they said it will be delivered September 2 – 4 2004, still don’t have it. I need to check with them and see what the deal is.
It was cheaper through them than most of the other places, problem is I don't have it yet!

 

As per Amazon's reply, the service manual won't be available until Nov 14th. Does anybody know if Bentley started printing the manual yet?

 

I received mine on sept 2, almost 2 weeks ago, but I preordered
from Bentley months ago and paid $99.95 (including shipping).
Consider calling Bentley to see if they still have stock ready for shipping
if you want one sooner than via amazon, etc.

 

Through Amazon I paid about $78.00, though I didn’t get it yet, my order still says I should receive it by 09/02-04/04 and has not been updated.
Just received, via e-mail, Moss Motors offering the Manual for $69.99, not sure what tax or shipping would be, and or if they will ship right away.

 

Mine came in from Bentley last week.

 

Many dealership service and parts manuals (including the mini) are available on cdrom...but I wouldn't know anything about that

 

I got mine last Saturday at the Dyno Day - total price of $70.62 (no shipping) thanks to Yarrow doing a deal for us
Must admit, I am disappointed with it - if you have the MINI documentation (MINI Complete, TIS/ETK) the Bentley book offers very little more - and many recognizable pages :(
But it is nicely put together, and easier to look at in a book than on the PC screen.

 

I just canceled my order with Amazon after I got in touch with them and they couldn’t update as to when they could actually ship the manual.
Just ordered through Moss Motors, total with shipping was $82.50……now waiting again