Howzit! Can somebody give me an insight in regards to this warranty issue? Roughly 3 months ago (or so) a rodent went through my spark plug wires like they were in a buffet line, so I ended up buying new ones from the dealership (the parts gave sold me the JCW Blue spark plug wires instead of the black ones). I did ask the parts guy if they would void my warranty with this purchase and he said no. So now, I am due for my first oil change ( 1 year after taking home the mini but with only 6700 miles) But I am still concerned if the service folks will void my warranty for such an avoidable circumstance. Any advise? TIA

 

My advise is to not worry about it (or mention anything) unless it comes up. I doubt anything will arise from the oil change appt unless you are bringing it in for some other issues that could be deemed related or could have been impacted by work done by none dealer people.

 

Hold on to your receipt from the dealer. If the issue is brought up....then show them that OEM parts are on the car....FYI, after my JCW upgrade in Oct. 04 on my '05 MCS (delivered 8/28/04) the plug wires were black. Have since upgraded, so you can have my slightly used stock one's for free (+ shipping)

I just noticed that you are in Hawaii, so you provide the transportation and I'll deliver them personally. LOL......

 

Changing basic parts on you car shouldn't void your warranty unless that part is the source of a problem. Most dealers won't even be bothered with it, especially at a service.

 

If the Techs can't recognise OEM parts I'd be finding another place for service.

 

You're going in for a scheduled maintenance appointment, not a warranty claim, so it shouldn't matter one way or the other. You could hang a turbo off the engine and the dealer should still honor the scheduled maintenance agreement.

And I don't think they'll notice the blue wires and put you on a "black list" with a note to deny any future warranty claims. It's been most peoples' experience that the dealer doesn't even begin to care about mods until you actually make a warranty claim. In that case, the dealer should recognize the blue plug wires as OEM, as several other people have mentioned.

 

You have nothing to worry about.

A while ago here on NAM I remember reading that if a warrantee requires that only one specific brand & model of a part be used, they are legally required to provide it free of charge. In other words, if they could void your warrantee for not using MINI OEM plug wire, you shouldn't pay for them.

I think it's related to the Magnussun-Moss (sp?) Act. This is often the hidden down side of "free scheduled maintenance."