thieuster

Originally Posted by higham5

Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock

I think those MINIs have a bit of an issue with false alarms. My wifes 2016 MINI One has given blown bulb and low tyre pressure warnings in the past, but nothing wrong with either. It does however cause her to get into a flap first thing in the morning over absolutely nothing. Great start to the day.

Agreed about great start to the day , I too was getting the phone calls.

Daughters ( was ours 2012) Mini one D didnt need it to be Christmas to turn on the lights. Even with replacement bulbs it didnt like it would throw up bulb warnings. Then in summer it started with its “ reduced power” warnings.

A trip to Halfords revealed 600 error codes I kid you not, even Halfords said “ there can’t be that many” so cleared the lot. The reduced power according to mini forums hinted at an ailing fuel pump ( £1200 ish) so it went in part exchange in November just gone.

Most Minis, certain L-R models (and Boxsters perhaps) are bought by people who are considered not to be 'cost conscience' when it comes to forking out the money for a new car. Often bought as a second or third car in a household.

One of the sales persons who works at the local Mini dealership, owns a classic Jaguar and we see him in the workshop every now and then. He told us that potential Mini buyers are not known for their 'haggling' about the price when they buy a new one. And Mini buyers are the champs when it comes to ordering extras and accessoires. These cars leave the showrooms fully loaded. Finally, the cars are seldom driven by the person who pays the sales bill in the first place. He even suggested that the Mini is, together with the Fiat 500, often the car that's handed over a 'present' to someone. The local dealer has a special box on the order from for that: '[X] gift' . And a special ceremony or delivery time slot (adding costs to the total bill). With that in mind, BMW sets the prices of repairs, replacement parts etc accordingly. No one complains!

When you buy those cars second hand, you often buy a fully loaded, well maintained car. But the second or third owner is mostly cost conscience and starts asking him/herself why things need to be so insanely expensive. Granted, some new cars are not so easy to work on. You wouldn't expect that! Replacing a bulb on a VW Polo (dunno what generation) for a niece of one of the workshop customers turned out to be a nightmare, time-wise.

Then the D's fuel pump: that's not an expensive item. But perhaps installing is(?) The high-pressure pumps for the Mini D is expensive. Very expensive indeed. Even after-market pumps are hitting ±700 euros. (But the h-p pumps for other brands' diesel engines are in the same price range, tbh).