I changed the air filter.....

[electra225]

on my Mini this afternoon. I recently had the oil changed at the dealership where I bought the car. I have had horrible luck getting this done in the aftermarket. One place tried to send me out a quart low on oil. The little British gal in the dash snitched on them and they had to add another quart of oil. Another place twiddled with the computer, apparently, because they had it set in "Green" mode, that let the engine die at every stoplight. I got in rush hour traffic in Tempe, not for the faint of heart in the best of circumstances and had a dying Mini at each light. I managed to get turned around and back to the shop where they twiddled again and got me going right. The Mini dealer has given me good service, and the little gal in the leather miniskirt is certainly pleasant, but they get carried away with their charges. They wanted $89 for an air filter and $120 for a cabin filter. Their cabin filter price may not be that far off, I've learned. There are two cabin filters, one for outside air, one for inside recirculated air. I got the air filter, a Wix, at O'Reilly's for right at $40 with tax. The cabin air filters are $40 apiece. I may have the dealer do them next time I get an oil change. The air filter was due for a change, was certainly ready to be changed and was three bolts and one wire retainer. Auto parts have certainly gone up since I wrenched. I can save about $100 doing the air and cabin filters myself. The car is a 2014, has 42,000+ miles and it was the original air filter.

[TC Chris]

At least you can reach it. On my Ranger, the filter housing is under a couple AC hoses. I changed it once and had to pry one of the hoses out of the way to get the cover off. It hissed at me. This is the only vehicle I've ever had with AC that worked. The 4-4-2 and the Mustang were both contributors to the ozone hole. In any event, I did not want to lose the charge in the Ranger so I've left the last air filter in there past its use-by date. Maybe there's some secret way to do it without molesting the AC hoses.

The only vehicle I've ever had with a cabin air filter was the 19690 Rambler American station wagon.

Chris Campbell

[19&41]

On periodic maintenance parts, many times you can get get a good deal on Amazon. Buy them in advance, at your leisure. If they are easy to install that could be a better deal. I buy my headlights on Ebay, the brightest conventional halogens available and get them for a third of their store price.

[TC Chris]

How is brightness designated? I'd love to have brighter low beams on the Mustang, which uses rectangular sealed beams.

Chris Campbell

[19&41]

Usually, it's by the lumen output of the bulb. The last vehicle I had that used sealed beams, I converted by using sealed beam housings that accepted H4 halogen bulbs. To handle the increased current draw of the bulbs, I got a harness adapter that powered the lights directly from the battery, with the headlight switch and dimmer providing only a control voltage to 2 relays that provided the battery current to the lights. The system provides a bright driving light with a lowered current draw to the vehicles' original headlight harness. The whole setup is relatively easy to install.

[Firedome]

If it's anything like the 6 cyl BMW we had (Mini is owned by BMW) parts prices are ridiculous and often hard to get, service is ridiculous, and reliability seriously sub-par. While it drove great, after that shite-show of a car I vowed never to own another German car, and I haven't, and won't...ever. Friends who have owned VW, M-B, Audi (my D-I-Ls's new A4 was an absolute disaster, so she got a Mazda C9 she loves), or a BMW have had similar experiences with them. If you must, lease and dump after 3 years.
I'm not into status-mobiles but at one time was a performance driving enthusiast (and do still like my motorcycles, in small doses), hence the BMW. But now being older I'm more of a "smell the roses" kind of driver, thankfully, so I prefer a safe, comfortable but capable cruiser, not a fast driver's car, and cars that are actually reliable. After resisting for years with US cars (after that horrible bimmer) the following 5 anvil-reliable Japanese cars we've had since 1998 have changed my mind.
I now doubt we'll buy anything else (well, except...vintage), and the next, if any, may be a Toyota electric.

Rectangular headlights are inherently compromised by the nature of the optics involved, and old-school seaedl beams pretty bad in general (but they were cheap! $5 at Rite-Aid lol), but H4 round driving lights are a very good solution if one does much night driving. Hella and Marchal are good ones. A high degree of standard lighting on cars/trucks is awful and getting worse with the over-styling of headlight designs, LEDs nothwithstanding.

[electra225]

My next car will probably be a BMW. Once you have driven a German car, American cars are wallowing pigs in comparison. Service is a challenge with BMW, not because the cars are junk, but because everything about them is so blamed expensive. Oil changes on the Mini are $99.95 and I get the girl in the "Mini"skirt is pleasant and knows more about Minis than I ever will. BMW dealers "see you coming" and need a "ka-ching" on every customer. All the little extras they provide costs money. I reckon if you are a monied "client" rather than some old guy with an old Mini, those charges are part of doing business. I have a neighbor with a fairly new Tahoe and oil changes are over $100 on it and the dealer still tries the upsell on him. I have a golf cart, so I have no desire for an electric car. I won't see the end of gasoline ICE cars in my lifetime, so I'm not going to worry about it. A German car goes where you head it, corners like a go-cart and stops on a dime, every time. Body integrity and paint are so superior to American practice. The paint under the hood on the Mini is better than the paint on the body of a Cadillac. Mann filters, OE on German cars are available in the aftermarket for about the same price as Wix. I go to the dealer to have the oil changed and to let them to their "complementary" 350 point inspection, then do much of the recommended work myself. I haven't had an issue yet, so I don't know about reliability. It's fun to drive, will out-drag a 5.0 Mustang from a light and gets 38 mpg if I stay out of the turbo boost. The only things that will out-accelerate a Mini turbo is a Harley or a Hellcat.....

[Firedome]

Well having had 15 motorcycles, including a Harley before I wised up, I can tell you that H-Ds are the wallowing pigs of the m/c world, not to mention slow. Engine designs dating to the 19-teens don't cut it. Harleys are for posers, GSXRs are for riders. Any decent m/c will blow away any car, excepting supercars. Japan rules here too. Hellcat 0-60 is 3.7 sec.

0–60 mph, 2.9 seconds or less...nary a Harley in sight. The V-Rod (discontinued) was their fastest at 3.7 and they
were totally ignored by the "real" H-D (hog) riders. Dozens & dozens of m/c will beat 4.0 seconds.

Make and model Year (model) Time (seconds)[note]

Suzuki GSX-R1000 2006 2.35[1]
Suzuki Hayabusa 2002 2.47[2]
Yamaha VMAX 2010 2.5[3]
Kawasaki Z1000 2014 2.5[4]
Kawasaki ZX-12R 2002 2.59[2]
Energica Ego 2020 2.6[5]
Kawasaki ZX-10R 2006 2.6[6]
Kawasaki ZX-14R 2012 2.6[7]
BMW S1000RR 2013 2.6[8]
Honda CBR1000RR SP 2013 2.6[8][9]
KTM 1290 Super Duke R 2014 2.6[10]
EBR 1190RX 2014 2.6[11]
BMW S1000R 2014 2.6[12]
Ducati 1199 Panigale 2014 2.6[11][8]
Ducati Monster 1200 S 2014 2.6[13]
Kawasaki Ninja H2 2015 2.6[14]
Yamaha YZF-R1 2015 2.6[8]
Kawasaki ZX-12R 2000 2.7[15]
Yamaha FZ1 2001 2.7[16]
Suzuki GSXR1000 2002 2.7[17]
Ducati 1198S 2010 2.7[18]
BMW S1000RR 2011 2.7[19]
Yamaha MT-09 (FZ-09) 2013 2.7[20]
Ducati 899 Panigale 2014 2.7[21]
Triumph Rocket 3 2020 2.73[22]
Suzuki Hayabusa 2010 2.74[23]
BMW K1300S 2009 2.79[1]
Honda CBR954RR 2002 2.8[24]
Suzuki GSX-R600 2003 2.8[25]
Yamaha YZF-R6 2003 2.8[25]

The fastest Mini is 6 sec. My little '71 Kawasaki 350 2 stroke will do 5.7 and kill every mosquito within a 1/4 mile to boot..

As for German cars, well I have driven a German car, owned 4 and 6 cyl BMWs and an M-B S-class when I fancied myself a fast driver and had to prove it. . TEHO, knock yourself out, read CR or ask anyone that's owned them, they have a well earned poor reputation for reliability, the Japanese rule there, no disputing it. Japanese fit & finish is equal or superior to any German car. Lexus handed BMW and M-B their head on a plate. That's why Toyota/Honda re-sale is so high while German car re-sale drops like a rock. And US cars haven't been wallowing pigs for a long time and for 1/2 price of a German car are a great value. My wife's sister has a 330i and X3, both have been money pits, but they want status symbols...

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1g7nWU1Cig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40fKEBwXQ7k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIM4uO2acDg

[electra225]

When I was considering buying a Mini was in 2002 when they first came out. They had Dodge Neon power plants until 2007 when they started using that horrible Citroen/Peugeot engine and CVT transmission. Cancer treatment and the subsequent healing process delayed my new Mini until the new BMW-powered cars came out in 2014. I had saved up to pay cash for the car. The Mini was right at $28,000 out the door with the largest cost option being the white "Coach leather" interior, extra cost at $2500. You buy a Mini at base price, then add evenly-priced options. Center arm rest, $1250. Six-speed "Steptronic" manumatic transmission, basically a miniature version of the old Dual Range Hydra-Matic or a Mercedes-Benz spec ZF, also for $1250. You could get "Mini" stripes for $90 for the hood, $90 for the top, $90 for the back hatch, and then you can buy caps for the mirrors, etc. There is no price negotiation. The "S" version was $1250 over the base three-cylinder model. The "JCW" or John Cooper Works model was $1250 over the "S". All the difference I could see was silly looking wheels, kiddie graphics and with the "big" chip, giving it 259 horsepower out of 122 cubic inches. The "BIG" MInis are more money yet, with their own pricing, but the options are the same price as on the Hardtops and Convertibles. BMW uses the Mini 4-cylinder engine in a BMW model and it had 259 horsepower. The Mini guys got to griping about only having 189 or 228 horsepower. Why could BMW steal their engine, yet have all the power? So, BMW/Mini offered to chip any 4-cylinder Mini to 259 horsepower for $60, took three hours to reprogram the electronics. It is not safe to drive in "Sport" mode, it is so blamed fast. Even with launch control and the traction control on, it will still burn the front tires off the car if you aren't careful. Launch control is cool. Makes you like Don Garlitz just driving to work. I drive mine in "Normal" which locks out that silly "Green" mode where the engine dies at stop lights, yet doesn't make the drivetrain so aggressive as in "Sport" mode.

When I bought this car, I had well in mind that, on occasion, the thing could potentially shoot craps and they'd want $25,000 to load it on a tow truck. I have saved a little from each paycheck from my part-time gig, to cover these expected expenses going forward. Will it cost more than a GM or Ford car the same age as it gets older to repair? I don't know. The stories I hear from even Toyota and Honda owners that all new cars are so frighteningly complex that they are all expensive to have anything done. And, putting pen to paper, it is cheaper to drive and have to repair a paid-for car than to have to make a payment and still have to make repairs. I read where the AVERAGE car payment is over $800 a month, some people are making what I consider mortgage payments on new vehicles, some up in the $1400-1600 range a month. That's nuts. I can do a LOT Of Mini repairs, even at dealership prices for that kind of money.

There is no service interval for the automatic transmission. I had an issue with that. However I know of a Mini with 140,000 miles on it and the transmission is still going. I reckon they use synthetic fluid that has a long life. They don't want owners twiddling with their cars. There is no dipstick in the engine or in the transmission. The little English gal in the radio will check the oil while you drive, thank you. And she'll tell you the engine temp, if the alternator is charging and what the oil pressure is. There are no traditional gauges for those functions. The only gripe I have so far is the stupid tire pressure monitor. ANNOYING. Run flat tires ride hard and are loud. The next set will be Michelins. I have a cellphone and AAA if I have a flat. I love my little Mini. 259 horsepower in a 2500 pound car has a better horsepower-to-weight ratio than a Hellcat. The car is so light, it can't "hook up" like the heavier, rear drive cars.

[Firedome]

As I say TEHO, we all learn our own lessons, in my case it's often the hard way.

Ya all cars are too complex, makes me want to go back to driving a '71 Fury III.
And I can't wrap my head around the average new car price: $46,000. My guess is that's inflated by all these crazies buying $60k+ bro-dozer pickups and huge suvs. We pay cash for 2-3 yr old usd cars with low miles and drive them into the ground. I can only say lifetime costs have been way lower with the last 5 Japan-brand cars (many actually made in US). No one does better quality control. Unfortunately by the time GM and Ford finally got good (very impressed by driving the last Impala, Regal, and Malibu) they dropped 'em when they realized they couldn't compete sales-wise. No biggie, cars are too low for me now anyway.

And not trying to be Juan Manuel Fangio anymore saves on gas, tires, engine wear no doubt. Our Xterra with only 70k miles may well last for the rest of our (limited) driving days. And since I only drive the m/c down the dead-end street and back anymore for rare occasional jollies I may even live a bit longer.

[electra225]

My wife drove Corvettes until she broke her hip and couldn't get out of one anymore. Toyotas look like a vacuum cleaner on four wheels. We have always driven cars that are not in the mainstream. I drove Buick Electras when my buddies had Fords and Chevys. If I was younger, I'd buy one of those three-wheel motorcycles with a Chrysler 440 or a big Buick engine for power. I have a friend who has one with a Chevy 454 and TH 400 in it. He uses the bolts in the headers to hold his foot rest. He literally sits on top of the Quadra-Jet on the 454. Corvettes, boats, semis, motorcycles and, yes, Minis are like having a pregnant girlfriend and overdue taxes....... The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat......

[TC Chris]

Well having had 15 motorcycles, including a Harley before I wised up, I can tell you that H-Ds are the wallowing pigs of the m/c world, not to mention slow. Engine designs dating to the 19-teens don't cut it. Harleys are for posers, GSXRs are for riders. Any decent m/c will blow away any car, excepting supercars. Japan rules here too. Hellcat 0-60 is 3.7 sec.

I've always wondered about the Harley mystique. They look cumbersome and slow and they usually make that godawful racket that deafens the listener for blocks. At the same time, there are so many agile, fast motorcycles that look like they would be much more fun.

One rule my Dad had was that none of his kids would ride motorcycles. He had patched up (or tried to) too many motorbike riders who had been in the right, but hadn't been seen by car drivers. For some reason, we kids honored this rule, as we did with the seatbelt rule. As a bicycle commuter, I try to remember that drivers are looking for other cars and not little objects, and I remain extra vigilant. That's way easier at bicycle speeds. And I always wear my helmet.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

Harleys ARE cumbersome and slow, it's all about "profiling". The ultimate sports car is a "crotch rocket" like a Hayabusa, GXSR or V-Max or my Triumph Rocket 3 of days gone by. Too fast for me now, so I stick to my old '71 Kawa 350 and '73 Honda 125 these days.

I've always loved full-sized US car more than anything, but they no longer make them, I will not drive a big p/u, and reliability/durability is Priority #1 since we do the 300 mi trip (each way) to VT and back at least 10 times a year (20 trips). We drove up yesterday for a 10 day visit. In the last 20 years we've had 1 flat tire and nothing else! (knock on wood!). Now I replace tires when they get down to about 1/2 tread.