MINI2

toofast · Aug 24th, 2007, 01:49 PM

has anyone purchased the cd service manuals that are available... ebay etc.

are they a scam...do they have torq specs...

ALD0 · Aug 24th, 2007, 01:52 PM

LOL-Yeah I did, my chassis number was 2 new for the CD to recognise so useless, So I emailed the guy that sold me it and advised, he did not offer a refund, so I replied back saying I will sell the same disk for 50p a disk including free postage (I paid £3), surprisingly I got a refund and positive feedback off him.

Not sure about the legality of these disks either....

rkw · Aug 24th, 2007, 07:19 PM

I found the CD service manual to be very useful. It is also known as the BMW TIS (Technical Information System). The newest versions on eBay are 1/2005. After that date, I heard that BMW encrypted the data so that only dealers could use newer versions. At the eBay prices (mine was less than $10), I have no doubt that all the copies on eBay are pirated.

The easily available information for servicing 1st gen MINI are the Bentley Service Manual, the Haynes Manual, and the TIS CD manual. I have all of them. They cover mostly similar material, but each of them has some information that the others don't. If I were choose only one, it would be the Haynes because it is the easiest to read and use. However, the TIS CD is so inexpensive that I'd get it anyway.The main material in all three of them is how to disassemble and reassemble parts of the car. There is not much material on tuning and troubleshooting. The Bentley is so similar to the TIS CD that I believe it is largely a translation of the CD into book form.

I have a 9/2005 build cabrio. When I was installing mods, the TIS CD was the only available source of information on the cabrio (the latest edition of the Bentley now covers the cabrio, but it was only released a few months ago). The TIS CD was very invaluable to me for learning how to take apart the car. You do not need to enter a VIN chassis number to use the TIS CD. You can select by build date, and even if you have a build newer than the CD (1/2005), the cars have hardly changed and the material is still useful. The TIS software is awkward and unintuitive, and it can be tricky to find the information you are looking, but it comes at a cheap price and if you are into modding a 1st gen MINI I recommend it as part of your arsenal.

Aug 24th, 2007, 01:49 PM	#1
toofast MINI2 Regular Join Date: May 2002 Location: CT Local Time: 10:26 PM Posts: 199 Offline	cd service manual has anyone purchased the cd service manuals that are available... ebay etc. are they a scam...do they have torq specs...

Aug 24th, 2007, 01:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
ALD0 Hacked the IBUS Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cheshire Local Time: 02:26 AM Posts: 9,202 Offline	LOL-Yeah I did, my chassis number was 2 new for the CD to recognise so useless, So I emailed the guy that sold me it and advised, he did not offer a refund, so I replied back saying I will sell the same disk for 50p a disk including free postage (I paid £3), surprisingly I got a refund and positive feedback off him. Not sure about the legality of these disks either.... http://www.becardsmart.org.uk/

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Aug 24th, 2007, 07:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
rkw MINI2 Senior Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Local Time: 06:26 PM Posts: 596 Offline	I found the CD service manual to be very useful. It is also known as the BMW TIS (Technical Information System). The newest versions on eBay are 1/2005. After that date, I heard that BMW encrypted the data so that only dealers could use newer versions. At the eBay prices (mine was less than $10), I have no doubt that all the copies on eBay are pirated. The easily available information for servicing 1st gen MINI are the Bentley Service Manual, the Haynes Manual, and the TIS CD manual. I have all of them. They cover mostly similar material, but each of them has some information that the others don't. If I were choose only one, it would be the Haynes because it is the easiest to read and use. However, the TIS CD is so inexpensive that I'd get it anyway.The main material in all three of them is how to disassemble and reassemble parts of the car. There is not much material on tuning and troubleshooting. The Bentley is so similar to the TIS CD that I believe it is largely a translation of the CD into book form. I have a 9/2005 build cabrio. When I was installing mods, the TIS CD was the only available source of information on the cabrio (the latest edition of the Bentley now covers the cabrio, but it was only released a few months ago). The TIS CD was very invaluable to me for learning how to take apart the car. You do not need to enter a VIN chassis number to use the TIS CD. You can select by build date, and even if you have a build newer than the CD (1/2005), the cars have hardly changed and the material is still useful. The TIS software is awkward and unintuitive, and it can be tricky to find the information you are looking, but it comes at a cheap price and if you are into modding a 1st gen MINI I recommend it as part of your arsenal.

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