No tlc

[andy500]

Hi, my first post, but I've spent a LOT of time reading and searching - nice place you have here!
We are looking at buying a 2 year old MCS, but have found it doesn't have the tlc package - warranty still running until early 2009 tho'.
How much does anyone think the tlc package is worth on a second hand S?
It'll be a good negotiating point I reckon.
Thanks in advance, Andy

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Welcome to Mini2

What a shame it doesn't have TLC That's very rare indeed.

TLC will cover you for:

10,000 Oil Service

25,000 Inspection 1

40,000 Oil service

and the 1st brake fluid change.

So, not knowing the current mileage, I don't know how many "free" services you would be missing out on The cost of those services will vary depending on local labour rates,so I would suggest finding out what the cost of the remaining services would be from your local dealer and then knocking off 2/3's of their total value from the asking price.

Good luck

Tigger.

[humph]

As Tigger says really. If you decide against this car and find one with TLC be aware of the following: TLC covers the services Tigger mentions above only. So if the car has had these done the TLC will have expired no matter what it's age, or mileage. (There is no 50k service)

[andy500]

Thanks for that, the car is apparently just short of it's first service at 14k - the indicator is showing 500-odd miles to go. Why on earth anyone would buy a mini then not spend £100 on free servicing is beyond me!!

[andy500]

I have been on the phone, and now know the 10k, 25k insp 1 with brake fluid and 40k oil total up to over £600 at my local dealer, so I think a negotiation towards price re-adjustment may be in order
Ta!

[humph]

If the car is two years old it should have been serviced at twelve months old I guess. Is probably 500 miles off it's 2nd service. Was the first one ever done if there is no TLC pack? I'm guessing the service indicator has been reset or would be showing negative numbers, so probably has.

[andy500]

It's done 14.5k, and the oil looks 'used'. It's being sold by an independant dealer, who let slip they've had it a few months, and that it was used by the guy's wife for a while.
Does anyone know if there's a maximum condition-based mileage for the first service if it's been driven gently? I suspect it may have been reset, but then if it had, shirley it'd be showing at least 5,000 to go, not 500?

[humph]

Quote: Originally Posted by andy500 (original)

It's done 14.5k, and the oil looks 'used'. It's being sold by an independant dealer, who let slip they've had it a few months, and that it was used by the guy's wife for a while.
Does anyone know if there's a maximum condition-based mileage for the first service if it's been driven gently? I suspect it may have been reset, but then if it had, shirley it'd be showing at least 5,000 to go, not 500?

The MINI has a system that monitors and decides when the car needs servicing. Don't really know much about how this works on a MINI. But on VAG cars it monitors condition of oil and some other bits, takes into account how the car has been driven, and decides when a service is required (Magic!). It also has a time limit set too i.e. 10k or 12 months. If this is the case and it is 500 miles off an inspection 1 your phonecall will have told you that htis isn't a cheap service.

And don't call me Shirley

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

The only sensible reason that I can think of is that TLC can be invalidated by extensive modification to the engine and other running gear. So, you wouldn't buy TLC if you were planning on going racing with your MINI.

The other issue that you might want to follow up is that TLC is not available at the "special" price of £100 or £150 if the car has been bought outside the UK and then re-imported. If this is the case then the spec might not be correct for the UK market and you won't get the full 3 year's warranty. Definitely worth checking for this.

Tigger.

[cooperscharlie]

Hi Andy500. The service intervals on the MINI were every 2 years if you don't do the designated mileage so no worries there. When you say the car has no TLC pack the reason for this was probably because its an ex-lease car. I work for a MINI Dealer and the only time we never sell TLC is if its to a lease company because they have there own service packs. It may also be the case that the TLC voucher book is lost ( which makes no difference) but if you can PMme the chassis number I will tell you if TLC was ever added, it may be that the indep garage has no idea.

[oldnell]

Definitely be cautious with this car.

Does it have a service history book? Was the first oil service done? Was it bought in the UK?

It's probably worth contacting the supplying dealer to see if it really does have TLC. I wonder if the TLC booklet is just missing. Worth a phone call, I guess.

Unless the price is unbeatable and you've found out the genuine reason for it not having TLC, I'd be inclined to give it a wide berth. There cannot be many MINIs without TLC. Anyone buying a MINI Cooper S is spending enough that an additional £100-150 for the servicing is a no brainer. There absolutely must be a reason for the lack of it.

Oli

[andy500]

All a bit strange this - thankyou all for the input.
Having spoken to BMW customer service and the original supplying main dealer I now know it is a proper UK market car, it WAS a lease car, did NOT have the tlc pack from new (according to BMW it can be added within two months of registration or at the discretion of the main dealer in certain circs) and has NEVER been thru a dealer service dept for anything, warranty issues, service, nothing, which is a bit odd . No recalls apply to this car either. I haven't been thru the handbook pack fully, just noted it was in the glovebox, so need to check there is a service book there etc etc before going any further.
From your comments I note it is theroretically possible that the service indicator is correct showing service due at around 15k, as it under two years old (reg'd may 2006).
On the plus side, BMW confirmed all the options 100% correct, and it is a nice spec, so might be worth the gamble. I'll still have a warranty to fall back on, so as long as I can knock £££ off because of the non-tlc, and can agree a part-ex price slightly less obscene than has already been discussed with the seller, we might just have found a christmas present

[oldnell]

I would be inclined to see if you can persuade a dealer to give you a TLC pack. It's definitely worth having, but at least you've found a genuine reason for the lack of TLC.

Oli

[andy500]

I've been told by BMW that the tlc pack is only 'usually' available within 2 months of registration - how do I go about getting a tlc pack on a two year old car - has it been done successfully before? Potters off to spend an hour with the search facility again......

[oldnell]

No idea if it's been done before, but it can't hurt to ask!