TLC XL what a brill idea

[Ady]

Got an email from mini today telling me they have extended the TLS scheme for an additional 3 years or 30,000 miles for £300. At my current rate of mileage that will only cover me for 5 years, 80,000 miles but is a relief that i won't be shelling out for servicing while still paying for my car

Ady

[s_and_m]

Now that I've swapped a Company Lease Cooper for my very own MCS, I have to think about things like servicing costs once again.

I will be rushing to give my dealer £300 on Jan 1st when it is available to buy - sure makes a lot of sens - but it also means that I'll have to go the JCW route (ooh the hardship) if I want those extra horses

S

I think it's another shrewd move by Mini to protect residuals (and therefore convince more new buyers to buy new) and to lock us into approved upgrades - the cunning devils

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Am I right that the TLC XL will only cover the 55 and 70,000 miles services. At £300 for the package that equates to £150 per service. How much would the services have cost anyway?

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Tigger.

[Ady]

not sure what services are included but i believe the first service after normal TLC is more or less £300 anyway

Ady

[arbee]

yeah it will work out cheaper but its hardly gonna be like the £100 5 yr deal. when is the cambelt change on the MINI? does it cover that?

[obehave]

I sure hope we see that over here. Anybody know if that offer is coming to or already in the States.
I've only got 7 months left.

[Beastmaster]

Quote: Originally Posted by arbee

yeah it will work out cheaper but its hardly gonna be like the £100 5 yr deal. when is the cambelt change on the MINI? does it cover that?

I'm not 100 per cent certain but doesn't the mini engine have a metal timing/cam chain, which therefore might have a longer life than a conventional cam belt?

I'm guessing then that these are scheduled to be changed at 85000 miles or 8 and a half years whichever is sooner, or am I sounding cynical here?

Nonetheless I'm tempted by TLCXL.

[dcfkan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo

Am I right that the TLC XL will only cover the 55 and 70,000 miles services. At £300 for the package that equates to £150 per service. How much would the services have cost anyway?

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Tigger.

I recently paid nearly 300 GBP for the <50k miles service, so 150 GBP per service is nearly half price!

I wish this was available a month ago, and it is kind of annoying that BMW/MINI did not think about the high milage users in advance - with the database of what car had what done etc., it can't be that difficult to find out how many early build cars could benefit from having an extention to TLC

DK :apple:

[arbee]

Quote: Originally Posted by Beastmaster

I'm not 100 per cent certain but doesn't the mini engine have a metal timing/cam chain, which therefore might have a longer life than a conventional cam belt?

I'm guessing then that these are scheduled to be changed at 85000 miles or 8 and a half years whichever is sooner, or am I sounding cynical here?

Nonetheless I'm tempted by TLCXL.

I didnt realise it was a chain, I'd presume that if thats the case the they arent scheduled to be changed at all!

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Quote: Originally Posted by arbee

I didnt realise it was a chain, I'd presume that if thats the case the they arent scheduled to be changed at all!

One of the reasons for manufacturers moving to cam belts (and away from chains) was because they last so long and don't stetch and wear like chains do. This makes them maintenance free, until they need to be replaced at a scheduled interval.

Does anyone here remember the camchains (and camchain tensioners) on some Honda motorcycles (CB750-900?) from the '70's and 80's that effectively limited engine life to about 20-30,000 miles?!!

BMW never seem to have made the change to belts. I don't know how good BMW's chain drive is, but cam chains usually need more maintenace than belts and can be a lot more costly to change when they do need to be done.

Tigger.

[Beastmaster]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcfkan

I recently paid nearly 300 GBP for the <50k miles service, so 150 GBP per service is nearly half price!

DK :apple:

Chain belt or cam belt what the heck. This says it all - I'll be getting TLCXL in the New Year!

[Washy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo

One of the reasons for manufacturers moving to cam belts (and away from chains) was because they last so long and don't stetch and wear like chains do. This makes them maintenance free, until they need to be replaced at a scheduled interval.

Does anyone here remember the camchains (and camchain tensioners) on some Honda motorcycles (CB750-900?) from the '70's and 80's that effectively limited engine life to about 20-30,000 miles?!!

BMW never seem to have made the change to belts. I don't know how good BMW's chain drive is, but cam chains usually need more maintenace than belts and can be a lot more costly to change when they do need to be done.

Tigger.

The original VF750 Honda's were notorious for thier camchain problems....eventually they switched to gear driven cams on their V4 engine.

[Wobert]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo

One of the reasons for manufacturers moving to cam belts (and away from chains) was because they last so long and don't stetch and wear like chains do. This makes them maintenance free, until they need to be replaced at a scheduled interval.

Does anyone here remember the camchains (and camchain tensioners) on some Honda motorcycles (CB750-900?) from the '70's and 80's that effectively limited engine life to about 20-30,000 miles?!!

BMW never seem to have made the change to belts. I don't know how good BMW's chain drive is, but cam chains usually need more maintenace than belts and can be a lot more costly to change when they do need to be done.

Tigger.

A chain drive is far superior than a synchronous drive belt.

The problems that Honda had in the '70s was down to poor tensioner design and poor lubrication of the chain. Provded the chain tensioning system is properly designed, a chain drive will far outlive a traditional cambelt.

This is down to a number of factors......one being that the chain is fully enclosed within the engine, where it s free from the ravages of the environment.

The main cause of failure on a cambelt is age-hardening of the material, sine the belt is made of nylon cords and nitrile rubber. Nitrile rubber hardens over time, and if not properly maintained (ie replaced) will fail, long before a chain.

I beg to differ, but the main reason cam drives went to belt, was on grounds of cost, as a belt drive is considerably cheaper than a properly designed chain system.....QED

Robert
(ex-Lotus Engineering / Ricardo / JCB)

[Wobert]

Quote: Originally Posted by washy

The original VF750 Honda's were notorious for thier camchain problems....eventually they switched to gear driven cams on their V4 engine.

And gear drives are even worse.......problems with expansion rates affecting the gear face contact.......often leads to premature wear on the gears, which then leads to noise!

[dcfkan]

I shall be taking out extended warranty too, at about 350 GBP for a year, which includes European Breakdown cover

Apple has not have any "major" issues, the header tank was changed during the recent full service, that's about it. However, I am kind of expecting the gearbox to go, and it will be very costly to replace.

DK :apple: