[tshizzle]

Hey all - great forum!

I just got my '03 Black Mini Cooper S on Friday Night. 21,000 miles, sunroof, 17" run-flats. I was shopping around for about a month before finding this badboy at BMW/Mini dealer for $16,995.

I still have warranty until March 31, 2007 they told me. I had a few questions I wondered if any of you knew the answers to.

1) The brake light is on. I checked the brake fluid level and its nearly at max. The brakes definetly feel like they are working in perfect shape, so Im not sure what could cause this. This would fall under warranty coverage right? (as in free, no money paid warranty coverage)

2) A couple times last night when I was done practicing (I never drove stick before Friday night, but I HAD to get a Cooper S), I noticed the fan stayed on when the car was completely off. The first time I simply restarted and turned it off again, and the fan went off. Today though earlier it did the same thing and I decided to let it run and see if it turned off. I let it run for about 7 minutes before I decided to start the car back up / turn back off and it went off again. Is this also something that would be covered under warranty?

3) Since Im new to stick and all, if I do manage to screw anything up in the clutch a bit, would that be a thing I can bring into Mini Dealer before the warranty is out just to have them make sure its OK?

Man I love the car, and all my family & friends that can actually drive it out on the roads just constantly have been telling me how fun and great it feels.

[dakini]

I can only help you with #3 ... but yes, clutch is covered under the US warranty. I would recommend, though, that you tell them you do a lot of city driving rather than that you learned to drive on that clutch.

I seriously doubt though you'll hurt the clutch. In a week you'll be a pro at manual.

But since I re-learned on my mini, I made sure to ask about clutch being covered

and of course, congrats, and post pics

[Root Ginger]

The brake light means the pads are at the end of their life. There is a little sensor that sits on one pad at the front and one at the rear. When the pads wear down it eventually wears through the plastic on the sensor and causes that light to come on on the dash. Since the sensor is worn out too, this will also need replacing. The pads are a wear and tear item so not covered under warranty. Easy to do youself though if you so wish.

Hmm, the fan can stay on if the engine is really hot, to keep it cool when you switch off. It will turn itself off once it cooled down. The only time it would usually do this though is in a hot climate or sometimes if the coolant is low so check it. If the coolant is low, top it up and keep an eye on it. If it's below minumum, top it up and take to the dealer as you probably have a leak. If you don't live in a hot climate and the coolant is normal also take it to the dealer

[mg1232]

But if tshizzle only picked up the car on Friday and the brake pads are already worn, shouldn't that be covered under a warranty? I think so!

[FiremanMike]

Agreed, the dealer should back the pads. Most places have the 3 day 'lemon law' right of return so ask politely then stomp and yell if necessary. It does sound like the thermostat/sensor is sticking on. I have never had the fan run more than 3-4 minutes after parking the S, usually less.
The other thing I love is the resale of these cars. Take care of the MINI and it will hold price. Gotta Love It!
Mike

[tshizzle]

i just got back from finally driving it on the road for the first time! Im getting halfway decent driving stick finally, man this car is fun to drive =)

[tshizzle]

im back to post a pic finally =)

edit: oops , forgot picture

[bigcoyote]

Hey there,

Double check with your local MINI dealer - but my 04 MCS has full maintenance for 3yrs or 36K miles - if you are still in this period then MINI / BMW will pay for almost everything - clutch, brakes, etc.... If you are close to going out of the maint. period then check on the cost of the maintanence extention contract - that takes the full factory maint. out to 4 yrs / 50K miles. In some cases it will pay for itself - if you need several items repaired ( brakes, clutch, etc.. ).

And YES, the fan will stay on untill the engine temp cools off to a acceptable level - nothing to worry about.

Good luck

[naruto16]

I think they answered all your questions, but...
That looks exactly like my car! LOL!
Black is the fastest colour! Now we both need chrome mirror, bonnet stripes and driving lamps