[rdragon]

Hi - do all dealers charge $399 for installation of the $400 driving lamps (total $799)?

for those who did purchase them - do you find them useful or was it more for looks?

 

[steebo777]

I think the looks of it set the car off myself, but they do help in dark/rural areas at night as well. If I had to do it again though, I think I'd do them myself. Just my $0.02.

 

[rdragon]

so does that mean you were charged the 399 installation fee as well?

has anyone installed themselves - if so, is it easy?

 

[zyo]

Over here my dealer quoted £333 but said they would do them for £300 if i wanted them,as yet i haven't,its still alot of money for a couple of spotlights.

 

[Choprpilot76]

Well I have never installed them, but it seems like it would be an idiot proof thing to do. I would guess anyone with at least 3% mechanical abilities could do it. Install the mounts, tap into the right high beam wires, and waaa laaaa......right?

 

[moorlockx]

Well I have never installed them, but it seems like it would be an idiot proof thing to do. I would guess anyone with at least 3% mechanical abilities could do it. Install the mounts, tap into the right high beam wires, and waaa laaaa......right?

Right, if you want to give your dealership an open door to void the warranty coverage on any electical problem that you might have in the future. If you're going to install the lights, you really need to at least fit the OEM wiring. It's a bit more difficult, but nothing a semi-mechanical person can't do.

 

[vagt6]

My dealer charges $650 to install the driving lamps! ARGHHH!

You need some basic mechanical skills to install auxillary lamps. I would not suggest such a project to someone with minimal mechanical skill. Wiring the loom into the high beam switch (which must be done), fishing the wires under the dash and through the engine bay, and installing relays on both lamp circuits (also must be done unless you want to take a chance on frying your wiring = no warranty coverage) isn't the easiest project I've seen.

I've installed them on other cars, with relays, it takes a little know-how.

If you can work on cars a bit, do it yourself. There's plenty of info on the web about this, but again, it's not a project for the uninitiated.

My 2c worth, I hope it's helpful.

 

[rdragon]

vagt6 - $650 just for installation on top of the 400!? i thought $399 for installation was high. so is $399 a fair price?

has anyone asked dealer to waive installation charges?

 

[moorlockx]

Considering most dealers charge around $100/hr. labor, $400 sounds just a little high and $650's a real screw job! It took me about 4 hours figuring it out when I did it originally. I imagine the second time would go a bit faster as I learned a lot of tricks the first time around.

 

[MINIAC]

According to the Installation Instructions for the Auxiliary Driving Light Kit, "the installation time for this kit is approx. 2.5 hours, but this may vary depending on the condition of the car and the equipment in it".

 

[vagt6]

Crown MINI of Richmond lists $650, total, to install driving lamps on the '05 MINI. I also ordered the gauge package, which they listed at $400. When I whined loudly about the prices, so they threw in the gauge package "free" of charge (while charging me $650 for the lamps!).

2.5 hours sounds about right for a skilled mechanic to install the driving lamps, the lamps probably cost the dealer no more than about $150 or so.

Yep, highway robbery, rip-off, etc.

 

[Aliron]

Here in Spain dealers quote 300€ for the lamps fitted!!! Here the spots aren´t too popular so they had to down the price

 

[zyo]

So your saying if i drive all the way to Spain i can have them fitted cheap.....only trouble is i'd have to fill up with petrol over here to do the journey and it costs about a million pounds a gallon ...oh well

 

[Wobert]

Fitting the lights is dead easy.....provided you have the OEM fitting guide!

Took me 3 hrs (professional engineer), and that included working out how the bits of interior trim came off!

I know the wiring procedure is slightly different between the UK & US, but £300 for fitting is way too much......

Bought my lights new off ebay for £107 all in (local pick up too), 3 hrs of my time on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and £32 to activate the programming, so £139 all in (er that's $243!)

Looks like I got a BARGAIN!

Robert

 

[770 KOF]

The first thing I did

was to remove the OEM lamps from my 04 MC40 (too small and just didn't look "right"). I installed the Minisport 4 lamp bar. I know - I know - the wags will say " it'll void yer warranty if you ever have overheating problems". But the dealer will have to prove that with wind tunnel tests. At least we have some sensible laws here in the good 'ol US of A - the dealer cannot issue a blanket statement like "fitting aftermarket lamps larger than the OEM units will block the grille and so void your warranty". Well that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
To avoid any electrical warranty problems I tapped into the battery terminal under the hood, ran through a 30 amp fuse and a relay (mounted right next to the decal that says "fitting any electrical devices not approved by MINI will ........ ) to the spots. The original wiring to the OEM lamps was used to trigger the relay (much less current draw than the OEM lamps).
Alan