Month: January 2008

Drat, I Got A Flat!

Load the car up this morning for the weekly commute to San Diego and the front tyre is totally flat. I’m sure it will be no surprise to hear that I have no source of compressed air (and not even a football pump for that matter) so I sit here waiting for the nice man from AAA to come help. The car hasn’t been moved since Friday night and it was then, wonder what happened to it. Ah, there is a big nail sticking out of it…

My first time in 4 years of MINI ownership I regret having an S. Nah, not really. Though I am now wondering about why I ditched the run flats….

Snowing in San Diego!

It’s a Festivus miracle!!! Well, ok, not really but it sure seemed like it was snowing on the way home tonight. A couple of bags of small feathers had been dumped on the freeway and so for a short spell of road there were small ‘flakes of snow’ dancing in the air on the car as I drove along. It sure reminded me of some precarious nighttime winter drives in the English Lake District but, alas, it was just feathers. I wish I had had my camera to hand, it would have made a great photo.

Oil Change Done

Given my lack of preparation I ended up taking the car to Brecht for the oil service. I was prepared to pay a lot for the service; sadly I was not prepared enough. Ouch. I think I could have a lifetime’s worth of oil changes on any regular car. I need to find a better solution for the next one. The advisor said he thought the “Service 2” was around $750 which is less than I expected but still crazy. I have that to look forward to in about 9 months I would say.

Once again they wanted to do the fuel injection flush but I said no. Partly because I can’t afford it, and partly because I feel its a bit of a con. Oh, and I am sure I can get that done somewhere cheaper – unless MINI has proprietary parts on that too?

They also found that the right motor mount was leaking and suggest that I get it replaced soon, another $325 for that. It sure is fun being out of warranty. Maybe I should go swap it for a Yaris and a briefcase of cash??

Time for Some Servicing

At 51k, I’m just a couple of hundred miles short of being due the next oil change and can’t decide what route to take. Brecht is a pain in the derrière to get to and they charge too much, take too long. And I was brought up never to pay dealer service prices (thanks Dad). Yes, I know I am supposed to do it myself but I have neither time, aptitude or desire. Which pretty much leaves me with a regular lube place. I fully appreciate that its simply not done in the community to take a MINI to such a place but I don’t really see much choice. I do wonder if a lube’n’go will have an oil filter in hand but surely by now the MINI is popular enough that they should be prepared.

Oh, also going to replace the air filter but that one I will do myself.

[and in some other news, my driving licence is finally here – yay!]