Built in April or delivered in April?

 

Built in last two weeks of April. the minor problem had been corrected by that time as far as i have been told my an accessory guru at Mini USA.

 

So do ALL of the MINI's before have that problem or was it just a few?

Mine was built the last week of march or first week of April I believe....I'll probably just install it anyways.

 

The problem was with the mounting bracket under the roof skin. It was off by .032 inches. This is such a minor amount in the way these parts go together that i real/y should not make a difference except that it may be slightly harder to install. But once installed there really be no problem.

Also from what i was told there may be as little as 10 but as many as 1000 or more that had the slightly incorrect part. Mini does not keep track of some parts very well as they do not believe they create a safety hazzard. Thus Mini does not know how many were incorrect. Its kind of like when a 100 parts are made and the first ten are quality checked and then randomly some others are checked and those that were checked are good so the whole batch is said to be good. but in the process someone may have bumped the machine that screwed up 8 pieces and none of those ended up in quality control.

So there reality of the mater is the only way to know is to test it. But even in testing it you should be able to get it to work with a little playing. And i think you have the knowledge and ability to do it.

 

As long as it's not 100% certain that it won't fit on my car, I'm willing to take the "risk". As you said...I'm sure I'll be able to make it work. Thanks for the info.

 

The instructions at in the sticky thread give all the details needed to install it. The instructions that come with the OEM rack are very bad an leave out some very important information.

One other thing is that if you have the perforated rubber (some were not) then there is a much better chance of it being the correct piece inside.

You can check the rubber and there should be little slits in the rubber where ir needs to be removed for the rack. I have sent you a PM as well.

 

Schatzy,

Thanks for your response. My preference would be to have the dealer do the install (so there's no question of liability if there are any issues). I haven't checked with the dealer recently so I'm not sure if they are now installing the racks, but I'll find out and report back.

BTW, I trully appreciate your work on this issue - you are definitely a "treasure" (Schatz is German for treasure).

Gary

 

Second the comments on Schatzy's work here.

I am about to go pick up my Clubby (yay!). I will not come home with the rack -- my dealer refuses to sell me one.

I have a trip to the Boston area in 10 days and will stop into Mini of Boston to get a rack. With Schatzy's instructions and the many comments in this thread, I have the confidence to go OEM.

Thanks to all involved here; especially the representative from Gardner, MA.

 

It's a pity that the tech support section of the OL is that bad. They shouldn't wonder that NAM is an order of magnitude busier.

 

Not to get off-topic, but aside for tracking purposes, I have not spent any time in the OL. What if anything do they have there that would be of significant value to a new or veteran MINI owner?

 

Very little of value, hate to say it.

 

They have the least valuable production status info of any source:
1. OL
2. MA
3. 866-ASK-MINI

My only experience with the OL is checking every day or so during the first week of the wait. The changes in status lag behind reality, at least in my experience. One's MA or the toll-free number are much better. The toll-free number is best -- my MA seemed a little put-off by those of us owners-to-be on the more excited end of the spectrum.

Now that I have the car, I was going to wander back there to see if there is value from my new perspective.

 

Great work schatzy62..........valuable info for everyone concerned about the oem rack.

As an aside (and slightly off topic, but hopefully relevant enough not to offend ), for those considering other forms of cycle transport, here are a few pictures of my oem detachable tow-bar mount with Thule rack fitted.
I am also going to get the roof rack in order to mount a box, but this is my current preferred method to carry my cycle about.

 

Welcome to the forum. You have extraordinary taste in cars.

How did you get the hitch receiver installed?

Was the receiver installed by a dealer?

Are you limited in how fast you can drive the car?

How much weight does the whole schmageggie hold?

 

Yes, do tell. Please provide specifcs on the hitch mount and where you got it, etc.

 

 

Thanks guys.

The tow-bar was selected as a build option. It cost me £525....may be just short of $1000??
When selected as a build option, it is partnered with uprated rear spring also.

The towing hitch is removeable (and because it obstructs the rear number plate it has to be removed when a trailer/rack etc is not fitted) and the parts appear to be made by Westfalia. The electric socket is hinged, simply pull it down when it is required and push it back up high adjacent to the axle when it is not. There is absolutely no sign of this equipment when not in use....no cuts to the trim, no removable panels etc.

The towing specifics are not exactly massive......but it aint really a very heavy car, is it!!!! Irrespective of engine type, the maximum towing capacity is 500kgs for an unbraked trailer, or 750kgs for a braked unit. The maximum nose weight is 50kgs.

I know that the towbar can be retro-fitted....but I'm pretty sure that it would cost a little more.

Hope this info helps........cheers

 

ItsNumptyBoy,

Thanks for the [icks of the OEM Hitch mount.

I have known this is available in at least parts of Europe but in the USA it is not available and i have been told that dealers here are not alowed to order this part number.

The question i have is what is the part number?

Also i have read that the OEM hitch WILL NOT fit on an S version because of some design differences on the underside of the vehicle. Can you confirm this as true or not.

Also what is the weight ratings for the OEM Hitch.

 

I'll have to see if I can find the part number somewhere, may be on the UK configurator.........this might also give the answer as to whether or not it can be fitted to the S.......as you can see I have the Dooper

Tech details are now hopefully showing within a previous post that was "delayed" by the mod approval system for new users

 

Replying to Schatzy62 with the kayaks on the roof... Assuming the "better than 30MPG" was highway miles???

 

The UK configurator will not allow the selection of the tow-bar with the S....only the Cooper and Dooper. I don't know what the differences would be.....but the thoughts are that may be the actual tow-bar chasis fouls the twin exhausts somewhere near the chasis rails??

 

About 50% Highway and 45% rural back roads (40 MPH) and 5% city.

 

For those of you watching this thread for info about this trailer hitch i have some information.

Currently there is no part number for the TowBar (Trailer Hitch) Assembly from Mini it is only a factory option at this time as far as i can tell.

BUT

It is manufactured by Westfalia (German company) and is sold on the open market. It is not approved for US use but the use regulations in Europe are just as strict as the DOT in the US.

Please be patient and i will get more info about how and were to get (if possible) this item.

Also i f you look carefully at the picture above you will notice that the bike rack actually mounts to a trailer ball. Thule and Yakima have done this and as long as the ball is the correct size then any of their ball mount racks should work. I will need to check the ball sizes to see what works

Please be patient as i do have to work as well and what i will do is start another thread about these in a few days after speaking with some people in England.

One thing that i am concerned about in the instructions i have is that it looks like the under bumper or metal part of the bumper is removed and discarded. Both the minidomore and minifini units put the metal part of the bumper back on.

 

schatzy.....have just got into work....and have got your PM. I have about 2 hours of immediate things that need doing, then I will try to assist you with your request.

 

Hearvier Springs Required ?