Since the price of the Bentley manual is was out of my range, which would you all prefer? There is a $10 difference with the Chilton being more expensive. I have both for my Jeep, and I like them each. I know some info in both of them can be off, so I'm wondering if the same thing goes for the Mini. Need to order stuff for an oil change soon so I'd like to do it all in one shot. Tryin to get it all by next weekend if possible. I don't know when the last service was done and I put about 1500mi on already. I imagine it was done before I bought it, but who knows. I live paycheck to paycheck and do what I can So any help to get this done quick I'd really appreciate!

 

Neither...
Save up your $$ and get the Bentley.... Much better x100%

 

P.S.
Living paycheck to paycheck with a mini is ill advised....hope you have a bike or 2nd car....
By diy'ing things you can make mini ownership a bit cheaper....but you still need to have $500 or do around for parts..even more, if you can't wait a week to get them through normal means.....more like $2000 if you are not willing to do things like clutches...
Best of luck to you....
I just suggest the more $$ bently case info can save you $$ in a hurry...the others could get you stuck, or even cost you $$$.

 

Both s*ck. I have had both for cars and motorcycles over the past 30 years and they have s*cked across the board. Any real mechanic will use the factory manuals and you should too. I have seen outright lies/mistakes in aftermarket manuals that have ruined engines. Chilton particularly like to contradict themselves from paragraph to paragraph, I have an old one from my 2000 v6 Accord that contradicts itself 3 times in one page. Go Bentley

 

Watch for a used Bentley on Amazon. I bought a near new hardback with the extra diagnostic section for $65 delivered to my door. There's more all of the time. Also living P to P if your mini has over 70,000 I would sell it and find a used Miata or something fun and dependable and lower cost of ownership
.

 

I have the Haynes for the GEN1 and seem to answer WAY more questions than any Bentley owner ....

Wasn't Chilton bought out by Haynes US?

 

I read they were bought out, but that was only on one website. I guess I'll just save up for the Bentley one then. I have my old jeep as a second vehicle if I really need it, but that's off the road as my little side project right now. I appreciate the help guys, I'll see if I can find a used Bentley manual somewhere.

 

That's a good idea, as the Bentley is worth it.

 

Yeah, that's what I've seen everywhere.

 

We have both the Haynes and the Bentley. The Bentley is WAY better, but the Haynes also has some useful info. For example, it shows you how to make a tool to change the serpentine belt. Saved a lot of money.

This forum (and some others) are a great place to find help and "how to's". I also check here before tackling anything new. For example, there's a great write up here for replacing the headliner (Better than the Bentley).

I would recommend checking out Pelican Parts (http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/MINI_main.htm). They have good tech articles. However, i have found that their instructions are not always complete. I print them out and keep them in a binder. I've added quite a few notes on thh pages where I've found steps missing or not quite right and typos. (The word "with" instead of "without" - a little different.)

As one last note: i buy some parts from Mini of South Atlanta (mail order). They are discounted slightly and shipping is reasonable. Their website (http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/) has the complete car in diagrams. Even if you don't need a part, the drawings and pictures can be a big help.

 

Thanks man, that helps. I looked at pelican before, and I do want to get one thing from them that I saw. For mini parts, I shop on Minimania and some other sites and then see if I can get things cheaper on amazon. Plus you can't beat free shipping. Some things I will get from the Mini sites tho.