10 tips every BMW MINI owner should know

If you’ve owned your BMW MINI for a few years, chances are you know it pretty well by now. But you might not know some of these tips. We’ve put together 10 of our favourite tips for BMW MINI owners that could even be news to you.

1. Use a specialist insurance broker

Many don’t realise that, if you own a BMW MINI, you can get better protection and more affordable cover if you take out an insurance policy for your MINI from a specialist insurance broker like us.

This is especially true if you’ve customised or modified your vehicle in any way (including decals, stickers and wraps), you’re a car club member, or your vehicle holds a special place in your heart.

Plus, our policies can be tailored to your needs and budget, making them extremely flexible. We offer a wide range of optional extras, including:

Agreed value cover
Owners club and forum discounts (more on that later)
Limited mileage discounts
Track day and rally cover
Protected no claims discount
Like-for-like cover on modifications

Call us on 0800 369 8590 to get an insurance quote, or book a callback at a time that suits you.

2. Greet other MINI drivers to be part of the MINI family

As a MINI car owner, chances are you’ve received many thumbs up, grins and waves from other MINI owners. If you’ve been wondering why this has been happening, it’s one of the unofficial rules of owning a car from this marque. MINIs (and Minis) hold a special place in many owners’ hearts, so it’s not uncommon for drivers to wave or greet each other while on the road. Give it a try, it’s pretty fun!

And if you see a MINI parked in a car park? One of the rules you now need to abide by as a MINI owner is, if you see another MINI in the car park, you should try and park next to it whenever possible. This is the community’s way of saying hello to each other when you aren’t passing each other on the road or meeting in person.

3. Join a MINI club and get a great discount on your insurance

If you haven’t already, you might want to consider joining a MINI or BMW owner’s club or forum. There are plenty of these around, and many offer a number of perks for joining. For instance, you can gain discounted access to MINI events or a reduction in your premium costs. At Adrian Flux, we offer discounted MINI insurance for owner’s club members – you could get up to 15% off your insurance simply by joining.

We’re partnered with the following clubs – simply let us know if you’re a member:

4. Align your car with other vehicles

The MINI isn’t the largest car around. When driving into a parking spot, we suggest that you don’t go too deep into the parking space, but instead align the back (or front if you’ve reversed in) to larger vehicles around you. This helps ensure that other drivers on the road don’t mistake your spot for an empty spot and accidentally bump into you when driving in.

5. Make sure you check your car’s oil levels regularly

You’ll need to check your MINI’s oil levels a lot more regularly than the official guidelines state. Depending on the vehicle and how often you use it, you could find that your car’s oil needs to be topped up once every couple of weeks.

If you don’t mind a bit of DIY and you find that your MINI guzzles oil, one of the best upgrades you can give it is to get the valve stem seals sorted. Alternatively, plenty of garages would be happy to help you with this upgrade.

6. Read MINI’s unauthorised manual

If you’re looking for a bit of fun and you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at MINI’s unauthorised manual. There are plenty of great tips for making your special vehicle your own, such as where to stash things and how to customise your MINI. There’s also plenty of the great humour that’s associated with the brand too!

7. Try to prevent things from going wrong instead of waiting for them to happen

Make sure you maintain your MINI well. Ideally, you should focus on preventative maintenance instead of reactive maintenance. A proactive maintenance plan helps reduce the likelihood that you have to fork out lots of money to repair the vehicle.

Even basic maintenance should be done regularly, such as:

Inflating the tyres to the correct pressure
Changing windscreen wipers
Replacing your engine filter
Inspecting regularly for rust
Applying corrosion protection
Checking for oil leak issues

You might also want to take your MINI in for regular inspections at your local garage. Plus, if you’ve got any questions or concerns, you could always seek help from your local owners’ club members. They’re a friendly bunch and are usually more than willing to help.

8. Consider modding your MINI

Keep an eye out for MINIs on the road and you’ll find that most are completely unique. Many add stickers, decals, car wraps and accents to their MINI to truly make it their own. There are some simple DIY mods you can complete, such as changing the petrol cap’s material (e.g. to carbon fibre) or changing the headlight trim.

They’re both subtle changes, but more than enough to help you stand out from the crowd if you want to start small. If you’re looking for something more adventurous, you could even give your vehicle some performance upgrades.

If you own a MINI Cooper R56, read our guide to the best MINI Cooper R56 modifications.

9. Find your people

The MINI community is like no other; own a MINI and you’ve joined a new family. If you’re a petrolhead and diehard fan of the marque, mingling with others in the MINI community is a brilliant way of forming deep connections with like-minded people. Plus, you’re likely to pick up lots of great tips for owning and maintaining your MINI from others – and you might even find people who are willing to help you mod your vehicle if you’re new to this.

10. Choose a name for your MINI

If you haven’t already, pick a suitable name for your MINI as you’ll probably be asked for this by other owners. The name could be anything – perhaps you want to emphasise its style or name it after a beloved TV character. Really, the choice is completely yours! And if you’re struggling for ideas, there are plenty of reddit threads of people telling each other what they’ve named their MINI – this could help spark inspiration.

Get MINI insurance from Adrian Flux

A vehicle as special as yours deserves a special kind of insurance policy too. As a specialist insurance broker, we’re able to tailor your MINI insurance quote to your needs. So whether you’ve modified your MINI or you need like-for-like cover, we can help. Call us on 0800 369 8590 for a quote or book a callback at a time that suits you.