After clearly hearing from all of you that I should change the oil between the 10K and 25K interval I now need to find a good source for filters. I'm on the Oregon coast and will probably do this via the Internet, although I get into Seattle fairly often. Any suggestions?
I go with official BMW/Mini filters. Classic Mini in Ohio is a good mail-order dealer or you can go to any Mini dealer and get them - they are dealers in Portland and Fife (S of Seattle of I-5). They're not expensive enough to worry much about getting a great deal.
The biggest issue in DIY oil changes is finding a big 36mm socket to go over the oil filter cap. (Mini uses a cartridge type filter rather than a spin-on.) Most 36mm sockets are so deep, there is no room for a rachet. There are various ways around this: someone sells a low-profile socket, you can use a socket cap and turn it with a wrench, or improvise with vice-grips or a small filter wrench to turn the socket.
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