Yeah, that's my biggest concern, honestly. The nearest MINI dealer is two hours away, and the local BMW dealer won't do repair work on them. I'm assuming anything that would generate a code -- or need registering -- would have to be done at the MINI dealer.
I've also heard BMW is notoriously bad for not sharing service data, even amongst it's own dealerships.
We are fortunate enough to have a local import auto sales/service dealer fairly close by that we have used for routine maintenance in the past.....they never fail to slash what the maintenance cost would be at the dealership and the battery was no different, the beat it by right at half.
Maybe you can find something similar around you.
The OEM BMW scan tool/programing tool is floating about the internet. unfortunately getting it in english is hard but it’s out there. (directions on how to do what you want are out there too. )
I wonder if it’ll do MINI as well (probably) I have used it to code options in and out of e90s before putting them on the lot.
“I’ve also heard BMW is notoriously bad for not sharing service data, even amongst its own dealerships.”
Benz and Audi are guilty of this practice as well. I advise people to stay away from all European cars in today’s world. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about Volvo’s as well. Toyota, Honda or Mazda are definitely the products to buy. Subaru’s are good if you don’t mind people thinking that you are a democrat.