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Will aftermarket accessories invalidate my warranty?

I recently bought a brand new MINI Cooper. It doesn't have sat nav as standard so I bought the Mini Click and Drive base system from a company selling genuine Mini accessories. I also wanted to have a Nextbase dash cam installed so I contacted the MINI dealership from which I bought my car. The person I spoke to in the service department told me I could not get the Nextbase dash cam installed as this would invalidate my warranty. If I wanted a dash cam fitted it would have to be the Mini Advanced Car Eye. When I asked about getting the Mini Click and Drive system installed she immediately asked to see the purchase invoice for this. I've now bought the MINI Advanced Car Eye, again purchased from a supplier of Mini accessories rather than the original dealership. So I'm sitting here with two expensive pieces of MINI kit and I'm not sure about my rights as to where I can get these installed. If I go to a dedicated auto electricians to have these installed will this invalidate my warranty? Or, do I have to go back to the dealership where I bought the car but not the accessories and ask them to install them?

Asked on 21 October 2020 by Robert Stefani

Answered by Georgia Petrie
As unfair as it may seem - if the dealership provided the warranty and are saying that installing these pieces of kit will invalidate it, that's the case. I'm not sure why exactly they have an issue with the MINI Click and Drive system but I assume they perhaps wanted to see the invoice to check if it's genuine. At the end of the day, these bits of tech could cause issues with the car's software and the like if they weren't genuine. As for the Nextbase camera - any hardwired bit of aftermarket kit can actually invalidate a warranty. When readers want to hardwire the dash cam, we often suggest checking with the warranty provider and insurer first as it's technically classed as a modification. If it isn't hardwired, then it isn't considered a modification.

My advice would be to ring the dealership again and ask where you stand as it seems unfair you've bought genuine accessories you can't use. I wouldn't go straight to an autoelectrician without checking the warranty situation first. If you still have trouble, get in touch with MINI customer services to ask why you can't have the kit installed.
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