I just received my Haynes manual for the MINIs (see this weblog entry)!
The Haynes manual makes an interesting comparison with the Bentley one which came out last year; the Bentley manual is much more expensive ($100 compared with less than $30) and it shows – at least in the quality of the paper – the Haynes manual is printed on very low cost non-white paper, with a rough feel; the Bentley is pristine smooth & pure white.
But in other respects, the Haynes wins easily. I may be biased to Haynes having used them regularly in my earlier fix-my-own-car years, but the contents of the Haynes manual seems to me to be much more useful. For example, they have taken the trouble to re-draw the electrical schematics so that you can actually understand them – see above (Bentley simply re-printed MINIs own wiring diagrams).
I freely admit that I don’t own either the Bentley or Haynes manuals because I plan to work on the car – they are just part of the collection – but if I did need one, the Haynes would win. Three times less expensive, clearer wiring diagrams and actually the less quality paper is probably a benefit – you won’t worry so much about dirty fingerprints getting on it!
M&I / GBMINI 
So Ian, did you get this from the UK, or is it available in the USA now? I can’t seem to find it on Amazon.
Care to post an ISBN number for the rest of us? That way I can get my parents to mail me one from the UK if it’s only available there.
Thanks,
Jay
The manual is here on Hayne’s UK site, the isbn is 1844252736.
I know it came out I think about a month ago in the UK, and have been waiting inmpatiently for it to come to Amazon or another retailer in the US.
How did you get a copy, Ian?
I ordered direct from Haynes UK (follow the link above) – no problem with shipping to USA
Since the manual covers ’01 through ’05, how do they handle some of the minor modifications from year to year. One example would be the different gearing ratio’s in the ’05 model’s, etc.
Like you, I do not plan to work on my car -although unlike you I wouldn’t know how if I wanted to – but I am curious how the manual addresses such differences.
I don’t know if such details as gear ratios are included; I guess not since there is only one part number listed for the six speed manual (while for the five speed there is a before- and after- 07/2004)