Any place that sells oil is now required to take the old back. After changing the oil use a funnel to put the old back in the now empty bottles and just drop it back off.
When installing the filter, after the gasket makes contact with the engine, hand tighten it only 1/8 turn or so. If the oil is changed regularly the filter should come off with our a wrench (I am a trained mechanic, but haven't done a Mini yet. That statement is based on an "assumption" that it is possible to get a decent hand grip on the filter). I keep a pair of mechanic's gloves just for grabbing the filter with. One should check for leaks after changing the oil and I would rather give the filter with a tiny leak a second bit of a turn than have to fight an over tightened filter the next time. A box of inexpensive gloves from Northern Tool or Harbor Freight will last a lot of oil changes but won't protect from heat, just mess.
On my current vehicle (I expect to be picking up a new to me '05 Mini next week) I installed a Fram quick drain. It replaces the factory drain plug and allows a hose with a bronze fitting to be screwed on to the replacement drain plug. No muss, no fuss, no having to get a hand away from a hot oil blast (though with synthetics I believe you don't have to warm up the lubricants) the 6" hose puts the oil right in the waste oil drain pan with no drips on me. Best $9 investment ever. It drains a little bit slower, but means I can take my time getting the filter off and the new one on.
I personally split the mileage between what the engine manufacturer calls for, and what the oil manufacturer calls for. On my current vehicle that is 4K miles. Ford says 5K, Penzoil says 3K. If I were to change, it would be to what the lubricant manufacturer recommends (and I believe that is the word they use). Synthetics are designed to be far more stable and break down slower than hydrocarbon based oils. Is why they cost so much more. Carbon build-up from exhaust/ring blow by is the major contaminate of lubricants. Carbon is hard and is like sandpaper on the high tolerance parts suspended in the lubricant. Is why i error to the lubricant's specifications rather than the engine manufacturers. The engine folks have reason to promote lower maintenance costs. The oil to promote product replacement. But I figure the lubricant engineers will err on replacing abused lubricant to promote the value of their product so I split the difference. I believe the lowest risk would come from following the lubricant manufacturer's recommendations.
IMHO
Ron the soon to be a Mini owner
