Originally Posted by
pani_k
Read what he wrote properly mate. He stated they were in his opinion unnecessary and explained why and to my mind I am siding with his opinion also. No production cars come out the factory with these fitted to the oil sump as standard Rob pointed out their use in a "sealed for life" gearbox which I also agree with but I fail to see how one could prolong engine longevity drastically with one of these unless fitted on an engine with zero miles. It is also more than likely that the life span of an engine will outlast your ownership so again I can see why they are unnecessary. Fail to see how his logic is flawed.
In the case of a mini, they have them there to collect gearbox swarf and stop it getting into the engine bearings, so its a more dramatic requirement than on an RST or similar, but I always use magnetic sump plugs for a combination of reasons, which include inspection and also preventing swarf filling up the oil filter.
If he thinks that people on here arent qualified to know from looking at their sump plug if their wear rate has increased I suspect he is underestimating how much experience some of us have with certain engines.