Hello all, another noob here.

From everything I've read, I think a MCS may just be the car I'm looking for. Had a few sports cars in my day, and have the bug again. I haven't been inside one yet, let alone driven one, but hope things work out so that I can change that.

Right now the biggest issue I have (may not be an issue, stay tuned) is location. I am smack dab about 250 miles from about 3 different MINI dealers, (Atlanta, Baton Rouge and Tampa Bay) in three different directions. My concern is service and warranty related. What happens if something goes, and the car won't start. I can't see me calling a tow truck and saying "take it to Atlanta". And what about if it it is something minor, but requires service. Am I expected to take it 250 miles to get the speedo fixed? Will I need to do the same for the scheduled (but free, well, except for the gas I'll use up) oil changes?

I called the Atlanta dealer with these questions, and spoke with a MA. He understood my concerns, mentioned the free "roadside assistance" that the car has, but then wondered himself if it would cover such a situation. He is looking into it and is going to reply when he gets the info about how it would all work/possibly find a closer authorized service center.

Anybody else here had a similar situation? Far from an authorized service center, but needing assistance? How did you resolve it?

Looking forward to any info you all may have.

Hope things work out so that I will be posting here for a long, long time!

 

...relocate....it's worth it.

 

Sounds like the kind of smart a$$ed response I'd give!

 

-sorry.
-in all seriousness it is a quandry.
.......wonder if I'd move??

 

Actually you should just sell your house and live in the MINI. You'll be sleeping in her even when she's in your garage. No need for a home. Here's proof:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/191618/is_it_love/

And on the towing - I thought the service was from anywhere, but 250 is a ways. I just read the doc on our 2006 and there's no limit stated in the book. And there is the downside that it is actually provided by AAA. My experience with AAA is that you'd get there faster by walking. That's why I switched many moons ago to another company. But now with the MINIs I'm back with AAA because it's free.

 

I've had to have my car towed to my MINI dealership once, and it is 130 miles away. They had a flatbed pick my car up where I work, and not charging me for that considerable tow. They fixed it, (under warranty), and I ended up picking the car up at the dealership, just because I happened to be in the city where the dealership was that weekend, anyway.

They were prepared to flatbed it back to me, though!

So in my experience, it has worked out very favorably.

 

Well, that is somewhat encouraging. What do you have to do in regards to service, like oil changes? And other required tasks. Do you have to go the 130 to the dealer?

Thanks for the input everybody.

 

Sad thing is it really is worth it!!!

 

How far is Orlando from you?

 

According to Yahoo, I'm 409 miles from the North Orlando dealer.

I'm in Niceville Fl., 32578, in the panhandle between Pensacola and Panama City.

 

Yow. That is far. 6 hour drive from Pensacola. I wonder if the BMW dealers would service it since it is a BMW car.... Dunno