Brought my MINI Countryman in for his first MINI service in Long Island, NY - 7,000 miles; 5 months since taking delivery.

MINI dealership service said my car needed realignment - and this is not covered by the MINI Car to Bonnet Maintenance. Had to cough up $240 for the alignment.

I would like to know how often do you guys realign your MINI Countryman? I am thinking that next time, I will take my MINI Countryman elsewhere for the realignment as $240 that MINI charges is way too much to pay.

i got mine done at Freeport of MINI for $199 + tax...


usually you need an alignment every year...


they dealer do not give out the print out after the alignment....

Um, no and no.

Unless you hit random large objects or wail pot holes you do not need an alignment every year. Generally, cars should be checked after a major suspension component is replaced.

I'd say every 30-40K is a safe number.. If tire wear is not an issue, then its not a problem.. (note, a crooked steering wheel is an indication of toe being out of adjustment)..

And the dealer should ALWAYS give you a print out.. If not, you just got ripped off!!

To the OP - What made you need an alignment at 7500 miles? Did you hit something? I know the roads are crap in LI... but...

$150 - $200 is a fair price. There is nothing magical about aligning a Mini - most places will adjust front toe and ship it.

Seems like you can find 4 wheel alignments for $125 down to about $75. Assuming you don't have a car that requires something special. You can always figure Mini is going to double the cost of everything at least. Of course LI is not Oregon, hehe thats one of the reasons I'm here and not traveling the LIE all the time.

I just bought 4 winter tires from Mini and they didn't suggest or offer an alignment, so the yearly thing doesn't even fly at my Mini dealer.

I know if tires wear are even you do not need an alignments every year,, but being in NYC area u will hit something no matter how careful u drive.


but after my first alignments at the dealer and no print out... I know I will not do it there ever again in my life.... I can just get it done at any place under $100

OP did you get your car serive at Habberstad MINI in Huntington Station ???


try going to the Freeport MINI and they don't force you to do anything,,, they are under new ownership, and they are giving out gift to customer , you get to pick anything from a MINI accessories catalog, and I got a MINI Suitcase FREE ..




http://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/1...OOFTOP-TROLLEY

This guy nailed it. Unless you're hitting huge potholes all the time (big enough to bend rims) then you probably don't need an alignment every year. My cars go years without alignments and I've never had funny wear problems.

Just had new tires mounted by my local Tire Rack installer that I have used for years and, they have the ability to put it on the machine and get a printout to see if alignment is within factory spec for just under $50. Based on the wear on the old tires after 28,000 miles I felt it probably didn't need it, but for that price I felt it was a good value to be sure with new rubber. They gave me the printout showing nothing out of line and all within factory specs.

Yea, the new Hunter Hawkeye can do a spec sheet in 90 seconds -

(this is the setup we have at work, it rocks!)

This thread's timely -

I hit "the Mother of All Potholes" this week, and damaged one of my front Dunlop run-flats.

I've the the Wheel and Tire protection package, so it's been replaced at no cost. But, was wondering if the hit was hard enough to croak the tire, if it also blew the alignment.

Cost of a three-year alignment at my nearby Merchants Tire (includes 'free' tire roatations and some other goodies) is $169. It's a good shop, and I've done business with them before. Co-incidentally, a one-time alignment at my local Mini dealer is.....$169!

Assuming I actually need the alignment, which I think is still a bit of an open question, is there anything magical about the dealer alignment that should dissuade me from saving money by going to the chain tire store?

B

If it was your front tire the only alignment adjustment really in the front is toe which is very unlikely to be knocked out of place unless something was bent/damaged. The toe adjustment is a threaded piece with a lock nut so it's not something that can really "slip".

My only comments on the 3-year alignment thing is that it's unlikely the merchants tire will do as good of a job as the mini dealer. The rear toe in these cars is an absolute pain to adjust without the special tool. However, I'm sure the alignment Merchants tire will put on your car will be perfectly sufficient for DD purposes. That's probably the direction I would go.

Go ask the Mini dealer what kind of system they use to do the alignment and compare it to your tire shop. Seems like a lot of places now have higher tech more accurate systems then in the past. Put this question to both parties and sort it out, make them earn your cash.

MINI Service printed the report out after inspecting my car and they showed a slight mis-alignment. Also one of the rear tires had a huge nail in it causing a steady leak. So said tire had to be replaced. So that's why I decided to cough up the $240 and go for the alignment.

Yeah - I went to Habberstad. Service is awful there.

And they always give me a big gas guzzling SUV as the replacement car which costs me an added $30 to top up the gas for use of just 1 day.

Sp technically, my MINI's alignment has cost me $240 + $30! I am not pleased at all.

Hi - I must be honest and say that my MINI drove wonderfully after the MINI dealer alignment. That said, I will not hesitate to bring my MINI to my neighbourhood mechanic for its alignment in future. I have been advised by many people that wheel alignments are the same any where you do it provided that the place you bring your MINI to services foreign cars like the MINI.

So for me personally, I am not going back to MINI Service for any wheel alignments in future.