So I bought a preowned 2011 Mini Countrymen S, my first "real" large purchase and I absolutely love it.
I wanted to get the oil and filter changed after having it for two months just to be on the safe side as I didn't get any paperwork of when it was done last. They just told me it was done roughly 3k miles before I bought it. I under estimated how much a shop would charge to change it, $85 - $115. With a new car payment and a massive chunk of my savings already allocated to it I asked my dad to change it for me.
We went and bought minis recommended 5W-30 oil and filter. While he changed it I ran my brother to town. When I got back he was already done. He told me he put "0W -20" in it instead and that it is fine. It's what he says he uses in his truck and their other cars.
Now I am concerned this is going to ruin my engine and considering taking it to a shop to change it. I already spent $40 on the filter and oil, now I'm looking at another hundred dollars on top of that. (Roughly) Obviously though that pails in comparison to the cost of something going wrong.
Is this a big deal or an acceptable swap?

 

Your MINI isn't your fathers truck..... Why did he not use the synthetic oil you bought?

ps.... you did buy synthetic oil didn't you?

 

Maybe make a very strong suggestion that dear ol' dad dig into his own pocket and do it right. I'd suggest just a hair short of 5 quarts of Castrol Edge 5W-30. The S is a high performance engine requiring attentive care, not one to be treated like an afterthought. I hope you are feeding it top octane and Top Tier fuel.

 

While you can get away with a full synthetic 0w/30 that is not Mini, 0w/20 might not cut the mustard especially when we are talking turbos. Too thick of an oil and it will not flow properly and could lead to bad things, too light (Thin) and the car will get hot faster and have the radiator fan working overtime and can cook faster leading to faster oil consumption.

IMO, stick to one of the BMW/Mini synthetic or a high end full synthetic oils (do a search here for a list). Your car will last longer and love you longer.

That being said, I'm sold on LiquiMoly Full Synthetic, either 5w/30 (In the winter) or 0w/30 (in the summer) in my 2011 Mini Countryman Sport All4.

 

Drain oil, leave filter, put corrrect oil in. Next time go to dealer as it should be $70.

 

It will all likely be just fine. Unless you plan to track the darned thing before next change, I doubt you would see anything that would stress it enough to ever warrant NEEDING to change it.

But if you are worried. Go to Walmart. They sell 5-qt jugs of the Mobile1 0W-40 European Blend Full Synthetic (I think its $23). Just get the 8mm allen wrench out, Drain it, then pour ~4-4.5 qts. out of the jug in. Done.

For future reference you can get the oil supplies there for roughly $28-30. Easy.

THE BEST THING you can do for these cars is to simply keep up on oil changes. Opinions vary greatly, but every 5K miles is good insurance. Spend that $28-30, each time and its minimal cost overall. Just have him use what you buy next time.

 

I would definently not use 0-20. the turbo requires a 30 weight oil. while the rest of the engine could potentially work with a 20, is it really worth the $7000 risk of an engine? walmart has mobil 1 0w-40, which is approved by mini to be used and its only $25 for 5 qt. I run that in all 3 of my mini's.


not using the appropriate oil can be very harmful for an engine. id drain that 0-20 immediatly