I got an invite from MINI of Portland to do a road trip that will end in Anchorage for the opening of the dealership. Launch party is 9/12 and they depart 9/13.
Here is where to register:
http://www.alaskawillneverbethesame.com/register.html

 

Any further updates on getting the "free" services (oil change, brakes, wipers, etc.) done by anyone at BMW/MINI of Anchorage yet? I'm due for a scheduled oil change on 31 Oct...

 

I talked to the guy in charge of all the MINI dealerships in the northwest when he was at the groundbreaking ceremony. The deal is they won't do anything until the showroom is open for business, which really sucks.

They've already sent a couple mechanics to california for training. But they are set in their ways. MINI won't be giving BMW of Anchorage their official MINI status until the dealership opens. Despite the fact the service is being done at BMW and the mechanics are trained.

So, we're looking at February if everything goes as scheduled.

This is why my new Countryman is on a barge right now to Seattle to be fixed

 

Ouch. That sucks. Well, I guess one paid oil change isn't going to kill me (it's the annual one; the CBS one will be due by late Spring/early Summer). BTW, what's the going rate for an oil/filter change?

 

Yeah, it does suck. Anyway, the dealership should definitely be ready by spring/summer.
I think most places charge about $85 for an oil change for the MINI. The BMW dealership is a ripoff at, I want to say they wanted $200 or so. They wanted $75 to reset the service light!! It takes 10 seconds! Ridiculous. I changed my own oil for about $45.

I hear accurate imports is one of the best place to work on MINI's in Anchorage. I'm not sure what they charge though.

 

$200 for a oil/filter change?!?!?

 

I know! I almost laughed out loud when they told me. Hopefully the prices will be more standard with other mini dealerships once they become official.

 

BMW of Anchorage quoted me $130 over the phone today. That's a bunch of fail...

 

Yeah, that's about what I was thinking because they want another $75 or so to reset the light, which takes about 15 seconds and doesn't even require any tools.

If you find someone reasonable that does a good job let us know!
At prices like those I will change it myself but it sure would be nice to have somewhere that would do it for a decent price.

 

I ended up going to Accurate Import Center and the total price for Oil and Filter change (no computer reset at my request) was $91.54 ($38.00 for labor, $49.54 for parts, and $4.00 for haz waste and shop charge).

I waited for my service and ended up waiting an hour and a half. To be fair, I did show up 30 minutes before my appointment, so that's on me. I did watch how they interacted with their customers, both in person and on the phone, and I was very impressed.

Overall, a good expereince; I believe I've found a great mom and pop shop!

 

Were you assuming they're were going to charge you for the reset ?

 

No. I have 7,000 miles to go for my next free CBS oil change and the MINI dealership will be up and running by the time that comes along so I didn't want the counter to start over at 15,000 miles.

They did say they usually reset it, so if I hadn't said anything, I would have been hosed out of my next free oil change.