I just spent an hour reading the warranty booklet for my '09 MCS, no where does it say they will change your oil after 1 year - on their dime - unless the CBS computer says it's time to do so.

They do recommend changing the oil at one year intervals at a minimum, but they don't say they will pay for it. What they do say is that they will pay for all maintenance based on the CBS computer's readings. It's pretty clear......

Like I said before, the 1 year oil change must be a "courtesy" thing, done by the dealer, and they can decide not to do it anytime.

 

Can you tell us how it is spelled out, verbatim in your contract?

If it is spelled out, make a copy and take it to them. If they refuse to do it, talk to a Manager. If he refuses to do it, throw a fit.

It will either **** them off to the point they do it or they'll lose some business after others see how customers are treated after they make the big purchase.

Win/win situation.

If it is in the contract, they can't just change it. Plain and simple.

 

What contract?

I'm pretty sure he's just talking about the normal 3/36 maintenance on all new MINIs.....

 

The miniusa.com website says "We cover all factory-recommended maintenance at no charge..." and refers you to your Service and Warranty Information booklet for terms and conditions.

I do not have this booklet handy at the moment, so I'll have to leave checking that to someone else.

Until then, just going off the general info from the website... if the factory is not recommending an oil change in the OP's situation (per the 6000 miles notice someone else mentioned), it sounds like it's not covered.

 

NJ Mini, Thanks a lot for letting me know that.

 

there is the basic oil service at the recommended change interval. then there the low mileage oil service which is done if you haven't reach the service internal and has been a year or over sence owner ship. the 3/36 factory maintenance plan covers both.

 

Where is that in the owner's, warranty, service or any other manual that an owner would get with their new car? I can't find it anywhere....

All I can find is that MINI recommends an oil change once a year, and that if the CBS computer says it's time, then they pay for it.

 

its not in the book, but the mini/bmw service writer knows it. you take your car to the dealership, they read your key, they check to see if any services are due, if not and year has passed sence either you took delivery of the vehicle or your last oil change you due for a low mileage oil service due to the fact that yes 15k is way to long for an oil service and some people rather have there oil changed on a normal basis of what there used to on normal car of the 3-5k oil change intervals.

 

"why should the dealership pay for an early oil change on your car (and everyone else's car) when they will not be compensated for it by MINIusa?"

Because they said they would? (The MA specfically said 12K or one year just before I signed the paperwork.)

The 2010 MINI Service & Warranty Information booklet supplied with the car states on page 5:

The performance of certain subsequent maintenance elements, as required by the MINI New Passenger Car Limited Warranty, will be specified at intervals computed by the MINI Service Interval Indicator as follows:

and in bold text:

Note: Change oil at least once per year.

Then on page 27:

MINI New Passenger Car Limited Warranty -- 2010 Models (Valid only in the U.S.A. and Puerto Rico)

This warranty does not apply to the following:

Failure to maintain the vehicle properly in accordance with the instructions in the Owner's manual or the Service section of this statement, that results in the failure of any part of the vehicle.

I know BS when I see it, and I'm sorry to say I've seen far more of it from MINI and the dealer than I've seen truth. This isn't my BMW anymore.

 

If it's not in writing, it's not real.
That's rule #1 for buying any car, new or used, from anyone.

Here's what you left out from page 5:

In other words: what your car says is law, and what this booklet says may be out of date.

Oh, and on page 1 (where the actual coverage of the maintenance plan is spelled out):
That coverage explanation also refers to pages 6-8 of the booklet (not page 5) for additional coverage information. Page 6 says:
So, in summary… if you are still covered by your maintenance plan and your car computer says you need an oil change, you get a free oil change (most dealers will do one if you are within 1000-2000 miles of what the car computer says).

Any other oil changes are unscheduled maintenance services and are not covered by the maintenance plan (even if there's a note on some page in the booklet… bold, italic, or whatever).

 

Page 5 is part of the service section. Annual oil changes are required in writing to maintain the written warranty. It would be a very hard sell indeed to convince a court that not providing annual oil changes required to keep the warranty intact is "free maintenance for 36 months."

 

a) you completely ignore the part that says "The maintenance items stated herein reflect the latest information available at the time of the printing of this statement, and are subject to change. The most current maintenance recommendations are available from your authorized MINI dealer."

b) nowhere does it state that annual oil changes are required in writing to maintain the written warranty. (hint: look in the terms of the warranty) -- also, I must have missed the part where you or anyone else is being denied warranty service over this … so how is this anything more than unjustified fear?

c) the maintenance plan does not cover everything under the sun. there are very explicit terms and conditions for coverage, all of which boil down to: "what does your car's computer say? oh, and this booklet may be out of date."

If you want to clutch tightly to a note in a booklet that clearly says the information contained within is subject to change, may be out of date, and please refer to your car's CBS and/or your local dealer for accurate information be my guest. But I might caution you that such a thing is not exactly the most solid and stable of things to clutch to.

 

I think it is pretty crappy of the MINI dealer to allow the OP come in, fully knowing that he is expecting the one year low mileage/ courtesy oil change under his maintenance plan and not tell him over the phone about the policy change. But that isnt the reason for my reply.

I am curious why MINI would honor an oil change for greater than one year but less than 6K miles yet wouldnt for 6001-1499 miles. Anyone know any reasoning for this? Not trying to stir up trouble, I am genuinely wondering if there is a mechanical reason for this.

 

The way I read the book is you get an oil change when the computer says you need one, or you get one each year even if the computer doesn't say you need it. This was a topic of discussion when I took my car to the new dealer in Knoxville, TN. I bought my car at Tom Bush in Jacksonville, FL and then moved to Knoxville about 4 months later. I have done all the service myself with oil changes every 5000 miles. I finally got tired of the oil light going off every time so I reset it. Finally a dealership got built and at 35,000 I took my MINI in to get all the service it called for and an oil change and the brake fluid flush thats called for in the book as well. When I picked it up that afternoon they just did the safety check and vehicle check but no actual work. It took me 2 days and giving them the page in the book before they agreed to do a low mileage oil change, even though the dealer had never serviced my car under the service guarantee so technically as far as they knew my car hadn't had an oil change in almost 3 years. I'd say go to another dealer if you are do an oil change and see if they will do it or call and talk to the service manager. And you should definitely do your own changes in between intervals for the life of your car. It costs me $50 for oil and filter and its a pretty easy car the change.

 

The way I read the book is you get an oil change when the computer says you need one, or you get one each year even if the computer doesn't say you need it.

The book most emphatically does NOT say this, it's been quoted above enough times that I'm not going to quote it again, but interpreting it the way you think it should be is not the same as the way it's written.

Bottom line: some dealers do it, some don't. Either DIY as most do, or call around and find a dealer who does if you must have a freebie.

Seems like a lot of effort for an "free" oil change.....

 

Its not a freebie, I paid for a car with a service warranty. 36,000 miles later they have not service my car as there was no dealership within a 3 hour drive. Just because I reset the indicator 10,000 miles ago shouldn't negate the fact that they have not serviced the car. I understand the books says it may be out of date and it may change and stuff like that, but when I see change the oil atleast once a year, it seems like they are recommending it, and recommended service is covered under the warranty. Sorry if I'm just trying to get what I paid for. The dealership should be happy that I paid for the car with the "free" service and only used it once and now I'm over miles, seems like a money maker to me.

 

"Seems like a lot of effort for an "free" oil change....."

The "effort" seems to be coming from a few of you that insist it is ok to promise free maintenance and not deliver it. I've asked MINIUSA if they intend to issue an amendment of the service and warranty booklet which states "Change oil at least once per year" in the service section and that part failure due to not performing maintenance as defined in the service section is not covered under warranty.

Wanting the i's and t's properly dottted and crossed is not paranoia, but good business, fishbert. Your personal belittlement is uncalled for.

 

They're not saying they won't do it, they're only saying they will do it in accordance with the CBS's requirements.

It does say "change your oil every year" , and that if it's in accordance with what the CBS says, they will do it at no charge, if it's outside those parameters, it's at the customer's expense.

You are not being shortchanged in any way on your "Free" 3/36 maintenance by not getting a yearly oil change at their expense, according to the information in the manual.

I am not advocating for MINI USA here, I'm simply a realist and I don't mind doing what's needed to keep my car healthy, especially at such low cost and infrequent intervals.

I grew up in an era where you did a full tune up on your car every 6 months- plugs, points and condensor, timing, air filter, adjust the carb, clean the choke mechanism - and so on, or it didn't start.

Where oil changes every 3K meant your engine might make it to 100K without an overhaul, but it probably would at least need a valve job, de-coking and sludge removal from the upper valve area by about 50k.

Modern cars have spoiled us with their efficiency and reliability to the point where folks treat them like appliances, when you turn the switch it should turn on and work perfectly - forever......and for free.

I've uploaded a copy of the page from my owner's manual for my 2009 Clubman S, near the bottom of the right column it says very clearly that they will not pay for oil changes outside what the CBS calls for. Period. Read it for yourself.....

 

I don't recall belittling anyone in here... personally or otherwise.

But I do remember seeing a lot of evidence of selective reading of the Service and Warranty Information booklet.

 

i work on these cars and i do a lot of under the 3/36 maintance plan low mileage oil services. so mini pays for them. end of story.

 

Yes, and that's where the whole problem in this thread comes from, I think.....

Some dealers do it, some (including the OP's ) have decided not to....

I changed my oil at 3K (and I'm glad I did, the oil was fairly nasty) then again at 10K, but then things got strange. At 1 year I took it in for some tiny thing and they changed the oil while it was there - I didn't even ask for it. When the service light came on at 18K I took it in again as we were going on a long trip and I wanted to have them check it all over - they changed it again! All at no cost to me!?!?!?

So, 4 oil changes in 18K miles and 18 months..... and I paid for 2 and they paid for 2. However, the only freebie I ever expected was the last one, when the service light came on.

The OP asked for suggestions, and I gave him 3...

Do it yourself

Pay the dealer or a good independent to do it for him.

Call around till he finds a dealer that will do it for free and take it there.

what else is there?

Since we haven't heard from him in a while, I wonder what he did?

 

a dealer shouldn't say no, they get paid by warrenty to do them, and yet now bmw is making the low mileage oil service harder to do by changing the mileage. its the customers decession, and rule 1 of the dealership is to make the customer happy. because dealers care about there csi score and a customer not happy with there service it hurts the dealer.

 

just to fuel the fire

a dealer told me .. during a heated discussion having NOTHING to do with a car sale

"we make almost nothing off car sales ... it all comes from the service department"

 

Not any more.
At least, according to your earlier post.

-------


No doubt that's true.
But the debate here seems to revolve around whether a dealership is trying to cheat someone out of an oil change by refusing to do a "freebie" that they won't be compensated for by MINI USA, due to their guidelines on low mileage oil changes and the 3/36 maintenance plan.

 

what i posted is from a bulletin stating the new requirements to get a low mileage oil service.