I am on my second MINI and it seems that the dealers are not as liberal with the little extras as they used to be. I know. Downturn--but it just seems that the old customer appreciation is flagging a bit, anyway.

Took Prudence in for her free oil change at 19, 880 miles, 10 months after purchase, to MINI of Birmingham (AL). Got the oil change and a wash. I asked about wiper blades; they were streaking badly. NoGo, sayeth the service rep. The warranty clerk said, "No".

Now, when MINI #1 was presented to MINI of Nashville, in much the same circumstances about 18 months ago, they replaced the wipers without my even asking.

Guess I can't complain, but it seems odd. Anyone else picking up anything similar or is this an isolated perception?

 

That's odd. Wiper blades are covered under your maintenance plan.

 

My dealer replaced the wipers recently. They essentially said that all I had to do was say "they're streaking" and they'd replace them. :D

 

You're getting taken advantage of. Go to a different dealer, or go back and tell them how they're wrong in this. They should give you a refund and an apology.

 

Thanks, folks. You're confirming what I thought. I told them the blades were streaking, but no joy in Birmingham.

I'm now dedicated to MINI of Nashville. I'm sure they have their moments, too, but so far not with me.

R

 

Strange. When I recently went in for my first scheduled service, they replaced the wiper blades, though they were not streaking at all.
They even wrote on the paperwork that "customer complained of streaking", which I hadn't!

 

I guess we could blame it on their being a new operation. Maybe someone didn't get the word because in my case Mike checked with his supervisory chain and I got nada.

You know, a set of wiper blades isn't going to break my bank, but it does seem to say something about MINI of Birmingham.