I went for my first (free) maintenance. 2 years, 7,000 miles. The dealer advisor caught me off guard, he said I need to have injection service ($279) and induction service ($279) done at 2 years. He made it sound like this is extremely important. So I did it. When I got home and talked to friend, he told me I got f^&^ed... I immediately drove back there to stop everything, hoping that they haven't started yet, but it was too late. Now I popped out almost $600 (that I don't really have) for something that I don't really need. I called 5 different dealerships to ask when one should do this thing, and they all said 15-30K, or if the red light comes on...

Now I wonder, if somebody has some good advice what I could do in this situation. Being deceived (and yes, I agree I was naive and should have checked and don't trust the dealer), is it something I can do? Get some money back or something that would stop them from doing this to people?

Suzanna

 

and if they say no, file a complaint with the various state offices that govern automotive businesses. Here in CA stuff like that is viewed very poorly. But in all honesty, after you approved the work, they are off the hook. All that is left is good will and them to admit that if you're not happy then you should get a partial refund. you can also contact MINI corporate and say you feel that you got screwed. What about free maintenance for the first three years? With your Clubbie S, it's because of carbon fouling from the direct injection. Some dealers have been pretty shadey over this. Are there other dealers in your area you can use?

Matt

 

anything you have to do out of pocket will generally be less expensive at an independant MINI mechanic. So even if you did need it and had to pay out of pocket, you could have had it done for less elsewhere.

Matt

 

Sounds like a total rip-off to me. Do everyone a favor and identify the dealer so the rest of the SoCal mini owners can avoid him.

 

Thanks, Matt, for your suggestions. I will email the service manager tomorrow and see what will happen. I didn't think I have any problems with the injection, he just said it should be done every 2 years. And I went there actually for my free maintenance (which they did), but on a top of it he "scared" me with all the other things that were needed to be done. He also wanted to rotate my tires for $299. Which I was able to stop when I drove there to stop everything, but was too late for those injection&induction things... I know better now to go to an independent MINI service next time, when I have to. This is my first MINI, I used to have Honda Crx Si. So I just thought at first that everything is much more expensive with mini and therefore agreed on the work. Then got home and figured I got screwed when I looked around online and talked to my MINI friend.

It was SouthBay MINI, for all of you who want to know. I will see what I can do tomorrow when I talk with the manager.

Thank you!

 

Thanks for posting the dealer's name because they are in my area and due to your experience I would tow my Mini to another service option even if it went dead in their parking lot. Hope you can get some relief from the rip-off applied by SouthBay Mini.

 

So is this their fix to the direct injection engine and gunked up valves??

Sea Foam

 

Wait even you had to have this done that should have been warranty work. You shouldn't have to pay at all.

 

This goes beyond getting screwed into a new level of fraud.
How these people can sleep at night is beyond me.
Even if you don't want to rotate the tires yourself an independent shop will likely do it for very little.
The shop I use will do it for regular customers for free whenever they want it.

 

is pure profit in the bank for them. I think if your SA gets lots of these lined up, he'll get a big bonus!

This is what earns some dealerships the nickname "stealerships".

Matt

 

i've been talking to suzanna yesterday and today about this.

i suggested she initially keep this just between the dealer and her and give them a chance to do the right thing before going public. but tough ****, here we are with our panties down in public.

another point she made is that the engine bay looks just as dirty as before she took the car in - as if nothing had been touched. i told her i wanted to examine the car and try to see if there was 'disturbed dirt' evidence that parts had been removed (assuming some things had to be removed for what they did.) if it doesn't look like the air cleaner box has been disturbed, i propsed that the mini usa local rep be present at some other dealer when the airbox was opened. if there isn't a new air cleaner in there, i say go nuclear......

i've also been telling her since she got the car TAKE THE ****ING THING TO DANNY AT MINI CORSA FOR ANYTHING NOT UNDER WARRANTY.

 

you might want to just take the car there even for warranty work. I do not believe that any warranty is good only at one dealer. what if you move states for example. Moreover the new dealer will want your business. treating warranty work right will keep you coming back for when you have to write a check. good luck

 

It would appear to me that MINI/BMW should be interested in this at a headquarters level.

I'd surely get the entire matter to their customer service groiup ASAP.

 

Although it's not quite as bad, the dealership probably viewed the "2-year" mark in the same manner one views an oil change. Regardless of how many miles you have, you're supposed to get your oil changed once a year. It comes down to the breakdown process (similar to an expiration date). With the lack of driving there-of, you could have fuel deposits. When I rebuilt carburetors, it would appear as a whitish-colored powder in the crevices.

However, if the dealership was leaning more toward you having carbon buildup issues, then that is a ripoff. You have not driven enough miles to build up the amount they would be worried about.

 

I emailed the service manager on Friday about my issues, still not any answer... hmmmm...

 

Just wanted to let everybody know that after going back and forth a few times with the manager, and first offering a store credit, which I declined, they eventually reimbursed me all money. So now I am a happy camper... I mean, MINI-driver :-)

 

Great for you! Did you ever have an independent shop look at the air box to see if the filter had actually been changed? I don't think that I'd want to use that service department after reading this.

 

Good to hear it got settled. Tire rotations are less than $30CDN here if you didn't buy your tires from the tire dealer. If you did buy new tires from the tire dealer, the rotations are free.

BTW....I join with others on this thread that you find a dealership or MINI service that's more trustworthy to look after your car for you.

 

The induction clean does nothing but clean the throttle body and lets it work a little smoother, as far as cleaning valves, most use deposit resistant valves and have been for years. Injection clean cleans injectors and shouldn't need it for many miles and years. Run a bottle of Techron from chevron every now and then. It will clean your injectors. These wallet flushes are mostly money makers at the dealership. I know I work at one. Have been for 28 years. I try to only sale the flushes when needed.