I just found out the hard way that unless you get your annual service on the EXACT anniversary of the purchase date of your Mini you WILL NOT get the third service free. I bought my 2008 Mini hardtop on the 4th of July 2008. The first annual service was done on July 1, 2009, the second on July 6, 2010, and the third today July 7, 2011. My free service was refused because it was beyond my third anniversary. I called in early June to get my appointment before the 4th of July but was told that since my last service was July 6, 2010 I had to wait at least a year, BUT they took me in on July 1, 2009. WTF? The customer service rep for Mini told me that these were strict guidelines.

I find this to be unacceptable. If someone buys a Mini on a holiday like I did they are doomed from the start to be denied the third service. If someone's anniversary falls on a Sunday or a day the service department is not open, they will also be denied the third service. This policy of Mini seems a little too slimy and exhibits terrible customer service.

So in summary, the probability of not getting your third free service if you bought your car on a holiday is 100%. Assuming service departments are open 6 days a week, the probability of not getting a free third service for everyone else is 17%.

This issue was not disclosed by my sales representative, service representative at my first and second service, not disclosed in the service manual, or anywhere else in Mini's literature.

I will be writing to Mini Corporate, the service manager and owner of the Mini dealer. I am displeased.

 

Yeah, that's messed up. Is there another dealer you can go to to see if they say the same thing?

 

After corresponding with the service manager who contacted Mini, Mini has agreed to refund my cost for the"free service" as a one time goodwill gesture. Common sense has prevailed!

I would suggest that all of you out there pay attention to your purchase date and get your service done promptly on the anniversary date.

 

or ... discuss the issue with the service manager b4 going into hyperdrive . . .


it ain't free service ... it is pre paid service and it expires by the calender

 

One would think that as a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for buying a new vehicle, a dealer should have a little lattitude on the free service as long as it's close to the anniversary date. My last free one was late by about four days and the dealer didn't hesitate to honor it as no cost.

 

I agree as common sense would tend to dictate, but apparently the computer (linked to Mini Corporate) kicked me off because of the anniversary date. This makes no sense because my first service was 3 days before the anniversary, the second service 2 days after,and the dealer wouldn't let me schedule the third until exactly one year after the third service.

 

I disagree! She had an appropriate reaction. She shouldn't even have had to talk to the manager, the service department should have took it upon themselves to talk to management and see if they could do something about it. I also think it's crap that pre-paid service expires. If I've paid for three oil changes I expect three oil changes.

 

I can understand the computer saying no after three years expire. I don't understand the nonsense about having to wait precisely 365 days between services.

 

This is exactly why the only service a dealership will ever perform on my vehicles is warranty and prepaid "included" service. Dealerships make their money off of service, but they get greedy. I'm not going to wait 10,000+ miles for my first oil change; I laughed at my service adviser when he said an oil change was $160. There are MINI dealerships like MINI of South Atlanta that are not out to screw everyone. They do an oil change for $69 and offer discounted parts all the time. Unfortunately my local dealerships don't do business this way. I have a BMW/MINI certified mechanic that has been in business since 1987. He buys all the latest testing equipment and software to work on my past BMW's and my 2011 MINI and his cost are substantially less than the dealership Bottom line is when the service agreement and warranty are up the dealership won't be working on my MINI.

 

That is exactly why I did my oil changes myself and regardless of if it was free or not a had them change the oil when i wanted it not when they siad it should be done.

 

On June 29, I took my '09 Conv. which will be two years old on 8/14 to the dealer because the all purpose triangle light was illuminated on the dash. Two Service Advisor's looked at the car, offered three different suggestions of what was causing the problem all of which were my fault, and I eventually left with no solution.

On July 2, I returned and asked again. This time they decided the light indicated that my two year service was due and they could do it immediately. When I asked if that included the annual oil change, they informed me I would need to return August 15 for that to be paid for.

I can think of no better way to produce an unsatisfied customer. Their system caused the light to be on but their policy required the consumer to make two trips to cure what is an obvious problem. Eventually, after much discussion, the Service Manager agreed the dealership would pay for the oil change but only if I promised to give them a Completely Satisfied Customer Service Rating.

Basically, they paid me a $100 to lie about my Service experience and to perpetuate what is obviously a flawed system. One has to wonder how that system of customer satisfaction will work out long term?

 

After being told by the service manager that Mini had agreed to reimburse me for my service I got a call from Mini public relations as a result of my complaint by email. They were unaware of the reimbursement. The public relations person made it clear that the 3 year anniversary date was strict but had no answer when I questioned about the 365 day rule about annual service. It would appear from some of the other posts that the 365 day rule is a dealer rule and not a "Mini" rule. My thinking is that the dealer is not reimbursed for the oil changes as it is probably considered part of the sales price. So the incentive is for the dealer to require the 365 day rule in order to minimize their expenses. Other more customer service oriented dealers apparently don't agree, IMO.

 

MINIUSA does pay for the oil changes. I discussed it with them last year when they informed dealers in writing that they weren't going to pay anymore for annual changes (and subsequently changed their minds). And when I had the oil changed last week I had to sign a separate form so the dealer could get paid.

There is still motive for the dealers to charge the customer for the free service though. They charge customers more than the manufacturer pays. That isn't unique to MINI.

 

That's good to know, thanks. I had heard elsewhere on this forum that MiniUSA had decided to not pay for annual changes and then changed their mind

 

I think , now this is just me, that there is a fundamental misunderstanding both from the customer and the dealership. I bought my MINI used from a Subaru dealership. The day I bought I went to the MINI dealership because the windshield wipers were pretty much gone. They happily changed them right there no questions asked then set up an appointment for me to have it serviced. I loved that dealership, MINI of Hawaii, they treated me way better then I thought they should have in the 4 months that I went to them before moving from Hawaii. When I got to Jacksonville I started to go the dealership here and the only problem I had was dealing with one of the BMW folks running the MINI service because our SA was out sick. When it comes to service on the MINI it is roughly every 12k miles or 1 year, the mileage can be cut shorter if you drive you MINI harder. I have a total of 4 oil changes done by the dealership in the year and a half before it went out of warranty. All but one time it was because they said it need to be done and one time was the first time I took it in I think it was a courtesy thing. Don't trust the service light on the MINI at all. No matter what the dealership says change your oil at least evey 5k miles or 4 to 6 months. If you are in a Cooper you could probably stretch that time out as you don't have a turbo eating oil. Also if you are having that much problems with them get the managment involved. If that doesn't work call MINI customer service and ask them for help. If that doesn't work wel sounds like you just need to either fork out the money to do it or do it yourself.

 

Maybe it once was, but no more. I have driven mine 8791 miles. The service indicator was not reset when I had the 12 month oil change done. The indicator says 10,000 more miles. It has said 19,000 miles until the first oil change since I bought it.

 

Are you driving a Cooper or Cooper S? Cause I can hard drive my miles down. Plus when I do my oil changes I reset the service indicator myself.

 

Thanks for the info. It appears that VW does the same thing and maybe others as well. Now that I know this I will make sure that I have my oil changed at different intervals than once a year depending upon my driving.

 

Just wanted to interject my experience, since I was a bit confused about the annual maintenance, myself.

I bought my Cooper in June of 2009, and recently took him in for his annual oil change in late May 2011. When I arrived at the dealership, I was told that I would have to return in three weeks to have the free oil change, because it wasn't "due," yet (even though the service indicator message was lit). I was worried that if I waited another three weeks, I'd end up damaging my engine. My mini was telling me that it needed service, so who was I to argue? I offered to just pay for the oil change that day, because I didn't want to hurt my Cooper.

I guess they felt sorry for me (ha, ha), because they made an exception to the rule, and I was able to get the free service that day. I live an hour and a half away from the dealership (Otto's Mini), so it was very nice of them to do this.

Moral of the story: call the dealership before scheduling your annual service

 

I guess one good thing I can say about my dealership is that there is none of this annual BS....if the service indicator comes on at the six month mark because you hit your mileage, they do the service. The service manual does not just have time constraints, it lists mileage as well. These shady dealerships are trying to save (or make) money at the owners expense!

 

+1

You have on of the stealerships that is not trying to screw the customer.

 

Can someone please explain this policy for me. I got the extended maintenance as part of a MINI promotion this May. Am I literally required to bring the car in for routine service on the exact anniversary of my purchase? Where does the car's computer service reminder enter in the equation?

 

If you have not reached the on-board recommended oil change mileage after 12 months you can have the oil changed then and again when the recommended mileage is reached.

MINIUSA does not require you to get service performed on the exact anniversary date.

 

I think the anniversary date is dictated by individual dealers. My dealer insisted that I couldn't bring it in until 1 year after the last service, but this policy was inconsistent because the first service was three days before the anniversary, the second 2 days after the anniversary. The key is to get their policy at the time the car is purchased. The dealer did not discuss this with me at the time I purchased my Mini.

 

My dealer did the last free oil change 2 weeks before the 1 year interval because I asked them to. If I had waited for the 1 year mark, the 3 years free maint. would have expired. I was shocked that they did it.