This morning i took my wifes 2011 Ford Fiesta to the dealer for an OIL CHANGE here in Austin. I waited about 30 minutes, drank a free cup of joe and my car was returned to me with clean windows,clean interior and all fluids checked and toped off. The oil was 5/20synthetic all for $16 BUCKS.
Why in the hell are we paying $100 dollars plus for the same thing at a MINI dealer, am i missing something..

 

The minis can't use regular synthetic oil.

 

Because Mini is affiliated with BMW, which means. Price gouging and a ridiculous hourly rate!

Now that my Mini's service plan has expired, I do them myself. I paid retail at the parts counter about $60.00 for Mini oil and filter. This is retail. I could have saved $15 - $20 if I purchased these items on line. With my hand tools I changed the oil in less then 30 minutes on my driveway. A Mini tech could do it in 10 minutes or less, yet they charge $220.00 for an oil change.

Unfortunately it is an established and accepted cost for doing business with BMW, Audi, Mini, Mercedes and so on.

 

By the way Mini Brand oil is about $6.50 a quart.

 

Use Royal Purple. Not much (if any) cheaper, but better.

 

Say again? Not sure what you heard, but you are incorrect.

16 USD at the dealer is a really good price. Are you sure there wasn't a special going on or a maintenance contract type service? Perhaps the donuts and coffee were $16.

Most of my oil changes are about 50 USD. I use Amsoil myself. Great stuff!

 

According to my user manual it requires a particular grade of synthetic which is not the regular synthetic that most quickie oil change places have as far as I know. It seems to be more expensive. Do places like jiffy lube have that particular grade of synthetic available? Even if they did, I don't know that I'd trust them to actually use it.

 

You're both right. It depends on the owner. MINI specifies certain oils with extended life, because of their ridiculously long oil change intervals. You're just fine using regular synthetic oil and just changing the oil more often. Personally, I don't care if the oil is extended life or not....I'm changing my oil every 5500-7000 miles. 15000+ miles is an extreme if you ask me.

 

5/20 is what the mfg calls for and i should have said synthetic blend not a full synthetic the brand was motorcraft. I think its 4 bucks a qt at Wallmart.The point is the whole thing was 16 bucks, this dealer wants happy customers. For the life of me i can't understand why mini dealers hate their customers, they must, look how they shaft us..

 

I would be curious to know what the rundown cost of an oil change is on a mini, what the dealer charges for oil, the actual labor, what is included in an oil change, etc.

Mini DOES include free oil changes for the first 3yr/36k, that is also something to take into consideration.

When I was looking at BMWs I asked how much an average oil change is and they quoted me 80 bucks. My honda fit synthetic oil change is 65 bucks. I havent had a ~$20 oil change since I had my ford escort over 10 years ago.

 

OK, first I changed my post as I couldn't read that he took it (the Fiesta) to a dealer. (Old age...)

Secondly I would never take my car to a Jiffy Lube no matter what you paid me. I had a friend that went to one once and they didn't put oil back in. She drove off and trashed the engine and they refused to pay for a new engine. I believe she had to sue them.

You can find oil that will meet and/or exceed what MINI recommends easily.

 

No way anybod give you an oil change for $16 and be using full synthetic oil, their cost has to be more than that. A 5-quart jug of Mobil 1 typically run ~$30 ON-SALE. I can get an oil change in upstate NY in the $16-$20 range but it with conventional oil. The same shops charge ~$35 for semi-synthetic oil changes and ~$50 for full synthetic oil changes.

By the way you don't have to use MINI brand oil to protect your engine, any name brand full synthetic can be safely used in a MINI.

 

Premium car = premium price....

Don't take your car to the dealers for out of warranty items.

 

No way anybody will give you an oil change for $16 and be using full synthetic oil, their cost is more than that. A 5-quart jug of Mobil 1 runs ~$30 ON-SALE at the parts stores. I can get an oil change in upstate NY in the $16-$20 range, but it's with conventional oil. The same shops charge ~$35 for semi-synthetic oil changes and ~$50 for full synthetic oil changes.

By the way you don't have to use MINI brand oil to protect your engine, any name brand full synthetic can be safely used in a MINI. I typically use Mobil 1.

 

Had my oil in my 06 checked in Germany at 15K (running Mobil1 at the time) and it came back fine. I have been doing long term oil changes since with no problems. Turbo cars are a little different tho...

Oil is cheap in the USA, change it whenever you want.

 

No way that a synthetic oil change is $16. What you don't seem to understand is that all European cars require a higher grade of motor oils specifically for european engines. The oil runs about 6-8 per quart. There are only three brands that I would use. Castrol. Mobil and Royal Purple All of which are a bit pricey the oil filter is about 12. I just changed the oil on my Saturn and it cost me 15 in conventional oil and a cheap filter (3). I would not use an unspecified oil for your car. If you do you run the risk of voiding your warranty if any engine problem comes up. BTW you are not locked into MINI for your oil changes between the specified ones. I will not go 15k maybe 7500. If you have your oil changed more frequently keep receipts and do not have the computer reset. All the best, MGB

 

"Mini" brand oil is just Castrol Syntec 0w30, the European formula, its classified as long life.

 

Yes you are correct but my point was that the oil you show above is $8.79 a quart at Auto Zone. and you need how many of them? 4 or 5 you are still looking at 50-60 dollars in oil and filter if you do it yourself. A 5 quart jug might be cheaper. Mobil 1 at Walmart is 25 for the jug.

 

Oil changes is a very sensitive area here in the USA as we are all taught to believe in the 3/5K oil change. This isn't necessarily the case any longer and many reports on 15K oil changes have proven that it can go the distance. That being said, oil is cheap here. When I lived in Germany I had to buy some oil off post once and it cost me almost 30 USD for a liter. Most of this is in taxes but you can see that Germans do want oil that will go father than 5K just due to cost.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever tested that to ensure that "European Formula" didn't equate to "We slapped that on there to charge you more money".

 

When I had my Jeep, I paid $19.95 once for lifetime oil changes at the dealer. I got up to four a year for free.

It certainly cost them more than that to do it, but it was an "executive" perk they gave out. It also gave them an excuse to have the car in regularly so they could inspect it and suggest maintenance. It was a win-win. They'd do the oil for free, tell me, for example, that the front axle needed to be rebuilt, and quote me a price on it. Then I could choose to have it done there or take it elsewhere for a quote. So I can easily imagine a dealer charging cost or undercharging for an oil change as a pretext to bring you back in.

MINI does other stuff for perks. For example, my loaner today will be free, and any problems they find will be covered. There were no loaners at the Jeep dealer. The upcoming oil change at 15K will be free too. MINI gave me 3 years of oil changes for free with the car. The Jeep dealer gave me 4/year for $19. It's all about how they decide to allot perks for the best customer experience.

Their prices, particularly on routine maintenance, are not governed as much by the cost to them as they are by other customer opportunities they see coming down the pike.