Had to rant briefly on this. Badly punctured a tire last night about a mile from home so I just drove it into the garage and listened to the rest of the air coming out as I was jacking the car up.

No one carries Dunlops around here and no one has the 205 case width. So I call Mini 24 hour roadside assistance to learn that if I'm driving cross country through Kansas and have a flat, their service consists of depositing my car at the nearest dealer. That's it. No spare, no loaner vehicle, no getting you back on your way, just a dump off at the dealer where they can charge you triple what anything is worth - during business hours - presumably after you schedule an appointment.

When my BMW had an issue in Germany, once I managed to communicate to the guy in my then horrible German that I bought it from the dealer, the immediate reply was "No, problem!" They towed it in and the 24 hour on-call attendant gave me a loaner car.

This is crappy.

 

Not to be rude but what exactly are you expecting them to do for you? It isn't a defect or warranty issue. You punctured the tire and should be happy they will tow it for you for free.

When I had a puncture and I wanted to plug the RFT tire as it was a small nail, center of the tread I called to get a tow. They asked if I was comfortable driving it to the dealer as the tires are designed to "run on flat" and get you somewhere safe. Knowing I was going to plug the tire myself and if I drove the tire it would degrade to where it wouldn't be safe to drive once repaired, I insisted on a tow. They dropped me off at the dealer after service hours. My wife met me there with out air compressor and plug kit. I got a free tow (that I probably should have paid for since there was no work provided by MINI), repaired my tire, and still made it home for dinner.

 

"When my BMW had an issue in Germany, once I managed to communicate to the guy in my then horrible German that I bought it from the dealer, the immediate reply was "No, problem!" They towed it in and the 24 hour on-call attendant gave me a loaner car." At a minimum, since run flats are the excuse for no spare and roadside assistance, I would expect to be back on the road in a timely manner. ie, they show up with a spare tire.

Dealer service for my Infiniti was comparable to what I experienced with BMW. There was always a loaner vehicle, even for oil changes.

Mini markets as a premium small car but their service, in my experience, falls short compared against other makes.

 

So you expect a loaner available 24/7? It isn't BMW or Infiniti. They do provide a more superior car for it's size compared to the market and my dealer takes care of me as well as they can afford to or abide by MINI USA rules. I used to get a loaner for oil changes but the new rules for my dealer is that any repair that will take over 2hrs gets a loaner, or rental if required. If you are going to pay the dealer for the new tires, mount, and balance then maybe they will extend a complementary loaner, but it's not required.

 

Just like my rant, which is not intended to produce any change other than making me feel better, you are basing your opinion on personal experience rather than company policy, which I still believe is poor service and misleading. It's one thing for me to be dissatisfied with roadside assistance standing in my garage with a floor jack in one hand and quite another to a teenage girl stranded on the highway in the middle of nowhere.
Road side assistance is a little more encompassing than "tow to a dealer." At least now I know what the service is worth, which I did in fact pay for with the car.
You are at least fortunate to have what sounds like good dealer service. Century Mini in SC is hit or miss.

 

In addition to the MINI roadside I also have USAA roadside. It costs a whopping 60 cents per month so I decided to keep it. USAA will come, take your wheel/tire to a shop, install a new tire and return back to you all for only the cost of the tire, not bad. Now it might take forever especially after hours.

 

Wow!

 

+1

 

Good back and forth, guys.