Hi a few questions.

I'm taking my mini in this Saturday so I called because there were a few other things I wanted done. The first being my speedometer is off by about 5 mph faster then it should be and i wanted to have it calibrated. The second was that i wanted my tires rotated. The third is that i was never taken through the "dealer programmable" options at purchase so i wanted my keyfob window down featuer and whatever else there is.

Here was my response from Bob Smith Mini in CA.

1. The speedo can be off up to +/- 7mph and that is just how it is. We don't/can't calibrate it.

2. Mini does not recommend rotating your tires so it is not included in the service.

3. I will tell your sales person about the programing and he can go over it with you.


So the only one of the 3 things i am hopefully going to get changed is the third one. Is this normal response from a dealership? I don't know what is normal or not on the tires/speedo. Any help here would be appreciated. Also anyone have a list of the programmable options? Thanks.

Casey

 

Don't know about the +/- 7% but you could solicite a response from Dr. Obnoxous, or Greatbear here on NAM - both would steer you right.

On the tires, I would rather do it myself than have them screw it up. I rotate every 5k left front -> left rear -> left front, right front -> right rear -> right front.

On programming, if you got the car from them, they will have to give you free first time programming. If not, they might charge $75 dollars or so. Make sure you know EXACTLY what you want programmed. Other dealerships have programmed my Coopers and they invariably 'un program' one feature when settting up another. TEST and re-test all functions, each time they say they are done. I spent 2 hours screwing around with an out of state dealership, and they never did get it totally right.

On buying parts, Classic MINI give a much better price than Bob Smith and also a NAM discount, but they are in Ohio. You can save a lot, check them out...


Re: Bob Smith

Short of becoming an expert - Use another dealer, South Bay is recommended, but you still need to watch them. (and I live in Simi Valley)

Good Luck - Whatever you do....

 

No tire rotation for the Mini?. Are they in bed with the tire company. If they don't recommend a tire rotation, does that mean that the Mini is always in alingment?.

 

Mini for some reason doesn't agree with tire rotatation. Who knows why. I've had mine done by a local tire shop for a low fee...compared with BMW or MINI dealerships. It's extended my tire life by at least a year.

 

Ya I did my own rotation at 5k too. I was just wondering if this was normal for the dealer to not do it. Thanks for the help.

Does anyone have a list of the programmable features?

 

Just chiming in to say that's really weird about the tire rotation. I was just at my MINI dealer and they had a little brochure about why it's important to rotate and a coupon for some discount.

 

Yea i think it is wierd in general, which is why i posted it here for some feed back. It makes no sense to me why Mini would recommend you NOT rotate your tires unless they just don't want to pay for it.