I called Morristown MINI Service Department to schedule an interim oil change because I didn't want to wait approx. 16,000 miles for my first scheduled oil change. The tech told me it would cost $115!!! I asked what happened to the $65 they used to charge for my 2005 MC. He said it's harder to do an oil change on the 2007's so they charge $115, which I think is ridiculous. I told him I'd call him back.

Have other 2007 owners gotten that high a price quote for oil changes? By the way, the tech gave me a hard time when I told him I wanted to schedule an interim oil change that I planned to pay for. He kept saying, "You don't have enough miles for scheduled maintenance." I finally got through to him that I didn't want to wait that long for my first oil change and that I was going to pay for it. That's when he told me it cost $115. I thought maybe it was because I'm female.

For that reason (expensive maintenance) and because we just bought a new house, I've decided to keep my MINI until the warranty runs out. Then I'm going cheap.

 

It's not really that hard to do yourself but would require buying the tools if you didn't have them.

Maybe a NAMer near you would be willing to do it for you. I would offer if I was closer.

 

Wow, my 350Z oil changes at the DEALER use to only cost me $25. I also plan on doing earlier oil changes on my Mini, especially my first one right after the break-in period.

 

Don't use the dealer. I had a mechanic tell me 25.00 if i supplied oil filter and oil, which would be about 35.00 total.

 

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...you got that right....they saw you coming......buy a filter from the parts dept...take it (and the car) to your local mechanic.....give him the 5 qts of Mobil1 0-40.....tell him to put in 4 1/2 qts.....save the 1/2 quart left over for the next time.....stay with the car and time the mechanic (should be 15 min).....argue if the price is over $40...

 

help me understand the difficulty here...

 

Great suggestion! I also can't change the oil myself (college campus) but really don't want to pay the dealer's price. And I was actually quoted less - 84 bucks. About how much is the oil and filter?
THANKS

 

At the dealer about $10 for the filter and $7 a quart for oil. Haggle with the parts guy to get the price of oil down.

 

So the entire job for 45 bucks or less... Only problem is unless I can find a competent local mechanic to do it for $25 or less, the savings are negligible given what my dealer charges to do it themselves. Especially given the amount of gas I'm gonna use to get to the dealer in order to pick up the parts. 1 hour+ drive each way.

We'll see. Thanks so much for the info!

 

I just got my first oil change / service on my '06MCS @ 9K miles.

I was shocked by the price! $00.00! Zero. Zip. They (Universal Mini, LA)
not only changed the oil, they fixed a broken front shock mount and fixed some rattles, all free of charge.

I was really surprised when told it was all under factory warranty! Even though I bought the car at a different dealer.

Big H/T to Universal Mini!

 

Congrats! Any idea how you managed that one??? My dealer told me they'd change the oil free of charge within 1K of what the OBC suggests, no sooner.

 

I was 500 miles short of the indicated mileage on the dial.

I tried to get it changed sooner, but they said it wasn't necessary.
Good luck!

 

Wow, so I take it oil longevity is significantly shorter on the R53 vs R56??? Haven't heard of anyone's OBC indicating a needed oil changed at 9500 miles. 14000 seems to be about the least for the R56.

 

If you drive in a lot of stop-and-go traffic, your maintenance counter will count down much faster than if you were putting on pure highway miles.

 

I was charged $85 for the oil change...I'll probably have my dad do it next time since he's done oil changes on these types of oil filters before....I hear it's not hard to do, just make sure you don't break the clip that holds the inner part of the filter in

 

C'mon people, oil change?!! It's rather simple to do and there are threads on this forum you can read that tell you everything you need to Do It Yourself, including pictures. Anyone should be able to accomplish this simple task in under an hour.
Oops, sorry for the rant, but I had to say it.

And I'm pretty sure it's 15000 mi. or ANNUALLY for oil changes . Look on page 3 of your Service & Warranty Information booklet it says NOTE:Change oil at least once a year.Right at the top of the page.

 

I know NOTHING about cars. There's no way I can change the oil myself. And I know about the 15,000 oil change maintenance schedule. I'm talking the first oil change. As I said, I know nothing about cars, but from what I've read on these forums, the first oil change is very important after breaking in the car because of metal shavings or whatever the hell it is. I'm a girly girl and proud of it. (And I apologize to any other girly girl who changes her own oil).

 

My OBC started out at 16k and has been coming down regularly to the current 9,000 miles. I'm at about 8600 now. I've only had it 3 months!

 

The additional difficulty is that the coolant expansion tank needs to be unfastened and moved out of the way to gain access to the oil filter. It seems like they are also trying to discourage frequent oil changes and pushing more towards the maintenance minder intervals.

 

Can you elaborate on the broken shock mount?

 

I had my first oil change done at Hendricks Mini in Charlotte NC! And it was a cool experience. They let me go back with the mechanic, get up under my car, take pictures, and watch and learn. Although I think I could do the oil change, but until the warranty runs out, Ill stick with them. They replaced the windshield wipers, free of charge as well. I didnt buy the car at Hendricks, let alone the United States. I ordered it in Germany. Hendricks makes me feel quite at home! Kudos to them.
The price? 0.00

so.. oil $7.50 a quart
oil filter $10.00
knowing my mini is taken care of? priceless

 

Wow, that's the lowest I've heard yet! Mine started off at 15K and has worked its way down to 13K, and I've had it 3 months now as well. 3000 miles on the odometer, about 75% of which is city driving with a good bit of a traffic.

 

I paid $5.40 per qt. for MINI branded Castrol (meets BMW LL01, and ACEA A3/B3) at MINI of Mountain View. Bought the filter elsewhere.

Whatever you do, be wary of the quick oil change places. They can do more harm than good. If you can't find a reputable mechanic, and can't do it yourself, the dealer may be your only choice. You might check with your nearest MINI club for recommendations for mechanics that know MINIs.

 

Can't you just take your mini to the local quick lube and pay $29.99 or whatever they charge?

 

I would absolutely NOT do this. Do you get synthetic with that? Do they put the correct oil in, or whatever they happen to buy in bulk? Do they know how to replace the filter? Do they even have the correct filter? Do they actually remove the plug or suck the oil out with a tube? Do they know how to reset the maintenance minder?