Hello everyone!
My brother bought a 2007 mini cooper S a while back and he's loving it.

(I tried searching the forums for the answers to the following questions, but i couldnt find the answers).

He just had a few quick questions about the car that maybe I thought some of you guys here on the forum could possibly answer for him.

When he purchased the car, he also purchased the extended warranty, which covers maintenance cost, etc.. for 100,000 miles or 7 years.

Hes reached about 18,000 miles now, and he noticed that one of his tires in the front is starting to look really bald. Hes a pretty calm driver. He called the mini dealership and asked if they had been rotating the tires, but they told him that due to the design of the mini cooper S, no rotation is needed.

First off, is this true? The mini cooper S doesnt need its tires to be rotated?

We both thought that statement was a bit different than the norm, but then again, this is the first mini cooper anyone in our family has ever purchased.


Also, is an alignment covered under the extended warranty plan? (assuming hes going to need new tires soon).


Those were the two questions he had. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Try another tech/adviser at the MINI dealer. You should rotate the tires on the MINI, all models, every 3K or 5K.

I doubt the alignment is covered in the extended warranty. I would suggest another dealer not the one who made the rotate statement.

Good luck and congratulations to your brother on his MINI.

 

I can think of two possible reasons one front tire might wear badly.

1. You brother is having fun with the low-end torque of the MCS and making quick starts from traffic lights.

2. The front alignment is out. Does the car pull to one side when driving on a level (side-to-side) straight road?

Neither of those are covered under warranty.

 

The 07 owners manual tells you to rotate the tires every 7,000 to 8,000 miles but the newer manuals say no need. Of course we all know, you need to rotate the tires or you'll end up with bald front tires. I agree, neither rotations or alignments are covered under warranty, it's not even covered under the "free" 3 year/36,000 mile maintenance we all get when buy the car new.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I know for a fact that my brother is not driving crazily in the car, and definately not one to jump off the line. Im probably making him sound a lot younger than he is.. he's 27 years old.

Hes going to be taking it in for an alignment soon, so we'll see whats up then. As of now though, the car is not pulling one way or the other. It just might be that the tires have never been rotated and have just gotten bald in the process. Hes put some decent miles on the tires, so i guess its not unreasonable to make that connection.

Should a mini dealer/service rotate the tires during a service?

Again thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

 

The info from MINI is confusing. In some manuals they say not to rotate. So, it is likely that many dealers would not rotate during service.

 

Robin is right about the confusion over tire rotation. It ultimately is up to you and what you believe to be the best thing for your car. Because Mini does say no rotation is necessary, my dealer will not pay for it as part of their free maintenance. But you know that tires are also not covered so it is your call.

BTW, I do rotate my tires.

 

He called the mini dealer today and they quoted him 230+ for an alignment.
They also said that you have to align the mini at the mini dealership because other "shops" wont do it correctly.

Thats a rip off.. right? I have a Lexus and an alignment at my dealership is already overpriced at $100.

 

My dealer sent me this when I asked about getting an alignment done. Perhaps they took pity on me because I'm 100 miles away.

 

there is some truth to the statement but I won't say it is the whole truth and nothing but ....

IME finding a GOOD alignment shop is about as hard as finding a good dentist or barber! There's a zillion shops out there, and most of them have a high school junior running the machine on which he was trained this morning. {same goes for most places that mount tires}

Most shops will do a poor job and that INCLUDES the dealer (many will be sending your car out to another shop anyway cuz they don't even have the equipment in house). Ask around ..... the good guys are out there. If anyone wants a reference for the Hampton Roads area PM me. I know a GOOD shop over in Norfolk.....wish I still lived closer.

{a GOOD shop - one that frequently works on performance vehicles - will weight the car with sand bags to mimic your standard loading condition as weight added to the vehicle as small as ours can impact the suspension geometry. But you'll need to find a shop that caters to a performance and racing crowd to get this kind of attention}