Save yourself some hassle and know the exact date that your 3 years is up, and schedule your final service before that date.

On May 18, I made an appointment for Tuesday May 26, the day after Memorial Day, using the online scheduling tool at the dealer. For the "work required" section I noted that my 3 years was coming to an end, please check the car over carefully and I know I'm going to need front brakes. I'm at only 30K miles, I didn't know what the exact date was, just sometime towards the end of May.

On May 26 I showed up at the dealer, they started the paperwork then said "uh, your 3 years was up last Friday, and Mini won't allow us to bill any work to them because you're past the 3 years." I pointed to what I had entered in the work required section, I think that was the first time anyone had read it. 3 days past (the 3 day Memorial Day weekend) and no go? They offered to do a complementary vehicle check but any work I would have to pay for out of pocket, unless I wanted to extend the maintenance for another 3 years for only $1,995. I declined, and left.

Mini has the right to set the rules, but I thought 3 days was a bit absurd. I called Mini USA and explained the situation to the customer service rep. The rep was sympathetic but said that Mini is generally strict about the dates, he promised to check into it but couldn't make any promises regarding the outcome. He called me back the next day, and said that Mini had talked with the dealer and Mini would cover any needed service, and the dealer would call me to schedule the appointment. In the end, a happy outcome.

Lesson learned: Know when your 3 years is up and get your last appointment scheduled beforehand. If you don't know, call Mini USA or your dealer and ask. I should have known the exact date.

Advice for the dealer: 1) proactively tell customers that the date is coming up - email me, call me, they have all my contact information. They never fail to email me the customer satisfaction survey after an appointment, it would be really simple to set up their system to kick out an email 30 days before the expiration or even call the customer up to get the appointment scheduled. That would go a long way for customer loyalty to the dealer and the brand, and since the dealer gets paid for any work it's good for the dealer too. 2) Take the time to read what the customer enters for work required when the appointment is made.

To Mini: Thank you for being flexible. I know you have to draw the line somewhere. My suggestion: as a policy, allow up to 30 days after the exact anniversary, or up to 1000 miles past 36,000 for the last included service. It's not like that would increase the amount of service work, and it would make life a little easier for everyone.

 

Yeah, I found out about that one the hard way too. Luckily for me, it was only an oil change/minor service.