This is what Morristown Mini quoted me. I just called Honda Universe and they said $320...

what the hell?? My extended warranty just finished and its time for the next tune up... would I be better off passing the work at my local european garage, though they have little experience with MINIs?

 

$800 bucks? Did they say for what? There is not much to a "tune up" as only the plugs wear and those are easy to replace yourself and you'll have lots of cash left over after you bought the plugs and a torque wrench to install them.

At 50,000 I changed the plugs and wires and did an oil change. Took less than two hours and cost less than $100 for the parts.

Again, did they say want is included for $800? Coolant flush? Brake job? Brake fluid change? What could they be thinking?

Rich

 

I used to work at Princeton and at the 50K they go over everything to be sure it's all okay so it's beyond the normal fluids and flush that were on the other maintenance checkup. It's a BIG checkup. They review everything. If you want a second opinion, call Isaac at Princeton and see what they say. Number is 609-452-9400 and Isaac is on extension 156. Word of warning, he gets swamped with calls but he will return your call so be patient.

Debbie

 

Thats insane! I would def go to your local euro garage. And as far as i recall, the only thing that had to be replaced at 50k was the serp belt which i did recently along with the Dinan package, so i would def ask what it is they are doing and how many man hours for $800.

 

This bothers me a lot that checking things costs $800. If you've never had brakes they are surely beneath the limit. You pay now since it is out of warranty. But all the MINIs I've seen have brakes that qualify for replacement under the 36,000 mile maintenance warranty if they are checked at that point. I had them checked and of three my friends also had them checked at 35,500 and all qualified for replacement under warranty. And none of these MINIs were ever tracked or pushed hard. If the brakes were replaced then you wouldn't need to pay for them now. And it's worse if you extended the maintenance as all those things should have been checked for free at 49,500.

What else can they check that you wouldn't have known about or heard squeeking in normal driving? Filters? Morristowns eBay prices are half what they will charge you if you buy them at the parts counter or have them install them. If you don't know how to replace the cabin filter or air cleaner go to a MINI event and almost anyone there will help. It's a 2 minute job.

So again. What could possibly be worth $800 to you. For them it's a deal. Not only do they find things that they should have found before, but now you have to pay for them.

Just my thoughts and experience.

Rich

 

All this is why I bought the extended maintenance warranty for $500. Then the 50K checkup is covered.

 

I don't know what they're quoting you for but I was quoted in the $600 range for a 60K service that included new plugs and s/c belt among other things from Mo-town MINI. Do you remeber who quoted you this and what it covered? This was like 2-3 months ago, so god knows if they dreamed up a new service package to hit you for (sorry I'm skeptical service writers in my old job I had to deal with these guys every day and they used to tell me all the crap they pulled over on people and sold them), but if they cover everything that they do on what I was quoted and a couple of other things it doesn't seem like a terribly high price

 

It will be the regular maintence (oil, oil filter, fluids..xyz) plus the 'safety check', as Miniac1 said, going over the car. The brakes were done about 10k miles ago. I called Honda again and they said the 320 was just for the regular maintence.

I did purchase the extended warranty, but I didnt know they would have done a checkup before the 50k mark... )*#$

My main reason for going besides getting the the tuneup is that Im experiencing a problem with the cars steering/upper strut mounts. I had the upper bushings tear on both struts, one of which was covered under the warrenty the other not about a thousand miles ago. Just now when I was making a full turn with the steeling wheel turned all the way the entire front suspension 'buckled' a few times. Only when its turned to the maximum does it happen.

Hey rpbot, this was Mike at the service desk, Ive been bringing him my car under warrenty for the past 2 years and everything was OK. Thank you all for the input, I was going to drop off the car tonight but couldnt find a ride back, but now with reading all of this Im going to shop around more.

BTW, is there a checklist available online of things that need to be replaced/monitered??

 

even if the cost of ALL the fluids is say $100 ....Care to justify why a customer is getting charged for 7 hours of "checking"? At the average labor rate of $100/hr there is no amount of checking that can justify a $700 labor charge....I am willing to lay money that a tech doesn't spend close to 2 hours let alone 7 "checking" out everything.

 

This is exactly what I am taking about. Two identical cars, one pays 5K over MSRP and the other dosn't. One is quoted a few hundred for service that covers everything and one gets an $800 oil change. Its like being prey for these guys and its the survival of the fitest.

 

Welcome to the jungle boys and girls ;-) Lol..... Well over a year ago I went to the only dealership in this state and was quoted $833 for a regular 15,000 (no warranty) and boy did they "find alot of things wrong with my MC." :-( I have that tick in my steering wheel colum and they wanted a full $830 for a new one since they can't replace a few bearings in the colum.
Just my experience....I didn't have the colum replaced and my June of 02' is still doing just fine.
If you can, find a small that can flush the brake fluid, radiator, ect for ALOT less! After that, buy a code reader that will reset the Service and Oil Lights and your good to go.
Good Luck & Motor On!

 

Guys:
Lets be fair here, service at ANY dealer is always going to be expensive. The fact that we all own Mini's will be just as exploited as if we owned BMW's. (which we kind of do) I would speak to Earvin over at Mo Town Mini before we started ragging the place or the prices of service after the basic 3/36 warranty is up. (by all accounts here, he is the service manager (?) there and is supposed to be very fair, concise and well regarded.) If you don't like the answers as to why $800 is called for, (which does sound kind of high) then you need to find a reputable place that is not going to bleed you. Case in point, I own a BMW motorcycle, I used to ride almost 2 hours away to have the former service manager of Westchester BMW Motorcycles work on my bike. (He had opened his own place when he decided to leave BMW.) He was also well regarded and allowed all to stay with him in the bays to see him and his side kick work on your bike. You couldn't ask for a more honest, ethical and informed guy to work on your BMW. Unfortunately illness caused him to close up shop after 3 or 4 years and it has been a bummer to try and find someone like him to replace him.

 

He's isn't an SA, he's the shop foreman at Mo'town. He's often in the service area checking in cars in the mornings I've been in but the SA's are technically Fred and Mike.

 

I stand corrected. But you know what? I would STILL talk to him because while he isn't an SA, he is a dude who MIGHT work on your car or least know why it might be costing almost $800 for a service. After speaking to him, if you don't like what you hear, then it's time to find an indy shop who has expereince with our cars.

 

I talk to him every chance I get there because, like all the techs at Mo'town, he really knows his MINI's and is willing to educate. Talking to him inconjunction with Mike or Fred about the service fee is an excellent idea.