When I bought the MINI, the salesperson said "everything but Tires" were covered. I just brought it in for the first maintenance go-round (@20k miles) and they said I needed a Tire Rotation ($60) and Alignment ($90). All they did was an oil change and a wash. They even left my crusty wiper blades on. What a disgrace!

Why aren't these things covered? This sounds like the ol' Bait and Switch to me.

Needless to say, I took the car to my local service station and he did both for $90 total.

Oh yeah - and when I asked for a loaner, I was told it's a 3 week wait for a loaner. WTF!?!

Way to go Main Line Mini !!

 

You have to get the details, which are available here. Tire rotations aren't included, nor are alignments. I don't know why but them's the facts. Alignment isn't needed at 20k (just look at your tires). They just try and sell you that. Wiper blades are covered, you just have to show they need replacing. Loaners vary by dealer, maybe ask for one in advance. My car was serviced in less than an hour in Scottsdale (but they used 5 qts of oil instead of 4.5).

 

Thank you for the heads up. I got my MINI from Main Line too (Jan 30).

Supposedly when a car gets an oil change, typically they do tire rotations and the works as well.

But if this is how the maintenance service is, I'll need to check Otto's and Princeton to see if they're the same.

3 weeks for a loaner is not necessarily true. You would simply have to pre-book a service date on the website and one of the maintenance tech leads will call you to confirm the scheduled appointment(s) and check their loaner calendar to see if they can set something earlier with you.

I brought the car back in sometime March to get a squeak in the hatch alignment fixed. The day I scheduled service on the web form, they scheduled me with a loaner the following Wednesday... so about 8-9 days I called ahead I believe. So I believe this depends on how backed up they are with other customers' requests.

 

Tire rotation is recommended (and not mandatory) and I believe the first alignment within 8k miles is free (although someone can correct me). Also was that your first tire rotation? Most people and dealerships recommend a rotation every 3-5k miles. Also a loaner is more of a courtesy imo but you can always arrange to have a rental and have them pay for it?

I paid for my rotation but that was more like 30 odd $. I need to get at the alignment looked at at some point. Did you ask your MA/SA about what you posted here? Anyone who would care about customer service wouldn't turn you away just to make a few $...

 

I dont know how they do things in AZ but in Indiana, I havent run into those problems...and especially with a loaner...hell I came in one day and told them i needed my invisishield fixed bc it had air bubbles and they pulled a key out of a drawer and said "here yah go, we'll call when ready" now I know of many people who will go to different states because they like the service but accross the country is a different matter My only hope is that MINI see's these forums and corrects things accordingly

 

For all the bad service I've received, I did get his wiper blades replaced the last time Lewis was at the dealer. My MA even mentioned that specifically when I bought him. That's part of the maintenance every 6 months if you ask for them. You may have to actually ask for them, though.

 

My SA told me about the same thing, alignment within the first 8k miles, tire rotation every 7500 miles. Tire rotation is not covered since it deals with tire maintenance, and the alignment is not a maintenance item, it's an adjustment... provided the alingment was fine when you received the car, MINI's take on it is that if it goes out of adjustment it's due to driving and/or road conditions (like potholes). That's why it's not covered.

 

Alignment and tire rotation are not covered basically because MINI does not want to cover them. The free scheduled maintenance is a limited service, and the covered items are all outlined in the maintenance and warranty book. At least MINI has a free scheduled maintenance program, almost every other car manufacturer does not.

 

I've always found dealerships to be, um, shall we say a roll of the dice. Sometimes they're ok, sometimes great, and sometimes awful.

This is not bait and switch. Tires aren't covered because they are the biggest wear item on a car. If they were covered, the dealerships would be turned into tire changing centers for everyone that has a puncture or worn out tires. It would also cost them too much time and money.

Probably the smartest thing you could have done. If you know a local mechanic that you trust, that's the best thing for your car and wallet short of doing the work yourself.

Dealerships vary immensely on loaners. Not to mention the fact that you shouldn't need one while they change the oil and do maintainence, it should take no more that an hour at most.

My personal experience with Mini dealerships tied to a BMW dealership is that they look down on Mini owners because we didn't spend over $40K for a car. My brother has a 2003 Cooper and his dealership consistently treated him as a nuisance, not a customer that spent over $20K on a car. When a stand alone Mini dealership opened near him, he started to take the car there and the difference in attitude and service was night and day. Always remember, these are car dealerships that are out to make as much money as possible on every person that comes onto their lot.

 

If they don't do the tire rotations and alignments free of charge, but only do the oil change... and my MA told me they only do wiper blades once every two years... what exactly is the point of taking your car to the dealer for the scheduled warranty service?

What do they do that I can't get done locally for less money? It will cost me more in gas to drive six hours to my dealer than it will cost to get an oil change done locally and I already have a great mechanic that has kept my previous car running great for 8 years that has experience working on MINIs.

 

Take your car to discount tire for a free rotation.

 

What sold me originally on the MCS was the longer 4/50K factory warranty and free 3/36K maintenance plan.

What I found out after the fact was the OBC was what dictated the service intervals which was on the long side of 15,000 miles or 1 year for the first oil change/maintenance schedule.Then like others have posted no tire rotation or alignment included.So in essence you get 3 free oil changes and inspections.But you also get free wiper blades,brake pads and rotors if found worn without abuse and also a clutch replacement<--which are wearable items.

Honestly I do feel they mislead you a bit by saying "free maintenance included."

Anyway I ended up having to shell out $$ for a tire balance,rotation and alignment policy at a national tire center since MINI doesn't cover those.

 

I ordered my car at Otto's Mini and asked about tire rotation. They said it was not covered, but would do it for 60 dollars or balance and rotate for 90 dollars. For that price I will do it myself. He did say free lowner though.

 

Fran, your dealer sucks.
Mine will cough up a BMW if necesary.

 

Thanks for confirming this! I haven't had the time to call them up yet. Bummer.. there goes that option...


Is there a post that explains what's covered and what's not covered between factory warranty, things that should be covered but not covered, and the pro's and con's between warranty and voided warranty mods?

If not, we should, and have it stickied just so newcomers and recently purchased members can edumacate themselves with what to anticipate rather than be thrown a curve ball when the time comes to have something looked at and repaired.

 

Perhaps tire rotation isn't included because it relates specifically to the tires and alignment isn't included because, theoretically, a misalignment means you hit something, so it's more of a repair. Just a guess. BUT, my dealer -- which i have not been thrilled with in the past, but seems to have made great improvements recently --- has a policy which you could consider either good or bad. I like it: My car has passed it's one year mark, but only has a little over 8,000 miles on it. So, my service gets divided into 2 free services: At the one year mark, they change the oil, filter and wiper blades (and anything else, if it needs it). At 15,000 miles, they again change the oil/filter/wiper blades and perform a full 15k service. In effect, I get two first time services. I like that.

 

Not that a post wouldn't help clarify things, but the service and warranty booklet already explains what is covered by maintenance and what is covered by warranty. It should be mandatory reading material for those who have recently purchased their MINI, anyway. (I know that that doesn't help prospective buyers.)

I would go ahead and start the post if I were you -- suggestions like "we should do 'x'" don't usually get very far off the ground because while you might get agreement or support, no one actually does it.

 

Yeah - I hear what everyone is saying about dealers having to make money and such. But we all paid MSRP (or darn close) for our MINIs and I wanted to buy from an auto maker that did things differently. (Jeez - sound like a Saturn commercial). This is my 4th car purchase and I was tired of the "typical dealer tricks."

After a year and 20k miles, I shouldn't have to say "Change the wipers, check all fluids" - this stuff should be on a checklist for everytime the car comes in.

I also take issue with the "alignment" argument. I don't care what anyone says, wheel alignment is a an ever-changing variable in a car. It's not factory set and good for life! You go over a speed bump and your alignment goes out a little bit each time. And wheel alignments aren't just for even tire wear. If you have a really bad alignment, your engine works harder to overcome the resistance and your mileage suffers.

Just venting.

 

$60 to rotate tires? Are they serious? That literally takes 5 minutes. Merchant's will do it for free when I go in (long time customer) or $20 for anyone else.

 

Or go to Discount Tire and they will do a free tire rotation.

It seems this is unknown around here and among most people.

 

Screw the dealer: for for not much more than $60 buy a floor jack and a torque wrench and DIY tire rotations every 5000 miles.

 

Never heard that you should have an alignment at 8K. Can't imagine why some arbitrary alignment would be needed at a set point. Sounds like they are blowing smoke trying to get you to purchase something you don't need. Kinda like when I took my MINI in for it's first "free" oil change & Global Imports thought I was an idiot female. They told me my wheels needed to be rotated immediately & they could do it for $150 I thanked them for trying to scam me & passed. I let Goodyear do my rotation for $15 when I got home

 

My dealer rotated my tires for $15 one day when I dropped in for a warranty issue at 5K miles. No biggie.

 

Rotating tires yourself isn't a big deal...plus it's the only time I get a chance to really wash off the insides of the rims.

 

That's interesting (this whole thread is interesting)...here's my story (and I picked your post, LynnEl to compare mine to): In June I called my local dealer (CROWN MINI of Richmond, VA) to see about getting my MINI in for the 36k mile check up that is recommended in the maintenance manual. They said they couldn't do it, because at the time I only had 32K miles on the MINI. So in July, I called Checkered Flag Mini (in Va Beach becauese that's where I work) to get it in, because by then I had 34,500 miles (Crown told me I had to be within 1500 miles). They were able to get me in TODAY with a loaner (because I live out of town). So, in goes the MINI...but by this time, I'm up to almost 38k miles. Sooooo, the SA tells me that NOTHING is going to be covered under the service warranty because I am over 36k miles. And for that reason, for the "service 1" service and an oil change I am going to have to shell out more than $300!!! THen he says that if I want a front end alignment (I had mentioned it) it was going to be something like $150!!!! I was like BS on that...no freaking way. And then he tries to sell me on the "extended service" warranty for something like $1395! By this time I was totally ticked....I tried to have the service done, told I couldn't; then when I "met the criteria" I had to wait three weeks to get the car and (and added a couple thousand miles to my car!) And when it's all over he calls me to tell me I have a nail in my right front tire (I know that) and tries to sell me TWO (yes, just two) tires for $900 ON SALE!! what a joke!!!!
So for my big maintenance free warranty I got: ONE oil change; and ONE set of winshield wipers.

First thing I did when I got home was go to MINI.com and get to the "contact page..." wrote them a short version of the above story ; left them my email address and phone number. I'm going to call MINI USA tomorrow to ***** about it as well.