I was downtown by my Mini dealer and decided to stop by and ask if the tire rotations were covered under the "36,000 mile/36 month free maintenance" coverage. I was told no but they would be happy to rotate my tires for $132! That's crazy, I can get it done at Sears for $20 and better yet I'll just do it myself..........

 

I think it's free at America's Tire Center/Discount tire, give them a call. I know for sure it's free if you buy your tires there.

 

Yeah, Sears does them for free too if you buy your tires from there.

 

$132

 

tell them to get ****ed

 

your example is just another reason that my current mini might be my last. the bmw disdain for their customers filters down to minis. ie. cold start, etc.
i really enjoy driving my mini, but under the current circumstances( bmw's handling of waranty issues), my next car will not be any car built by bmw.

 

Come on, guys.

Obviously, this particular shop is intentionally discouraging this type of work. It's a business decision. And, it's not like you can't get it done somewhere else. I'd just make sure to bring my torque wrench.

Or, invest in a floor jack and four stands. Not very expensive for a lifetime of cheap and easy rotations.

 

I might think the same thing, but in my case, I didn't ask...the SA suggested it. I asked "how much" and he quoted $115! I wonder how many people he's asked who did NOT ask "how much" and got the shock of their lives when they picked up the car!

 

Definitely makes me think twice about keeping my Mini after the warranty expires.

 

When I brought my Mini in for its first service this month, my SA said that tire rotation on my Mini was not recommended. Go figure.

 

lol thats nothing compared to the 300$ 4 wheel alignment i was quoted

 

I'm willing to give the recommending SA the benefit of the doubt. I choose not to think he/she is a crook, but rather is either a fool or simply clueless.

What we haven't considered is that the $132 may have contained something more than twenty lug nuts and extended to--oh, perhaps a visual inspection of hose lines, wheel wells, studs...

 

The first time, I had my MINI in for a warranty issue and they rotated the tires for $20. Ever since, I stop by Discount Tire every 5K miles and they do it for free, regardless of where you bought the tires. They know about customer relations and loyalty. Guess where I'll buy my replacement tires.

 

what the MINI dealers dont tell U is that if U live in a state with Discount Tire U can motor in with yr new car in the first 200 miles or so and purchase full road hazard and replacement warranties, mine were about $21/tire.

 

Same for me, which puzzled me ... but the RFs are gone and I'm running Bridgestones now; free rotations at any Firestone store.

 

And doesn't a gallon of milk go for something like $5 in Hawaii too? Last time I was there gas was almost a buck a gallon more than it was in PA. It's not a cheap place to live.

It comes with the territory.

 

Wow, I hope this isn't typical of Mini dealers. I'm waiting on a Clubman S right now and all I read about is problems with these cars.

I've always owned cheap American cars and hardly ever had any of the problems I hear about on this forum. You'd think if you pay a premium price for a compact car at least you'd have reliability and good service from the dealers.

Rant over.

 

Please NAME that dealership and the person who said that. PLEASE. Those people deserve a boycott. Listen, Discount Tire will do it for FREE and they will torque to proper spec and check your tire pressures. Just give the details when you show up. They do ours on all our cars and it takes MINUTES most of the time. I did my first rotation myself but when I found out about this service, I've used it ever since. Also, when you need them, they'll make you a fair deal on new tires.

 

I feel your pain, Mini of Hawaii tried to do the same to me too when I brought my car in for its scheduled maintenance, they also tried to sell me fuel injector cleaning and air box cleaning because the car would run rough when it was cold, had to convince them that car is under warranty and should not run rough when cold and I should not be charged for the fix. I guess they try to make back the money they are not bring in by having "free maintenance" by charging outrageous prices for items that are not covered by the program. The worst part of this I bought two cars from them last year and the service department still tried to rip me off, I love the car but with only one choice for warranty maintenance on the island I do not think I will be buying another Mini in Hawaii again.
You might want to check out Island Brake & Alignment in Aiea. I use them for alignments, suspension work, and tires, they do excellent work at a fair price, and they will rotate your tires for free.

 

just had mine rotated at Local Mini (Flow Mini) for $40 and even better yet I went in for a oil change at 7500 miles and got that for free!!! They said since i brought it in the same month i had bought it a year earlier it was free. Weird??? sorry for being a little off topic

J

 

My dealer has a high price for tire rotation also. For some reason they insist that it is that high for the reason that they must also balance the tires. I would be sure that all these tire rotations in the 100 dollar area are with a 4 wheel balance. I can not understand why they would think they have to be balanced too. Unless you had a balance problem before there should be no balance problem just from moveing them to a different area of the car.

 

Oil changes are covered under the 3yr/36K free maintenance, following the service indicator. However it also covers an annual oil change if the service counter hasn't run down after a year.

 

Some dealers send all tire related work to a tire shop, and then charge for handling it. There are a lot of things best not to go to a dealer for. For example, mine charges something like $150/hr to install mud flaps. Easy job to do oneself.

I like to rotate my own tires because I know they are torqued properly, and I'm more careful to not scratch the wheels with the lug wrench. One tire shop really scratched up the hubs on one set of wheels. Last time I buy tires from them.

 

I now own a torque wrench. Next my own jack and stands.

 

If you look in your owner's manual you will see that tire rotation is not recommended.