We have a Mini which has gone way beyone its service interval (35k. to be exact, we've been changing the oil and watching to fluid levels, but none of the other things dealers like to do). I decided it was high time we got things in order and called the local Mini dealership., They were curiously close mouthed about just what such a catch-up service would cost. They said the big things would be the brake and anti-freeze service, for $311, but that they could not estimate a price for the rest of the service as "Mini uses condition-based servicing, and we won't know what that that will require until we plug in the computer.

This seems odd. Regardless of how quirky the CBS might be surely they have billed enough services to have a pretty good idea what to expect. I'd like to have a rought idea of what and how much before we take it in.

Oh, I may just take it to the local mechanic and let him do it. Probably be a lot cheaper, but it seems like a good idea to take a car to the dealer every decade or so let them do all those weird dealer things and use a genuine Mini reader on it.

 

I'd think doing the cooling system and fluids would be a good thing to do. Check and replace filters if necessary. You could do some preventative maintenance now if you decide, but the condition based service (CBS) is the system MINI created to manage regular service intervals and maintenance items. Service intervals and maintenance items are no longer services solely based on mileage or time, but now a combination of items. CBS utilizes sensors, vehicle driving conditions, and time to determine the service intervals. Therefore, there are different factors that come into play for the MINI's driving conditions. However, use the MINI CBS items as a guide. As an example of this, I would not leave a spark plug in my personal vehicle for 100,000 miles. That is what BMW suggests. I prefer to replace them much sooner personally, as you may also. Performing preventive maintenance may help to prolong the life of your MINI. We go over the CBS and how you can take a look at things at home in the system in our tech article. It's on our site under MINI > tech info (tab at top) > R56 articles and then it's the second one from the top.

 

Only authorize the services quoted and then they will comeback with a laundry list of things which you can pass on if they are not reasonable. I've always done that, passed on $1300 of BMW repairs and had an independent shop do it for half. If you have a long commute to the dealer then you might to change strategy.