I went a bit offtopic for this thread, so I began my own. I'll try to keep it up to date, hopefully I can help a few folks prevent this thing from happening in the future.

 

That may be the best post I've ever read on this forum!...thanks for taking the time.

 

To the credit of Mini of Concord, they had my wife sign off on an estimate first, which was pretty accurate. Problem is my wife doesn't know when she's beeing bamboozled by the dealership.

Spoke to assistant manager a few minutes ago. He is refunding $579. Also said there must be some "glitch" in their system which is causing them to charge service customers 2x the amount they list their parts for on their website.

 

Good to hear. It pays to speak up.

Not sure that I buy their excuse though. Somebody there had to know. What was their excuse for the labor charge on the cabin filter? Makes me wonder if they have a separate price schedule they use when they see a customer that they think they can pull one over on.

 

He mentioned they had to charge the same labor to customers as to they do to the factory for warranty repairs. Made me wonder if the factory was routinely getting taken advantage of by dealers who bill them for exhorbitant labor charges

 

He's only telling you half the story. The per hour labor rate BMW pays it's dealers for warranty work is far less than what a paying customer gets charged per hour.

It is true that most dealers charge customers and pay their technicians PER JOB, not PER HOUR. For example, a dealer might charge 1.5 hours labor for a water pump replacement. In this example the technician gets paid for 1.5 hours no matter how long the job actually takes him, but an experienced technician can likely finish the job in less than 1.5 hours.

So guess what the result is? Many technicians rush jobs to try to make more money, and the result is shoddy work. But I should also point out in many garages and dealerships if the customer returns because the job was not done correctly, the technician does not get paid to fix what he did incorrectly the first time.

How many hours of labor did they charge you for the cabin filter replacement?

 

Great news! Of course that "glitch" excuse is a line of BS so they could make it right with you without actually admitting they're a bunch of crooks. I'm glad to hear you got a healthy refund though, congratulations. I'd still never go there again

 

The rate at Cincinnati Mini is 171.00 per hour. It would seem that the dealers are only interested in doing warranty work and after the warranty is up people will be forced to go to an independent mechanic.

 

Wow...last unchecked mini of manhattan wasn't even close to that (something like 115). 171 is outrageous.

 

Don't feel to bad I bought BOO November 1st and took her to Mini of Omaha, and they said at 70K she needed an inspection II and other things....The bill came to $1716.01 and that was AFTER my EXTENDED Warranty covered almost a $1000 of it....So much for getting a second mini?...Now I wished I hadn't bought her, should just sell her, as she is in top shape now...:-)

 

good to hear. my fiance recently bought her countryman there and i bought my clubman in marin. looks like i know which dealership to take both cars to.

 

If it's for warranty work, it really doesn't matter as you are not paying, but then again, I would question if it would be foolish to trust this dealer for anything whatsoever.

For example, could you ever trust that they are actually performing the work they claim they are, rather than skipping the work and just charging BMW for it?

A more specific example would be an oil change...it would be easy to tell if they actually changed your oil by simply looking at how clean the oil is on your dipstick, but you will never know if they skipped changing your oil filter. If they skipped changing the filter on the next 100 cars in for an oil change, they could be pocketing a handsome sum for both parts and labor.

I would contend that what happened to budoboy is a huge red flag that this dealer has no morals at all, and I would not let them touch my car unless it was a complete emergency.

 

This!

 

One must be careful not too use to broad a brush when tarring BMW/Mini service. My experience at Mini of Peabody has been top notch for almost ten years. Not cheap, but fair - and certainly not tainted by extraordinary labor rates or unusual charges.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Even if you have a totally honest and competent dealer, you can virtually always find a perfectly qualified independent garage that can save you a substantial amount of money for most out of warranty work. There are occasions when only a dealer will have the special tools and equipment needed, but for for all typical non-warranty repairs (normal maintainence, brakes, alignment, clutch, etc.) you are unquestionably throwing away money by going to a dealer.

 

MINI of San Diego has always been fair to me, and to other MINI owners who have gone there, but almost all of my work so far has been warranty work. They do oil changes for about $70 if you have the internet coupon, and did a fantastic job on a small door ding and charged a very competitive price for it. So it is true that you need to be careful about putting all dealerships under one umbrella... on the other hand, the other dealership close to me charged a fellow club member... with a 2010 Justa... something like $250 for 'injector cleaning' which is simply not needed for her engine. NOT carbon cleaning, mind you, but cleaning the fuel injectors from the inside... and when she mentioned it, she found out that it was unnecessary. Which is sad, because she had said previously that the dealership she dealt with was an honest and good one. Everyone who knew better just shook their heads.... now she knows.

 

+1

MoP has a top notch technical staff and I would trust them implicitly. Gary King's knowledge is absolutely astonishing and he leads his team of technicians with aplomb!

I can also vouch for Brandon Small at New Country MINI (Hartford, CT) and the technicians there. Outstanding customer service!

I guess we're lucky we live in a region with some pretty terrific dealers.

No affiliation, just a very satisfied customer of both.

 

Glad this thread came up as a warning to new owners (me). One question. Would the extended maintenance program have covered these things? What's the general vibe on these things? I take delivery soon and need to decide. I am considering the 6yr/ 100k maintenance but prolly foregoing the extended warranty. Theory being- I keep my cars a very long time. I do the maintenance always but not myself. seems those items Will be needed where as a warranty only covers it if it breaks. I am having faith that the thing will be reliable. gamble I know.

 

wow!!!!!!!!!

 

In my opinion it's the extended bumper to bumper warranty that is most important. That is where the greater cost lies.

 

In Concord and the rest of California a written estimate is a legal and binding requirement. They can do no work nor charge you anything else except sales tax on what you approve beforehand. It is considered ethical to charge the maximum amount a customer is willing to pay.

 

I have been using such a shop for 30 years now and have been extremely comfortable in their honesty and extremely high quality work. And they do a ton of out of warranty mini work.

Now my local mini dealership does great work. Communications with the customer could use some improvement. And of course they charge mini prices. Something as simple as inspection stickers cost 40% higher than surrounding shops. Not sure how they Justify THAT?!?!?!??

But once the warranty is out, my guy gets it.

Now will I buy another mini? Would like to but, we'll see how this car goes first. I will base a lot on what happens ..including costs.... Buying the car is only part of the cost of the Life of the car!

 

I've been reading along the thread and I have a Question! What is likely to come up that would not be covered by the standard w/maint. 4yr/50k or the 6yr/100k extended w/maint. warranties. Other than the obvious tires and inspection sticker.

I feel I got lucky, when I bought (Stanley cooper) 2011 Light White Countryman S back in November he came with a 6yr/100k w/maint. warranty which I assumed (bad idea I know) would cover anything that came along. Now I'm not so sure? I'm trying to plan ahead if need be!

 

The only thing I know of are the injectors which are about $300.

 

Thx Pepe.....that's not to bad!