To make a long story short, my wife has a 2007 mini cooper S, we got it at long beach mini in september 2007, we done the scheduled maintenance at 14,500 miles and another at 28,000. the Last service was done a couple of weeks ago. We took it in early cause the check engine light went on. After picking it up at the dealer the check engine light went back on a couple of days later so we took it back. Now they wanna charge us $2450 dollars cause they say we waited to long to do oil changes and its not covered under the warranty. The service guy at the dealer said its every 15,000 miles or once a year. When we bought the car at the dealer no one mentioned the 1 year and even after we had our first service 15months after we bought the car no 1 told us about the 1 year. I looked through my manual and i cant find anywhere that it says 1 year. I called Mini usa and the first girl that answered the phone agreed with me but when she handed me over to a case worker she said she would look into it. Now 4 days later i get a call from the service guy and he said that mini usa called him and they said there was nothing they can do. So i want your opinion of what i should do. How many of you were told once a year and is there something thats written anywhere thats says 1 year. I plan to call mini USA and reading them the riot act.

 

I was told 15k or once a year, whichever comes first. Same for my first MINI.

Is it really not in the manual? I have not looked. If it's really not in the manual or any other paperwork you were given then I would kick and scream.

 

Thanks i will, if we were told once a year you bet we would have gone earlier

 

I was never told 15,000, I was told when the OBC tells me or the 1 year anniversary. It's really when the OBC (on board computer) tells you. It could be 10,000 it could 20,000, it all depends on how you drive the car, the computer calculates it.

 

thanks, but we took it in both times before the OBC told us

 

This is some serious bullshiite. Don't let the dealer (or MiniUSA) jack your stick like this. It's an outrage.

First of all - what exactly is the problem that is triggering the check engine light? They're quoting $2450, they should be able to tell you exactly what's wrong and what exactly that charge would cover. Whatever it is, there's a good chance that oil change frequency will have nothing to do with it. If that's the case, then they can NOT deny warranty service based on something unrelated.

The whole thing about the oil change interval being so absurdly long is a bad joke. We're talking a hot-running, turborchared motor, with a relatively small oil capacity (4.4 q). Those facts combine to make regular oil changes especially critical. Anything beyond 7500 miles is crazy, IMHO.

Good luck, let us know how this unfolds. But do NOT let them railroad you into paying for some expensive repair.

 

thanks kevin, they said something about having to replace the timing chain, and cuz both oil changes came 3 months late the warranty wont cover it.
that is a bunch of BS
so gonna call them up tomorrow and give them an earfull

 

I think you will find the once a year service is documented somewhere in the paper work you received. If in fact you have contacted the manufacturer, the decision making process is now beyond the dealer level. The next question becomes how long you can wait before you need the car repaired. The complaint process will take time to be resolved in most cases. If you need the car immediately, pay for the repair with a credit card and then immediately dispute the charge when you receive the bill.

California is loaded with consumer protection agencies. Contact all of them. A few would be the State Attorney General's Office, DMV, Better Business Bureau, radio and TV stations, newspapers, Customer Service with MINI, the owner and or General Manager of the dealership, and any other agency you can find on the Internet. The object is to flood them with inquiries they must deal with. Send letters to these folks documenting all facts of ownership including all previous service events. Ask for proof that being three months late on annual oil changes actually caused the failure present although you were following MINI's own on-board system that tells you when service is due.

You will prevail if you follow this program. It will take a few weeks for these agencies to start making contact with either the dealership or MINI but when they do it is very time consuming at a dealer level to handle the necessary paperwork. Ultimately MINI will decide to make a Goodwill Adjustment to handle the problem and you will get your money back. I have been on the receiving end of this process and believe me I could hardly wait to settle the situation.

 

Changing the oil 3 months late caused a timing chain? Foul!

 

thanks for the help Jallen4, im gonna try and talk to mini one more time, i already filed a complaint with the BBB and checking with the local tv stations and newspapers, I am thinking of getting it fixed and paying the $2450 but what do i tell the credit card company when i make a claim against the charge?

 

Eggzactly!

But - it is a lubricated part, so they might win the argument. Hopefully some arcane consumer protection law will help him prevail. Mini would be VERY wrong to deny coverage of this.

 

You tell the credit card company the charge amount was not the right amount and that the repair was supposed to be warranty assisted. Again, it is all about creating paper work and this will create more for the dealer. You are unlikely to actually prevail with the credit card company but it will put more pressure and attention on your case.

You should keep asking for proof that the oil changes, although not done exactly on a 12 month parameter but within the limitations of their warning system, actually caused the failure. That is impossible to prove and a hard position to support. They assume much liability when they install an arbitrary system that tells you when to service the vehicle rather than giving you exact mileage numbers.

The longer you keep attention focused on your problem, the more likely someone will decide it is easier to make an adjustment. If you simply pay and after having made a couple of inquiries disappear, the easier it is to bury the thought. Someone has to check the box that this situation is settled, eventually. You can also file a small claims court action that will be much more expensive for them to contest than simply paying. You will eventually prevail if you keep the pressure on.