I don't know what I have done to upset the gods, but I felt like I walked right into vicious left hook when I took my car to service at the dealership in Concord, CA.

I have a 2008 Mini Convertible that is in fine condition. It has done 80K miles (without any major issues), so it was due for Inspection II (major) service. The price quote was $900, which made me almost choke on my tongue when I heard that price. Is that really a fair price?

On top of that there were so many other repairs apparently urgently that it made me dizzy: fuel injection service ($240), coolant exchange ($240), trunk/hood switch replacement ($200) and Power steering return hose ($450). Those additional repairs came to $1130, bringing the total to $2K. They gave me a token discount of $100.

They also wanted to fix my radiator for $1100 and change 2 tires for another $650, but by the time they mentioned it, somehow I found the strength to whisper: "Stop! No more!"

Have I been ripped off? Is $900 for inspection II really fair? Are all those additional "urgent" repairs they threw in really necessary and priced fairly?

I feel like I’ve been duped and like a fool.

It would make me feel much better if someone could honestly tell me that I’m overreacting and that the dealership treated me fairly.


Any advice on how to negotiate a lower bill with the dealer if I'm being overcharged would be most appreciated.

Thanks for your comments.

 

This is your first post. You should have been browsing this site before going to the dealer. Yes, in my opinion you have been and are being ripped off, big time.

 

From what I've read, you said they've given you an estimate. With that said you haven't been ripped off yet.

From what it sounds like, there are normal maintenance items which a MINI service mechanic at the dealership (probably going by MINI guidelines or checklists) thinks would be best to keep your car running in tip top shape. Most of the items are completely optional, and many items will be preventative maintenance. By default, an estimate for an inspection will quote every single thing that can be done to keep the vehicle in perfect running condition, including things that look bad, not just things which have already expired. If you have any kind of mechanical skill, take a look at the items they say are in bad shape and make a judgement for yourself, or take the list to an independent shop.

Seems like you're asking "Could I get this done for less". Absolutely, dealerships are not the place to look for a great deal. In my opinion, dealerships are places to expect top notch, or perfect, inspections, service and a dealership which will be liable for their actions.

A good independent MINI shop can probably do comparable maintenance for much less, but you need to do research to find a shop that has competent mechanics. They are also less liable, as the only thing they really answer to is reputation.

Finally, MINI parts are amazingly expensive. I was talking to a buddy about maintenance on my vehicle in comparison to his Infinity, and most things we were naming off were 30-50% the price of MINI parts.

I'm kind of all over the place today, please excuse that.

 

Hey Avuton and JAB 67,

Thanks for the insight. Unfortunately, not an estimate. How I wish it was! Guess I should have consulted this board before I handed in the keys and let them "run me over". It's what I paid. I could have left the dealership, but having handed the keys over I kind of felt trapped and when I specifically asked the service rep I was told that all those repairs where needed now. I really didn't expect a dealership to take advantage of their customers. Lesson learned the wrong and hard way. Thanks again!

 

Unfortunately those items are common issues with a Mini. Your PS hose was probably leaking for a long time. Injection cleaning I always feel is a ripoff particularly if you use good gas. And there are good instructions on doing the coolant exchange her on NAM.

And the prices are typical of dealer prices for those repairs. Dealer prices are outrageous. The charge flat rate for jobs that routinely take much less time. But yes, it is my opinion that they took advantage of you.

You should find a good independent shop. And stay with the boards to get an idea what is important to do now and what can wait. All of those things, BTW, could have waited.

So, what did they do for the original $900?

Rich

 

Well after 3 Coopers I only use the dealer while under factory warranty, Nothing wrong with their service its just that they have BMW mentality. Maybe BMW owners bend over and spread their cheeks but I work to hard for my money, When I had the wife's R 56 in for timing chain noise they said it was due for front brakes, Only $1200.00 and when I just laughed he said well that includes rotors. Just find a good local service person and move on. They remind me of the local garage owner that told me once, screw them (customers) and if they are dumb enough to come back screw them again.

 

And when you hand over the $2k it will be this.

 

Everybody, including me, suggests an independent shop but the name of one never shows up. Here's a website with a huge database of everything MINI including a directory of independent shops. Hope you can find a good one near you.
http://soopercooperinfo.com/

 

It's been about 3 years since I last had a MINI in to MINI of Concord for service (I've since moved out of the area and replaced the MINI I had at the time)...

My experience with them is that they were skilled and reliable techs. I never had a complaint about their work.. However, I found their prices to be ridiculous for non-warranty work, even for a MINI dealership I thought they were high...

 

I have garage that uses oem parts so part warranty is in place. His labor rates are substantially less though. I feel that I have best of both worlds.

 

I ended up with a three-way approach for post-warranty work. First, I do everything I can handle by myself (and sometimes things I can't handle). Then, I've found a very local mechanic who's quite good and affordable. And he's not afraid to tell me he can't do the job because BMW requires particular skills or tools he doesn't have. Then I have a MINI specialist within 30 miles who really knows their stuff (Swedish Motors in Marietta, PA.) They've got the tools and experience, and can handle those specialized jobs my down-the-street guy can't.

 

I understand what you're going through. I was spoiled for the first three years of ownership by my MINI dealer in Arlington, TX. My SAs were amazing and never asked me to do anything that wasn't either covered by the warranty or the service period. They also gave me the cheapest price on a brand new set of tires when I picked up two nails that destroyed both of my rear tires. Contrast that with my experience today at one of the Boston area dealerships: they called me this morning and tried to sell me on 5-6 items totaling somewhere in the neighborhood of $700-1,000. One of the items they said I absolutely needed to do was rotate my tires and replace my brake pads. My tires were rotated a week ago by my uncle and he checked the brake pads while he rotated them and they're fine. I've got approximately 5k miles left on them before they need to be repaired. He used to race BMWs so I trust my uncle's opinion far more than the SA at the dealership. I'm so glad that I talked to my dad and uncle before I went in and that I researched on this site beforehand. The icing on the cake for me today was when the SA called me and told me that they were charging me for work that was supposed to be done under the warranty. I pointed out that my car was still under warranty and they immediately backed off.

If you were in DFW I would tell you to go to Sewell or Moritz because both dealerships are great. Unfortunately, they seem to be the exception rather than the norm with MINI dealerships. You should definitely talk to your local MINI group. They'll be the ones who will guide you in the right direction and can tell you what is normal given the area you live in and the weather your MINI is exposed to. Good luck!

 

There is a fantastic European shop in Vacaville called Star Tech which has some great reviews and we have sent a Mini there when I didn't have time to handle the issue and they were more fair and honest where they could have taken advantage of my wife and said it was a knock sensor glitch and if it continues we can assist yet seems to be fine, drove it a few times and no warning lights.
Had reduced power engine fault on the wife's car. So I told her to drop it here and get a rental for the day.
The shop charged a half hr rate for the time spent which was great since they could have done much more and didn't. Reviews of this shop are above good, and the family who owns the shop really care about their image. If something I can't handle comes up or my time is gone, I'd send them my cars.

 

One thing I learnt to ask and this is prior to owning a Mini, is "Is this part of the xyz distance mileage service?" the answer is usually "no but we recommend you do this if you love your car as it will prolong the life etc...". Then you either say not interested or say you can't afford it right now but please itemise it for me so I can come back and do it when I can afford it. note that it's not whether you can afford it or not but an excuse so you can get a second opinion and they won't hassle about it.

Dealers love to upsell on service and I always got asked for injector cleaner, fuel line Cleaner etc and I know damn well they will be putting a $10 bottle of additive but charging me a lot more for it

 

Sounds like you know little about what goes on behind the scene of a dealerships service department. I guess the tools & knowledge to do the service correctly as well as time to set up, time performing the service and then properly cleaning up after performing the service can be summarized by a $10 bottle of additive.

 

I'm a bit confused where you're coming from here, the point I'm trying to make is that these cleaners are not part of the service but an add-on to generate revenue as I seriously doubt that the injectors are removed from the car at service time and manually inspected and then the customer is called up and told "we recommend your injectors are cleaned", $240 would be a good price if the injectors were cleaned properly and not via a fuel additive but we both know that's not what happened here.

And I'm not disputing the actual cost of the base service (well at least not without seeing a detailed invoice)

 

Thats what diagnostics is for, saves you time (sometimes) from having to remove and object to inspect it physically to tell the customer it needs service, especially when said object is electronic and gives feedback to computers like say the DME.

Now for your defined process of "proper" way of cleaning an injector, the cost of doing it in the method you state, removal (labor of removal, rebuilding, installing), cleaned "ultrasonic", new o-ring seals, pintle & filter the cost would drive the service up so high that no one would want to even contemplate the service. On top of that the cost of a proper injector service cleaning machine will run a shop upwards to $3k + maintenance. In the end its effective results for an effective cost. It simply isn't effective cost wise to either the consumer or shop even with the moderate increase in results (which is debatable for the average vehicle owner).

 

Dealers just want to sell parts at outrageous cost so they can charge astronomical labor rates to install! Once the warranty is over you have to find an Indy.

 

It's not quite that simple...

While yes dealer service is more expensive, but it's business not an attempt to overcharge you (in most cases). Dealer overhead is MUCH higher than that at an independent shop. There are certain things that dealers must do an purchase that indie shops don't. They have to do it just to be a MINI dealer and those costs have to be be covered. 90% of the time the increased cost of going to the dealer isn't the dealer trying to scam you - it's the dealer trying to survive.

Unless you have a Detroit Tuned, Way Motor Works or similar specialty shop you're also paying for the MINI specific knowledge and experience that a dealership can offer that you can't get from an independent shop. It's the difference between a mechanic who works on MINIs all day every day and a mechanic who might see a MINI once a month.

And I've had independent shops try and slap on silly and questionable service add-ons too...

That being said, when it comes to 90% of the maintenance and repair work that may need to be done when my MINI comes off the warranty and service contracts - I'll be headed to an independent shop. Although it will be one that has some experience dealing with MINIs - I think the last independent shop I dealt with for work on my GTi apparently didn't see a lot of VWs and may have damaged a wheel bearing while they were working in that part of the car... I don't have that car anymore

 

My beef may be with a single dealer but they are the largest in Houston. Although the parts are so expensive and the labor rates were more so, I expected that from the dealer. However when you are doing several jobs at the same time like the timing chain job, replacing the oil feed line to the turbo and replacing the oil filter housing, charging for each job as an individual job as per the "book" is ridiculous! I feel certain there were a number of labor hours overlapping. That dealer had my business due to good workmanship and timely repairs. I have lost trust now. They even tried to charge separately for an oil change at which point I said it should be included in the timing chain replacement work. They deducted $99.00. Yippy Dippy!