I need your opinions. My 09 r55 S was affected by the timing chain recall. I took it to Brian Harris MINI in Baton Rouge Louisiana and opted to have a carbon cleaning at 70K. I do my own oil changes every 6K and it was time. I requested they charge me for an oil change if some or none of my timing assembly was replaced because I wanted to insure the oil was fresh after the repair incase they did not drop the oil pan.

Well... my receipt says they dropped the oil pan and they DID charge me for the oil change. I asked for an explanation but did not push the issue or cause a stink. He told me that MINI would not pay for the oil change in the even the pan is dropped due to broken pieces and they would have called to ask me if I wanted to opt for an oil change. Had I declined they would have put the recovered old oil back in the car and topped it off.

I'm considering writing a letter to the dealership because although I did not want to cause a stink and paid my bill, I find it UNBELIEVABLE that they would do a $5000+ warranty job and put oil back into the car that had broken timing chain assembly pieces in it. I know they would have fished out the big pieces, but putting oil known to have broken bits in it back into the car is IMHO total bull.

What do you guys think? My plan is if you think I'm being nit-picky to forget about it. If you think I'm right I'll contact the dealership and ask them to clarify. If they stick to their guns that they wouldn't do an oil change as part of the timing chain assembly replacement when they dropped the oil pan due to broken pieces, I'll contact MINI USA and tell them I'm glad I paid for an oil change because that's a really easy way to screw up a $5000 repair right after doing it.

 

Just my opinion, but I would have thought any costs associated with the repair would be covered by the warranty since it was a warranty repair. Unfortunately, when my timing chain was done I was out of warranty so I was on the hook for that, including the fresh oil they put in.

I am curious though as to why it was a $5,000+ repair if not for the warranty. Complete timing chain cartridge replacement plus walnut shell cleaning seems like it should have been in the $2400 range at most.

 

I'm guessing $5000 based on other's quotes from dealers. Glad to hear it is less! My point was major internal engine work followed by recovered used oil after broken pieces removed.

After a few hours of household chores I've decided I'm going to count my blessings and move on. I'm glad I have a working car! I'll leave the thread because I think it'll be valuable if other people (like me) aren't sure to expect a free oil change or not. And I'm still interested in reading what other people think, so post away. But I'm going to just motor on. =)