I'm new here, so excuse me if this has been stated before, but I am a little annoyed at the (lack of) scheduled warranty service on my Wife's '05 Mini S Convertible.

I took the car to the closest Mini dealer for it's 15,000 mile service (3 hour drive each way, and had to leave it for a few days, so 12 hours of driving). The first service was fine with nothing unusual.

The second service was around 32,000 miles or so, again, the same lengthy drive and had to leave it for a couple of days. I asked if they had checked everything over, and the service writer said everything looked fine. (The passenger seat still doesn't work correctly).

About 1,000+ miles later, the fuel mileage started getting worse, so I popped the hood to take a look at the air filter. OMG!....It was completely clogged and black! (Photo below)

I bought a new filter from Napa, and called the dealer to complain that they didn't bother to check the air filter. The service writer stated that it is not required until 60,000 miles! What?!!!... A 60,000 mile air filter? You're kidding, right? I called another dealer and they said the same thing.

Then, at about 35,000 miles, the brake warning light comes on, so I pull the wheels to check the brake pads, and the rears are literally down to the backing...metal to metal. If the service dept. had actually looked at the pads, they would have noticed severely worn rear brake pads. The fronts have about 20% remaining on them.

So, am I in line with thinking that the warranty service should have included looking at the air filter and the brake pads as part of a normal service inspection? I'm a little annoyed at the fact that I have driven 24 hours to take the car in for service to what amounts to nothing more than a couple of free oil changes!

 

That's horrible what the dealer did (or didn't do)...

They should replace your brakes (and rotors if necessary) under your service warranty (hopefully you have not passed 3Y/36K yet).

Now that you are checking filters I highly suggest you check your cabin filter (under the glovebox). For ~$25 it's a pretty cheap part to replace and ensure that you are breathing relatively clean air.

While you're at it you might want to check your coolant level as well. I had a friend of mine who has a 03 MC and an 05 MCS and BOTH cars had been serviced relatively recently and BOTH had ZERO coolant!!! I've had to top off the coolant quite a few times now in my 04 MCS as well.

You can check your service manual I believe to find some details on what they check during the scheduled maintenances...

 

60K on an air filter is crazy. I swapped mine for a CAI and with only 10K on the car it was ready to be replaced. With air filters it really depends on where you live as to when you should replace it.

 

Well think about this carefully

ITs free (well you paid for it in the cost of the car).

DO you really think your going to get the same service if you paid for it out of pocket? I'd bet they do exactly what is required for the average motorist. Nothing more.

Its not like say Jiffy Lube. They ALWAYS pull the air filter even itf its been 3K miles ... and why? Because they want to sell you one

Do you think your dealer WANTS to give you a free one?

 

That's awful. I am not a mechanically inclined person who is going to do any self-service on the Mini so I have trusted that I need not pay for anything until the free maintenance expires. Hell with other car brands the service might not be free but at least they do give you a schedule with more realistic changing schedules & then for a nominal fee the service departments do perform all necessary servicing.

 

I had the same problem with the air filter right before heading to the Dragon last May. I pulled the old one to put a K&N in and was shocked since the car had just been in for the 2nd service. The filter looked pretty worthless.

When I brought this to the dealership's attention, they apologized and offered one complimentary service outside of warranty. Then two days later they called back to say they were taking back that offer since they had just determined that they weren't required to check the air filter until 60K miles. Now I worry about things that I can't easily see or check on, like transmission fluid, actually being serviced.

 

You should be worried.

There is no such thing as a free lunch

 

This was my filter at 15K. When I found this after they were supposed to have done an oil change I was mad. Ended up doing it myself and decided that my "Free" service was worth every penny.

 

You would think they would have at least checked it...in the hopes of selling you another one....Dumb business.

I guess most of them are the same...get the sale, hustle you in and out etc.
That's why I do most of the regular service myself too. (still under warranty as well)

Out here, you are lucky to get even 10k out of an air filter.

I always wondered how much they mark up the cars with that "free service" Just another scam by the manufacturers and dealers as well. I think buying a new vehicle today is worse than getting a used one!

 

The dealers are missing an opportunity here. Even though they are only required to provide the factory list of checks for free, they should check the car out to see if it needs anything. If it does, they should tell you and let you decide if you want to spend the money.

I have used the free services, but I still check behind them to ensure there is nothing they missed. I would do that no matter who serviced the car, just to get some piece of mind that everything was OK.

 

It is my understanding that the "free" servicing isn't actually free but was factored into the cost of my Mini

See some people, like me, aren't auto mechanics even at an amateur level so I am not able to do this for myself & I should be able to count on the Mini service center to do it for me. When I had my Toyoyo & my Chevy I must say they were both serviced excellently at a nominal cost (around $75-$199, of course nominal charge to BMW/Mini would mean $500-$1500 servicing )

 

I am not going to do this work myself because of my lack of knowledge in this area.

I am thinking seriously about taking my Mini to be serviced at my local full service auto repair,

I would rather pay to know that this folks are doing what needs to be done than to get just enough to say we did something from the dealer.

Remember it is our investment in our Mini, not the dealers.

 

I'm with you on that. I like doing some of the work myself, but I'm not qualified to just look and know that everything is ok. I like to have a professional take a look once in a while to spot things that I just don't know to look for. THAT's the reason that poor dealership service really gets me mad. They have spent years convincing people that cars are too complicated for them to work on themselves, and that they should bring them to the dealer because "know one knows your car like the dealer". To finally realize that they brush off the simpilest checks is cause to avoid them all togther and take it someplace you trust, even if you have to pay.

 

Yes, exactly! You know that there has to be a cost factored into the original price of the car, and compared to other small cars, these things aren't cheap to begin with!

What burns me up is the fact that an air filter is one thing, but to overlook something as important as the brakes, which is a safety factor, is inexcusable. Even the air pressures in the tires were low when I checked after the service.

Next time I purchase a new vehicle with "Free" service, I'll have them delete that cost off of the purchase invoice.

 

Dolmangar, I whole-heartedly agree with you on this point.

Too Tall Bob,

This is not just you. In my experience the dealers are absolute CRAP at maintaining these vehicles. I have had NUMEROUS problems with the "service" I had received from the 3 separate dealers I have tried. And for each of the 6 major things that have had to repaired on my MCS since I took delivery, I have had to go back to the dealer at least one more time to get them to do the job right. Apparently doing it right the 1st time isn't a mantra for these techs.

The free service is exactly that, free work. And yup, I have learned you truly get what you pay for. My suggestion is to only go to the dealer for major warranty work. Personally, I won't even let the MINI techs do anythign to my MCS now, unless it is basically on fire....knock on wood....

 

I brought a business letter with 20 items I wanted fixed at the 50K last warranty servicing. I took the entire day off and sat in the dealership, and they worked on my car for 8 hours straight!

If I hadn't been hard nosed they would have screwed me. I figure the bill for hours of work on my car would have been about 4k if I had paid out of pocket.

I ran into a woman an independent repair shop the next week, and she told me it was BMW policy when she worked there not to repair things that the customer did not mention. Makes you cynical, but saves you money.

 

See BMW does just enough to make the car last 4 or 5 years because they want to sell you another car at the end of your lease or payments. Why make the car last longer when they can just sell you a new one.