Mini Service Gripe **updated

[Gigi]

A couple of thing from my experience at the service area at MT this morning.

1. Hmmm, I'm beginning to think that the free 3yr/36,000 mile maintenance was a rip off. I bought the car brand new in 2008. It has only been in for service once back in August 2009 for its 15,000 mile free oil change.

The odo now reads just about 31,000 miles with the countdown indicator showing more than 5,000 miles still to go for the Inspection 1 Service. Add the two and I'm just slightly outside of the 36,000 limit placing me out of the free plan.

I asked Doug about having an oil service done under the free maintenance plan instead of the Inspection 1. He said that Mini has changed its policy. Even if its been more than 1 year since your last oil service, Mini will still not change the oil under the plan until the indicator says so. So my car wants me to put nearly 21,000 miles on the oil before replacement. Doug is going to check about the oil service for me; but he wasn't confident that he would get it authorized. Maybe I'm wrong or just old fashioned, but 21,000+ between oil changes in our heat seems excessive.

So for my "free 3 yr/36,000 mile maintenance" all I get out of it is one (1) free oil change. Not such a great deal. Unless that counter starts a rapid downward count to sneak me in under 36k.

2. I did the online appointment more than 3 weeks ago. Spent the time carelfully filling out the text boxes detailing what I wanted done for warrantly work etc. I also asked for the loaner car. I receive a couple of confirmation emails, one just two days before the appointment. I arrive at 7am and they have no record....yes no record of my appointment. Doug tells me that the online appoinment system is highly unreliable and that the service manager is aware of it, but hasn't acted on it.

3. Took the car to Oregon last month, putting more than 3,000 miles on it in two weeks. Went through a half dozen portable "your speed is radar signs", two 60mph speedometer test sections on the highway, and watched the GPS speed readout. All those were consistant telling me our speedo was reading about 4 to 5 mph too high; and we felt like we were going slower than we should have been. MT said that the speedo is run by wheel sensors....nothing to fix therefore they won't look at it. So for peace of mind, does anyone have any suggestions for shop that can spin the wheels and check speedo calibration??

I did give them a couple of other warranty items to take care of, which they will. Like the door speaker that cuts in/out and replace the rubber trim around the convertible top that has torn away. No hassles there.

I was lucky to get a coupon in the mail for the 4-wheel aligment, lowered that cost to $130. Car is pulling pretty nasty to the right...I thank the California Coast Hwy and its washboard and pot holed surface for that.

I have to go to an air show/car show near the Grand Canyon Saturday....not sure if I'll make it for the 4pm meeting at MT. But will try.

I'll post a followup when my service is completed to give a final overall evaluation.

*******FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION************

Well Doug pulled through and got me the oil change at no cost. Everything was taken care of very quickly. I have to go back on Friday because the speaker wasn't in stock....no biggie. My only real complaint with MT is the fact that they operate a web-based appointment service that they know obviously doesn't work right....that's not good customer service.

I'm still a little unsure about service consistency....my Dad's car had 28k miles on it and without requesting any service they went and put new tires on it and new brake pads at no charge and did an inspection. It seems that everytime he goes in they do work on the car through their own ambition. My car has more miles, more worn tires, more worn brakes and nobody has taken any extra effort to do repairs and inspections without me having to ask and beg. And he's not even a DMC member. Just an observation.

The complaint about the Inspection 1 being outside of my 36,000 mile limit is more towards corporate Mini beyond the dealer level. Did everyone elses Inspection 1 fall within the maintenance limits or outside of it???

[minidad]

in days of old..we changed oil every 3ooomi...now your car is using synthetic oil...does not need changed that often....most ALL cars are not accurate on the speedo...Mini no exception...something as small as your tires being worn compared to a new tire will change the reading..larger circumference compared to smaller...Dont sweat the small stuff...dealer will fix what needs fixing....my car has had numerous things done..and everyone in the club knows what my car is subjected to..Sean

[danjmcs]

Most manufacturers intenionally set the speedo to read 3-5 mph off from your actual speed, probably so that you can't sue them for getting tickets if they set it too close, so they build in the margin. I've seen the same on most motorcycles I've owned as well.

My 2005 Mini would show 70MPH on the speedo but was an actual speed of about 66-67MPH verfied with my GPS. The 2009 Mini seems closer to 2-3 mph off, but still, as long as you know it, thats all that mattered to me, it does seem consistent. As Sean mentioned, if you do change tire or wheel sizes, you definitely want to re-verify your actual speed, since that will have an impact also.

I'm at just shy of 32k miles and my first service was at about 21k miles, did the oil, etc. The service due on my 2009 flipped on again at the build month, 7/2010, so I assumed that meant they automatically gave you the 1 year service, regardless of mileage, but maybe that is a coincidence on my 2009, though it seems strange it would show due again in only 10k miles.

Glad to hear it sounds like they are taking care of you. Usually some calm conversation will go a long way with a good service advisor.

[MINImama]

Since Dan and Sean have already chimed in on your oil question and the speedometer & wheel issue, so I'll skip that. Their advice is solid....on any car, expect that your actual speed is approx. 3-6 mph below the speedometer reading.

I have a 2008 Cooper S, & did my first oil change/service as indicated. However, earlier this year, I took my MINI in for an additional oil change/road-ready service because I knew I would be doing a lot of road trips over the summer (AMViV in Vegas, several other AZ fun runs, and MiTM in Colorado (ended up not going)). I went to MINI N. Scottsdale for that service, and they did it no questions asked.... maybe I just got lucky. Keep in mind that the 3 yr/36000 mile maintenance covers a lot of the smaller items...if you see minor things needing repair, take advantage of that coverage while you can. I have a long list of minor repairs that have been covered...window motor, wipers, door trim, weather-stripping, faulty iPod cable connection, etc.

I agree that the MINI of Tempe online appointment system is crap. I prefer to call Doug or Derrick personally for my appts, mainly because over time I've established a good relationship with them. I think the response you get is more personalized when you call -- they know who you are, and that you are bringing the car in for a specific problem you've already discussed with them on the phone. They can never guarantee that they will have a loaner MINI available. If they run out, they run out. They have no way to tell how long a loaner car is going to be out, simply because they don't know what problems other cars are coming in with & how long it will take to repair those cars. They will, however, make arrangements for you to get an Avis rental if a loaner MINI is unavailable.

If you are a DMC club member, let them know... they will usually give you a club discount, on top of any coupon. That savings adds up quickly.

Michele (MINImama)

[MNIBMR]

I have noticed that MNS service has gone downhill in the past year. They used to be amazing fixing everything I asked them to fix and then some! I think they are over worked now. There seem to be a LOT more MINI's on the road meaning a lot more cars needing service. They ONLY do what you ask them to do now and no more. I know nothing about cars so I used to appreciate them finding things wrong and fixing it before something went wrong! I guess this is the price we pay for driving such amazing little cars, more people buy them which makes the service techs overworked and not as thorough.

[Cooperesque]

To beat a dead horse, the speedo error thing is actually intentional. There was a C&D article a while back that explains it:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/02q2/speedometer_scandal!-feature (have to cut & paste, the ! throws off the URL insert tag)

The "worst" culprits: BMW & Porsche.

[66Cooper]

continuing to beat that dead speedo horse:

I feel that the speedo error makes the car depreciate quicker as the miles rack up faster than you are actually putting them on. AND You get a false sense of better economy as it appears you have traveled farther on your gallon of gas than you really did.