I own a 2007 Mini S with 23,000 miles. Twice I went in to have the oil changed. Twice I was told to wait until the Mini told me to go in for service. Now I have a "blown" motor with a $13,000 ($9,500 for the motor and $3,500 for labor) quote for repair. I am arguing that this is a warranty issue. I have been told that this is my problem and that my car told me I needed an oil chage for 6,000 miles. This is interesting considering I brought my car in twice and was told that is was not needed (of course the dealership claims to have no record of this). I am frustrated with the (lack of) customer service I received at the dealership and the inability of our regional representative to call me back. I love Minis and BMWs but I am also afraid it will be my last of either car. It has been 11 days. The BMW national customer service center keeps telling us that we will be contacted by our regional representative. I am still waiting and call the national center daily.
I find the quote to be outrageous but hesitate to go elsewhere for repair becuase the car should still be under warranty.
I'm in Nashville.
Any suggestions?

 

This sounds CRAZY ...
When was your last oil change ???
Since the oil changes are included why did the dealer refuse ???
What caused the blown motor ??? (Oil related?)
I'd also hit the miniusa forum I know several people have had miraculous "warranty" issues due to posts there

 

THANK YOU!
Never had an oil change, hence why I went twice to inquire.
Still no response.
I will go to miniforum.

 

Your`e not the only one with this problem . A buddy of mine collin thats in my club GulfSouth Motoringhas brought his mini in for service at Brian Harris mini of Baton Rouge approx 20 times for different services ( LEMON ) and the last time he went in for sched oil change they didnt put oil back in his car or not enough . We all went to the Dragon this past month and his car DIED the first day we were there no oil . they ( Service Manager ) told him that the mini would burn about a quart of oil every 700mi.
what the hell kind of car would do that especially a 2008 S. Well the car is still in Atlanta by another dealer. They said the service dept at brian harris is a bunch of moron kids that dont know squat. He is currently in talks with MINI USA and a lemon lawyer. Now for my experiences with that same service center , they told me my first sched oil change was at 25,000 mi sounds a bit much I bought it new in 2003 and couldnt believe what I was hearing but they assured me twice also . Well I should have listened to myself and changed my own oil even. Now I car was under warranty
now im on my second engine had to get it about 2 yrs ago. I dont know 2 much about the MINI but I WILL NEVER BRING IT BACK TO A MINI SERVICE DEPT AGAIN . I will learn to do it my self. I put on my own exaust cat bak,CAI,Drilled slotted rotors ,Ect... Since then .... GOOD LUCK with your engine

 

That is so unfortunate. I would definately have the dates you requested service, and if there is any way to note who told you to wait. The owners manual states to change the oil at least one per year, so even if the indicator is not telling you to do so, they must change it. I've got just 6800 miles on my 1 year old MINI Clubman S, and it's going into the dealer for servicing next week, under the included maintenance. I had the same issue on my BMW 335i Convertible. They changed the oil after 12 months, even though the indicator was not saying to do so.
A dealer that states the first oil change is at 25,000 is an idiot.

 

Which Atlanta dealership is your friend's Mini at? I only ask becuase our car broke down on our way home from vacation and was towed to South Atlanta Mini. It has been there 13 days while the regional representative "Dan" can't seem to get back with us regarding the warranty and who will pay for the quoted repair. My husband is en route now to bring the car back to Nashville for a second opinion and a chat with our lawyer.
Good luck to your friend.
I know we won't be having the car repaired by any of the dealerships.

 

I think thats the one my buddy collins is at.

 

You had 23K and NEVER had the oil changed ??? What do you mean wait till mini tells you to change ??? The service interval is 15K or once yearly (low mileage option) I'm assuming that the service interval must be reading - 8000 or more
I'd have the dealer in court for negligence, not changing the oil when it is clearly long long past due

I agree that the 15K service interval is CRAZY ... luckily I'm a low mileage driver , I've had it changed yearly with the low mileage option , I know numerous owners that pay for tweener oil services , and not reset the service indicator every 3/5 K miles ...I've been using a quick Change place and they have been $40/$50 depending if I get the coupon in the mail or not

 

Start by raising Hell with Mini USA

 

I think I know how this happened...

There were some complications with the software that controlled the instrument clusters when the early R56's came out. The cluster (and various other computers in the vehicle) draw certain information such as fuel consumption, engine operating temp, load, etc and then calculate supposed oil life. Well, some of the vehicles, some of the time, calculated the oil life as being much longer than it actually was (much longer than 15k). Initially, when we reported this to techline and our reps, they figured that the 12 mos "Annual Oil Change" would pickup the slack, and then shortly after the "AoC" that the car would indicate due for a proper "Oil Service".... (in which case the interval becomes significantly less than an actual 15k miles) In your case the dealership never ran a DCS report and saw the date the vehicle began service... They would have used the date you bought the vehicle as the beginning of the 12 month period and given you an annual oil service.

Ask the RTE (factory rep) to warranty the engine, and if they say they can't warranty it--- ask for it to be "Good Willed". I've seen considerably worse stuff good willed for a customer.

Good Luck!