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Second Service Surprises - 2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2015 in MINI

imageSecond Service Surprises - 2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop Long-Term Road Test

Our 2014 Mini Cooper requested its second oil change with 20,000 miles on the odometer. There were surprises beyond its routine service.

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    kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Well, that's one thing nice about having a free maintenance plan, instead of YOU having to pay for crazy "20k service" unnecessary charges, now they can simply charge it to BMW. HOWEVER, while I'd be excited at first to get the free wipers, at the time it'd have me worried because who knows what else the dealer claimed I said. Now, if they said "Typically your wiper blades tend to wear out around 20k and if you want, we can replace them free for you if they are streaky. Would you say they are streaky sir?" and you replied "uh... yeah, sure". That's different. I'm sure BMW corporate would consider what happened fraudulent. If they are reading the blog (certainly a rep of some sort should be), maybe a closer look at submissions by this dealer need to be examined.
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    jakek66jakek66 Member Posts: 60
    I wonder if there's any auto manufacturers that wouldn't offer a loaner if the vehicle was brought in for a recall? If there is, I'd make a point not to go with them. Heck, I'd not want to go with someone who doesn't offer a loaner when the vehicle is in the shop for anything outside of an oil change.
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    kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    What is the general status of Loaners nowadays? Do you have to ask for them? I've NEVER gotten a loaner (nor never been asked) and have had everything from Tires (including one "it'll be ready in an hour" that took 4 hours) to Timing Belts on everything from recent cars to older cars.
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    kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    To answer my own question, it appears to be a dealer by dealer thing and mostly exclusive to the upper level brands (Acura, BMW, Mercedes, etc). Thinking through it, that makes complete sense. It's not to help you out (businesses don't care about that), but instead those high end dealers know that someone that can afford a high end vehicle could be more easily persuaded to buy a new one and catch the "new car bug". They'll be happy to put you in a fully loaded model any chance they get. I bet a lot of people wind up buying or leasing after that happens. Of course, they know that someone in a 15 year Miata (like me) probably isn't easily persuaded into buying a new car.
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    nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    The two crash retrofits are interesting, are they to correct an issue with the foam shifting and lowing the crash worthiness of the car or do they improve the crash rating? I wonder if they would they send a letter if the car did not come in for its 20,000 service, some people may not be close to the dealer and have it changed somewhere else.

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    allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    Am I the only one amazed that the hood needs to be realigned. How the hell does the hood get out of alignment just by opening it?
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    nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    edited September 2015
    allthingshonda said:

    Am I the only one amazed that the hood needs to be realigned. How the hell does the hood get out of alignment just by opening it?

    Maybe while performing the recall on the foam they the hood and part of the body off? They did say they need the car overnight after dropping the car off in the "pre-dawn". That makes it sound like a lot of labor was involved.

    Maybe Edmunds can talk with MINI corporate to see what these recalls involve and what issue they are fixing? the information we have is unclear?


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    pjohns21pjohns21 Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2015
    I've had the same verbiage on my statements from my own BMW dealer regarding the replacement of windshield wipers without my consent, seems that when the dealer has to do something extra for the customer that would be ridiculous to charge for (i.e. tire inspection, inspection of creaks that were the result of the owner's own items within the cabin, etc.), the dealer gets their funds by making up this sort of garbage about the windshield wipers. All in all, my BMW dealer (the only one within the city limits of Chicago and perhaps the worst in the country) charged BMW $80 for 2 new windshield wipers including parts and labor. I'm have a feeling they weren't even replaced, as there was less than 15,000 miles on my car. This MINI dealer couldn't charge for realigning the hood, as it was their own mistake, but they'll be damn*d if they aren't going to get paid for it. Terrible sense of entitlement which only contributes to the cost of these premium vehicles.
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