Is this MINI owner an idiot, or what?

[barry2952]

He seems to have a lot of supporters. He did the first oil change on a turbo MINI at 32,000 miles. He has a lot of supporters on this site. His contention is that the car should have told him to change the oil. Barring that, he thinks the dealer should have told him to change the oil. It's everyone's responsibility, but his.

Idiot, or does he have a case?

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-warranty.html

[cheap sunglasses]

Idiot.

[4motionvr6dub]

Massive Idiot

[Eightysixturbo]

[ninja_gaiden]

hes an idiot. oil light comes up when oil pressure is low, not when you are stupid.

granted mini owners manual i believe says 15k between changes or something.

[jepva]

He seems to have a lot of supporters. He did the first oil change on a turbo MINI at 32,000 miles. He has a lot of supporters on this site. His contention is that the car should have told him to change the oil. Barring that, he thinks the dealer should have told him to change the oil. It's everyone's responsibility, but his.

Idiot, or does he have a case?

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-warranty.html

I'm not surprised given there are BMW service intervals that suggest up to 20k oil changes now, but 32k seems a bit optimistic of him.

In the end he's expected to have "common sense", but at the same time if dealers (like VW) are holding customers to the standard and denying warranty work if oil was not changed on the appropriate interval (and even with the exact spec oil VW specifies), that should work both ways, and the dealer and/or car shoud clearly have said something, although what happened here is way beyond expectations.

I know I feel cheated when I have my oil changed and the dealers forgets to put the sticker on the window with the next service mileage.

[Turbo-D]

I worked at a bmw mini dealer for about 2 years and I've seen worse stories then this. But i hope it ends well for him.

[8v_gti777]

Wow. That's just...wow.

[Aonarch]

Huge idiot.

[SchnellFowVay]

hes an idiot. oil light comes up when oil pressure is low, not when you are stupid.

granted mini owners manual i believe says 15k between changes or something.

Not necessarily.

On my car car (a recent BMW product -- I am assuming it uses the same system), it tells you when it's time to CHANGE the oil.

You guys must have also missed the part where he went to the dealership (well before 32k) and they told him not to change the oil until the oil change light appeared.

My wife's 128i did not demand its first oil change until 19,000 miles. When we brought it in before that, they told us to wait for the oil change/service light to come on. So that's what we did.

[R-Dubya]

I say both. He's an idiot for sure, I wouldn't let my car go 10k without an oil change and normal oil change intervals should be common sense for anyone that owns a car. But based on that thread, he definitely has a case because of the vague and ambiguous information he got from the sales rep and his owner's manual.

[SchnellFowVay]

He seems to have a lot of supporters. He did the first oil change on a turbo MINI at 32,000 miles. He has a lot of supporters on this site. His contention is that the car should have told him to change the oil. Barring that, he thinks the dealer should have told him to change the oil. It's everyone's responsibility, but his.

Idiot, or does he have a case?

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-warranty.html

You are leaving quite a lot of the story, out, Barry.

It wasn't like he just waited until 32k to change the oil. He had had the car serviced a number of times in the interval, and noboby changed his oil. In fact, they told him to wait until the change oil notification came on.

We have a leased BMW with the same thing. Because we have the BMW free maintenance thing, I rely 100% on the dealership to change the oil. They tell me that they won't service the car until the service light comes on, then I won't bring it in until the service light comes on.

I sounds like it may have been a similar situation here.

[bbk]

Owner may be an idiot.

But he says he had the car at the dealer for other servicing and they never talked to him about getting an oil change.

He even asked the service advisor about getting an oil change and was told he could go for a long time without a change.

So there seems to be problems with the car, the dealer service AND the owner. So IMO, he should be responsible for 1/3 the cost of repair. (Jk).

[Mike!]

I know some Hondas and BMWs do not have a specific oil change interval, but rather an on-board oil life monitor (in BMW's case likely designed to minimize services covered under complimentary maintenance coverage). The same BMWs don't even come with dipsticks anymore.

If the MINI is in the same boat as the BMW... granted common sense would encourage you to change the oil anyway... would an average owner have a just argument that they were following what they were told in the owner's manual and by the salesman to follow?

[WRXGuy]

The CSB will throw up quite the notification if any service is due in any late-model BMW or Mini. Its not like a little teeny light will turn on ... it will happen every time you start the car until its reset.

Somebody (the owner or the Dealer) isn't telling the truth.

[SchnellFowVay]

I know some Hondas and BMWs do not have a specific oil change interval, but rather an on-board oil life monitor (in BMW's case likely designed to minimize services covered under complimentary maintenance coverage). The same BMWs don't even come with dipsticks anymore.

If the MINI is in the same boat as the BMW... granted common sense would encourage you to change the oil anyway... would an average owner have a just argument that they were following what they were told in the owner's manual and by the salesman to follow?

Of course.

My BMW has no dipstick, and no set intervals. Because I own my car, and because it's modified, I change mine every ~8,000 just to be safe.

But my wife's 128i went 19,000 before its first oil change. The dealership told us to wait until the light came on (Because there is no defined interval). That's what we did.

Would I wait 32,000 miles? No. But I also know a bit about cars. If you have a free maintenance program, you sort of have to depend on teh dealership to tell you when things need to be done. You can't just drive the car in and demand service -- it's only when the lights come on the dash that you get it.

[gizmopop]

They will point out in the manual which states that manufacturer recommends you do oil changes every xxxx miles.

I wonder if he needed the dealer to tell him to put gas in it too.

[dieselraver]

im sure that BMW/Mini will repair it an 0 cost to him. im surprised that they are giving him crap to begin with.

[Inspector Detector]

[gizmopop]

They tell me that they won't service the car until the service light comes on, then I won't bring it in until the service light comes on.

It would be pretty messed up if that light burned out no?

[R-Dubya]

They will point out in the manual which states that manufacturer recommends you do oil changes every xxxx miles.

I wonder if he needed the dealer to tell him to put gas in it too.

I am a very conscientious owner. When I saw there was no oil change schedule when I got home and read my manual 2 yrs ago, I called my salesman. He said "mini (the car itself) will tell you when the oil needs changing and based on each individual driver. Based on that, I had the oil changed only when I went in for the service (as indicated that quick second on dial 1 when you start your car) and if the oil light comes on.

You were saying...

[CodeMan]

It would be pretty messed up if that light burned out no?

It would be even messed-upper if it burned out without ever coming on.

[SchnellFowVay]

It would be pretty messed up if that light burned out no?

It sure would be. And BMW would be footing the bill.

I paid for that free maintenance, and if BMW makes me stick to their "service light" servicing schedule, that's what I will be doing.

I think you miss the point that you can't just bring the car for an oil change -- they won't change it until the damn light comes on. And I'll be damed if I am going to pay for an oil change on a leased car when I have free maintenance.

If BMW was not taking it upon themselves to offer free maintenance, etc., this would be different. But when someone at the dealership service department says "we won't/don't change the oil until the light comes on," that's the end of it.

[LouieTHEkid]

You have to maintain the vehicle to the warranties standards in order for the warranty to stay valid. It's on him. I know that every 3000 miles I have to change my oil. Everyone should...

[SchnellFowVay]

I am a very conscientious owner. When I saw there was no oil change schedule when I got home and read my manual 2 yrs ago, I called my salesman. He said "mini (the car itself) will tell you when the oil needs changing and based on each individual driver. Based on that, I had the oil changed only when I went in for the service (as indicated that quick second on dial 1 when you start your car) and if the oil light comes on.

You were saying...

This is exactly my point. BMW's corporate position is that you can't get an oil change until the light comes on. You paid for the free maintenance as part of the car purchase, so what the hell is the average owner going to do? Pay to change the oil somewhere else when the BMW service guy tells them it doesn't need to be changed?

Some of you need to get real.

[SchnellFowVay]

You have to maintain the vehicle to the warranties standards in order for the warranty to stay valid. It's on him. I know that every 3000 miles I have to change my oil. Everyone should...

Read the goddamned thread.

He has a BMW, which included maintenance.

And no cars require 3,000 mile oil changes any longer. One of my BMWs went 19,000 before its first change.

[dieselraver]

This is exactly my point. BMW's corporate position is that you can't get an oil change until the light comes on. You paid for the free maintenance as part of the car purchase, so what the hell is the average owner going to do? Pay to change the oil somewhere else when the BMW service guy tells them it doesn't need to be changed?

Some of you need to get real.

agreed. however even with my BMWs they happily change the oil every 5k, not sure why everyone has such a hard time getting such a cheap service.

[SchnellFowVay]

agreed. however even with my BMWs they happily change the oil every 5k, not sure why everyone has such a hard time getting such a cheap service.

Might be a change of policy, or it might be that you had a great dealership.

I have heard that some dealers have a "once a year" policy where you can get the oil changed once per year regardless of oil light. But my dealership looked at me like an alien when I asked about that.

[42green]

I wouldn't trust it to go that long. If I had I nice brand new car the most I would go is 10k. Even $75-100+ for a synthetic oil change is cheap insurance versus a new turbo or engine.

[spockcat]

It would be pretty messed up if that light burned out no?

If it is like the BMW, it is the information center which displays all the other info, not just a single light. So the only way for this to happen is if the info center in the cluster failed completely:

Info center on a Mini:

[WRXGuy]

FYI - it's not a 'light' that comes on -- it's a text/icon displayed in the instrument cluster (and Nav/iDrive if so equipped).

We're not talking about a 2w bulb here folks.

[WRXGuy]

FYI - it's not a 'light' that comes on -- it's a text/icon displayed in the instrument cluster (and Nav/iDrive if so equipped).

We're not talking about a 2w bulb here folks.

Another thing-- *every* time you go in, they put your key in their scanner-- it tells them when service is due.

[SchnellFowVay]

Info center on a Mini:

This is 100% identical to the one on the BMW 1-series, FYI.

So it's the same system in all BMW products -- which is what I thought.

[SchnellFowVay]

Another thing-- *every* time you go in, they put your key in their scanner-- it tells them when service is due.

This is correct

They take your key, and they put in this thing connected to the computer. It gives a complete service history of the car.

They were on notice if the oil had not been changed in 32,000 miles . . .

[spockcat]

Another thing-- *every* time you go in, they put your key in their scanner-- it tells them when service is due.

And if you pay for an oil change before you are actually due for one under the BMW maintenance plan, it is likely that the dealer will reset the service indicator and thus you won't be due for another service for 15k or so. If you want it every 10k, you end up paying for all the oil changes because the car never actually asks for service.