Hello folks: My wife's '08 MCSC sidewalk ride was bought brand new in Aug '07. She now has 17K miles on the clock and looks factory fresh to date. WHen is MINI 1 inspection due. Factory warrany expires in Aug 2011 and the service consultant tells me that unless I drive > 12K miles in the next ten months, I will not be eligible for the MINI inspection 1 under factory warranty . Of note, my last oil change was at 14K miles this past July 2010. We all like pictures so here is one of our beloved sidewalk taken a couple of months ago.

 

Your service agreement has already ended, if you took delivery in August of 2007 (unless you purchased an extension). The standard service agreement is only for three years or 36k miles, whichever comes first, and it's the service agreement that would pay for Inspection I, not the warranty.

Since you've already had your first oil change, the service countdown that appears in the dash readout when you turn the car on should be reading "Inspection I", along with how many miles remain until it's due.

For what it's worth, "Inspection I" for my 2006 cabrio came due at 33,200 miles.

 

Don't stress it. The Inspection 1 doesn't do anything more than an oil change and A/C micro filter. Then they "check the car over". But the dealer will never find anything wrong while the car is under warranty cause it is against MINI policy to up sell any warranty.

You should be changing your oil every 5k miles anyway. Your MINI will thank you.

 

You did have the oil changed every year, yes? Low mileage MINIs (or any car) should have the oil changed at least once a year.

 

Thanks for the replies. Quick correction. I bought it in Aug '08 (and not '07) and it was one of the very last R52s in the PNW region (certainly the last sidewalk). I did have my oil changed once a year (so twice so far) . Unless I drive >1k/month I don't think I can get in a MINI inspection1 before the service agreement ends. The free service agreement is a joke IMO. I guess I should plan a road trip or two to Big Sur when the weather improves and then get the inspection 1 before next Aug which is when the agreement ends.

 

Agreed - you don't get a lot out of the service agreement if you drive very little or if you drive a lot. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum as you and put quite a few miles on my MINI for the first few years I had it.

Even with a free service agreement extension out to 4/50k, the only services I got before the agreement expired were "Oil Change", "Inspection I", and a coolant flush at the two-year point. And all of those came due before 36k, so I literally got nothing out of the extra 12 months/14k miles of coverage, so I'm really glad the extension was free.

 

I wouldn't dissuade you from trips to Big Sur (drop by and say hi on the way!) but cost wise you're better off just finding a local independent shop to do the Inspection 1 services when needed. Are you near Alta? Note that the algorithm the MINI uses to calculate 'service due' depends a lot on type of driving - lots of highway miles will extend out the mileage significantly. I got an oil change and brake flush out of my 'free maintenance', but that's about it.

 

Eric, I just got a message on the dash stating insp 11,200 miles a week ago and that is on countdown mode. Are you saying that the countdown could be faster (meaning the miles countdown will skip a few miles) if I drive a lot more in the stop and go traffic ? I live in Eastern Washington, three hours from Seattle.

 

My understanding is that it calculates the interval based on gallons of fuel burned. So if you are driving on the highway, your MPG's go up, thus changing the mileage till your next service.

 

Very useful info, thank you all.

 

In my experience it's more likely to extend the interval for highway miles, vs reduce for in town (ok, so that's 6/ half dozen)
Just did an oil change for a friend ('06MCS) at 15,461 - it showed ~2,800 miles left on the countdown after 13 months. She was also VERY low on oil - even in modern cars make sure you check monthly!