>>The only thing I can say about the oil "countdown to service" meter is that the MINI's do use the BMW engine management, which has sensors for the amount of dirt in the oil....and modern synthetics are very good...still there is something to be said for the peace of mind of a 3/5k oil change.
>>
>>old habits die hard I guess....

Many people think there are sensors in the engine to monitor the oil but that is not true. The computer uses a program that estimates the oil life based of certain variables. The program takes into account driving style along with some enviromental conditions to estimate the life span of the oil.

 

I am new here - why would it cost $90 for an oil change? I'd never take my own car to a Jiffy Lube, but there must a certain specific difference. My independent mechanic does my Infiniti for about $40.

 

Good choice in cars & colors, by the way!

I'm guessing that the cost is a little higher than here (my MINI svc dept quoted me $78) because it's CA - everything seems a little higher out there! But they do a little more than oil - they essentially do a kind of service: checking filters, fluids, etc. The cost is supposed to include a premium oil, and ought to include fill up of all liquids, etc. You should be able to get a synopsis of what that $90 includes before you get it done.

One other item: if your car is 12 months old (from date of "birth" not date of pickup) an oil change before the recommended 15k is free.

Good luck!

 

Considering the fact that the original post you responded to is almost 6 years old.... I doubt the prices are right anyways...

 

Okay, so in today's dollars we are talking probably $125.00 - ouch! All questions answered, will only go to dealers for what is covered. If I ever have to pay for anything, it is off to my trustworthy mechanic of all too many years. Unfortunately, car dealers are generally notorious for this and they cannot avoid it due to their structure - one minute the car dealer can always seem good, the other minute, they are always putting on another face no matter who or how "COOL" they apparently seems to be... not a stable bunch.

 

I agree... what I'm doing with mine is changing it every 5K miles and the inbetween, I'll hit the dealer up.

Guess half of the oil changes are better than nothing.

As far as the 125 bucks. The logic is it is an oil "service", not a oil change. Oil changes are nothing but oil and filter. Oil services usually charge one hour labor and check/rotate tires, all fluids, add windshield washer fluid, check brakes, etc, etc. Figuring roughly 85 bucks for one labor hour, the rest is filter and oil. (I'm assuming synthetic)

Though a "service" seems a little much to those that are into their cars (99% of us...lol) there are those people that if they didn't get an oil service, they'd probably never check their air pressure until the little light comes on.

Mark

 

Ya, and don't forget they fill up all the liquids and (if I'm not mistaken) they check out your air filters, too.... The oil is the specific one the gear-heads were talking about - the Purple stuff or something? (<-- obviously not a real gear-head )

JKCMCS062308 (um, where'd you get THAT handle, by the way? Didn't want to be tooooo easy to find, did ya!) I'd suggest you call the MINI service dept and see if they can give you the play-by-play accounting of a.) how much it'll cost and b.) what it entails. If it's really different than what we've put down here, post again - I'm interested in seeing the differences bewteen service departments in different locations.