You won't believe what has happened to me today...

For a while now I have wanted to get rid of my Run Flat tires and replace them with a set of Michelin PS A/S+. Well today was the day. I ordered the tires at my local Costco for basically the same price as Tire Rack plus I got $70 off. I tried to get them from TR a couple of weeks ago but that's another story. It was when I went to have the tires installed and that’s when the problems began.

I had to wait for about 3 hours to have my car worked on. Then, the kid who started removing my wheels had a brain fart. He tried to remove the wheel locks with the impact gun... Rip it to shreds. Now anyone who cares about the cars they work on knows… YOU DON'T USE AN IMPACT GUN WITH A WHEEL LOCK KEY!!

Now, crap like this has happened to me other people throughout the history of wheel locks. Keys get damaged or lost or whatever, ya just go and get a replacement, right. Well if you have a MINI, maybe not.

I had some free time on my hands so I decided to just stop by my MINI dealer’s service/parts facility. Went to the Parts counter and spoke with the Parts Guy and explained my problem. He told me that I had to find the card with the keycode and call the number listed to request a replacement. He said it shouldn’t take more than a week to get the replacement.

Well, I got the keycode card and the booklet from the wheel lock packaging which I still had in the box of stuff I had from the New Car Delivery back in May. Problem!!! There’s no number to call. The booklet and the code card both say to contact the dealer to get a replacement key.

Yeah but I was just there like 30 minutes ago. So I called the parts dept. to speak with the guy I just spoke with when I was there. He had left and the guy I was talking to said I couldn’t just buy a Key, I had to buy the whole wheel lock set and that he had them in stock and they were like $98. Talk about going down the wrong road. When I tried to get him back to my actual problem, I read to him what was written in the book and the code key card. He said he would transfer me to service. Someone lifted the line and hung up and I was disconnected. So I had to call the service dept. directly.

I spoke with one guy who told me in a rather haughty tone that “He only did BMW’s. He really didn’t know anything about MINI’s “. I’m not kidding he actually said that to me. Then he transferred me to someone he said did the MINI’s. It was like I had a public health concern. The transfer really sent me back to the receptionist. She said the MINI person was not in and that I could leave a message, so I did.

Now I was a bit annoyed with the Parts and Service Dept. lack of ability to address my problem so I decided to call the Sales people I worked with when I bought my MINI. All the guys I dealt with were out, no one was available to help me there.

I was getting a little pissed by the lack of anyone having the ability to give me an answer so I decided to call MINI Customer Service. I spoke with a woman, “L” who initially seemed to be interested in getting to the bottom of my problem. I explained my situation and recounted my experience over the previous hours. She expressed concern about my experience with my Dealer’s Parts and Service Depts. I was put on hold while she made a few calls. When she returned to the line she mentioned that she had spoken with the Parts department people and she told me that I couldn’t just buy a Key, I had to buy the whole wheel lock set and that they should have them in stock at my dealer and they were like $98. She suggested that I call them back tomorrow. Wow, I thanked her for all her help.

I’m really bothered that my dealer’s people said they knew very little about MINI’s and little or nothing that seems accurate about wheel lock replacement keys. Really weird stuff eh? Does anyone out their have any answers to this issue?

 

Yeah, looks like it's going to cost you $98.

 

Give the bill to Costco since they screwed up. Once they scratched two of my wheels and they reimbursed me the full retail cost for them, right on the spot. It paid for a set of aftermarket wheels.

 

searocko

Yeah, the people at Costco have been pretty good about that. They have offered to pay for the replacement of the key. But I really don't care about the few dollars it will cost for the key, its not my real problem.

My real problem is... How do I get a replacement Key?

 

I've made the mistake of using Costco for tires once. While I got a good price on the tires, I think they scratched every wheel removing the old weights.
Only noticed it at the next time I washed the car, not at checkout.
I'll never use a non-tire store again....

 

Looks like your next step now is to call the dealer back tomorrow as the MINI USA rep suggested. It's a PITA but sounds like there's no other option.

Good luck.

 

I may suggest that you have the manager of the tire department of Costco get the needed key part to remove your wheels.

Remember they caused the problem, so why do you have to waste all of your time to get this taken care of correctly.

After they get the wheels off, buy yourself a real set of wheel locks from Mc Guard; and order the second key when you open the package.

Next time you go to Costco, remove the wheel locks yourself; save yourself the headache. Just a thought !

 

Simple, buy the new set of locks, bring receipt to costco. You can't buy a key.

 

What is not clear to me is - were you able to get the old wheel locks off?

 

That's what has me confused as well. All the way through the thread, I was thinking that his original key was damaged beyond use, and he's trying to get a replacement key that matches his damaged key so that he can get his wheels off.

But if the old key was usable enough to get the wheels off, just do what Minikar suggested - get some McGard or Gorilla locking bolts and give Costco the bill.

 

Costco or Sears for tire work......... That's your first mistake.........

It's hard enough to get a decent job out of a tire store...... No way would I go to Costco just to save a few bucks.........

And wheels locks, haven't run those since I was 16 in the '70's.......... Not worth the bother........ Strike 2........

 

Usually a socket hammered on the lock will get it off, the hard part is getting the nut out of the socket afterwards.

 

Ok, Where's the nearest Costco? If they are that careless, and that apt to pay you for your trouble, sounds like a GREAT way to make some free money for a few scratches on your wheels OEM Wheels. Considering MSRP for MINI wheels is through the roof.... Must find a Costco!

 

I've been out of town for a few days and have not had access to the computer to provide the update to my wheel lock problem.

When I left off a couple days back, I was in the position of having my MINI wheel lock key damaged by the kid at Costco. The key was shreded and the wheels were still locked on my car, hence the problem.

Well on Friday, I called the service department at my dealer and spoke to a Manager who said he would find the solution to my problem. I got a call back about an hour later from the Parts Dept Mgr. Turns out that the MINI wheel locks are manufactured for BMW/MINI by McGard. MINI no longer serves as a conduit to order replacement keys. Now you, the customer, call McGard direct.

Well I called McGard and spent about 3 minutes giving my Key Code, name, address, credit card info to order 2 replacement keys. Total time to get the whole problem solved with McGard...less than 5 minutes and $26. I should receive the keys within about 10 days.

My question is why didn't any of the people I spoke with on Thursday know this? Why did they all leave me thinking that there was no simple solution to this problem? These are the really scary questions.

 

I'm glad that you resolved your issue. That $70 you saved cost your much more than $70 in aggravation.

My advise is to find a good shop who knows what to do & stick with them. Also take those wheel locks & pitch them in the trash.

 

Agreed. Any thief worth his while will remove your wheels ... regardless of wheel locks. They are not worth putting on a vehicle.

If you must use them then get 4 extra regular lugs and remove the locks yourself before going to ANY tire shop.

I remove my black plastic lug caps before having my lugs touched.
I also re-torque my wheels .... unless my regular tire service PROFESSIONAL does the job. He knows how to do the job correctly and understands how I expect my MINI serviced.

Glad to hear you got this sorted out. I hate impact guns and prefer a nice big breaker bar with the correct 6 sided impact socket.

 

Not precisely on topic...
But I have had similar service/parts experiences at a particular dealer north of NYC. It's a BMW dealer with a MINI department. They treat MINI owners like lepers.

 

Just to provide a bit of clairification... My actual out of pocket savings on the set of 215/45 17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+'s is actually closer to $200. This savings is comparing to the cheapest alternative, not the average or easiest. On the total purchase that's like 25% savings, I will always take a 25% savings. In addition, this is the second set of Michelins I have purchased this year from Costco and my forth set of tires total. Each time I have saved about $150-$200+.

So yeah, the kid screwed up. I've screwed up and I'll bet everyone here has screwed up numerous times. I have better things to do with my time than going Fire & Brimstone on some poor kid and his Manager. They said they would pay for the damaged key etc. there is nothing more they could do. So whats my real downside? Some inconvenence from their mistake. Like I said earlier, I was more bothered by all the MINI people who didn't know about their products.

So many people are so angery that little things set them off, ready to lash out or flip out over the smallest things...S**T HAPPENS! We all gotta lighten up!

I heard a couple of good suggestions, like removing the locks myself before having anyone work on my wheels, and for $12 I ordered a second replacement key. Now that's cheap insurance.

BTW, all you guys who for whatever reason don't believe in wheel locks... I don't know where you live, but I live in NY and if you have nice wheels and don't use wheel locks... You don't have wheels. And in NY, no self respecting Theif is going to spend any time trying to take wheels with good locks. Its easier to take the whole car.

 

I don't use costco anymore since I can get America Tires to pricematch costco.

 

Really sorry to hear what happend to ya.

No offense to these big box stores, but while they are great for buying chicken, and bulk boxes of hot dogs. Having them work on our cars is a huge NO, NO !

As a former "Associate Member", ( Means a very close relative worked for one of them as a manager....) I can say that this department in particular has a very high attition rate with respect to employees, and more often than not hire knuckle heads with little or no job experience......about the equivalent of finding some kid on the street corner, handing him the keys to your precious MINI and telling him to have a nice day.....

I have been a customer of Tire Rack's since the 80's and now only deal with their NAM Representive there: Alex at extention 294. As a MINI owner, he will bend over backwards to make you happy. They would have also given you the same $70.00 rebate as it was a limited time manufacturer promotion.....

Hope it all works out for ya.

 

Ya know, alot of people here seem to have a problem with Costco... I don't.

YES, I spoke with Alex at Tire Rack several times, and NO he didn't offer to give me the $70 off. Furthermore, every way I worked the deal with them, including me driving up to the TireRack in CT, ended up costing about $200 more than what I paid. On a $650 purchase thats llike 25-30% depending how you do your calculations.

Ya know back in the day I worked as an auto mechanic. The whole business is transient to a degree, and the guys who remove and remount tires are the most transient of all, everywhere. Young kids or inexperienced guys usually start as tire mounters and once they learn a little bit about cars they move on to regular mechanic work. I love it when someone tells me about their "Tire Professional"! Are You Kidding ME! Who the F*** has a "Tire Professional"!!!

When I buy a Michelin tire at Costco and have a problem with it (which happened to me while visiting relatives in VA last summer) they just replace it, no problems, anywhere in the country. When you buy a tire there you get a warrantee that covers mileage, road hazards, free repairs, rotations and nitrogen baby

I bought a set of tires Mail Order several years back and I had a problem with a tire... I went back and forth between the local Installer and the place I bought the tires. After about 3 solid days of back and forth I finally got the Manufacturer to step in and warrantee the tire. but I still had to pay the Mount & Balance for the replacement tire to the local guy. Now that wasn't worth the few dollars I saved.

Bottom line, any of you guys are free to purchase your tires through your local "Tire Professional" and pay 25 -30% more than me, not get the included nationwide warrantee, and I am completely OK with that... It's a free country

 

Dude - U R the one starting this thread looking for cheese with your whine.

U R correct though - Dif guys everytime I go to the local national chain tire store with road hazard. They manage to not know how to reset my TPM's on a common 2008 GM truck EVERY TIME which is twice a year when they change out the winter/summer tire/wheel sets. (Even though they advertise to be TPMs experts). I have to go to the manager and he does it and/or shows the tire jockeys how. At least he is always there. GM trucks have to relearn the position of every wheel. It's real handy to be able to read the exact PSI on the dash of each wheel. Too bad MINI does not do that, rather just a warning in the event of large air loss. Certainly much easier to reset the MINI TPMs system though.

This summer I discovered a lug nut missing (8 lug wheels), they stripped the lug bolt threads and never said a word. Found that out when I went in to have another lug nut put on, as it stopped 3/4 of the way and his torque wrench clicked and he says: "That good, have a nice day".

Then on the MINI - Same chain dif store - hoping for better service. They mount and torque the wheels - 450 miles later I sense what feels like a wheel bearing going out in long corners going over a mountain pass. Get out and check the lugs - none of them torqued above 50 ft lb (103 ft lb spec) - and the left front lug nuts very loose. Luckily no damage to the wheels, but any old soccer Mom might have kept going not sensing the problem, loosing a wheel all together.

 

If you ask for answers and help don't be so surprised when there are a few you suggestions you disagree with. Most folks here base their "help" on personal experiences and offer up the best data to them on hand......

Fustrating your situation was indeed, but disrespect to those offering up suggestions and the use of profane language is not going to get you the answers and suggestions you seek.

 

Tire PROFESSIONAL = My shop actually is a tire shop first and foremost. They have the latest mounting and balancing machines. (no rim touch, no jaw marks, no scratches!!) They are trained on how to use those machines. They use torque tubes to set proper torque or use a torque wrench. They are "certified" by different tire manufacturers and must attend training to get that certification to sell that brand.

It's a small 5 bay shop and the customer experience is what it is all about. They know how to treat customers and their cars with respect.

If you want to buy your tires at Costco and pay them for mounting and balancing .... they don't care .... but can not provide any road hazard warranty on your tires.

So YES I have a Tire Professional who I trust to give me the proper service and advice when I go to purchase tires. He tells me what to avoid and what he reccomends based on installing tires every day and having real world experience. He knows that I do not drive much in the rain, almost NEVER drive HENDRX in the snow, and that I love to corner hard and fast. If he ever sold me something that did not perform as required he would buy them back!!!

Nothing wrong with COSTCO .... but I'd rather keep my money in my community and have a friendly relationship with my Tire Professional.

I agree with you that as a New Yorker you are keeping the honest guys honest with your wheel locks.

ALWAYS park next to a car that is nicer than yours to avoid theft!!!

Bob

 

Just noticed this thread. I lost a key to my MINI wheel locks. I drove into a MINI dealership, tried the ones from their set until I found the one that worked, went to parts and ordered two new keys for something like $20 or $24. No problem. MINI can order the keys. Your MINI dealership just stinks. This was about the same time you were going through this. Call MINI of The Woodlands in Houston if you have to, they will ship the keys to you if you want them to.