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Old 11-03-2008, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Downtown Raleigh, NC
2,086 posts, read 7,628,072 times
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There is a lot of buzzing on the Tarheel MINI club site confirming that a dealer will be opened in Cary sometime in 2009 or 2010. If it opens in 2010 it might be a little too late for me because my warranty will end that year and I usually don't take my vehicles to dealers when they are out of warranty. Hopefully more local independent shops will specialize in MINI service as well.
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Old 11-03-2008, 09:12 AM
 
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Yes, any BMW dealership will service a Mini (BMW owns Mini afterall and sells Minis out of BMW dealerships while it expands its Mini dealer network). However, you are paying BMW hourly rates. If you are just getting basic service, any local garage will be fine and will save you money.
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Old 11-03-2008, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Downtown Raleigh, NC
2,086 posts, read 7,628,072 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sayantsi View Post
Yes, any BMW dealership will service a Mini (BMW owns Mini afterall and sells Minis out of BMW dealerships while it expands its Mini dealer network). However, you are paying BMW hourly rates. If you are just getting basic service, any local garage will be fine and will save you money.
I guess you could technically take any make of car to any dealership for service, but your warranty will not be honored and the service will not be specialized to that vehicle. We are talking about warranty work and scheduled maintenance that is included when you purchase a MINI, and MINI specialized service. BMW will absolutely NOT do warranty work on a MINI, nor will they perform the scheduled maintenance for MINI's maintenance program.

Where have you seen a BMW dealership selling and taking orders for brand new MINIs while the MINI dealer network is being expanded? MINI is a completely separate brand from BMW, much like Lexus is separate from Toyota despite being owned by Toyota Motor Company. You cannot buy a brand new Toyota at a Lexus dealership unless the dealership is both a Lexus and Toyota dealer; likewise with MINI and BMW.
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Old 11-03-2008, 10:04 AM
 
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Actually, if you read any car manual, it just states that the service needs to be done, not that it needs to be done at the dealership. Just keep receipts of service and you are fine with any car.

As far as warranty work goes, I don't know for Minis and BMW dealerships. BMW dealerships did sell Minis in 2006 (when I was looking at them) but that may not be the case any more...
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Old 11-03-2008, 11:01 AM
 
5,644 posts, read 13,191,079 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sayantsi View Post
Actually, if you read any car manual, it just states that the service needs to be done, not that it needs to be done at the dealership. Just keep receipts of service and you are fine with any car.

As far as warranty work goes, I don't know for Minis and BMW dealerships. BMW dealerships did sell Minis in 2006 (when I was looking at them) but that may not be the case any more...

Flow in Winston Salem used to have a "combined" MINI dealership within their BMW dealership until they got a separate space a year or two ago. There were probably other dealers in other states doing the same

But

BMW doesn't service or sell MINI's and vice versa. It was never the case that you could walk into any BMW dealer and expect to order a MINI
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Old 11-03-2008, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Downtown Raleigh, NC
2,086 posts, read 7,628,072 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sayantsi View Post
Actually, if you read any car manual, it just states that the service needs to be done, not that it needs to be done at the dealership. Just keep receipts of service and you are fine with any car.

As far as warranty work goes, I don't know for Minis and BMW dealerships. BMW dealerships did sell Minis in 2006 (when I was looking at them) but that may not be the case any more...
I assure you that I have read my manual and am well aware of what it states. What I think you may have missed from my previous post is that all new MINIs automatically come with 3 years/36k miles of scheduled maintenance INCLUDED in a maintenance program/warranty (this is separate from the 4 yr/50k mile limited warranty). That means that oil changes and scheduled maintenance, inspections are performed free of charge at a MINI dealer for the first 3 yrs/36k miles. If you want to pay someone else to do that even though you technically already paid for it when you bought the car, that is fine, but I think most people would rather take it to the dealer for free.

I purchased my MINI in 2006 from Flow in W-S. I had shopped at a few dealerships in my home state as well. Many MINI dealers are attached to, or on the same property as, BMW dealerships, but they are still operate as two separate entities. BMW will not perform warranty work on a MINI, nor will they honor the service/maintenance program, and vice versa. Lots of us owners in places where MINI dealerships aren't convenient surely would like to be able to take our cars to BMW for our scheduled maintenance and warranty work, but it is not the case. This has been discussed ad infinitum on the very active MINI communities across the web. I would suggest that anyone interested in purchasing a MINI visit those forums because they offer a wealth of information just like this one, and it is a very welcoming and friendly community to be a part of.
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Old 11-03-2008, 02:15 PM
 
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Thanks to all for the suggestions and good discussion. My Cooper S (Electric Blue) is 5 years old (but only 27k miles) and out of warranty. I don't want to pay top rates at a dealership, but I am hopeful of finding someone who knows and understands both the cars and their owners attachment to them. I do have a couple of leads now so will follow up on those. I'm still about 1-2 months from the service but will update on progress. Thanks again
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Old 11-03-2008, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Downtown Raleigh, NC
2,086 posts, read 7,628,072 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by candj View Post
Thanks to all for the suggestions and good discussion. My Cooper S (Electric Blue) is 5 years old (but only 27k miles) and out of warranty. I don't want to pay top rates at a dealership, but I am hopeful of finding someone who knows and understands both the cars and their owners attachment to them. I do have a couple of leads now so will follow up on those. I'm still about 1-2 months from the service but will update on progress. Thanks again
Definitely let us know if you find a place that you like and trust. I know that not everyone who owns a Mini makes it to the club sites, so it would be very valuable information for someone who might be searching this forum.

All the best!
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