I took my Mini into the dealer last week for state inspection and they wanted me to pay $512 for two new front tires even though the ones on the vehicle were still legal.
That pissed me off. I've never paid $256 for a tire in my life!
So when I received the follow up survey from Mini, I rated them unsatisfactory. They really hated that. The service manager called me and explained that I just didn't understand.
End of relationship with those guys.
Well, there was your first mistake. :-)
Recently, I took my 12-year-old Ford to the dealer for some warranty work. The dealer "found" a list of problems that "had to be fixed, right now". Car wasn't safe to drive, without performing the work. Total Cost? $1900. I'm not sure if my car is worth that much.
I smelled BS. I'm not a mechanic, but I generally know enough about cars to be dangerous. I took the car over to my regular mechanic, showed him the list, and asked what he thought.
He said, "Well, your car has 130,000+ miles on it. Stuff *is* going to be worn. It's not a new car, but it's perfectly safe."
End of discussion.
As an aside, I had the brakes done, by the same guy. Before working on them, I asked "What do you think? Is it drivable?" His reply: "Sure. You can drive it off the lot, but I wouldn't be riding in it."
I had the brakes done, right then. :-) It's nice to have an honest mechanic.
The Mini S uses run flat tires rated at 130mph, depending on brand, $200+ mounted and spun balanced is about the going rate. Ask me I’ve bought a few. The best price I could get after extensive shopping was about $700/4 on the car at Discount Tire.
What I don’t like about my Mini is the dealer’s hourly shop rates are high, factory parts are very high and about nobody else makes parts or works on them.