MINI2

Stiggy · Apr 19th, 2008, 12:21 PM

I thought I’d pass on my experiences – both good and bad.

As my Cooper D is going to have fairly low mileage, I worked out it would be nearly 2 years until the first oil change under TLC. As this is an expensive car (with an expensive auto gearbox) I decided to get an early oil change at about 3000 miles when the car is nicely run in.

National Tyre will do a filter and oil change using Castrol Edge Full Synthetic for £37 if you book online. I went to my local centre at Bedford, and the guys did the job. However, looking at the paperwork afterwards, they had put in Castrol Edge 5W40 Turbo Diesel, not the 0W30 I had asked for. An understandable mistake I thought, as the car is a turbo diesel! I rang them up, and got a ‘cock and bull’ story about actually the oil was Duckhams and it was the right grade. I rang their customer support line, and got a very helpful guy who checked their Castrol Oil guide, and the only entry they had was the MINI One D having 5W40. I pointed out that this was a totally different car, and I had double-checked with MINI (and Peugeot) and it should be 0W30.

They did the second oil change for free, of course. Having gotten somewhat paranoid at this point, I decided to play safe and buy the proper BMW/MINI oil filter for the replacement oil change. Guess how much? £16 inc. VAT from Elms Bedford!

So, the National Tyre deal is good, but make sure you get what you want. My double oil and filter change cost me less than £60, so I’m happy.

ScottyBoy · Apr 19th, 2008, 01:10 PM

Yes il be booking this eventualy, ive known of this deal for a while and if you pay online you get a 10% discount.

If you drive in and pay then its £37.

Very good deal IMO.

Scott

Stiggy · Apr 19th, 2008, 03:49 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ScottyBoy (original)

Yes il be booking this eventualy, ive known of this deal for a while and if you pay online you get a 10% discount. If you drive in and pay then its £37.

Yes, sorry, £33.30 online.

PCooperS · Apr 19th, 2008, 07:07 PM

Just had mine done at National Tyre and had a similer experiance.

Booked online for the extra 10% and requested Castrol Edge 0W30 so £33, went along on Monday and they replaced the oil and filter(Unipart), whilst doing this I said to the guy 0W30 he nodded in agreement. When I checked the paperwork at home later it stated Visco 7000 0W40, phoned them back to be told "We only do what the computer tells us to do and they have to use all the old stock up" , can you give me a phone number to ring and complain "NO", phoned the head office four times before I got to talk to somebody and logged a complaint to be told the area manager would ring me.

Still waiting and not happy

Stiggy · Apr 19th, 2008, 07:55 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by PCooperS (original)

can you give me a phone number to ring and complain "NO", phoned the head office four times before I got to talk to somebody and logged a complaint to be told the area manager would ring me.

I just called the customer service dept. on 0808 100 0015, and they were very helpful for me.

Yes, don't accept nonsense about 'using old stock'. If they are advertising Castrol Edge they have to supply it. If this is a widespread practise then Trading Standards should hear about it.

If you get 'what it says on the tin' it's a good offer, if not it's literally too good to be true.

Mejy Poo · Apr 21st, 2008, 05:54 AM

It's seems cheap - however they don't seem to get it right the first time by the looks of things?

I'd rather pay a lil extra and make sure it's done right the first time round...

How much approx do BMW charge for an oil change on a Dooper?

The Transporter · Apr 22nd, 2008, 08:41 PM

Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable.

For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!!

Plus you generally save money!

ScottyBoy · Apr 23rd, 2008, 02:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by The Transporter (original)

Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable.

For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!!

Plus you generally save money!

Thats the same toughts i have on things like this but at £33.30 you simply cannot do it cheaper.

The other 99% of the time ill DIY it.

Mejy Poo · Apr 23rd, 2008, 06:50 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by The Transporter (original)

Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable.

For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!!

Plus you generally save money!

Yikes I wouldn't have a clue where to start!! And can you imagine what my nails would be like at the end of it?!

Silent1 · Apr 24th, 2008, 05:25 AM

There's a reason those places are cheap...

Unless you do it yourself or take it to a main dealer you're more likely to have more hassle than good.
Combine that with the fact if a BMW/MINI technician notes a non-bmw filter came out you might have problems if you have a warranty claim

Tigger, Eeyore & Roo · Apr 24th, 2008, 06:34 AM

The usual going rate at Halfords for the 0-30W fully synthetic Edge alone is £58.98.

Morrisons have a special on the same oil of £7.49 per litre (£37.45 for 5 litres) until 28/4/08.

These prices obviously exclude the filter (about £3 from the dealer for an R50/53 and £7 for an R56 at Westerly in Exeter), labour and oil disposal costs. If someone is offering the entire service for £37 (£33.30 on line) of course they are going to be tempted to substitute the oil for any old 10-40W. 10-40W oil is a fraction of the price of 0-30W and has very different properties. How many people are ever going to notice that the oil has been switched until it is too late?

I love the lines that "they only do what the computer tells them to do", or "we must use old stock first". That should fob off 80% of those people that do notice. If they wind up having to swap the oil for the correct stuff in, say, 5% of all cases, then it could still cost effective for them.

There are so many people hungry for a "bargain" that good sense is often the first thing to go out of the window!

DaFlake · Apr 24th, 2008, 06:43 AM

Guys, unless your temp up there gets below -25 Celcius, you are OK with 5w-30 and 40 on the normal petrol engine..... However, if you check your manual it should tell you what viscosities are acceptable by that engine. I am not familiar with the Cooper D manual so I don't know what it states. Don't just look on the cap, check the book to get the full picture.

Tigger, Eeyore & Roo · Apr 24th, 2008, 06:46 AM

0-30W is the recommended viscosity for the UK climate.

DaFlake · Apr 24th, 2008, 06:51 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo (original)

0-30W is the recommended viscosity for the UK climate.

I think you mean 0w-30...

That is fine is the 0w is only the "winter" rating. The 30 is the weight. On teh 06 hardtop, you can run 30 or 40 according to the book. We run 5w here in Germany and in the USA.

My point is that you can check the book to get a better understanding of what is acceptable.

DaFlake · Apr 24th, 2008, 06:57 AM

Could someone post up what the owners manual states for the Cooper D? I am curious.

Shorty · Apr 24th, 2008, 07:54 AM

Well at that price I couldn't say no

Thanks for the heads up Stiggy

Stiggy · Apr 25th, 2008, 06:12 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by DaFlake (original)

Could someone post up what the owners manual states for the Cooper D? I am curious.

Unhelpfully, the manual says "MINI Longlife-04 or MINI Longlife-01"!

In other threads, I've worked out that it should be Castrol Edge 0W-30. Accept no substitute!

ScottyBoy · Apr 25th, 2008, 07:49 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Silent1 (original)

Combine that with the fact if a BMW/MINI technician notes a non-bmw filter came out you might have problems if you have a warranty claim

If the filter is made to the same specifications as the BMW filter then it will NOT invalidate the warrenty just because it does not have a BMW badge or code on there.

DaFlake · Apr 25th, 2008, 07:54 AM

Yeah, BMW can't really void a warranty for expendable parts like a filter or oil IF the proper stuff is used. I choose to use Royal Purple 5w-30 in my MINI which is a great reliable oil. I took it once to the dealer here in Germany and the lead service tech commended me on my choice of oils.

Apr 19th, 2008, 12:21 PM	#1
Stiggy Automatic for the People Join Date: Aug 2007 Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 373 Offline	£37 oil change at National Tyre I thought I’d pass on my experiences – both good and bad. As my Cooper D is going to have fairly low mileage, I worked out it would be nearly 2 years until the first oil change under TLC. As this is an expensive car (with an expensive auto gearbox) I decided to get an early oil change at about 3000 miles when the car is nicely run in. National Tyre will do a filter and oil change using Castrol Edge Full Synthetic for £37 if you book online. I went to my local centre at Bedford, and the guys did the job. However, looking at the paperwork afterwards, they had put in Castrol Edge 5W40 Turbo Diesel, not the 0W30 I had asked for. An understandable mistake I thought, as the car is a turbo diesel! I rang them up, and got a ‘cock and bull’ story about actually the oil was Duckhams and it was the right grade. I rang their customer support line, and got a very helpful guy who checked their Castrol Oil guide, and the only entry they had was the MINI One D having 5W40. I pointed out that this was a totally different car, and I had double-checked with MINI (and Peugeot) and it should be 0W30. They did the second oil change for free, of course. Having gotten somewhat paranoid at this point, I decided to play safe and buy the proper BMW/MINI oil filter for the replacement oil change. Guess how much? £16 inc. VAT from Elms Bedford! So, the National Tyre deal is good, but make sure you get what you want. My double oil and filter change cost me less than £60, so I’m happy.

Apr 19th, 2008, 03:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
Stiggy Automatic for the People Join Date: Aug 2007 Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 373 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by ScottyBoy (original) Yes il be booking this eventualy, ive known of this deal for a while and if you pay online you get a 10% discount. If you drive in and pay then its £37. Yes, sorry, £33.30 online. Last edited by Stiggy : Apr 19th, 2008 at 07:49 PM. Reason: I was WRONG!

Apr 19th, 2008, 07:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
PCooperS 92 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Not sure Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 110 Offline	National Tyre Just had mine done at National Tyre and had a similer experiance. Booked online for the extra 10% and requested Castrol Edge 0W30 so £33, went along on Monday and they replaced the oil and filter(Unipart), whilst doing this I said to the guy 0W30 he nodded in agreement. When I checked the paperwork at home later it stated Visco 7000 0W40, phoned them back to be told "We only do what the computer tells us to do and they have to use all the old stock up" , can you give me a phone number to ring and complain "NO", phoned the head office four times before I got to talk to somebody and logged a complaint to be told the area manager would ring me. Still waiting and not happy NINE GOLD AND TWO SILVER May / June 2008 = Stelvio, Mortirolo, Zoncalon and Giro TT. Last edited by PCooperS : Apr 19th, 2008 at 07:08 PM. Reason: filter make

Apr 24th, 2008, 06:34 AM	#11 (permalink)
Tigger, Eeyore & Roo May '08: Bye bye Mini2... My Classifieds Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kernow, near England Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 4,512 Offline	The usual going rate at Halfords for the 0-30W fully synthetic Edge alone is £58.98. Morrisons have a special on the same oil of £7.49 per litre (£37.45 for 5 litres) until 28/4/08. These prices obviously exclude the filter (about £3 from the dealer for an R50/53 and £7 for an R56 at Westerly in Exeter), labour and oil disposal costs. If someone is offering the entire service for £37 (£33.30 on line) of course they are going to be tempted to substitute the oil for any old 10-40W. 10-40W oil is a fraction of the price of 0-30W and has very different properties. How many people are ever going to notice that the oil has been switched until it is too late? I love the lines that "they only do what the computer tells them to do", or "we must use old stock first". That should fob off 80% of those people that do notice. If they wind up having to swap the oil for the correct stuff in, say, 5% of all cases, then it could still cost effective for them. There are so many people hungry for a "bargain" that good sense is often the first thing to go out of the window! May '08: Due to certain recent events on this site, I no longer wish to continue posting on Mini2. Such a shame after 4 otherwise very happy years on here If you are a friend, I can always be contacted here!

Apr 24th, 2008, 06:43 AM	#12 (permalink)
DaFlake Dog Tired Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Heading to The Cape! Local Time: 11:49 AM Posts: 10,251 Offline	Guys, unless your temp up there gets below -25 Celcius, you are OK with 5w-30 and 40 on the normal petrol engine..... However, if you check your manual it should tell you what viscosities are acceptable by that engine. I am not familiar with the Cooper D manual so I don't know what it states. Don't just look on the cap, check the book to get the full picture. Global Moderator

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Apr 19th, 2008, 01:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
ScottyBoy Obsessive Car Cleaner OCC My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Thornaby NE Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 2,856 Offline	Yes il be booking this eventualy, ive known of this deal for a while and if you pay online you get a 10% discount. If you drive in and pay then its £37. Very good deal IMO. Scott

Apr 19th, 2008, 07:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
Stiggy Automatic for the People Join Date: Aug 2007 Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 373 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by PCooperS (original) can you give me a phone number to ring and complain "NO", phoned the head office four times before I got to talk to somebody and logged a complaint to be told the area manager would ring me. I just called the customer service dept. on 0808 100 0015, and they were very helpful for me. Yes, don't accept nonsense about 'using old stock'. If they are advertising Castrol Edge they have to supply it. If this is a widespread practise then Trading Standards should hear about it. If you get 'what it says on the tin' it's a good offer, if not it's literally too good to be true.

Apr 21st, 2008, 05:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
Mejy Poo MINI2 Senior Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 355 Offline	It's seems cheap - however they don't seem to get it right the first time by the looks of things? I'd rather pay a lil extra and make sure it's done right the first time round... How much approx do BMW charge for an oil change on a Dooper?

Apr 22nd, 2008, 08:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
The Transporter MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Mar 2008 Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 6 Offline	Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable. For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!! Plus you generally save money!

Apr 23rd, 2008, 02:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
ScottyBoy Obsessive Car Cleaner OCC My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Thornaby NE Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 2,856 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by The Transporter (original) Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable. For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!! Plus you generally save money! Thats the same toughts i have on things like this but at £33.30 you simply cannot do it cheaper. The other 99% of the time ill DIY it.

Apr 23rd, 2008, 06:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mejy Poo MINI2 Senior Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 355 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by The Transporter (original) Im the sort of guy who likes to do everything myself. That way I know exactly whats gone on with the car. For example I know the sump plug wont be over or under tightened. I know that while I was under the car I didnt knock anything else causing damage. I.e. caught a wire going to a sensor and snapped the cable. For total piece of mind: DO it yourself!!! Plus you generally save money! Yikes I wouldn't have a clue where to start!! And can you imagine what my nails would be like at the end of it?!

Apr 24th, 2008, 05:25 AM	#10 (permalink)
Silent1 Supercharger Noiseaholic Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Anglia Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 170 Offline	There's a reason those places are cheap... Unless you do it yourself or take it to a main dealer you're more likely to have more hassle than good. Combine that with the fact if a BMW/MINI technician notes a non-bmw filter came out you might have problems if you have a warranty claim

Apr 24th, 2008, 06:46 AM	#13 (permalink)
Tigger, Eeyore & Roo May '08: Bye bye Mini2... My Classifieds Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kernow, near England Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 4,512 Offline	0-30W is the recommended viscosity for the UK climate. May '08: Due to certain recent events on this site, I no longer wish to continue posting on Mini2. Such a shame after 4 otherwise very happy years on here If you are a friend, I can always be contacted here!

Apr 24th, 2008, 06:51 AM	#14 (permalink)
DaFlake Dog Tired Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Heading to The Cape! Local Time: 11:49 AM Posts: 10,251 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo (original) 0-30W is the recommended viscosity for the UK climate. I think you mean 0w-30... That is fine is the 0w is only the "winter" rating. The 30 is the weight. On teh 06 hardtop, you can run 30 or 40 according to the book. We run 5w here in Germany and in the USA. My point is that you can check the book to get a better understanding of what is acceptable. Global Moderator

Apr 24th, 2008, 06:57 AM	#15 (permalink)
DaFlake Dog Tired Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Heading to The Cape! Local Time: 11:49 AM Posts: 10,251 Offline	Could someone post up what the owners manual states for the Cooper D? I am curious. Global Moderator

Apr 24th, 2008, 07:54 AM	#16 (permalink)
Shorty MINI2 Master Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Great Malvern Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 1,356 Offline	Well at that price I couldn't say no Thanks for the heads up Stiggy

Apr 25th, 2008, 06:12 AM	#17 (permalink)
Stiggy Automatic for the People Join Date: Aug 2007 Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 373 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by DaFlake (original) Could someone post up what the owners manual states for the Cooper D? I am curious. Unhelpfully, the manual says "MINI Longlife-04 or MINI Longlife-01"! In other threads, I've worked out that it should be Castrol Edge 0W-30. Accept no substitute!

Apr 25th, 2008, 07:49 AM	#18 (permalink)
ScottyBoy Obsessive Car Cleaner OCC My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Thornaby NE Local Time: 10:49 AM Posts: 2,856 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Silent1 (original) Combine that with the fact if a BMW/MINI technician notes a non-bmw filter came out you might have problems if you have a warranty claim If the filter is made to the same specifications as the BMW filter then it will NOT invalidate the warrenty just because it does not have a BMW badge or code on there.

Apr 25th, 2008, 07:54 AM	#19 (permalink)
DaFlake Dog Tired Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Heading to The Cape! Local Time: 11:49 AM Posts: 10,251 Offline	Yeah, BMW can't really void a warranty for expendable parts like a filter or oil IF the proper stuff is used. I choose to use Royal Purple 5w-30 in my MINI which is a great reliable oil. I took it once to the dealer here in Germany and the lead service tech commended me on my choice of oils. Global Moderator

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