Today, I want to share a story with you. As fellow Mini-enthus’, I feel I must share it. The names of the moronic will be left out but this all happened at Crevier Mini in Irvine.

Now I didn’t buy my Mini through Crevier Mini, although I did shop there briefly, but found their suspicious $5000 “mark up” ridiculous, so I finally settled some place else. Where is not important because I don’t want to make this a “this dealer is better than that dealer” thread- I merely want to point out crooked practices of a crap dealer.

I bought my 2009 Mini MCS new- customized it and saw it go through its stages of production like any proud Mini owner does. Took delivery 11.13.08 and have been happy ever since.

About a week ago, I realized the air conditioning went out. Fan would work, but no cold air. So I took it to Crevier Mini since it is close to my home. I drop it off and get a phone call 4 hours later:
“Hi, this is **** from Crevier Mini. Just wanted to let you know that you car’s air conditioning hose came undone from whoever did the aftermarket work on your vehicle nulls this from your warranty. The price to replace the hose and the mechanical work is $1100. Please call me if you wish to proceed.”

After several attempts via phone per Crevier Mini’s Golden Rule of Customer Service Telephone Etiquette: 1. Get the most hyper secretary on the planet to answer the phone 2. Never connect to the Mini Rep who helped you 3. Have a rep who used a Voicemail with THE WRONG NAME AS A VM GREETING, & now your 19th desperate attempt to reach someone, you finally catch your rep, who now says “that whoever did the aftermarket stuff to your engine must not have clamped down the hose correctly and costs about $1100 to get inside…”

“I don’t have an aftermarket stuff on my car.” You calmly explain. “Its brand f’in spankin new. I put on new Kuhmo’s and Tenzos. That’s it.”

Pinhead hangs up and goes and talks to the Lead Mechanic.

My Pinhead Mini Rep says to me “my car has been in an accident and from the bodywork done, looks like they didn’t clamp the hose back securely, so it will cost $1100 to get it fixed…"

I am now worried, not so much for his wild, ridiculous claims since my car has never been in an accident, nor has it any aftermarket parts to the engine, more the fact that a “Lead Mechanic” told the Mini Rep this and I want to grab my car from this pinhead because he clearly hasn’t a clue in hell as to what he’s doing. So I race down to CreREVier (which apparently wants to REV REV REV you into making careless $1100 payments to fix garbage claims that should be fixed under warranty) ”

“I’ve never been in an accident,” I try to explain, which is just like having a conversation with a 3 year old who just stares back at me in one of those dumb, mute moments, which is trying to convince a child Santa Claus doesn’t exist on X-mas eve. No go. Not even a dumb head tilt. (he then tries to tell me how whatever bodyshop did the "work", tried to cover it up with paint and the "lead mechanic" did the "paint test"- which came back positive...ie..."wasn't matching the PW from factory..."...did I mention I bought it new? With 8 miles on it? I've been driving the car for 35 days? 36? I'm in shock. Paint test? WTF is a paint test? Is it drink-while-on-the-job day at Crevier? Or pull a random-excuse-out-the-corn-hole and win $50 and a blue shirt that doesn't fit if the customer buys it?

So then I start to think of “how could my car have been in an accident? Without my knowledge?” Hmm, that’s strange and mystical. “My car got into an accident, without my knowledge, since I am the only one with the set of keys, and better yet, was in an accident with NO outer body evidence, yet the shockwave of destruction unclamped an A/C hose.” Hmmm. The possibilities:

1. I parked my car at a garage in downtown Los Angeles


and my car was joyrided by 2 men while I looked at priceless works of art with my hot girlfriend and my overly annoying friend.

No, that can't be it. There would be damage to the bumper, the JCW Aero kit, the hood, the headlights- which there are none. Its spotless as day 1 of pickup.

2. I was speeding recklessly in an alley, just coming out of a Chinese gang war fight and hit this guy. Maybe as I hit him, he magically threw on a front mount, a big turbo kit, injectors, an exhaust and as bad luck, dislocated my A/C hose. And then when I drove off disgruntled and gave him the bird, he magically took all the mods back, leaving me completely BONE STOCK, which the car is today.

Is Lopan so vindictive? Why are you so mean, Lopan?

3. While I was playing kickball with Jessica Alba in the Caribbean,

she got mad at me because I didn't throw the ball at her, and got hit by a wave, which she immediately ran and painted the inside of my engine block, knowing one day, when the A/C hose unclamped, those witty detectives at Crevier Mini will one day find her bad Pepper White paint and my plans for a warranty fix will spoiled.


** 2 Days Wasted in Review:
a. My car was in a mysterious wreck, yet no visible signs are apparent
b. Aftermarket products were claimed to have been installed, yet none are
c. Inside of engine mysteriously painted


4. Crevier Mini are a bunch of crooks!

Yea, that's the ticket!

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE TERRIBLE SERVICE FROM CREVIER MINI! HORRIBLE!

I will go out of my way to tell AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE how terrible your service is, how full of *(&*@#$ you are trying to extort $1100 from me, all while lying to my face about BS CLAIMS.

You take a great name like BMW or MINI and rub it into the ground with your lies and BS. I hope google picks up this and ends up on its first page when people are searching for vehicles and makes them go somewhere else until you clean up your dirty, crap practices.

CREVIER BMW COMPLAINTS BAD SERVICE
CREVIER MINI COMPLAINTS BAD SERVICE

Dirty, ridiculous cheats. Clean up your business practices!

 

sounds horrible, i went through similar bs at a dealer lately. i cant wait to get some good customer service somewhere. funny possibilities btw haha

 

Jessica sure looks nice...uh, wha, uh, that really sucks about your service. Please go up the chain and get a follow up on this. Could you imagine having a MINI with service making you feel the way the car does?

 

That is heinous. I hope you took it elsewhere for the service.

In my experience dealerships are pretty much hit or miss with every brand. I have been to four Mini dealerships thus far and three out of the four were very good. Haberstad Mini on LI where I bought my Mini was amazing, most pleasurable car purchase I could imagine. Mini of the Hamptons was not great. I had to have semi-emergency service there while visiting my parents last year and I wasn't impressed (won't go into details). Flow Mini in Winston Salem NC my "local" dealer has been awesome. A few of the guys there are on the forums and are really cool and helpful. Also Mainline Mini outside Philly where my girlfriend used to live was good to work with.

Anyway what I'm trying to get to is that you are lucky because in the LA area there are 8 dealers among which I bet there are some good ones.

I don't know what I would do if Flow Mini were a bad dealer because they are the only dealer within a hundred miles of me. Flow is 80 miles away and the next closest is 140 miles away.

Sorry not trying to play devils advocate, just talking.

 

"Paint test? WTF is a paint test?"

A couple of weeks ago, Mercedes Financial from sent a guy out to my house to do the pre-return inspection on an expiring lease. He had a small blue rectangular device (about 3" x 2") with an LCD readout. He placed it against each major paint surface.

When I asked him what he was doing, he said the device registers the paint color code, and can identify when the surface does not have the paint that was sprayed on at the factory. He went on to say that Mercedes "OEM" paint used for repair work is slightly different chemically. That way they can tell if a panel has been repainted.

Regardless, Crevier's dealings with you are unacceptable . I've taken my Clubman which was sold by a dealer in Pennsylvania, to Bob Smith in the north part of L.A. for work, and was treated well. They behaved no different then when I bring in my BMW, which was purchased at that dealer.

{BTW, the lease return guy said the device cost him $700.}

 

that's too bad that your experience was so awful. Have you ever thought that maybe your MINI was damaged in transit and was repaired at the receiving center (I don't remember what that is called) before it was delivered to you?
Take it to another dealer and see what they say.

 

Call MINIUSA and tell them the same thing. They do take things like this seriously.

 

I'm wondering if this is the dealer that the guy who bought my first MINI took it to when the clutch started failing. Rather than try to diagnose why a clutch was failing on a 26K mile car, they instead immediately launched an "abuse" campaign on him. I think he eventually worked out something with them, but with both warranty and maintenance plans to back the car up, their instant accusatory attitude was very misplaced. I would call your original MA and see if there is any way to check for port damage/repair as that is a minor possibility.

 

1. Just to be on the safe side, get hold of your original MA, and make sure your Mini had suffered no damage during shipping. Up to a point, they will make repairs at the VDC (vehicle distribution center) in Port Hueneme. They are under no obligation to tell you this happened unless you ask them to find out.

2. There are some very good dealer rating sites online. Find those and leave your ratings there as well.

Crevier has been bad news for so long, you'll find other horror stories about them in NAM.

 

Holy mother of God. I think my response to any and all of that would have been "Are you sure we're talking about *MY* car??"

Indeed, the best news is that you have so many dealers nearby. At least you're not forced to deal with them.

Crevier has a bad rap but dang, that's just stupid.

 

My question would be this. You found an AC hose disconnected or not clamped down properly, yet you want to charge $1100? Is that to reconnect the disconnected hose, or to tighten the clamp?

Hate to hear about your horror service story. Makes me thankful that our dealer has been wonderful so far. (FLOW)

 

+1

Also if you have another Mini Dealership close to your area I would take it there and cross Crevier MINI off your list to do any sort of business with.

Dwell keep us updated when you can.

 

+2. Call miniusa. Mini needs to know who out there in their dealer network is giving Mini a bad name. You won't get beyond the customer service reps at ask-mini, so I might be tempted to do a letter to mini corporate. I would insist that they make Crevier Mini do the warranty repairs, get Crevier to make them, verify they are properly made, take the car, and tell the Dealership manager and owner that you will never use their service again, and that you will post everywhere what a terrible dealership they are. I would also file a complaint with the local Better business bureau immediately.

 

Glad there is another dealer in your area.

Taking the other note a step further.

Let's say you had had a fender repainted due to a crash.
The insurance paid the repairs but as normal claims there
is no such thing as diminished value. Flash forward, this guy
with his guage shows up, says AH HA!, your fender has been
repainted, you owe $1000 in diminished value because we
have to disclose it (or not disclose it, just another excuse
by the man to get you to pay).

Is this scenario possible?

 

+1 on calling MINI USA and the Better Business Bureau. Even if everything they're saying is true (not saying it is) about the aftermarket stuff and paint or whatever... $1100 to reconnect a hose is retarded.

If BBB did an investigation, I wonder if that may be grounds for a class action suit? Any lawyers or pre-law kids up in here? (Not that I'd be included or anything, MINI of Nashville is awesome. )

 

where DID you buy your MINI, and why didn't you take it back there?
this seems more of an issue with WHERE you picked up your MINI and less about Crevier..

oh, and decaf -- methinks you needs it

 

See above.

 

yeah, i too have had to suffer from less than perfect service from a dealer that is convenient -- i learned my lesson.

the mother dealership will treat you like gold while your surrogate dealership will tolerate you.

but i really think there is a bigger situation that needs dealing with -- and agreed that bad service doesn't help the situation.

Dwell would be flaming the dealer/mechanic who discovered this issue with the MINI irregardless...

I wonder how different this would have all played out, if Dwell had taken the MINI back to the place of purchase.

It just seems odd to me:
you don't buy a car from a dealership because they have a significant markup. . .
procede to wax fantastic about the dealership where you do buy the car from (SouthBay) in another thread. . .
but rather than maintain your dealership loyalty and return to the dealer where you would NEVER have bought the car for service. . .
then procede to ***** about the experience where a technician doing their job discovers a flaw with the vehicle that is obviously the responisbility of the ORIGINAL dealership to deal with

 

Yeah, I think his rage is completely warranted. I would be that p***ed, too.

PS - Gromit, I love your Douglas Adams quote. That was one of my favorites when I interned at a daily newspaper.

 

Kelly, I see your point. However, sometimes there might be time constraints involved, or perhaps choosing the one close to home makes it easier to get back home or back to work without involving others to drive you around. People will go to different dealerships for service work for a variety of reasons.

Moxie: Thanks! I'm a graphic artist, and it applies.

 

Gee DWELLthat sucks. Your obviously lying about #3 though, because if you would have expanded the picture of Jessica Alba to its original size it would have obviously shown me running into her open arms. That being said, I would try another Mini dealer.

 

 

I worked all my life in service positions and let me suggest some ideas to have yourself heard.

I agree with this because cars do get damaged in shipment and are repaired prior to delivery. The first rule of complaints is credibility. Find out if repairs were done and then go to another dealer and have them do an estimate before you complain to MINI or anyone else. (Facts, Facts, Facts)

I would write MINI coprorate a letter (a letter is forever, an e-mail is too casual a way to make a serious complaint) that states the facts (including the info about prior damage and the estimate). Send the letter certified mail or at least with delivery confirmation. Send it to a particular person (look on the site and pick out an VP or regional Manager as a target.)

Don't editorialize or rant, but rather express concern and confusion as to why this is happening with a new car, ask for assistance in fixing this problem, and if possible, even include a little humor; you seem to be good at it, so develop it. Mention each dealership you dealt with (delivery/sales, repairs and the estimate.)

Make certain you include the fact that you are having your first experience with MINI and also your future interest in owning MINIs. Ask what your recourse may be and what your coverage is for the situation.


Good luck

 

I've had miserable dealings with Crevier when I was shopping for my Mini. They need to be kicked to the curb by Mini. Nothing but horror stories surround them.

 

Ditto!!