I'm getting closer and closer to selling this car everyday. I've had it for a year now, and here's a list of it's issues (I'm sure I'm forgetting something):

- Hole in the water pump (after 1 month)
- Windows needed reprogramming (Closed on the outside of the door frame)
- Clutch return spring snapped (Replaced with a new, super squeaky one)
- Hole in the exhaust (Re-welded)
- Sunroof Sticking (Re-lubed and STILL sticks, 3 days after getting it fixed)
- Passenger window didn't go down all the way (and still doesn't)
- Front emblem flew off on the highway (New one reattached)
- Undervoltage issues (The issue that worries me the most)

I know the list is a little longer than it is here, I just can't think of the rest. The water pump happened within a month of owning the car, and the rest has happened within the last 2 or 3 months.

Now I know this has all been warranty work, but when a good percentage of your money is going into these car payments, and you live 30 miles away from the dealer (and I know most of you live further), it tends to get very annoying. I have put several hundred miles on my car just going back and forth to get service. When the clutch return spring was replaced, it squeaked every time I used the pedal, and the knee bolster kept falling on top of my legs, I had to go back again a few days later to get it fixed properly.

On Friday I picked up my car after getting the undervoltage issues (which I was unaware of at first), the exhaust hole, the window, and the sunroof fixed. Although the window and the sunroof have not actually been fixed. The sunroof still sticks and the window still doesn't go all the way down. There was no paperwork with the car when I picked it up, and all the service people had gone home for the day. This morning I called back, and I told my SA how unsatisfied I have been with the car this past year, and he basically told me it's not that big of a deal. Now I have to go back again, because of the sunroof and the windows, and the service indicator in the car has now turned red.

So I asked for MINI USA's number. I called them this morning, and I pretty much got the same thing. Pretty much all the CS Rep. told me to do was try a different dealer (which are all at least 2 hours away), and he obviously didn't understand my frustrations at all. At one point I even asked, "So basically I'm screwed with the car and I'm pretty much just going to have to keep going back and forth with the dealer?" His response, "Yeah basically." That's about the time I said "What's your name?" and "Have a good day. Goodbye."

My 1998 Chevrolet Malibu with 100,000 miles on it was more reliable than my 2008 MC. Apparently my car already has electrical issues, and it's barely a year old. I was actually considering buying a 2010 MCS, but at this point it doesn't seem worth it. Between Towne MINI, Keeler MINI, and MINI USA itself, no one even seems to care that I'm not happy with the car.

Do I seem out of line to be frustrated? Or should I just let it go? I'd think a company like MINI would do anything in their power to make a paying customer happy, but I guess not. Does anyone know how I can get my issues actually fixed the first time? Or will I really have to keep making all these trips back to the dealer??

Alright, rant over.

 

drew.. I think your car most likely qualified for lemon lawing it some time ago.

Call a lawyer. Look into it. Car makers do NOT like to have to lemon law cars.

Of your issues, I've had two. The power window issue (mine rolled themselves down in the middle of a snow storm when I was doing 60 mph on the freeway) and the sunroof issue.. My dealership, while they were complete a$%$^%holes during my service visit, at least fixed it properly. I've had the car home a month and am still not having problems with either repair.

At this stage, I would have long since called a lawyer to explore my options. You may or may not have any, but it can't hurt to find out.

 

I looked into the Lemon Law over the weekend online. As far as I know, the car needs to be out of commission for a total of 30 days, or the same problem must have happened 4 times.

It's a good idea to contact a lawyer though just to see what my options are. I'll be doing that tomorrow.

Thank you.

 

Yeah, most states tho, have a clause that basically says that if you've had the car in the shop over x amount of times for varied problems and have been without the vehicle you paid for for so many days blah blah blah... they owe you a car that works.

Good luck. Hopefully you can get some sort of action on this that will make things right for you. You paid for the car. You deserve to have a car that works.

 

That really sucks to hear that. I hope you find someplace with good service soon, or that you are able to get "lemon-ed" up and get another one.

 

When I called back to see what the undervoltage was all about, they basically assumed I was at fault. They asked if I ever left anything plugged in overnight in the cigarette lighter (which turn off when the car is off!!), or if I drive distances less than 10 miles. Which, I do sometimes but not that often. Apparently the MINI battery doesn't completely recharge unless you drive more than 10 miles. I'm glad I was told that when I bought the car...

The SA told me that I may have to jump the car in the future. For now, all they did to correct the issues was charge the car.

Once again, superb service...........

 

You need to make a serious complaint to Mini USA.

 

I did this morning. The guy basically told me that stuff breaks, and they fix it for free under warranty. I guess he didn't understand. That's not the point.

I have a few lawyers in the area I'm going to try calling tomorrow. Along with Towne MINI and MINI USA again.

 

Dont blame the Dealer.

I work at a Dealership, all we can do is what the factory tells us to do while the car is under warranty.If car breaks while in warranty we get paid to fix it by the factory,if it breaks out of warranty the customer pays.

Trust me the Dealer wants to fix your car . Dealerships make money selling cars,parts and billing service hours.

As far as the customerservice rep treating you in a bad way all i can say welcome to the way of audi,bmw,mini,mercedes,volkswagen .The service advisor should always be helpful and polite if they value earning a commision from the dealership and csi money from the factory.

I have worked in european,domestic and asian brand dealerships for 24 years and can speak from experience . Hyundai and Lexus will always provide the best customer service and product for the money.

I love my jcw and have yet to have one fault but compaired with my Genesis Coupe fit, finish and quality wise MINI/Bmw have a long way to go before they can or will offer a high quality product that sells for reasonable money and provide the Hyundai and Lexus aftersale and service experience.

Mini less so /Bmw more so are becoming a company that sells a badge and image nothing else.

Don't flame me I love my 2009 jcw and my 11,000 mile owned since new 1988 M3

 

I'm not trying to blame anyone, but I'm getting frustrated about having a crappy unreliable car. I love my MC, but it's getting to a point where it's just not worth it anymore. Mostly I'm getting very sick of the poor customer service, at 2 dealerships, and by MINI USA.

By the way, there's a yellow '95 M3 for sale down the street from Towne, it's very tempting.

 

Before you buy the 95 m3 (money pit plus low hp and heavy)go look at a genesis coupe ,5/60 bumper to bumper,10 year/100,000 mile powertrain and cost 22k before rebate and discount plus 2.9 percent hyundai finance.

I drive and own a gennie coupe track pak and love it.

 

mine (current) is 2 years old

my commute is less that 3 miles

everythng works fine

as it did on the 02 I also had til a few months ago

so if you read this and think

mine have been

on the other hand a dealer told me face to face

I make nothing selling cars.

I make all my money in the service bays ....

Hmmmmmm

 

Does that come with a V8 in RWD platform?

I recently drove a Gennie sedan (rental, 11K miles) and it was nicer, more refined, rock-soild (no rattles or sqeeks) and more powerful than any Lexus or Caddy Ive ever motored in. Terrific highway cruiser!

(OP sorry for jacking yr thread. But there are us motorers living in isolated sections of the US where the closest 'ship is 400-500 miles away, so we are at the mercy of the only show in town. fortunately mine is so good to me that it was a factor as my lemon-y 05's warranty was about up--should I trade for new or bail out of MINI? Well I traded, got my 09, and while it has some small nagging issues, nothing major mechanical like the 05 had.)

 

Genesis=V6 or Turbo I4.

You should not have to deal with this from any manufacturer. Go in there let them know you have intentions of getting a lawyer cause you think the car is a lemon. Also ask them to please try to fix all the issues one more time. If it doesn't happen get rid of it. You should not have to deal with a car thats brand new giving you fits. Alas though it is a MINI and they are finicky. I suggest that if you don't want to deal with stuff like this then go get an appliance Toyota or Honda. Don't drive something you like or have problems with.

 

IMO when they resort to the "blame the customer" shtick it's time to think about moving on. I mean to try and tell somebody intelligent (not a chick) they should drive > 10 miles or the battery will die is pretty insulting. If it were me I'd be making lemonade if I could.

 

Raise hell with minusa ,the dealer can only do what miniusa tells them to do.

Trust me the dealer wants to make you happy.

 

Never happens in my store .

 

My gennie has the turbo 2 litre with all the aftermarket parts plus a tune and millen/kw v3 suspension 340@whp

 

Sedan v6 or v8

coupe inline 4 (same gema world engine as mitsu evo or srt dodge)
and v6

 

I actually test drove an MS3 today, a car that I have been interested in for a while. It was really fast, although shifting gears was strange. The clutch was way too soft and the gears were so close together that it made it easy to skip from 2nd to 5th. It would take some getting used to, just like the MINI, but I think I'd like it. The people at Mazda have already treated me 100x better than the people at MINI. MINI just tends to treat me like a kid that doesn't know anything. I mean, I am only 20, but I'm not THAT young. Tomorrow I'll go find the Hyundai dealer and check that out.

Every single person I have talked to about this car, including my 40+ year Chevy mechanic uncle, thinks there's seriously something wrong with my car. MINI USA, on top of the dealers, really doesn't seem like they give a crap. MINI USA will be getting a call again tomorrow, and if nothing happens then I will threaten to get a lawyer to solve things.

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it. If anyone else has anything to add, please do.

 

Either lemon it or trade it in on something you'll be happier with. Once you get this frustrated, you'll never be happy with the car and every little thing with bother you. Good luck!

 

Go higher up on the chain.

 

And by the way, Speed3s are awesome. I however, hate the new styling though. Good luck.

 

This is the main reason why I don't deal with dealerships. I owned a 1998 M3 sedan that I bought used with 99K and it never left me stranded, and was extremely reliable. I have a great BMW mechanic that does a great job at maintaining my cars and not taking advantage. I sold my M3 with 125K on it with the original Transmition and Engine, and bought a clean 07 MCS with 19k on it. So far it's been fine, minus having to change my pads at 20k, I had my M3 for 5 years and don't rememember having to do any brake work, the sunroof sticking this weekend( I had to push it up with my hand before it finally worked on its own, and the occasional burning clutch smell. If I would've known how crappy these Minis were, I wouldn't have bought one. But since I did, whenever something goes bad, my BMW guy will do the work, and I will use aftermarket parts instead of the crappy OEM parts. Hopefully the engine won't blow up after the warranty expires, because then I'll be up sh@#t creek.

Vince

 

Oh, btw drew... I take back what I said about my dealership fixing my car properly. Last night, my power windows didn't drop all the way to the bottom on the driver's side, dropped all the way to the bottom on the passenger side and my sunroof refused to open when I did the quick open command on my key fob. I've done the soft reset with the power window switches... let's see if that fixes it. If I have more problems again over the course of this week... my dealer isn't gonna like me next Monday morning.