Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this.

This is my first post and I wish it was of a sweeter nature but it's not. So without0delay, here's my situation.

I purchased a 2010 MCS on the 14th of September from a non Mini dealership. It was on their used side. I got into this car deal with the check engine light on. I knew it needed service but didn't know the extent of what the light was for. This is all covered by the way; I'm not paying a cent for anything that needs to be fixed. So I'm clear of that. I also got a warranty for 4 years to cover bumper to bumper.

The dealership takes the car to their third party shop and runs their tests. The light turns out to be the camshaft position sensor. No worries right, replace it and you're good to go. Not for this car.

9/19 Thursday, I dropped off my car to the dealership.
9/20 Friday, I heard from the dealership explaining to me that they replaced the sensor and the light is still on. They are unsure as to why. Also to note, their shop is closed Saturday and Sunday. I can't hate really, I like my weekends too. Just wasn't expecting to be out of a car for more than a day. Now the weekend is here and I have no car and they don't have an answer for the light.

9/23 Monday rolls in and no word from anyone, not the dealership or the shop. So I called and left a message.

9/24 Tuesday comes and goes without them calling me. I call again and get my service lead. He tells me the sensor is ok, might be the exhaust too. The system is all tied together. May even be the cams themselves being off.

9/25 Wed I call early, at this point I need a loaner from the dealership. We work out a deal and I get a car for the duration of the repairs. That puts me at ease for the time being. At least I have something to drive.

9/26-27 Thur/Fri come and not getting my car this weekend either. Still don't know why the light is on. Neither does anyone else.

9/30 Monday comes along and we chatted about the car and it’s in the same stage, diagnosing things. No real answer again other than cams/sensors/exhaust. Really, this many things? The car is 3 years old. How bad can this thing be at this stage?

10/1 Tuesday I call the shop that my car is at and I want to get the word from the man working on my car. I get the manager I think, nice guy and when I ask some questions about the car he had the answers on tap. Camshaft sensor was replaced but they think it’s the cams. I said ok, thank you for the information. In my head I am seeing them still working the cam parts even though they have had the car for 8 business days now.

10/2 Wednesday I call and he says it’s not the sensor or the cams. Might be the ecu. At this point I just want the car out of my hands and this is just absurd. I said ok thank you for the update.

10/3 Thursday I call early and ask for an update. If there's nothing good I am calling the dealership and cancelling this purchase.
He tells me that valve cover is off and the cams look good. No mention of the ecu after he said the cams were good the other day. I have at this point heard enough and tell him thanks.


I called the dealership earlier today but my finance person was out. I am going to call her again tomorrow to discuss this car and the purchase.

Are minis this hard to work on and is this normal? Or am I correct with the feeling that something is really wrong and they won’t tell me. How long does this work normally take? The car does have an exhaust, CAI and some other Alta parts that I haven't been able to look into yet. But they also know this.

Should I cancel this and run or wait it out?

 

Its not tat bad there are some things you can run into. id have them take it too a Mini/BMW shop make sure they use approved parts may need timing chain. I bought mine used dealership changed brakes but not sensors had brake ligt on saying 30k overdue car had 17k on it so its just iunderstand your doing maintence on a BMW its not cheap

 

Makes sense, thanks for replying.

An update is they called me on Friday the 4th and told me it would be all buttoned up this Wednesday or Thursday!

I am very excited to get the car back and start to make it my own.

 

You don't say where you are. Location would help someone in you area direct you to a savvy MINI shop. Without that info, here's a DIY locator. Open the Independent Shop section and find a shop near where you live. These listing, for the most part, have been vetted by other MINI owners.

http://soopercooperinfo.com/

You will also find all sorts of other very useful MINI stuff on the site. Spend some time browsing...take you lunch.

 

Get your money back and move on ASAP!!!!!

 

First, I have one of the earliest 2010's and it's still under factory warranty.

What I would have done, even before I bought it, (especially if it had a CE light), was take it to a MINI dealer and have them check it out. It's probably still under factory warranty, why not have factory trained people fix it with factory parts.. if you don't have a MINI dealer at least nearby, you probably shouldn't have bought the car. I would never buy a car where I had to drive 2+ hours to a dealer, unless it was something like a Mclaran, when they will tow it to them for free...

But since you didn't go that route, you're kind of stuck.

 

If you are in a position to do so (no official paper work done stating you HAVE purchased the car and it's yours), walk the **** away! Sounds like a shady dealership and shop.

 

i'm just flabbergasted that you would purchase a car with a CEL on. for it to be on the lot with the light still on they either 1. don't know how to fix the problem or 2. don't care about the problem. either way, should shouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole.

but since you did buy it, your only option at this point if you want to get out of it is to speak to the dealership and see if they will let you out, or try to do a lemon law on it. there is no buyer's remorse laws as far as car purchases go, so legally they do not have to let you out of the sale unless there's a clause in the contract. you're kinda stuck. as others have said, you might be better off pulling the car and taking it to a mini dealer, and if any costs have to come out of pocket, send the bill to the dealership you bought it from.

 

I would never have been this patient after buying the car. Do you have a Lemon Law in your State? If they won't give you your money back call the Attorney General. Take care of it today do not let anymore time go by.

 

Yes, MINIs are unique. I wouldn't say they are hard to work on but they have their quirks that only BMW dealers can take care of. Electronics issues can be some of the worst things to try and troubleshoot. It's never simple.

The short answers they are giving you are B.S. I personally hate this type of feedback. Call me demanding, but I expect a daily report of what they did and what the next day's plan is. For something that costs this much money, you deserve to know what's going on. That's just part of being professional. Motor City MINI was always professional with me when I was under warranty. Unfortunately, all dealers are not the same.

I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker, but now is the time to start getting vocal and getting upset. Don't lose your composure though!

 

I think it IS a deal breaker and wouldn't have even gotten to the point of purchase. It was on the lot with a CEL. That tells me it's a dealership that either hopes to pull the wool over someone's eyes, or is too lazy to fix issues and they know it's a bigger issue. Heck, I backed out on a car because the front rotors were so lipped they needed to be replaced as soon as I purchased it. The salesman refused to have the rotors replaced, so I left and ultimately ended up with my MINI because of it.

 

If the dealer will not take the car to a Mini dealership or independent Mini repair shop for a complete inspection, I would walk away from this car. Who knows now what crazy things have been done to the car in their efforts to repair the car.

 

Wow, thanks for all the input. I am in WA State, Seattle area and we have a couple mini dealerships close by. I plan on fully taking it there for anything that I cannot fix myself. With that, here's the latest.

As of 10/4 I threatened to cancel the whole damn deal as this was taking too long to fix and there was no feedback that made sense. I wasn’t mean or anything. But I was stern and delivered my message with facts, dates, times you name it.

The independent shop does specialize in BMW’s and other Euro cars so I don't fault them for the most part. The main guy there was honest enough to tell me that the dealership was taking their time approving the fixes. This, as he told me was the red tape he was dealing with.

I wasn't making any headway on this with my phone calls to the service dept. or the shop or the financial person. My wife took it upon herself and sent an email to the finance person on an effort to just see what would happen. Turns out she was gone all week at a conference. This explains the no answer from her.

She replied instantly and was deeply concerned and had no idea this was happening. Why would she though, her portion of the deal was done. No worries there.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The man who sold me the car called me and he too was concerned and shocked that this was happening. He said he would take care of anything holding things up and get me my car. He made good on his word.

The shop called me shortly after he said all of the work orders have been approved and all the parts needed, will be here in first of the week and that I should expect my car Wednesday or Thursday the latest.

All in all, this is all written into the purchase agreement that its 100 percent clean and fixed before I take true ownership. If anything is not done, I'm out. I’m not paying a single cent for any of this work!

 

Thanks for the detailed update. Hopefully you will be a new Mini owner next week. Not a good start but I am sure you will quickly fall in love with the car.

 

It happens. Just looks like they put a car on the lot that wasn't ready for prime time... I bet once you get it, you'll love it...

 

I went into a dealership asking about a car on their website and they said "it needed additional.work before we can put it on the lot". You don't put it out there with a cel. That to me is just hoping to find a buyer who doesn't notice it while waiting to do the repair. In my case, its good the 03 wasn't on the lot and ready to see yet because that's how I found my 07 lol

 

I did get to drive it for a couple days before turning it over, I had made sure that everything was in writing before signing anything. I have to say, it was one of the best feelings I have ever had driving. It reminded me of how much fun to drive! So damn fast and agile. I get it back tomorrow! Just so happens I have tomorrow off too.