This is not for me to elaborate on the nature of the problems that are keeping my car in the dealer's service department. You can find them under the thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=146414


I am starting this new thread to find solace in meeting with kindred sufferers, a sort of AA for Mini owners who would rather motor than keep calling their dealership.

Please just identify the total number of days since the original delivery of the car and the number of days it spent at the dealership in search of a fix. If you have the total number of miles driven vs. the miles driven to the dealership so much the better.

Here I go with my record stats:

-Delivery of my 2008 Cooper S on June 6, 2008.

-Days hostage in the shop by 08/08/08: 28 days.

-Expected delivery is on 08/11/08 by which time it will have spent 31 out of 66 days in the shop: 31/66

-Miles driven total 2,000 of which 1200 are to dealer and back: 1200/2000

In short: 31/66 and 1200/2000.

Coffee and cookies anybody?

 

picked my Clubman up on 5/15 ... spent 2 days in the shop few weeks later ... and now its been in 10 days (with 4-5 more to go)

they gave me a kickass loaner both times, so I can't complain on that end.

and both problems are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things its just a parts issue this time around (airbag stuff, they won't release the car back to me until its fixed fearing if i get into an accident and they won't deploy, I am coming after them)

my second car with this dealer and they always take care of me so I am not making a fuss.

but really MINI's are very quirky... the key is to save up the little bugs and take them in once 2-3 developed at least ... save yourself some trips.

 

Good thinking lurch but considering that this dealer can not master one bug at a time I'd hate to think what they'll do when attacked by two or three bugs at once.

Himmelkreuzdonnerwettersakrament (German for "darn"), I don't even want to think about it!

 

0... though it needs a couple of things taken care of

 

Good for you Tim. Must be that good New England karma that has been covering all your sports teams recently, football, baseball, basketball, soccer and apparently now extending to minis.

 

Ian I don't know the story with your MCS but that is a long time to be at the dealership for repairs.Maybe push MINI USA for a replacement.

Fortunately my dealership is only about 15 minutes drive from where I live.I bought Scrappy on April 5th and have about 5600 miles so far and have been back on numerous occasions to the service dept. for all sorts of warranty repairs.MINI USA is aware of the problems that keep occurring to my car and even contacted my SA to get a report on it.

I am currently going through my second repair on the automatic shifter interlock failure and will be going back on Monday to continue and also have the heater core insulation installed for the excessive heat in the driver footwell.

Granted I love my car but I hate the constant almost weekly repairs for new failures.I've been to the dealership so many times now I should collect a weekly pay check from them.

 

In Nevada that would qualify for the Lemon law. I on the other had a car that teased me...worked great for 14 months at which point I finally reached enough miles for my first full service. On the way home, my MINI decided it missed the shop and insisted on going back...been back 5 more times since then (Jan 08), all for the same thing.

Each time it came back out quickly...I suspect because they found "something" wrong and said "Voila" but in reality found a victim of the problem, not the cause. Last Friday (I was on the way to MTTS) it happened again (number 5), went to pick it up on Wed, and 6.3 miles later I was on back one the side of the road for the same issue (number 6).

With this significant exception, I really like my car and don't want to give it up, but it's killing me. Half the breakdowns have happened when I was in the middle of nowhere on the side of the freeway. I'm afraid to go anywhere anymore.

Total days, probably less than 20 days, although it's now been a full week (if you don't count the 2 hours I "tried" to take it home and ended up taking it back.

 

Yes Sin MINI and JCR1960, this pretty much sums up how most of us feel about our Minis, we really like them and in my case I am hoping for some miracle that will bring the prodigal son back home.

The car qualifies for a lemon law procedure and yesterday I met with a legal office that specializes in this field. They pointed out that the dealer has a poor Better Business Bureau rating and that this is to our advantage when claiming poor attention to the issues.

The sales manager has reportedly contacted Mini USA in search of a compromise and may have a response on Monday when we have scheduled a meeting.

This whole sad affair reminds me of a conversation that I witnessed when the Miata was first introduced in the USA. Bob Hall, who was the Mazda product planner and spiritual father of the Miata, was addressing a group of journalists when one of them commented that while competent the Miata lacked the "character" of British sports cars like the Lotus Elan. Bob responded that Mazda could supply a fake oil spill mat to be placed on the garage floor under the car's engine thus providing a key element of British character. The Miata went on to acquire an insurmountable reputation of quality and reliability, something that no British car has ever been able to approach.

Sadly the Mini is more British than German and BMW seems to be abdicating some of the development to third parties such as Daimler Chrysler and Peugeot mindless of the German proverb stating "zu viele Köche verderben den Brei" translated to "too many cooks spoil the porridge".

 

1 month old, no trips yet

 

14 months old. 2 days to fix the windshield noise

 

7600 mi and 0 trips on my '08, 90K and only scheduled maintenance on my '03

 

Matty, errolandmel, you give me courage in this time of desperation.

 

one month now. pretty much an engine rebuild (under warranty). parts were on back order, they gave me the new 328ci to drive around. but i want my mini back so i can start modding it.

 

Now in fourth month with zero trips to the shop.

 

10 months 41,000 miles no problems...NONE!

 

Heyjay, how many miles on the car?

 

15 months, 12,000 miles, 0 downtime.

 

16 months old
18,500 miles
1/2 day at NW MINI to replace power window/sunroof module

Pure perfection.

 

6 months old, 4000 miles Clubman S = 0 problems.

2005 Cooper S hardtop bought brand new March 2005 = Zero problems.

2002 MC CVT bought new August 2002 and sold February 2008 = ZERO problems.

Get the car replaced. Not all MINIs are bad. Bad apples can happen on any brand of a mass produced vehicle.

 

3+ months since delivery

6600+ miles

0 problems, 0 days in shop

(knock on wood, fingers crossed, all that stuff )

 

Excellent

I love reports like yours.

 

How do you suggest to go about it ClubmanS? Lemonaid it, trade it or wholesale it?

 

3 years since purchase.

Days in shop : 8 (totally my stupidity..getting the engine hydrolocked!! )

Beyond that been in the shop half a day (twice) for scheduled service!!

Going strong now...

 

Ian here is a link to the Florida Lemon Law from the office of the Attorney General of Florida.Read it over and it has additional links inside with questions and answers.

Link: http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/...4?OpenDocument

The other thing is if you have a copy of your Service & Warranty handbook on page 31 there is a section for Customer Assistance-Notification which tells you how to contact MINI and what procedures you need to take.
I would also let the Sales Manager know so he could help you with the claim.

Anyway best of luck to you and I hope that helps you some.

 

This thread slightly frightens me. I leased a Land Rover Freelander (British) several years ago and the car was a BOMB! I can only hope that history won't repeat itself for me.