I will go out there this Friday. Thinking of making an appointment and wondering whether to tell her (the GM)--through email--first of what I've experienced with the "new" car versus what I expected from a new car (no worries for the first few years). Appreciate your help with this issue.

 

Make the Appointment, go and "Sit Down" with the GM, this will only let them S@@ who they are dealing with, e-mail won't do it, sad to say...your MA may or may not be in on the "Sit Down", be prepared if he/she is. Also Document everything that has happened up to this point, go in with your Guns Drawn and lay it ALL out, tell them that you expect them to take the car back based on your very Unprofessional MA not disclosing the problems the car had prior to you picking it up!!
Was this an Ordered car or Off the Lot??
I'm a bit confused on this.

 

Jeanne,

Welcome to NAM and the world of minis...



Being in the bodyshop business for over 26 years, I'd like to clear up some misinformation....

First, "plasticizer agent" is nothing more than flex agent. Flex agent evaporates in 12-24 hours depending on what brand you use.

Point is, it is used ONLY so the paint will be able to flex a bit when installing the bumper.

Soooo, what does that mean to Jeanne? It means that regardless if there is flex agent in the paint, if the bumper is put back on the car without damaging it, it's completely irrelevant whether it has "plasticizer agent"



Second. There is no guarantee that the bumper will have a different "fade characteristics". If the bodyshop uses a good quality paint, the paint is new, the car is new, the paint should fade at the same rate.

Our paint is guaranteed for the life of the car, you better believe it has to be good enough quality to honor that warranty. Only cheap paints will fade that premature.

I'll be the first one to admit that factory painted parts IMO are always better.

Having said that... the woman just bought the car she dreamed of, don't make it sound like she going to end up with a crappy job and regret getting the bumper painted.

I only have one suggestion for her.

I would ask for a new bumper (preferably a take off from someone that bought a JCW kit) for ONE reason only.

The only real issue she may have chipping. I say that not because of the quality of work done or quality of paint but rather the fact that if the bumper has been repainted, that means it has 2 paintjobs on it. (the factory one and the repaint)

Now if they repaint it again, it will have 3 paintjobs. 3 paintjobs tends to leave the paint a little thick and that could possibly make the paint more conducive to chipping.


One of my bodyshops does 99% of the work for an Acura dealership (for the last 8-9 years). We repaint bumpers constantly and have never once had a comeback because paint was faded, cracked or chipped. If the work is done correctly, you shouldn't have a problem but I would still try to get a new take off (only because it was painted at the factory and have one paintjob)

Mark

 

I have had 4 cars totally repainted and restored using a fantastic local body shop. 3 of the 4 cars has plastic/rubber bumpers. Only the best quality primer/sealer, paint and clear were used and although the flex agent was added in correct volume and measurements...for some reason, they NEVER appear to be as resiliant as the factory formulation for whatever reason. They just flat out chip and crack easier for whatever reasons.

 

Hi, Jeanne! Sorry to hear about the car woes.

If the only problem you were having was the bumper paint, this suggestion probably wouldn't be of much help, as that would largely be considered cosmetic and probably wouldn't qualify on its own. But given that you've also had other problems with the vehicle, you might have recourse through a so-called "lemon law" buy-back. I went through that process about 14 years ago with a GMC Jimmy.

Without going into the lengthy details about my vehicle's problems, if you can't get satisfaction through the dealership or MINI corporate, you might contact the Better Business Bureau and initiate an arbitration hearing that would be mediated by them (see http://www.bbb.org/us/auto-line/state-lemon-laws/ for more details). That is, assuming MINI participates in this arbitration program in your state of residence; apparently BMW/MINI only participates in some states, so check the link above to find out if this arbitration process is an option for you.

Good luck, and I hope you can get the issues resolved quickly and without hassle!

 

I met with the GM at East Bay MINI yesterday, Friday. She was completely understanding . . . and unhappy to hear about my experiences. I've accepted an offer to get a completely new bumper. I got a complete vehicle history. I also received (without asking for it) a 7-year warranty worth almost $2000, plus an offer to pick up my car each year for service (since I live far from them) and return it to me. I'm very happy. I'm also looking forward to a car that's as good as "brand new" in the next week. Thank you all for helping me through this trying situation.

 

Just curious, did the complete history show anything revealing or unexpected?

 

That's good news, it's all about you being happy with your car!

 

Jeanne,

That's GREAT to hear. Glad Mini stepped up to the plate and fixed your issues.

THAT'S what customer service should be about.

Mark

 

Yes, very encouraging to hear that MINI is making a sincere effort to make things right! I agree with orangecrush: that's what customer service should be! No one expects any car manufacturer to be perfect, but they can at least address the quality/mechanical problems their customers do bring to their attention.

 

One of my bodyshops is a little over 14 years old. EVERYTHING we do is word of mouth and referalls. No advertisements, no pro-shops for the insurance companies, not even a phone book ad.

I had a guy call me telling me his Dodge truck backglass is leaking. We fixed that truck almost 4 years ago.

I made an appt with him, supplied him with a rental car and paid our new glass company to remove, reseal and reinstall the back glass, no questions asked.

The guy called me up later to tell me how happy he was. He thought he'd have to argue to have his truck fixed.

Yes, a company's true measure is how well they take care of the customer after they've received their money.


Mini could have blown her off and given her the run around but they did what they should have.... respectable in my eyes.


Mark

 

Jeanne,
Great to hear this. As stated, they did the right thing and as long as you are happy that is what counts.

 

Agreed, "orangecrush:" any business that can survive solely on word-of-mouth advertising is one worth doing business with!

In sharp contrast to Jeanne's experience with MINI, my experience with GM fourteen years ago was the polar opposite: they argued and stonewalled me over a major corrosion problem -- on an 8-month-old truck with ~3,000 miles on it -- that was clearly their fault. The regional representative even went so far as to imply that the problem was my fault: a result of me driving my 4x4 in the snow, cleaning it thoroughly, and then parking it inside my garage! And no, I'm not kidding! That's exactly what he said to me!

Ultimately, I filed with the BBB under the "lemon law" in Pennsylvania and was awarded a replacement truck (which has held up even until today); but by the same token, it's no surprise to me that GM effectively went bankrupt; with customer service like I experienced, it's just a matter of time -- no matter how large or small a company is...!