To NAM members: Thoughts on what next steps, if any, I should take? Thanks, Chris

Hello ***


My name is Chris Chappell, owner of an '07 Sparkling Silver MCS which is currently in your service bay.

I realize that you are just getting back into the swing of things post vacation and you've probably got 500 emails in your inbox but I felt that this issue was important enough and urgent enough to bring to your attention. My MINI seems to be suffering from terminal starting / running / electrical problems which, quite frankly, have me quite nervous and fearful of driving it. The problem is so severe and evasive that some of your best mechanics, former (Steve) or current as well as the engineers at your headquarters seem to be quite baffled by.

A little history. The car has had this problem / occurrence roughly four times (4x) since May, two (2) of which have completely disabled the vehicle requiring a tow to your dealership (1 last week, 1 six weeks ago). The problem seems to be ignition oriented (I'm thinking ECU/DME) and/or possibly fuel pump related. Last month the entire CASS / key ignition unit was replaced and we all thought the problem was fixed, however, we never really knew why it happened? This is my primary concern. I've owned lots of vehicles, been through many repairs, and usually you can tell what went wrong, why the part failed and, ultimately, how to correct it.
In this case, so far, it's been like chasing a ghost with no real rhyme or reason as to what to do, how to permanently (relative to wear / tear, mileage, etc.) fix it.

To make matters a little more tenuous, hence my growing concern and urgency, my car is adapted with hand controls and has been setup specifically for my needs (delete a seat kit, etc.) as I had suffered a spinal cord injury (SCI) 11yrs ago and currently use a wheelchair to mobilize. And although this hasn't been an issue, having logged nearly 275,000 miles since my SCI, when my MINI breaks down while simply cruising along the highway or commuting as I was last week it is very disconcerting as the vehicle just 'dies' without being able to drive (limp the car) into a safe area where I can get out / unload. My greatest fear is driving down I-25 for example, the car dies and there's a semi-tractor trailer bearing down on me! Believe me, I understand, driving, in and of itself is dangerous but one of the reasons I bought my MINI was that it was a well engineered BMW product and as such comes with implied confidence and reputation that the vehicle is built to higher standards of quality and reliability (The Ultimate Driving Machine). In layman's terms; you expect more than I have experienced when buying a premium product.

Since I've owned my MINI I have had some wonderful experiences and met some great people, including your service team,
*** etc and I have been a good customer, probably investing well over $40,000 invested in my MINI since June '07 as well buying MINI gear, promoting the brand to prospective buyers. I have been an ambassador for the brand, having had published articles as well as promoting MINI through a variety of MINI events.
All in all, please ask any of your guys, I've been bleeding MINI blood since ownership. This is not about hating the car, brand or service experience, in fact just the opposite, this is about fear of the unknown.

There are alot of smart people in your service area and I'm sure throughout MINI but so far no one has been able to solve this riddle.
I do not know how much time is reasonable for repair and I don't know MINI's policy on what's considered catastrophic failure and if there are any restitution customer safeguards in place. I also haven't researched consumer safety laws or product (re)liability statutes but after 4 weeks of being in your shop (3 last month and 1 so far this month) I feel that I have been reasonable, patient and proactively helping to search for a solution to the problem. At this point I am at a loss for answers I sincerely need your expertise, advice and suggestions as to how we move forward.

Ultimately Jim I'd like to keep the car and enjoy it for another 50-100,000 miles. However, if MINI, by no fault of your engineers or technicians, fails to accurately diagnose and solve the problem I think that you can appreciate that an alternative solution may be warranted. I look forward to your timely and thorough response, thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Chris Chappell

 

Write a clear, concise synopsis so people like me will actually want to read this wall of text.

That's what I think..

 

It's clear, it has paragraph breaks and everything. I read it.

Not sure what your problem could be, but it's a well written and diplomatic letter, hopefully you get a positive response and they can solve your problem. Good luck, keep us posted

 

Chris: I may have found the source of your problem with the dealership. Your dealer doesn't seem to have any mechanics. They have a Service Director (whom you know), a Service Manager, and two Service Advisors, but apparently no mechanics. Maybe I should have known it would eventually come to this when they went from being mechanics to being technicians.

More seriously, I hope that you get a timely (seems already too late for that though) and completely satisfactory resolution.

P. S. Your letter does seem a bit long; I read it all though.

 

nicely done job.. I would have problem be so polite

HRM.. dont be lazy, just read it LOL

 

Agreed, a little lengthy but documentation / detail is important when communicating with the dealership GM and owner. Never hurts.

Thanks for the support, hopefully a satisfactory result will follow..

 

Were the hand controls a mod to car or did you/can you order it that way from Mini? Maybe that's the problem...