Hello everyone, My name is Ed.... A few things about me/ and my car, I grew up in a DoD family so I was always moving houses. Well few moves along the way we ended up living in England for about 3 or so years.... There is where my obsession for all kinds of MINIs began. I wont stretch this out because its Probably boring to read.
I drive a 2004 chilli red s hatch, had white stripes took them off due to cracking.
Bought used a few months back. (from a dealer I will never buy from again because of many hidden problems they left out when selling)
if there are any clubs or groups in the maryland area that anyone knows of could you list them please.
I want to be able to stay updated on new mods/ upgrades so hopefully threads for the r53s are still alive


Thanks,
Ed

 

Very much still alive! I am here in AA county as well (work on Meade), welcome to the forum. If you have any questions, please feel free to fire away!

 

Thank you, and very familar with the fort, my whole family works there, Except me, and ok my question is do you know of any groups/clubs that are in close proximity to the area?

Thanks in advance

 

DC Metro Minis is the biggest club in our Area. Check them out online. They have meetings on Saturdy's at various Mini dealers in the area. Welcome by the way!!!

 

Yep, DC Metro MINI... I have yet to join (too busy with my MBA right now) but I have heard they are fun. Also, if you are into modding check out Mach V Motorsports. They will treat you right.

 

Not trying to overly toot our own horn but please give us a chance to help you with service or performance. Oxspeed.com

I would also look into C3M. We are members of both them and DCMM and offer discounts to their members.

Thanks,
Rick

 

Rick,

Who do you have doing your maintenance now? I came in for an oil change and the lower cowling fell off the car because it was not installed correctly. Would love to recommend you guys but something minor like that really set me off of ya.

 

Ill have to check out DC metro, i would like to get involved with something fun like that,

and oxspeed, i had no idea anyone in the area dealt with minis to that extent, can I just come by the shop sometime to check it out? do you guys do dynos and ecu programming? parts installation? just trying to look at my options in the area

Thanks, Ed

 

OXSpeed can do standard maintenance, major work (such as transmission, etc.) and performance. We do our own tuning using the Pro software from COBB and the ALTA AccessPort and are planning to support R53s soon. For our standard services, such as an oil change, we only use parts and fluids from the factory (dealership) but we tend to charge less.

You are welcome to come by and checkout our shop. Hope to see you soon.

 

So you are going to ignore my question?

 

Seems like a bit of a hijack of the thread, but... Who did you work with here? Are you sure you didn't have clips that were already old and brittle? We never remove any cowling to change the oil or filter. Changing the oil involves the drain plug underneath and we usually remove the single screw holding the coolant reservoir out of the way to access the filter. I'm surprised to hear you say that. While we have been around less than a year we already have repeat folks that started with us in December and have kept coming back every 10K for an oil change. I regret you didn't have a good experience.

 

I didn't ignore your question but thought it more appropriate in a separate post and it should really be in a separate thread. If you are not satisfied with our service I cannot refute your personal opinion but I don't consider it appropriate to insult us in this thread. If you want to flame us and are unhappy I understand and as I mentioned I regret it. If you truly think we are a "bad" business I suggest you contact the BBB (since you never contacted us) because we do value our reputation and care about each customer experience.

 

It isn't a hijack as you were the one that came in trying to sell your services. Here is the message I sent to you and Jason responded. It was professional and friendly enough, but it is my understanding that he is no longer with you. The cowling is back on as I had my clutch done it was put back on then (the bolts were fine) but you guys pulled it off to "inspect" some things. You also stated at that time that my power steering pump was failing which was not the case either. So, the reason that I am asking is that if I am going to put my word on a recommendation for you, you have to be better than what you did for me.

 

I don't like the bickering and wondered who you were "daflake". Found you Will. I don't know what I missed but I did find this:

====== From Will to OXSpeed:

The lower part of my bumper cowling fell off the other day while driving home. The cowling is fine, but it didn't look like Jason got it secure. I do know that two screws were messed up due to rust and he may have tired to secure it the best he could. I wanted to let you know about it but I won't be able to come back for about a week as I am having surgery on Monday. I plan on mounting the other JCW grill that I have so it may be a perfect time to do this while that part is off.

Will
---End Quote---
Hey, its Jason

I do remember the cowling having issue staying secure on the bumper. Im sorry there was an issue. they either stay secure or don't hold at all. The best bet right now is for us to just order all new clips and bolts that way we can secure it properly. again sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience
---End Quote---
Jason,

No problem, I knew we were going to have to do this and we did discuss fixing it. I'll be out of the loop for a week or so as I am having surgery Monday. I also want to mount the lower portion of the JCW grill I have so maybe in a few weeks I can bring her back up to get that piece mounted with some new clips.

Will
***************

If you attempted to contact us afterwards and we didn't respond, I apologize. However, it seems this wasn't simply an oversight and was a known issue both by you and Jason. Jason isn't actually a tech here anymore but I don't see where he did anything in appropriate. Again, sorry you were and are upset with our service. The cowling would not have been off for a simple oil change in any case.

Rick

 

I noticed you didn't include your last statements. It always helps to have the complete picture. In any case, you seem to think we did you wrong. I cannot see how I can fix that. I hope you found a great place to service your MINI but I do ask that you don't exaggerate what you perceive as a lack of quality in the the service we provided.

 

Rick,

Slow the hell down and why are you poised for a fight? I simply asked WHO you have doing your maintenance now as I know Jason is gone? You seem awful uptight and ready to fight over such a simple question. The bolts were fine and the cowling was re-installed with the ORIGINAL hardware. HE simply forgot to tighten them and it fell off. Luckily I caught it before it was lost. I then had surgery and to be honest was not impressed enough to return after that. Hell, I drove to Massachusetts to get my clutch changed at Greasy's because I trust Pete. I would like to trust you this way...

My POINT in all of this is that if that was forgotten what else could be forgotten? Finding and recommending a good mechanics is something that I try to do as much as I can, especially around here as there are a lot of places that rip you off. Your prices are right but not at the cost of the job not being done right.

Oh, and Rick, the piece that fell off was NOT the piece that I was talking about in the PM, I was confused. The bumper bolts on the bottom were the ones that seized and broke off. I had asked your boy to cut them off for me, but he forgot that as well and that was what we had discussed fixing. The cowling that fell off was the lower splash guard and those clips and bolts were fine (still in the guard).

If you are trying to win votes, you are going about it the wrong way mate.

 

I am a member of DCMM(DC Metro MINIs) and try and attend as many events as possible. You will find great people from all walks of life, but mostly military/veterans.

I recently had my stock SC pulley swapped out with an Alta 15% and they did a great job. I also ordered an Invidia Ti-Tip catback exhaust 09/05/12, but before I did I asked them a few questions over the phone. After I ordered and showed up to my appt that same day with them, they told me they called their distributor and made sure the order was shipped that day. I received my exhaust 09/07/12. I call that great customer service in my book.

But that's my 2 cents.

Regards,
Mike


Most of all WELCOME, and have fun MOTORING!!!

 

I am glad you had great service. I am simply asking Rick a simple question of who his service techs are, nothing more. Rick is the one taking this high and right. His shop screwed up and I almost lost a fairly expensive piece of my car. If you look at my PM, I was not overly pissed, I just didn't have more of my time to take off and go back to get it fixed. So I simply don't recommend them as the job they did was meh...

 

I'm not sure what is in a name but I do have both a mechanic and a tech - neither of which were here. I am not sure why you term my response uptight - but I do take great pride and care in my business's reputation. I care when a customer does not feel like they received excellent service and have failed to make something right that we have done wrong.

You mention something was forgotten (and lead to even more possibilities about forgotten items) but yet there was a full conversation between you and Jason. I sense you being really upset over the cowling but I don't understand that when you with Jason's assessment on the rusted bolts.

I did find your order (3/28/12) and the reason the cowling was removed was because you brought in your own belt and wanted it changed in addition to the oil change (you brought your own oil but not a filter). I did mention earlier we would not have needed to remove the cowling but did so in order to change the belt in your case.

I am sorry you feel that rusted bolts on the cowling (which was discussed) is a reason to avoid our business. I can see your perspective that you felt Jason should have put in extra effort but given the discussion between you and him the matter seemed resolved at the time.

 

Rick,

No worries, I am just trying to get a pulse on your business, that is all. I might have been upset had I lost the piece but that didn't happen. This was my first try with you guys and it was not the best experience, that is all. Nothing wrong with taking pride in your business but trying to toss me under the bus on the forum was certainly not the way to go about this. It was a mistake and they do happen but I want to make sure that the people I recommend are at the top.

I'll tell you what, I will give you guys another go and we will see how it pans out. Fair enough? Lastly, you really need to READ the posts without being hot. As I pointed out, it was not the rusted bolts that caused the problem, the guard was simply not screwed on. The bolts I was referring to have nothing to do with it. I simply made a mistake in the PM and yes, it was a belt change as well.

 

My fiancé and I bought a 2013 Clubman Justa from Mini of Baltimore last month. We're loving it so far. While I live in Baltimore City (just outside of Arbutus), I manage Gold's Gym in Glen Burnie, and grew up in S.P./Arnold.

 

Ahh, my two favorite things! MINIs and the gym. I Am a member at the Golds here in Laurel. . Welcome!