Hello fellow Mini owners,

In the process of retiring my wife and I moved across the country from Southern UT to North Mississippi. We've traveled the US a lot, mostly by motorcycles, and the World a bit, (wife a lot), so no big culture shock, just trading Mormons for Baptists. In all this process, we both retired and I shut down an import business as well. I spent 35 years working in concrete caves as a machinist. Guns, (Kimber), knives, (Gerber), hydraulics, (Stanley), and lots more odds and ends. I'm a pretty handy DIY wrench. I had my own shop for about 12 years doing Miata work as a side business. Everything from oil changes to timing belts and turbo installs and tuning.

After selling other vehicles I needed a daily driver and the search ended up focused on a Mini Paceman S All4. I found one in NJ and worked out a deal, (sort of, still a work in progress, but more on that in a moment), and as part of the sale, had it transported to me in MS as part of the deal.

A very nice looking 2015 blue S All4 with white roof and full options arrived last Monday. First I noticed the broken pin on the privacy cover for the boot. Easy fix. Just tidy up the broken end, tap the hole 1/4-20 and thread in a stainless button head bolt with a couple of nuts on it, then a nylock nut on the inside and it's stronger than it was before and fits perfect. At least the previous owner was thoughtful enough to leave the rubber bushing tucked under the virgin cigarette lighter for me to find and re-use.

Next I start to put the normal things into the car that I prefer to carry. When I get to the boot I find it soaking wet. Some quick research shows this as a known issue and likely the hatch seal, plus a bit more. Now the car is supposed to still be under warranty for another 5 months and ~2900 miles, so I call the local Mini dealer and make an appointment for 7:30 am when they open on Tuesday. My local dealer is in Memphis, 97 miles away. I hit the road at 5:15 after scraping the ice off the windshield, (27F and dry). It didn't take me long to realize the heater was pretty weak. Even on hi, really barely warm. Ok, it is a British car... but not my old '70 MGB-GT so it ought to do better than that. I spent a cold 2 hours driving up to the dealership and my feet never did warm up.

I sat down in service and shortly discovered that my new to me car does NOT have any existing warranty, except emissions. 47k miles, but expired by time, 5 days before I took delivery. The car was explicitly sold with existing factory warranty as part of the 'features'. (I was still a little ticked off that it only came with one key too. $550 from the dealer if I go there.) The service manager suggested that while the hatch seal wasn't too bad, the heat issue was likely a heater core replacement job. I know full well how involved that can be, labor wise. I chose to not leave the vehicle for service/diagnostics, ($260 that would roll into the repair if I had them done). Another cold 2 hour drive back home to Tupelo. At this point I called the seller to tell them that I was going to take the return option because the car was not as advertised, specifically not under factory warranty and in need of some significant repairs. After two days of negotiation, an agreement was tentatively come to that involves the seller paying for repairs and providing a comparable warranty for the period of time/miles the car was to have had to begin with.

I went out to drive the car for a short errand. It's been sitting in the driveway for 2 days. 30 second after start up, low oil pressure warning comes on, "safely stop and shut down the vehicle". I'm still in the driveway, so no issue there. Pop the bonnet, check the oil. Go research the crappy dipstick issue, re-check the oil. Oil level is fine, at max on dip stick, (upper bulb). I'll either be doing the blackice mod or buying the $67 slinky dipstick if I keep the car. On the phone to the seller, documenting the new issue. They say get the car to the dealer and they will pay for diagnostic work, then decide if they will pay for repairs or have the vehicle transported back to them at their cost. Fine, we carry three tow services since we ride motorcycles long distances and the wife rides a BMW. (AAA, Allstate & BMW) Allstate tows to the nearest authorized dealer, regardless of distance, so I called them and arranged for the tow. The car showed up at the dealer Friday afternoon and was checked in and assigned a service appointment for Monday first thing.

Do that leaves me to read the forums and poke at vendor sites until I find out what's going on and if it's going to be paid for by the seller. And leaves me wondering if I should just return the car or accept it if repaired. It's fun to drive and though it has it's quirks, (really? A paper cartridge oil filter? This is the 21st century, not the 19th.), all in all, it should be a good car. Hopefully the short warranty period will shake out any issues. I'm already sorting out a list of upgrades/modifications for reliability and easy of maintenance.

So, that's my entry saga to the Mini. If you know where I can find the FCC ID number on the key fob, I would appreciate that tidbit of knowledge. It would appear that I will have to separate the two halves of the fob to find it on the circuit board, since they couldn't just emboss it on the outside of the plastic case like most are. *******. It looks like I can get an aftermarket key fob and blank key for far less than the $399 from the dealer, but will still get stuck paying either a locksmith or the dealer to program it to the car.

 

You need to get the key from a dealer by providing VIN# and proof of ownership. Several on-line dealers offer lower pricing than many local ones.

However, you bought yourself a can of worms from a shady dealer. I'd return it ASAP if possible and start over.

 

I know that route with a replacement key. Thanks though. Normally if you have the FCC ID, you can buy the correct aftermarket key/fob/transmitter from any source and have it programed for the car. ~$50 or less, plus the cost to program. I'm not a fan of dealerships in general. Or German engineers, but that's another story.

Your comment on the seller is spot on and a return is not out of the question. A lot depends on what the Mini dealer finds when they dive in on Monday. If they find more issues, the car will most likely be returned, even if I have to pay the transport cost.