Hi all,

I have been a member for a while but have not posted anything. I am also a longtime member of Mini2 but have not been posting there as well since 2003. For starters I own 2 minis - 2002 Cooper, Liquid Yellow with body color aero kit for the S; 17" Hammans; the only modification on this car is a Scorpion dual exhaust for the S. My daughter is the main user of this Mini. I also have a 2005 Convertible Cooper, hot orange with blue top, 2 tone blue and orange leather seats. This car does not have the full body kit although it has body colored aerokit side skirts and S front and rear bumper cover covers (also body colored). This car also has the Scorpion dual exhaust and white 17" S-lites.

Since both of these Minis are driven by college kids, mileage has been limited - to and from Santa Cruz and Walnut Creek for the 2002, which has accumulated 22k miles. The 2005 has less than 2k miles as my son did not bring it to So. Cal - it's garaged in Walnut Creek. I try to drive it once a week.

I decided to post because I wanted to share my bad and good dealer experiences to the SF Bay Area members.

Anyway, attached is a copy of my letter to the Service Manager of Mini of Concord, who denied any and all wrongdoing. I hope you will read through.

I also welcome any comments and suggestions, good or bad.

Thanks.

Boohblu - same handle in Mini2, Boxster Racing Org and Porsche Pete's

 

I had a series of bad customer experiences at MINI of Concord that led me to seek service elsewhere. While I found Mr. Savelle to be quite personable, I also found his ability to deal with difficult customer situations limited. In his defence, many in this forum have sung his praises. I suspect though, that their specific automobile troubles were less complicated than what you described or what I experienced.

While I was fully prepared to contact people up and down the hierarchy at MINI of Concord, MINI USA and BMW USA, a call to MINI USA's customer service number seemed to help bump things along. My advice is to keep moving up the organization from local to regional to national until your situation is resolved. These folks are charging and getting a premium for their cars. They ought to provide premium service.

 

Call your credit card company and have the charges for the questionable repairs suspended until you figure it out.

Sounds awful, I hope you get it resolved. Having had cars damaged by BMW dealer service I always insist on a drop off walk around and take a copy. Still freaks me out to leave it though, dealing with the issue and dealer repairs is another nightmare.