Well usualy my before posts have been about me having trouble with my mini. Well turns out today I had to fill out the lemon law paperwork. Really sucks because I had such a bond with that car. Now I have to figh tto get my money back. It was in service for a total of 27 days. All of which were regarding the drivetrain.

Hate to say it but with the lousey customer service and the horrible relability of that mini im never going to buy a mini again. This just happens to be my third BMW lemon in the past 5 years. I'm done with german cars better off getting a rice rocket.

TOTAL MILES: 14,327
HAD FOR: 1.5 years(made the lemon law by 5 days!!!)

 

That sucks. I had ordered an MCS two years ago and
it didn't pass quality control at the factory so they
didn't ship it. I ended up buying a 2004 VW Golf GTI
that now has 40,000 miles on it and hasn't been to
the shop once.

 

Arisis:

I was so sorry to read your post. Unfortunately you're not the first person on this board -- MINI enthusiasts, all -- who returned a MINI because of reliability problems. At least one or two others invoked lemon laws. I hope your next car works out better.

 

to be issues.

 

Thats true but when there is an issue they should at least admit the car has a problem. Not force us to have to fight them.

 

I've some problems with my BMW E39 too, it went in for a service in the dealer for 2 weeks (under warranty) and it came out with the problem unfixed. The problem was with the rear curtain because it gives out annoying noises when driving on bumpy roads. Didn't know what else to do so i just live with those noises.

 

Well... my first mini is on order. However, I've had 10+ BMW cars, and of that, one was a dealership buy-back, another was a manufacturer buy-back, but most of the rest were pretty good. OK, the seven series (two of them) were both maintenance nightmares.

BMW gets sued on an hourly basis, I'm sure. They are used to it. Like any major manufacturer, they are going to have problems, issues, liabilities, and supplier screw-ups. And of course, some dealerships are better than others.

I've heard horrible things about VW quality, but yet pitpass has had zero problems with his/her car. So, we all play the odds.

Sorry to hear of your troubles, and I hope that it all works out OK for you. After my first BMW nightmare (1987 535i) it took a while, but I eventually (1995 530i) came back to the fold. And just two years ago (2001 330ci) I swore I'd never never never-ever buy another BMW... and here I am. Buying a BMW (with a little mini flag on it).

Michael

 

Well i finaly got a new car a Z06. I was just looking and some cars when i noticed this yellow rocket across the dealership and i said that one! So i fille dout the paper work and got my new car. well used with 12k miles. who new i would be driven to buy a american car. My mind set used to be only german. times change i guess.

 

Congrats on the new car! I went through the lemon law process with a 2002 MX5 Miata and I wouldn't wish that experiance on anybody.

 

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. It is true that no matter how well-engineered and well-built a car is, there are always a few bad apples, or in this case lemons. If you have owned several BMW products that have had a lot of problems I don't blame you for having a bad taste in your mouth. But, a lot of people have bad experiences with one make and subsequently form a definitive conclusion on that one car. These assumptions are unfortunate and should be avoided IMO because you may end up passing on a great car from that manufacturer in the future. Back in 1984 my parents bought their first Volvo. It was a great reliable car so they bought a used 89 in 1993 and it ended up having a TON of problems (although it still made it up to 225k miles before we sold it, 225k very expensive miles). Since then we have had four more Volvos and for the most part they have all been great! Our family has loved the Volvos we've owned. But if my parents had had problems with the first Volvo, they may not have ever owned another Volvo. Its not that I blame people for this kind of thinking, its natural to think this way, but IMO you have to try and look at the experiences of a large number of owners rather than a few. When I bought a Honda Accord a few years ago, I thought it would be a great car based on all the talk of Honda reliability. However, I had a horrible experience and after I sold the car last year I vowed never to buy a Honda again. But when I was in the market for a new car this summer I decided that I would be willing to give Honda a second chance and I seriously considered the Civic before finding my MC. This experience taught me that you can't judge a whole car company based on one bad experience, unless the problems you are having are widespread among other owners...

 

anyone care to explain the "lemon law"?

 

I'm sure someone knows the specifics...but it's something like if the same issue occurs in your car 3 times or more (I think that's right, and it may vary by state, I don't know) in a year and a half (again, may vary by state), then you have the option to receive your money refunded to you, or (in my mother-in-law's case, this is what they did) a brand new car.

 

Not sure of the exact wording, but basically, if you have the same problem a certain amount of times, the car company must by law buy that vehicle back from you. I believe there is also a provision for a vehicle with many assorted reliability issues. You'll have to research your local states lemon laws, as they differ.

 

ty mlw and rusty.

 

for my sate the florida lemon law is very nice to the buyers. This isnt our first BMW lemon actualy we first had a old BMW dont remember the series but it was a lemon then we left bmw alone then we went back and got a 330ci it was a lemon due to its electrical system. then I got the mini aggenst my parents wishes and it was a lemon. I had the "i told you so" thing going endlessly in my house. and my dad got a z4 3.0 a year before i got my mini we still have the z4 only becuase we are to lazy to file for lemon again. its having electrical problems and tranny issues. its kinda just sitting in our drive way till the lease is up.

Sad thing is many other people i know that got mini's because i said it was a good car filed for lemon law also.

 

After reading this have to wonder what the chances are that one person (or family) could have so many "lemons"?? I hate to say it but it seems a bit suspect to me. I've never had or known anyone with a lemon car. I talked personally with several mini owners before buying mine and they had zero problems. I also read every review available on the internet before buying..nothing negative except a few things with the 2002, to be expected with the first year. If so many minis were lemons I think the press would be all over it...not so. This just seems weird to me.....

 

I agree with you. Something is not right, or someone and their family has some very bad Karma! Who did you wrong in another life?? I have owned 10+ cars, and only 1 car would I consider to be a bad car, and it was a 2000 Toyota MR2. I was in for service about every 2 mo's for the entire 1.5 yrs of ownership. I had a new engine by 18K miles. But atleast they fixed it. I sold it right after. Plus, I did buy the car used. So who knows what the original buy did with the car.

 

Depends on how many BMW products they've bought.

Example - our immediate family:

My wife and I - lemoned an M Roadster, consider lemoning the X5 - but sold it instead. Numerous issues with 03 MCS - 9K miles in three years - 16 trips to dealer.

Father - Lemoned an X5.

Brother - Lemoned a 740 or 45 (can't remember which).

 

I don't have experience with BMW, my mini is my first. I still have to wonder, if BMW produces so many "lemons" how can they still be a premier performance car in the marketplace? Again, I'm just applying logic to this situation, not personal experience. BMWs are not cheap cars and generally people that buy one are smart, educated people that have done their research. Just seems to me if BMW had that many lemons they wouldn't be in business today and no one in their right mind would be willing to spend $40K plus on one.

 

All I have to say is, "Wow". To give a different perspective on cars...

My family has always been a Chrysler family. Well, ok, since 1962 when my father switched from Studebaker. For decades, I've heard from friends and the media how "Chrysler sucks", and BMW has always been lauded as a "Premiere" automobile.

I can tell you, 14 Chryslers later, we have had one that was less than perfect (1995 Eagle Vision TSi), but even that one didn't have the level of issues that these lemony Bimmers had. All of our cars, except the Eagle, went over 200,000 miles easily, and a few went over 300k, and one hit 432k, all on the original drivetrains. I sold the Eagle with 150k on it and it is still on the road. My current fleet of cars includes a Dodge Pickup with 267,000 on it and a Cherokee with 180,000. Aside from routine maintenance repairs, all cars except the Eagle were trouble free.

Did I make a mistake in buying a BMW? I hope not, because I really love my Buddha.

 

"Did I make a mistake in buying a BMW? I hope not, because I really love my Buddha...."

Are you kidding me?

I am sure there are many people on this board that have had issues with Chrysler as well. A couple nightmare stories about peoples MINIs or BMWs don't mean you are DOOMED. There is always the opportunity for error (or lemons) when manufacturing a car. As stated above...we all hear VWs are a nightmare to own (electrical issues...). But I am sure we each know of people that have no issues with their VW. So, can we really say "Oh, VWs are nightmares to own" or in our case....."you made a real big mistake for buying a MINI...cause I heard of this guy in Florida who had it in service for a total of 27 days!!!!!!"

Some stories about a lemon MINI should really be expected.

It is all chance. Hopefully the dealers and MINI will take care of these lemons....

Stop worrying and start driving.

 

Oh trust me, I AM driving! LOL 2000+ miles in less than a month of ownership.

I am not one to overreact, for I know that lemons are inherent in anything mass-produced by humans and that any maker can have lemons.

It's just when I hear of more than one person having multiple lemons from the same manufacturer that it gives one cause to wonder. I've just never heard of one person having more than one certified lemon, much less more than one from the same maker. That is not to be expected.

 

Of course, you still have to consider your source. This is the internet, afterall.

 

Mroadster, M3, 545ia, X5 4.4...all owned in the last 13 years. Not one problem to report (well there was a scuff issue next to the SMG shifter in the center console, but that was done by the dealership). It's luck of the draw. Every auto company has defects, they measure it in incidents per 100 units made. The higher the number of incidents per 100 units, the more suspect the car is. BMW has a good history in this regard. With a little searching on the net, you can find these reports.

 

I'm not accusing anyone on here of anything, but if a person is having a problem with multiple lemons, perhaps it is not the car but the owner. I know a lot of people who do not properly maintain their car and then complain when something goes wrong with it. In many cases, I think people outright abuse their cars by not observing the break in period, not doing timely service, etc. Every manufacturer has its lemons, but overall lemons are fairly rare so the odds of having multiple lemons is an aberration rather than the norm IMO.