R60 I Wish I Never Purchased my Countryman - Nothing But Problems
3rd Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 196
Likes: 1
From: Indianapolis, IN
Well back to the topic of the thread 
, Sorry to hear you got the bad egg of the bunch 
. I would just take it in and explain all the problems and if they cant fix it see what they will do for you. You waited 2 months or more for this car and a couple of months later you are having all these problems, yeah something is def wrong something got messed up in the build, like eveyone else said check the "lemon laws" and let us know what comes of this.
, Sorry to hear you got the bad egg of the bunch . I would just take it in and explain all the problems and if they cant fix it see what they will do for you. You waited 2 months or more for this car and a couple of months later you are having all these problems, yeah something is def wrong something got messed up in the build, like eveyone else said check the "lemon laws" and let us know what comes of this.
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Denver, CO
Ive been a BMW guy for years and I finally decided to make the move and go with something different which is my countryman. The Car is a mechincal disaster ! I have less than 1000 miles on my car and I have had over 5 check engine lights come on, my windows go up and down by themselves and never fully go down. On 3 occasions my car would not start and when it finally did it blew out black smoke from the muffler that stained my driveway, the transmission is totally unresponsive and sounds like its getting ready to fall apart, the car smells like rotten eggs when I come home and park it in my garage, the fan comes on every single time I shut it off and its loud as hell, and the trunk space must have designed by monkeys because you can hardly fit anything in there. The Car is a total waste of 40 grand. Im taking it to the dealer to have them fix whatever problems it has and then its off to the BMW dealer to trade this blue turd in. 
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
From: North by Northwest
CM is too new to know its reliability, but if you look at the track record of BMW/MINI, you'd better know what you are getting into, especially if you buy and plan to keep the car for a long time. At least the powertrain components are not new.
Caveat emptor. There are many BMW enthusiasts continue to buy BMWs because nothing drives like a BMW (save for Porsche, even better), but they know they need to do proper maintenance (i.e., more than what the "no maintenance" plan BMW offers), and know the perils of modern electronics failure.
CM is likely attracting new buyers who have never before considered a MINI, and they should do their best to get informed.
Caveat emptor. There are many BMW enthusiasts continue to buy BMWs because nothing drives like a BMW (save for Porsche, even better), but they know they need to do proper maintenance (i.e., more than what the "no maintenance" plan BMW offers), and know the perils of modern electronics failure.
CM is likely attracting new buyers who have never before considered a MINI, and they should do their best to get informed.
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 317
Likes: 1
From: Nottinghamshire, UK
As the OP was delighted with the car when he got it in January and STILL hasn't covered 1000 miles, I wonder if these were mainly trips of a mile or two to the shops and back on speed-limited roads?
Could the problems simply be that the ECU can't cope with repeated over-fueling from cold starts and that a good 100-mile thrash, nudging the red line, would blow the problems away?
Could the problems simply be that the ECU can't cope with repeated over-fueling from cold starts and that a good 100-mile thrash, nudging the red line, would blow the problems away?
3rd Gear
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
From: Co. Springs
Totaly agree with silvernuke... "not every diamond is flawless" Our CM all 4is freaking flawless! and a dream to drive! that being said, somethings can and obiously have been over looked in your case. Take it back or get a layer involved... either way in the end im sure you will be pleased with the outcome.
on a seperate note PLEASE keep us fellow Countryman owners posted so we know what some warning signs are. ty
on a seperate note PLEASE keep us fellow Countryman owners posted so we know what some warning signs are. ty
4th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 474
Likes: 5
From: Phila suburbs
My thoughts exactly. Get off the Consumer Reports bs and have a little sympathy here folks. I don't give a rat's *** about CR.
3rd Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 209
Likes: 0
From: Arizona
I had a 1999 Porsche Boxster that was my nightmare. Seemed it was at the dealer every other week with a check engine light. They ended up replacing the engine with only 12,000 miles on the car. They put in a rebuilt engine and after that the thing burned oil like it was going out of style along with a bunch of black smoke every time you would start it. They didn't offer me a good price on buying it back at all. I would have lost tons of money. Only deal they maid me was selling me a Porsche of my choice at cost - - which wasn't even a good deal. I loved the car, but having that lemon soured me on the brand. I feel OP's pain as I lived it before through a Porsche instead.
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Been hearing on and off reports of problems with the countryman, enough to raise some eyebrows. Im truly sorry you got caught in this mess, but for the rest of us, it might be enough to give us pause to wait for the second model year.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,790
Likes: 10
From: Kansas City
It's the same engine that's in the '11 cars that everyone raves about, it's not "new".....
What he has I believe is a specific problem in his engine computer and from the sound of it a dealer that's not investing enough on his behalf to find and fix it, or is not capable of doing so.
Either way, I seriously doubt that it's a brand problem, rather something specific in this car. Remember, they were on the roads in Europe at least 6 months before they were released for the states.
The fact that we haven't heard anything further from him tells me either they fixed it or he traded it in....
What he has I believe is a specific problem in his engine computer and from the sound of it a dealer that's not investing enough on his behalf to find and fix it, or is not capable of doing so.
Either way, I seriously doubt that it's a brand problem, rather something specific in this car. Remember, they were on the roads in Europe at least 6 months before they were released for the states.
The fact that we haven't heard anything further from him tells me either they fixed it or he traded it in....
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
From: Denver, CO
So far it seems like overall reports have been pretty good, I've been watching carefully forums all over for major problems and this thread is the first one I've seen that has some heavy problems. So I think overall they've been pretty solid, and I know I loved the test drive I took.
Just like computers, you can wait forever to buy the latest model but at some point you just have to dive in and see what you get.
Also, on a side-note, it's a lot of fun owning a newer model that's still pretty rare. I had an '03 MCS that I picked up at the end of 2002 and that was pretty unique for some time.
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,129
Likes: 4
As the OP was delighted with the car when he got it in January and STILL hasn't covered 1000 miles, I wonder if these were mainly trips of a mile or two to the shops and back on speed-limited roads?
Could the problems simply be that the ECU can't cope with repeated over-fueling from cold starts and that a good 100-mile thrash, nudging the red line, would blow the problems away?
Could the problems simply be that the ECU can't cope with repeated over-fueling from cold starts and that a good 100-mile thrash, nudging the red line, would blow the problems away?
That's a good point...... The car isn't being driven enough to even hit the OEM break-in miles going on 3 months........
Coordinator :: Hawaii MINI Motoring Club
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 626
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas - U.S.A.
bummer...
--Wow sorry you've had such a rough first impression of the countryman. The rotten egg and fan coming on sounds like your engine has a cooling problem. Perhaps a blown or improperly installed head gasket is leaking oil into the coolant and vice versa. If the car smells like rotten eggs that coolant may be leaking out onto the exterior of the engine too.
It does sound like you have a lemon though. I wash hoping the Austrian plant had better quality control than the English one, but I guess they haven't worked out all the kinks just yet.
Keep us posted on how your dealership treats you though. Hope they take care of all your problems. Sorry you haven't had a good Mini experience.
~p
It does sound like you have a lemon though. I wash hoping the Austrian plant had better quality control than the English one, but I guess they haven't worked out all the kinks just yet.
Keep us posted on how your dealership treats you though. Hope they take care of all your problems. Sorry you haven't had a good Mini experience.
~p
Ive been a BMW guy for years and I finally decided to make the move and go with something different which is my countryman. The Car is a mechincal disaster ! I have less than 1000 miles on my car and I have had over 5 check engine lights come on, my windows go up and down by themselves and never fully go down. On 3 occasions my car would not start and when it finally did it blew out black smoke from the muffler that stained my driveway, the transmission is totally unresponsive and sounds like its getting ready to fall apart, the car smells like rotten eggs when I come home and park it in my garage, the fan comes on every single time I shut it off and its loud as hell, and the trunk space must have designed by monkeys because you can hardly fit anything in there. The Car is a total waste of 40 grand. Im taking it to the dealer to have them fix whatever problems it has and then its off to the BMW dealer to trade this blue turd in.
1st Gear
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Almost two weeks have gone by and no follow-up by the original poster; he had some serious problems and I would have liked to know what the dealer found causing them, have they been resolved or ?????
Hope this is not like one of those cliff hanger TV shows were you have waited all summer for the new season and then find out the show was cancelled.
Hope this is not like one of those cliff hanger TV shows were you have waited all summer for the new season and then find out the show was cancelled.
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Almost two weeks have gone by and no follow-up by the original poster; he had some serious problems and I would have liked to know what the dealer found causing them, have they been resolved or ?????
Hope this is not like one of those cliff hanger TV shows were you have waited all summer for the new season and then find out the show was cancelled.
Hope this is not like one of those cliff hanger TV shows were you have waited all summer for the new season and then find out the show was cancelled.
Its been 2 weeks since ive seen my car, the dealership called me a while back and told me that they want the tech to drive my car home for a few days. That was the last I heard from them. Ill call them tomorrow to find out what the deal is.
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 861
Likes: 100
From: Houston, TX
3rd Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 208
Likes: 1
From: Los Angeles CA
Hmmmmm.... I don't think I would be comfortable with that. BTW any word from MINI or any chance to talk to lawyer?
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 861
Likes: 100
From: Houston, TX
I've had that done before. Sometimes it's the only way to figure things out. How many times have we all gone to pick up our cars just to hear those dreaded words, "we couldn't duplicate the problem." If they can drive it back and forth for a few days, chances are they will experience whatever it is you are experiencing. Sure, it'll make you nervous and uncomfortable, but I doubt the OP really cares at this point. Probably hoping the guy gets in an accident and totals it. Would sure make things easier! 
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Consumer Guide is not published by Consumer Reports.
The rest of your critique is so random and unorganized, it is hard to comment.
I think it is important to separate reliability data from ratings. CR publishes both - the reliability data is simply a statistical summary of the questionaries they send to owners, while the ratings reflect some subjectivity, like all car ratings. You can disagree with the subjective ratings and still use the reliability ratings where are the only good data we really have.
I find it odd that many criticize CR for being biased. While you may not agree with their evaluation criteria, they are perhaps the only source of information that is at least not biased by advertising dollars.
- Mark
The rest of your critique is so random and unorganized, it is hard to comment.
I think it is important to separate reliability data from ratings. CR publishes both - the reliability data is simply a statistical summary of the questionaries they send to owners, while the ratings reflect some subjectivity, like all car ratings. You can disagree with the subjective ratings and still use the reliability ratings where are the only good data we really have.
I find it odd that many criticize CR for being biased. While you may not agree with their evaluation criteria, they are perhaps the only source of information that is at least not biased by advertising dollars.
- Mark
Neutral
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
did they give you a loaner ?
What does a dealership normally do in a case like this where the car you paid for needs a few weeks of service and isn't available for you to use? I've never had that happen to me so do dealerships (any manufacturer not just MINI) typically provide a loaner car for free since you are already making payments? If so, what is the loaner they provided (is it a regular MINI or Clubman or el cheapo make) and how was the loaner?
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,334
Likes: 4
From: Vancouver Island, Canada
What does a dealership normally do in a case like this where the car you paid for needs a few weeks of service and isn't available for you to use? I've never had that happen to me so do dealerships (any manufacturer not just MINI) typically provide a loaner car for free since you are already making payments? If so, what is the loaner they provided (is it a regular MINI or Clubman or el cheapo make) and how was the loaner?
I wonder about extended loaner policies though.
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Monroe, OH
What does a dealership normally do in a case like this where the car you paid for needs a few weeks of service and isn't available for you to use? I've never had that happen to me so do dealerships (any manufacturer not just MINI) typically provide a loaner car for free since you are already making payments? If so, what is the loaner they provided (is it a regular MINI or Clubman or el cheapo make) and how was the loaner?
