My dealership gave me a JCW clubman to drive for two weeks when my 07MCS was in the shop for a blown turbo. Another time when I brought my car in for service they said if no loaner was available they would get me a rental w/o question. Ended up not needing to get the rental was given a MSC convertable.

 

UPDATE - Week 3 that my countryman has been at the dealer, for those of you asking if they would give me a loaner, well yes and no. Loaners were backed up and the next one available was 3 weeks out. Lucky I have my company car to drive.

So here is whats going on, they replaced my thermostat which they say is the reason my car would not start also the reason for the check engine light. The grinding noise coming from my trans turned out the be my rear differential, they say that it is stuck. So basically I have been driving around with a seized rear all this time. Now here is the kicker, they cant fix it...in other words they dont know how and thats coming from the service manager. He says that him and the tech working on my car has been on the phone with mini everyday trying to figure out if it is a electrical or mechanical problem. Im starting to get a bit ticked off now and im not sure if I should try to ask them if I can just return the car for a full refund. I just dont deserve this to happen to me and my brand new freakin car with less then a 1000 miles. It really sucks

 

I would definitely request a full refund. At the least they should return several thousand dollars to you and repair the car or get you a new one.

 

I'd request a full refund. Even after they fix all that, it's not really a new car... I don't think any lemon law in any state would not have your back at this point. If you're up for it, have them re-order the car with the same specs and get you a new one...

Sorry your CM experience has not been good at all. I had to have mine the dealer for just two days to fix a minor thing that came messed up (convenience door unlock button) and that felt bad enough, I can't imagine what it's like to have it out of commission for so long.

 

Very logical and good advise! Please keep us posted on how things go!

BTW... it's time to change your signature!

 

I would say approach them about a full refund. Also perhaps a new order of the exact same thing with possibly a discount for your troubles.

Thanks for the update and let us know how this works out. Fingers crossed this turns out ok for you.

 

Aww, that's too bad. I am waiting for my countryman to arrive, ordered in March 2011. I am getting the basic model, no 4wd, no sports version, cloth seats, automatic trans, surf blue, no sunroof. I am currently driving a 2006 cooper, outfitted much the same as the countryman i ordered, and am totally in love with it, but wanted 2 more doors. I hope you have better luck with your next car.

 

Ask for a full refund or to reorder the vehicle for you with some freebies for your trouble. You NEED to call Mini USA and tell them your issue as well. I had to do this once with a previous BMW. I was getting no where with the dealership, so I went above them and BMW NA corrected my issues without hesitation.

Good luck to you!

 

I was wondering how you spent 40K on a MINI. Mine is pretty tricked out (well enough for me) and it was only 25K. not an S, and not 4 w/d, not metalic flake paint, and not a really custom interior. But just what I wanted.

Definately, let them replace it for you, and try again. My husband had a 2002, and traded it for a 2008. I have a 2006 and traded it for the 2011 Countryman I am waiting for. from our experiences, MINI is the best made car we have ever owned, and we will not be buying anything but a MINI.

 

A lot of Countryman wind up being that much if not close.

 

Mine was just about there...

 

Week 5 / almost 40 days and The dealership still has my car and can not fix it. Mini copper headquarters was contacted and a case was opened one week ago. I called 4 times to follow up and the women who is in charge of my case has simply not returned my calls until today. The have me at red alert status and if I dont hear back from them by the end of next week Im calling my Lawyer. And for the rest of you who own countrymans I would seriously be very careful, the women told me that they are having a lot of problems with the rear differentials locking up they same way my has. Just imagine going around a corner at a high speed and your wheels lock up unexpectedly...Its not looking too good right now for the countryman.

 

I got over 10,000 miles on my CM ALL4 and haven't had an issue with this.

I went to MINIs On The Dragon this year...CM ALL4 did well on the switchback curves...318 turns in 11.6 miles...4 times a day.

My CM ALL4 is running great!

 

You've really got to change that sig, man.

You're not out any cash on this, right? Just inconvenience? If MINI covers you 100% and makes you financially whole, then they've handled it well. This is a brand new design in several ways, so I'm not surprised to hear that there may be design problems that need to be rectified. Hopefully, we'll all be under warranty when everything's figured out.

Also, if a design flaw is established, it'll get covered under recalls even after the warranty period.

So while I'm unhappy to hear of your problems, it doesn't look like MINI has dropped the ball on service. I don't understand why they haven't replaced every part associated with the malfunction and just given it back to you, though. That has to be cheaper than 40 days of rentals and the potential bad publicity of dragging you along and making you feel like the model is a lemon.

 

Probably because of the global automotive parts shortage caused by the Japanese tsunami. I suspect (but have no evidence) that the parts shortage is the cause of the rather abridged '11 model year run, so spares would be equally difficult to come by at this point.

Sorry to hear this tale of woe, but yeah, stuff like this happens with a first year/new model car. Sucks that it had to be you to have it happen.

I'll be watching this thread for the outcome, and hope they will make you whole!

Cheers,
Tad

 

Wow, you think that's the problem? That's incredible. I hope mine doesn't break for a few months.

 

Sorry to hear you're still having problems -- and that you've loaned your car to the dealer for a month+. If I were in your position, I'd be in trouble. I don't have another car to fall back on; many of us don't.

That said, I've had minor problems with my '11 Countryman. The worst of which is a cracked windshield. It was fine when I walked into the office. When I left, there was an 18" crack starting at the edge. There's no way to know if it was nicked at the factory or while I had it. I never heard anything hitting it, though.

I've had a couple of electronics issues. The NAV "rebooted" a couple of times and once displayed an incorrect map -- showing me driving across what looked like a mesh of city streets while on the NJ Turnpike.

Once, the radio and multimedia stopped playing sound. I shut off and restarted the car at a red light and it started working again.

Obvious bugs in the NAV and entertainment software. Hoping for an update sometime soon...

 

IF you end up keeping the car (assuming they can fix it) you might want to look into a couple things:

1. Ask if the dealership or MINI Corp will pay your car note up until the point that you got it back (sounds like a couple months at least).

2. Look into filing an inherent loss of value claim. The shop is likely reporting this to CarFax which means the value of the car has decreased. You will have to hire someone to come look at it and inspect the damage and fixes (around $300, I believe). This is common for new cars involved in accidents. If a loss was found, your insurance (I think it's the insurance) will pay the difference.

Example - my dad was hit in his 2008 3 series 4 days after he picked it up. It was a low speed T-bone, but enough to do some costly damage. After it was fixed, he had a loss value adjuster come out who determined that the car was worth about $10K or so less than a 4 day old BMW should be. Insurance cut him a check for $10K.

Hope this all works out. I can't imagine how frustrating it is. If anything, I hope the MINI dealer is treating you well and with the respect you deserve for buying a $40K car from them.

 

In CT we have a very good Lemon Law all you have to do is get it to a dealer 3 times for the same problem.Proper paperwork and it's a done deal.
Also you will be suprised how fast the factory reps get involved and corrections start to happen.Around here all you have to do is say it and they get things corrected or replaced ASAP

 

Most of this advice applies to an accident, not to mechanical failure. I thought the car just lemoned out on the guy. Did I miss talk of an accident?

Do they report plain old mechanical failures to Carfax? I thought that was just for police reports and damage claims.

And mechanical failures like this definitely aren't covered under an auto insurance policy.

I really, really hope they've given the guy a loaner or rental reimbursement. That should be a given. I get a free loaner or rental reimbursement (if they run out of loaners) for any repair or maintenance longer than a 90 minute oil change, and that's just standard at my dealer.

 

Seriously, you really should talk to a lawyer specializing in Lemon law. First year car excuse doesn't cut it. Your situation is completely unacceptable.

 

I'd also add that sometimes you don't have to have 3 repair attempts, it depends upon the state. Another way to hit the lemon law criteria is a certain number of days trying to rectify the problem. Sounds like you may be close. A half hour with an attorney would be money well spent.

 

I agree with everyone else who says it's time for a refund or a replacement car. And they should be reimbursing you for a rental if they can't provide a loaner. Not holding them to a substitute car reduces their financial incentive to rectify your problem quickly.

 

no, you didn't imply an accident and you are right, mechanical failures are not covered under auto insurance policies. i'm also not sure if this strategy would be applicable in this situation, but it might be worth looking into. i believe the loss of value claims are based on gap insurance (which could just cover accidents, i don't know much about gap insurance, i just know i have it).

shops can choose to report anything to carfax. the report will even show basic maintenance if the shop reports it.

 

Does anybody else find themselves picturing Chekov from Star Trek saying, "Departmeent of Motor Wessels."

Where are your nuclear wessels?

Sorry. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.