Hey ya'll, trying to find out if any of youz guys have taken your Mini or other car up to the guys at Funktion Auto group in the Dulles/Sterling area? I talked with one of the guys on the phone yesterday and he was really helpful and willing to help me out with my problem in a reasonable time frame, unlike MOS .....see my power steering/fan have gone out and I can't wait till the 19th of Nov to get my car looked at/fixed....I commute 100+ miles a day and thats way too much to go without PS, much less my fear of the car catching fire like some of the others I've read about here on NAM.....

If you've used the Funktion facility, how was your experience? I'm sure they are a little more expensive than most places and I don't mind paying as long as the car is fixed properly the first time...much less the fact they could get me in later today to check the car out....

Is it true that MOS only has 5 bays to service all the cars they sell...seems a little weak to me that's all they've got, the gal I talked with yesterday kindly through that in my face and the fact they are the only dealer in an 80 mile radius....I guess they figure they got ya by the short and curly's!!!!

I also checked with the BMW place in Alexandria and they can't see the car until late next week :(

 

I'm planning to visit their facility sometimes next week. Wanna join?

 

See opinions here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=funktion

I may take my car there to get my coilovers installed as well.

 

I plan to visit them on Tue, 11/13 @ ~3pm.

 

I may see you there Maxi....my schedule keeps bumping me back...I'm now driving around with a fire extinguisher in my car just in case....I took some of those horror stories to heart

 

Have you checked with Towson? they might be able take care of your car on Monday, if you don't mind driving long distance.

Yeah, I will see you on Tue at FA. I'm pretty much confrim on that.

And will go for Coffee & MINIs right after.

 

Are you sure MOS understood your issue? I've never had to wait more than a day or two for an appoint, and when I had something urgent or very simple I've been taken next business day... and done same day.

 

You're right, I heard that they give priority for urgent jobs. They might make the decision case by case.

Your SA might not be in a good mood on the day.

 

Yea, pretty sure she understood me when I told her my PS was out....sorry I can't remember who I talked with....all she kept saying is a holiday was coming up and that they only had 5 bays for Mini's, the rest were for BMW's....she said I could drop it off but couldn't tell me when they would look at it, again the holiday thing/5 bays....oh she offered to place the call to a rental place as they didn't have any loaners, esp since she didn't know when they would be able to look at the car......Now I understand the whole buying the car from them would get me better/quicker/faster/more compassion than buying the car from the Jag dealer in Tysons...they will work with the people that bought from them first...BUT being the ONLY dealer in an 80 mile radius (which she brought up many many times)...just having a Mini and having no where else to go and the type of issue it was (I wasn't asking them to drop what they were doing for an oil change or some other silly thing)....the PS issue can and has caused fires that have burned cars down, AND knowing that it's a super poor design they chose, I would think it would be in their best interest to atleast attempt to get the car looked at within 2-3 days but she was holding strong...yea you can drop it off right now but we won't be able to look at it until the 19th of NOV??? Needless to say, I didn't buy from them and knowing what I know now, I won't buy from them....I try to do my own work as it is but being the first time I've had to deal with this and after reading some of the stories here, I guess I kinda freaked....it's been a few days and I'm still fire free, I'll get a new PS fan and PS Pump on-line and fix it myself and if I can't....there's allways the 19th

 

If that is the case, check with Towson if you don't mind driving. They are not that busy, compare to Sterling.

 

I'll do that....Thanks!!

 

PM's sent.

Btw, I'll go to FA on Tue as plan. I heard good things about them, just wanna visit their facility.

 

You know what their labor rate is? Or can you find out when you are there? I need to find a place to get a pulley installed.

 

I think its $100/hr.

 

count me in...I want to talk to them about some work.

not bad at all....pricey yes, but normal for VA

 

i should be there around 3'ish pm on Tuesday.


At least they let us know roughly how much they charge per hour.

 

You want to talk to Keith...he used to work for MoS....

I hope that doesn't count against him lol...he's a nice guy.

 

cool. I'm looking to get a header installed (no access to my buddy's lift until next summer )...I'll do the suspension myself

 

Hopefully, there are a few of us join the tour,

The facility looks promising indeed.

 

I'd give 'em a heads up....make sure Keith is there, etc. I'll see if I can drop by, too, but gonna be hard at that time...

 

Thanks for the info. I will try to contact them and let them know that MINI troop will be there.

 

I would like to join in on the visit as well.....but I think 4pm would be a more likely time. I am not sure if that would work for Maxi, but I would have a hard time making it out there any earlier.

 

4pm is fine as well.

 

Send a pm if you go out there. I would like to join you.
John

 

Since there likely to be several folks out there, does anybody want to go over to Allsports GP for a couple of kart races either before or after thr tour?