I posted this on the main page but thought it might be good to get some local advise -- some of you who have experience with the local dealers So I ordered my mini and have been excited for its delivery. I have been talking to the dealer(Towson) daily since it arrived at the port. It has been over a week since then. Finally today I got a call saying that it had not been lost but that its bumper had been damaged at the port and it was awaiting repairs. He/sales man can not tell me what the damage was or any other info. He also said mini would not comp me for the fact that I am now buying a previously damaged mini - part of the benefit of a new one I thought was knowing it had never been damaged.?? So. . . I am pretty mad at mini and am wondering if there is a corporate number or something that I can call. It seems the dealer can not do anything for me.
What would you do? I really don't want to order another one and wait another 6weeks, and the reason I ordered in the first place was to get close to base price (the ones at the dealer seem to have extras I don't need and I have a budget!)

 

I haven't had to use it, but I think the number is 1-800-MINI-USA. I know some local folks have used it to some benefit.

(Can someone confirm that this is the right #?)

 

My Mini was repaired at the port (small scratch). There is no reason the dealer can't tell you what was damaged. My dealer gave me a copy of the repair notice too. They will have the same info for your car.

Not related to the repair at the port, but the paint from the factory on my Mini's front bumper was very bad. I ended up having Mini repaint the whole thing by a local paint shop my dealer recommended.

Once you car gets in port, MiniUSA has almost no information (tracking wise) about it. When mine was being repaired, MiniUSA was zero help and couldn't explain why my car was delayed. The only way I found out was through my MA contacting the port directly.

If I were you, I'd just tell your MA you're not happy taking a repaired car and you'll have to wait to see it in person before deciding if you need to re-order.

The facility at the port is perfectly capable of repairing a car that was damaged in shipped. Check out some of the threads showing tours at the port. There is one at a California port with pictures, etc.

 

I recall seeing one repair where something had fallen on a MINI's roof (another MINI ?) during shipping and they put another roof on it and sent it out as new ! Yikes !

I'll search around and see if I can find it.

 

Here's the link but the picture of the roof damage seems to have disappeared, text is still in place.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...DC+Repair+roof

Makes me wonder if Wensleydale had any damage ? she did come in right on schedule so maybe not....

 

I agree it's frustrating, annoying, and upsetting....

But, don't expect compensation, in the last 5 years there have been sporadic reports of cars damaged in transit with repairs done at the port - I've yet to hear of a single owner who's been compensated in any substantial manner.

Chips, scratches, dents, dings and more all happen regularly when shipping cars, especially from overseas. That's why there are body shops at the port. Heck, some owners aren't even told that their cars were damaged and repaired in transit...

 

The body shop they have at the port is very capable. I took a tour of their NJ PDC with the BMWCCA awhile back. Honestly, this is standard operating procedure for them and I don't think you'll get any sort of compensation. Frankly, since you're still getting the same warranty and the damage isn't really reported anywhere, I'm not sure why it matters, as long as the repairs are up to snuff (and I have no doubt they are).

I mean, if someone rear ended you, would you insist that they buy you an entirely new car rather than just replace the bumper cover? Or imagine if you were on the other end and did the rear ending...how would you feel if you had to replace the entire car?

This stuff happens...indeed, there was a MINI that its roof crushed in entirely. The repairs they do are good. Considering the journey these cars make, it's a minor miracle more damage doesn't occur.

 

I know from personal experience that MINI bumpers can withstand a lot of force without major damage.

If your bumper was damaged in shipping, it was probably just cosmetic and will be replaced with a new part.

I know it sucks knowing that your MINI was hurt, but I would feel confident in the repairs that they do at the port.



.

 

After many hours of trying to get someone to tell me something (mini corporate office never called me back - called them over 5 times today spoke to someone twice both of whom said they would call me right back and still have not called back). Called owner/GM of the dealer (3 times)they were always 'unavailable'.
Anyways supposidly (though not in writing yet) it was a hairline stress fracture crack and they are replacing the whole bumper. I am still thinking about what to do. Not happy at all with mini (I understand things get damaged, but at this point its the lack of communication etc.) BUT I want a car and I don't want to wait any longer. I've checked local inventory and nothing is close to what I want. . . so at this point I'm thinking I will just look at it real hard when it arrives?? It is pepper white too so not metallic paint.

Thanks for all of your helpful input!

mf44 - (After initial disapointment) my problem is not with a small scratch, it is with the way it was handled - no one would give me any information as to what really happened. Other people I mentioned it to said that they had to know more than they were telling me - even the mini corporate office said the salesman should be able to tell me, so when he says he can't it made me wonder. . . Also, it is a brand new car that I am paying a brand new car price for - that does factor in a bit

 

Actually, it is quite probable that your MA and MINIUSA don't know what happened. Again, most owners (and dealerships) aren't told of damage to cars in transit. That information isn't always provided by the port. At best the dealership may be able to find out what repairs were completed at the port and that may be what MINIUSA was talking about. But as to an incident report regarding what may have been the cause of the damage - your dealership probably doesn't have access to that information.

I know it's not what you want to hear - but this isn't the first time something like this has happened - and I'm pretty sure you're going to get treated the same as others who have been in this situation... They weren't given much information about what happened and weren't compensated.

The fact is from a manufacturers standpoint vehicle damage or QA failure at the port is no different than vehicle damage or a QA failure at the plant. Delivery may be delayed but the problem is repaired and usually the customer is never informed of the problem. Repairs at any of those points does not disqualify the vehicle from being delivered as new, nor will it get pricing or other concessions from the dealer or manufacturer.

At this point your only real options are to accept the car as new (provided the damage has been repaired) or walk.