He stalks me - what can I say?

 

Are you a dealer? If you are not, I hope you do not mod your car to avoid having to defend your rights.

Bomboasy

 

I'm not sure what you are saying. You can mod your car? You can't mod your car. I'm I a dealer?

Buddy I think your dealer gave you some very bad stuff.

 

Or, they got some bad stuff somewhere else....

 

I do not believe we had the pleasure to meet, but it is interesting that you are making judgements of my character. Let me clarify what I tried to convey on my last post to you.

The position that you are taking, in regards to mods and warranty, is the same that the MINI dealer and MINI America have in this matter. That is why I asked if you are a dealer, as some MINI dealers post in NAM.

The suggestion that I made, in regards to mods, is that you avoid doing mods to your MINI. Given the fact that you are so ready to surrender your rights so quickly. I do mean your right, because the law is on your side.

I have first hand experience on having to deal with the MINI dealerships because my own MINI was denied warranty. Guess what, they were denying warranty of the entire engine because of one modification, among the many that I have. Best part is that they had no clue of what they were implying that part's actually did in the engine. It was completely silly. I had the pleasure of informing the SA that his staff was completely incompetent and that THEY had to prove to me that the part they had suggested at fault was actually causing the fault. The SA called me 6 hours later with his most sincere apologies and clearly stated that my warranty was still in place. This happened last week........

Lets look at the case presented in the first post. Please tell me what is the red line in the MINI cooper S? Is the car design to handle this load? If you were in an emergency and had to drive the car for a long distance at this RPM, should, could, can this car handle this load? Has the JCW pulley required any modifications to this part to handle the same load? How many failures have occured on this part in the past 4 years?

If you are so ready to give your right away to the dealer, please do not expect other to do so. Better yet, do not offer advice to other that really need it badly, as in this case.

I hope you appreciate the civil way in which I am replying to your smart a$$ reply. I expect a similar level of maturity, as in this post, in your next reply. Helping each other is what NAM is all about. Then, I am sure you know that since you have a zillion post here.

Bomboasy

 

Exactly.

 

Back onto the topic, no one has stated what was wrong with the tensioner that it needs replacement. I don't think the discussion can even start until we know WHY it needs replacing.
Find out exactly what IS wrong with it and start from there.

 

Exactly.

 

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this completely. When you observed that the tensioner was moving back and forth a month and a half ago, did you take it to the dealer? Did they write it up? If so, I think that should strengthen your case. But if the dealer saw that a 1.5 months ago, what did they say then? I don't think they could have convinced me the tensioner was OK with a very obvious movement back and forth. Please clarify.

 

Yes, I did take it to the dealer but they said the noise is normal. They wrote it in the job sheet. I did mention to them to have the tensioner checked, and "it's fine" was the answer. This is the reason why I'm fighting for it. I mean, if they rectify the problem and have the tensioner replaced ealier, i believe this problem wouldn't happen.

Exactly!! They tensioner was moving back and forth pretty obvious and they told me it's OK.

 

Well, about a 1 1/2 month ago I had noise coming from the belting area. I searched all over NAM and Mini2 and there were similar cases where they changed the tensioner and the noise was gone. The tensioner might not work well; bad spring maybe and the tensioner can handle the load/tension very well. Most of them suggested that I should check the tensioner since that was what heppened to them. Then I took the car to the dealer to complain about the noise and pointing at the tensioner. Guess they are lazy to do the dirty job.


Basically I dont mind paying the tensioner since it is not that expensive. I'm pissed here because they claimed that the tensioner was FINE while it WASN'T.

 

In a perfect world the dealer would have examined the tensioner when you asked them to and replaced it if they found a problem.

Shocking news: It's not a perfect world.

I'm all for beating up on dealers that have underperformed in the service department. But I can't see as how you have a realistic prayer of getting satisfaction from them on this matter without taking them to court. And from a cost / benefit basis taking them to court makes no sense. Realize that to you this is personal, emotional, etc. To them, however, this is financial, plain and simple. And not just in relation to your car but in relation to every MINI that comes into the shop with a pulley mod and a broken tensioner or belt. Fix yours under warranty and they will have to do so for every one that shows up. It is probably in their best interest to let this drag through court over time. But I doubt it's in your best interest to do so.

Ask yourself what the best use of your time is: taking them to court or undermining their reputation by using the truth?

For instance, every hour you could spend on the case is one that could be spent sitting in front of their dealership with a sign hanging from your MINI stating that the dealer has mistreated you and inviting prospective customers to visit your website before purchasing from them.

Your best bet is to find a good mechanic to fix your tensioner and never darken the doors of the dealership again. We're lucky to have a few knowledgable MINI mechanics here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so perhaps this is an easier route for me than you, but it's a good idea nonetheless.

I do wish you luck whichever route you take.

 

You've probably voided the warranty for all supercharger and ancilliary belt driven parts from having gone the aftermarket pulley route. It can be argued that a reduced pulley will cause the belt tensioner to work at a different angle / degree of tension than stock, hence it may not last as long, ditto for the belt. Just be glad that you shut her down before any serious damage occured. Remember, performance comes at a price. And sometimes that price is having to pay for service.

 

hey this might be a good upgrade mod-bit that one of these vendors can offer?? j/k its a hard point to try an prove, they will never cover it but...i think like most all here its best if U pay on that tensioner an call it a day.

...at least it will have warranty afterwards///peace

 

Thanks guys,

gmcdonnell, I dont think i'm going to take it to the court.It's not worth. I'm just going to blame the unknowledgable mechanics for saying OK. I don't mind paying if they tell me that I need to replace the tensioner and it is not covered by the warranty when I sent the car in ealier.I'm pissed when such things happen. After this, I'll never take their words anymore. I'll ask them to replace the parts if there is any problem, even small things like the door rattles, window and etc. I won't buy the word 'OK' or 'fine' anymore. I wouldnt make a big deal out of it if I didnt send the car to the dealer and complain about the noise.

I'm going to the dealer later and take some of you guy's advises. I'll ask them to prove/explain technicaly how the aftermarket pulley can cause the failure. If they manage to explain or prove it very well that it was my fault, I'll step out and pay the bill. But if they fail to do so... they'll have to pay the bill.

I might go back to the OEM crank pulley.

 

do U think it will happen again and fail once more (tensioner)

 

I don't think so man.. they'll come out with all sort of excuses.

Btw, the car is going to be fixed soon. I know this matter has been discussed before but just to reconfirm about it. Should I ask them to fit the JCW belt or the stock sized belt? 15% SC pulley still intact.

 

I don't know man.. Hopefuly not.

 

should check it b4 leavin' that shop to make sure its not moving back & forth, (cuz i would've never left that shop if i saw this myself) if U know.. that 'tensioner' was faulty then it probably was... so now that U have a new 1 (hopefully new design) then it should ride strong. ...its faulty tensioner, not pulley that caused ur failure so it should not happen again right or mayb U dont trust it

 

go4 that JCW's belt, dont they use a 15% on their (overpriced) kit.

not talkin' bad about them, some of their stuff is on point!

 

I curious what did the "Noise" sound like? Just so others can watch out for it.

Thanks,

 

It was like a knocking sound... you know, like tuck tuck tuck

 

This is why you do not simply want to accept their position without them proving what exactly is at fault. If you do, it will be an uphill battle to do any motor related warranty in the future. The SA was very specific in indicating to me that the "motor" warranty was void because of one mod that they thought I had done. By the way, I have the 15% pulley and that was NOT the reason they wanted to void my warranty. Just look at the list of my mods. I have been to the dealer for warranty work at least 5 times and everytime my MINI looked more and more like an UFO than a MINI. At least my dealer understands that the 15% is equal to the JCW and it does not require additional modifications. I believe, not 100%, that the JCW uses the same belt as the stock pulley. I am not sure what year is your MINI, but the tensioner has had a history in many MINIs that are pre-05. That is why this device exists:

http://www.myminiparts.com/proddetai...prod=TSB&cat=7

I personally would enter the room convinced that the lack of diligence, from their part the last time I was there, to verify that the tensioner was fixing to fail has resulted in a failure that is not as bad as it could had been. Heck, your tensioner could had snaped and pieces could had destroyed the engine at those RPMs. I have had parts replaced with the knowledge that they are going to fail, in the FUTURE, based on reliable information from NAM.

I would read carefully the following links, specially the first one. It is from the Federal Trade Commission. It explains in simple english what the company offering the warranty can and can not do. Look closely at "Tie-In Sales" Provisions.If you need more information, I sent to you a PM with my phone. Call me.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...anty.htm#intro
http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?ID=8124
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/h..._15_10_50.html

Bomboasy

 

Guys,

I want to say thank you for all your support and advises.:smile:
I just got my car back today and the car is running smooth and the noise I was complaining was gone. Fortunately, they replaced the tensioner under warranty but not the adjustable pulley. Basically I'm having a new belting system.

The car felt a lil heavy since I'm using the original crank pulley back but that shouln't be a problem. The Alta pulley is totally gone. I'll post a picture of it when I have the time.

Good lesson: Always check the tensioner and the belting system. Aware if any noise accure and rectify and problem before anything like this happen.

Again, thank you guys! I appreciate your feedbacks.bomboasy, thanks for the full support!

 

Excellent! I'm glad the warranty on the stock part held up for you - as it should have!


Thanks for the warning on the failure too, it's something we can all keep an ear out for.

On an older thread - I believe it was on an aftermarket protector for just such a failure - I had said there was probably no need for such a device - looks like I was certainly wrong on that!