I will be posting this on the Solo site as well, but please be informed that the official policy of miniusa is that any autocross event will void your warranty. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to apply to an HPDE.

But, if you are going to autocross, either put down a fake name or be aware they can void your warranty.

Please feel free to review the following email exchange.


<MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM> wrote:
From: MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM <MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM>
Subject: Your Warranty Inquiry [1-775739423]
To: Date: Monday, June 16, 2008, 10:24 AM


Hi ----,

Thanks for writing MINI. We appreciate your inquiry regardig the warranty.

As indicated in the Service and Warranty booklet, the warranty shall be null
and void if the vehicle has been used in any competitive event. Please also
note that only a service technician at an authorized MINI dealer can provide
technical support and specific warranty coverage advice upon inspection of the
vehicle. If you need it, you can find a list of our MINI dealers and their
contact information on our website,
http://www.miniusa.com/link/findadealer/dealerlocator.

If there are further questions I can assist with, please feel free to drop me
an e-mail. I will be happy to lend a hand.

LET’S MOTOR.

Darlene Hawley
MINI Customer
Relations and Services
Representative
866.ASK.MINI (275-6464)




-----Original Message-----

From: Sent: 6/16/2008 12:00:00 AM
To: miniassist <miniassist@internal>
Subject: General customer service



question/comment:
I am an avid autocrosser and I enjoy the occasional HPDE. I have been running
my 02 Cooper S for both of these events and I have been considering upgrading
to a 07 or 08 cooper S. Unfortunately, I just read this post:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125769&page=2

What is your stance on your warranty for cars used in

1) autocross

2) HPDE

3) Time Trials

4) Hill Climbs

5) Nasa or SCCA stock road races

Please email me your response as this is sorted out.

 

I do know that some dealers don't hold such a narrow view, at least as far as autocross goes.

 

isn't this a repost?

 

indeed this is a repost from a different thread. I was just so appalled that I wanted to put it in a number of different sections. If that is illegal, then a mod should feel free to delete.

And yes, Gromit, some dealers will maintain your warranty in spite of an autox, but maybe you should have that in writing given miniUSA's response here.

 

I'm fairly certain you will see that kind of language from almost every car manufacturer. It's nothing unusual.

There have been many people who have had warranty work done after they have used their MINI in competitive events - with the dealership's knowledge that the car was used that way.

For more interesting language, read all of your insurance policy. Most do not cover anything that happens inside a facility designed for racing, wether you are racing or not. Just being "inside a facility designed for racing" is enough to mean your insurance won't cover you. Mine also doesn't cover damage from nuclear weapons, even if fired accidentally.

 

snid --- you should look for a better insurance company. Let your dollars do the talking and let your insurance company know that you changed because of their racing rules.

I know that Mini has lost the sale of at least one brand new vehicle over the wording of this policy. I plan to collect these responses and let them know that some people care about this issue.

This policy is lame. As a result, I flick mini the bird and tell them I'm going to buy another car. Maybe a race prepped 911.

 

relax

 

Relax don't do it When you want to go to it Relax don't do it When you want to come

Frankie goes to Hollywood right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FYI, this post was almost in direct response to your post on Oasis's post "Stabbed in the back."

You wrote, "Don't stir the pot quite so hard, you're starting to make a mess. Has anyone who has taken their MINI to a dealership sponsored track event or autocross had warranty issues yet? Not that I know of. And my dealership has held autocrosses, skills schools, track events, etc.
Saying things like you said, PGT, is a great way to get the interweb world into a frenzy by people misunderstanding what you wrote."

So, I took the time to confirm our suspicions, mini retains the right to yank your warranty almost at will.

What do you work for the company? Corporate law?

 

The policy's always been that way and it does make some sense, I think. I can't see why this would be such a shocker.

 

There are a couple of issues here and it primarily has to do with the language of the policy.

If my stereo brakes while running and autocross, mini has no obligation to repair the stereo --- even though it had NOTHING to do with racing.

Some guys do Time Speed and Distance events - often run on normal roads at reasonable speeds. This voids your warranty, no matter what breaks.

For those who do High Performance Driving Events --- full speed driving on full size road tracks - 100-25 mph breaking sections, aggressive heal toe downshifts - things that really abuse the car .. this DOES NOT void the warranty.

Lastly, they market the car as capable of handling these type of events -- they boldly encourage you to do autox -- racing is on the mini web page. If they are going to warranty the car and make you pay for that warranty (it's included in the price of the vehicle); then they should stand by their product and what they claim it can do. If they claim that it can and should do an autocross, then they should stand by their word.

Finally, it's just and FYI for any future mini buyers. I know it has pushed me off of buying a new mini.

Sorry for the rant .... go back to loving your mini. I know I still love my 02 --- it just means that I can't love an 07 or an 08.

 

As others have mentioned, enforcement of those "rules" is highly variable. I see my motoring advisor at local track events all the time. We would joke about the warranty stuff. He cautioned that I should not expect things like brake servicing under the 4yr/50k warranty, but in general my local dealership is cool (and in fact encourages) with people taking their MINIs to the track.

The dealership has sponsored TSD events that start and end at the dealership. At one of these, someone fried their clutch and the general manager said "don't worry, we'll get you a loaner and have your car in for service monday morning". That is just good PR.

YMMV - there are plenty of horror stories on NAM about people being denied service due to participation in HPDE and A/X. You'll just have to feel out your local dealership and take your risks accordingly.

 

It also comes down to our expectations too.

I've never hidden the fact that I attend HPDE's and have in fact shown up at the dealer with R Comps and numbers still on the car to have something fixed. I knew going into it that if something related to my use was to go south I'd be digging in my pocket. But other issues unrelated to the usage are covered.

 

This is pretty much the opposite of shocking. I haven't heard of any mainstream mfr. that will warranty your car without question after competitive events. Any of them is going to question a clutch burned out early, broken half shaft, or a popped head as abuse; autox or no. Do you know of any, that won't, Dr.?

 

if you buy a racing car from a race car constructor, say for instance those star mazda championship open wheel racers, do you get a warranty from the constructor? or race engine? just curious

 

what kinda auto maker wouldnt back their cars up for going 70 mph in an empty lot.i've seen cars that had gone through worse AS a daily driver. i 've read some where that mitsubishi void the warranty on evo9's if they were autocrossed, yet, evo's were suspose to be a road going rally racer.

BUT, my local mini dealer still gave me warranty work after i mention to them that i do autocross my car (hell,i keep the bar code sticker on the side sun visor) . i dont see the reason not to give us warranty because they do make money for off warranty work plus they'd end up with happy customers.

i do think that they should void warranty on cars with obvious abuse. like busting a tranny for doing power shifts, bending shafts from hard launches, those could accure from daily driving as well as motosports use.