Good Afternoon,

Happy 4th of July Weekend, just went to the dealer to pick up my car they had the car done from 2 days and no one called till i checked on it, to keep the story short.. my MINI had an issue that whenever i start it.. it turns off by itself dunno whats wrong with it... today is the 3rd time to take the car to the dealer to get it fixed, what pisses me off is whenever i call them to check on the car they say its done you can pick it up as soon as i reach there start the car the car still has the same problem.. and the dealer is about 30 miles away from my place.. what do you suggest guys? anyone had this issue before with the engine shutting off? any better dealer in Los Angeles to deal with.. am sick of those guys... 1st the cold start issue for 5 times now 3 times for the dead engine....total of 8 services of nothing

Feedbacks appreciated

My MINI is a Cooper S R56 2007 (Stock)

 

The first dealer visit for my MINI was to Alexander and I hated every moment of it.

long story short, they charged $200 for inspection when they barely looked over my problem without disassembling single component.
I thought it was totally outrageous.

Take your car to Southbay MINI.

I've been taking MINI for warranty repairs and the previous service advisor Stacy was wonderful, and their current advisor Leno is also exceptional.

I've had absolutely zero problems with them.

 

How long does it take to die? Does it start up then have the rpms drop to nothing? Or does it die a minute or hour later?
Keep us posted on what fixes the problem =)

 

hmm.. i was going to give Alexander a shot jsut because they're a bit closer... maybe not.

Monrovia isn't bad, John's been a great SA. Although, they guys can't seem to read the giant "NO WASH" on the work order..
South Bay seems to get constantly good posts.

 

its start up for 5 secs then the RPM drops and the car turns off... didnt have the issue till i take it to them for oil change.. its weird that they have the car for 3 times and still cant find the source of the problem.. really disappointed with their service dept

 

If you go to SouthBay, try to get Leno, per Hoonpv's recommendation. After Stacy left, I had Clint for a SA and wasn't impressed at all. In fact, I'm now using the guys at Mini of Ontario...great service there.

 

I took mine to Alexanders for my brake pads. They tried to talk me into an intake clean for $70. They took 3 hours to change my pads. I'm pretty sure I could have done it in 30 mins. Or do they have sensitive fingers and have to let the rotors cool down first? I was going to get them to reflash the computer so my windows will one touch up, but I think I might go elsewhere.
The only thing I like about them was that they are open Saturday.

 

I got my CPO 2006 MCS from Alexander in April of this year. I was thinking of going back for some warranty service, but they nickeled-and-dimed me when they changed my oil, and have generally, screwed up everytime I've dealt with them.

I've always changed my oil in all my cars, but this little MINI had it's drain plug cranked on so tightly that I couldn't get it off (2' breaker bar!), without totally destroying it. So, I took it back to Alexander to have them loosen it. By the time they got around to freeing it up, I was pretty late for work, so I just caved and let them change the oil ($200!). They charged me for the drain plug, too.

No dealings I've had with this particular dealer have been without issues. The used car I bought didn't even have plates. How do you misplace license plates? I think someone's running around with MY plates, and more importantly, my registration sticker.

I intend to skewer them when I finally get around to filling out the feedback form. I'm just holding on to it, and see if I can't find anything else to complain about.

 

When you have a problem with a dealer call Mini USA and tell them. It seems that this dealer is just plain """BAD"" & ""GREEDY""" and is in the business to squeeze a fast buck out of their customers. My guess is that they don't feel people will trade in their Mini for another Mini so get the $$$$ from them any way they can. They are stupid and greedy and need to be watched more closely by the Mini USA parent company. It will never happen if the customers being screwed do not complain to the right source.

Be honest in your complaints.

 

what number should i call, will they take my complaints seriously?

 

If you can't find the number in your manual you should try-- 1 866 ask mini which is 1 866 275 6464. Ask where you can write your complaint.

As far as listening to your complaint. One complaint is not going to get the reaction as five or ten complaints coming in against the same dealer. You are not the only person I have read complaining about this dealer on this forum. You all need to get together and do something.

The big problem with America is that people do not want to make waves and offend someone even if they are a greedy car dealer. See if that dealer has comment cards that you fill out and send to BMW/Mini. The thing is if you do nothing,nothing will get remedied.

I,m very luck because I seem to have a very good dealer and they bend over backwards to satisfy me. The guy that did my yearly service checked off everything and installed my driving lights to perfection. I would think the parent company of any dealer would want to know about any problems. Every time I went to my dealer they always sent me a questioner to fill out or called me on the telephone to ask me how my service was.

I went once when I got the rotor recall- Perfect
I went the second time for yearly service-perfect
installed the driving lights-perfect
Purchased accessories -perfect (received a discount I did not even ask for)
Purchased oil & filter twice-perfect (Yes-a discount not asked for)
When I'm in their area I always stop by for coffee & cookies just to say hi!

There is really no reason that all of the Mini dealers should not be good to their customers. Except though if they are greedy idiots.

 

Why do the complaining here? Because it helps others. Because it affects the dealership the only place they feel it, in their revenue. Because it affects their reputation, which'll hopefully impact their bottom line and get them to change for the better.

The power of recommendations and ratings from others, even total strangers, in sufficient numbers, shouldn't be underestimated. Toy Story 3 is 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and I saw it for myself and have to agree. When a restaurant's rated on Yelp with a hundred or more ratings, when I finally visit, I usually agree.

So, we're not just airing grievances at Festivus, here, I think we're helping the community make informed choices.

 

Also you should get a survey after your service with them and in it you can ask to be contacted by MINIUSA and they will contact you. I have do it twice for question that I felt the stealership just couldn't answer and both times they called me.

 

I should have worded it. Why """ONLY"" complain here. I still say "CALL MINI USA and complain there ___ALSO___