Here's the deal. I bought my new MINI on 4/27/2011, and I elected to go with the $479 paint protection package called "The Protector" that warranties the finish for 7 full years.

First let me say, I'm not stupid. I know its an expensive wax job with a warranty they know everyone will forget about. But a warranty is a warranty, and its still cheaper than the 3M vinyl clearbra I was unsure about anyway.

So the dealership is slammed that day, record sales with 26 cars out the door in one day. My appointment was for 2pm to pick up the car, and I didn't get the keys till after 7pm.

As you southerners know, its love bug season. Love bugs are acidic, and left on an unwaxed car will start to pit the clearcoat in less than a day. This is precisely what The Protector is to warranty against.

Low and behold, not 72 hours later of getting the keys to my new MINI, I've got a bunch of spots on the hood where the clearcoat has already been pitted by acidic bugs. And thats with my 500% OCD self cleaning the bugs off the car every night. Note that maintaing a good wax job on a car will go a long ways to prevent love bug damage.

I call the MINI dealership, and they tell me that likely since it was so busy that day, they probably didn't actually apply the teflon coating like they were supposed to (yet charged me for it, and put the sticker on the inside of the windshield). Then they sent me on my way with EXPLICIT instructions NOT to wax the car while the teflon application is curing.

I cleaned that car and parked it in the garage as to not have any more damage done, and to wait until this dispute is settled. I've been calling the dealership and sending emails since Friday, it took them until late Wednesday to get back to me (only after threatening to get in touch with MINI, and to call Visa over my deposit). They want to come down and get the car (over an hour drive) and leave me a loaner, and have their management look at it. Their solution is to wet sand the hood, removing a good portion of my brand new clearcoat, and reapply this special coating.

I'm being very clear that I don't want my brand new car with 200mi on the odometer being wet sanded and the clearcoat being ground off. That's not an acceptable solution to me, especially considering its their issue.

I look at it two ways:
1. They did NOT apply the stuff they said, so I paid for something I didn't receive, and damage was done as a result. I want a refund for the coating package.
2. They DID apply the coating per manufacturers instructions, and it was utterly ineffective at the task it was purchased for. In this case, I also want my money back. A 7 year warranty comes to 2,555 days. This lasted less than 3 days. So mathematically, we can say this stuff is 0% effective.

Here are some pictures of the clean car, and some examples of the pitting after only 72 hours of ownership. What would you do?

 

I feel you are on the right path..Have them repair the paint.A light wet sanding wont hurt.Then get money back and wax her yourself once a month.. The hood that is..The paint protection is a joke. I worked at a Stealership and they sold the same kind of junk. I watched them apply it and it was a joke...A real money maker for the stealership..

Demand money back and call credit card company if you need to and complain. You will get satisfaction that way..

 

I agree that's pretty bad that they admitted also that they didn't apply it but also charged you for it.

 

Their fault.......

I say make them trade bonnets with you from another MINI on their new car lot (same color obviously)....then let them sort out their own bs problems and bs excuses sending you down the road with an apology, new bonnet and a happy customer.

 

Nail them to wall and make hurt.

 

DO NOT i repeat DO NOT let them come close to your car with a peice of sandpaper. That is only for people that know what they are doing, have years of experience and have a paint thickness reader. What you will get if you let them touch that is your paint being in far worse shape then it already is. They are monkeys and have absolutly ZERO idea what they are doing, hell i wouldnt even let them touch your car with that "teflon" you will have a relativly swirl free finish if they dont touch your Mini

Refuse to have your car sanded and force them to get you a new bonnet and front bumper, then have them pay for a reputable detailer in your area to get your car sealed & waxed. or have them pay for a bunch of quality products.

There is a thread on this teflon coating stuff. and i know your upset so i wont go into details but you will get much much much better protection with a good sealer and wax...and once you touch your car with a anytype off wax that warranty is void.

 

What he said above. Leave it experienced paint detailers only. They will mess up your paint job. I never even let them detail my car before I brought it to my paint guy. He was wroking on a Panamerica the dealer did some wet sanding on. Over 5K to repair the car before he could put a clear bra over it.

 

First of all yeah paint protection is a joke. They are not going to take a hood off another car and put it on yours.....that will not happen.

1. Ask them what they plan on doing. If its something you agree too let them do it.
2. Otherwise find an excellent detailer have them look at it and find out the cost. Tell the dealership you want the detailer to take care of it and they will bill the dealer.
3. Finally get your money back and some other things if you can for the inconvenience.

 

Yeah, see this is exactly what I was thinking. I'm pretty OCD with my paint, and its 100% swirl-free at the moment. I don't think I'm being unreasonable not wanting my clearcoat sanded with only 179mi on the odometer (just checked this morning). If thats all I'm doing, I might as well just wait a year or two until there's a lot more damage.

My other big problem with them is that they've been totally unresponsive. Once you sign your sales agreement, they don't give a crap. Took me hours just to get the keys to my new car, because they're like "oh i have your keys on my desk, one sec while I get this guy started on his credit app on this guy his whatever...". They rushed the car out the first time, so I know the shop is way overbooked. That's why I know the buffing is going to be a complete rush job too.

I just want my money back for the teflon coating, and I'm going to go get a 3M clearbra wrap on the hood instead.

 

I love it when these topics start and posters start talking in absolutes. Most everyone responding has experience dealing with maybe a dozen or two cars in a life time and therefore know much more than the dealer who deals with hundreds daily.

1. I assume you have a sales contract that lists the paint sealant on it and shows you paid for it. Contractually, all the benefits of the warranty and the purchase apply whether they actually installed the product or not. It is now their responsibility to correct the problem per the terms of the warranty.

2. There is no reason to assume that the dealer's body shop or detailer are any better or worse than those you might independently find. To the contrary, they are an authorized MINI dealer with a franchise that carries with it certain franchise responsibilities they must live up to. They have millions of dollars invested in facilities and equipment and are not a moving target. To automatically assume they are less competent than some independent working out of a converted gas station is not rational.

3. Good quality paint sealers properly applied do work. I have caused it to be applied to thousands of high end vehicles over decades with excellent results.
With material costs, labor, and warranty the cost was less than $200 at wholesale. What it is worth retail is subject to argument but the value being in excess of a good wax job is not.

4. There are potentially probably four solutions to your problem. They could replace the vehicle. They could switch the hood with another vehicle that could or could not have a good result. They could paint the entire hood. They could wet sand the affected areas and re-clear.

The dealer made a mistake in their process and as a result they have caused you a problem. Realistically, how they first attempt to cure that problem should be their call. If you go outside to have the problem cured, they can then void any responsibility they might have if that cure proves unsatisfactory. If they attempt the cure and it is not satisfactory, they are still responsible. The prudent decision would be to work with them. You have a factory warranty, a paint seal warranty if they install the product, and a dealership warranty for any work they do. That is far better than any warranty some independent detailer could ever give you with far more substantial assets backing the results.

 

This is my third new car purchase in the last 12 months alone. But more importantly, I'm a customer to someone each and every day. When I don't receive a product I paid for, I get a refund. Also, I get a refund when a purchased product is 0% effective at its intended purpose. Doesn't matter how many cars I've purchased, or the dealer has sold.

I think you underestimate the extent to which I've been completely ignored, and rushed through their system. I stood in their showroom 5.5 hours which was filled almost shoulder-to-shoulder with people when I picked up my car at time of purchase. Instead of just sitting down with me and getting the stuff done, they were juggling the 26 other customers that purchased cars that one day. I've been promised EACH DAY to get at least a CALL BACK from their management for 5 business days now. This dealer is completely sales-oriented, and has nowhere near the capacity to actually deal with all of its customers in any kind of reasonable fashion.

The fact that the teflon coating was only halfway applied is even more reason to believe they don't have the time or bandwidth to deal with this issue and spend the time that will be necessary to make sure its done right.

 

Some good advice already on this tread so I will just throw out a couple of ideas.

Take your car to a paint place you trust and get their opinion on how to fix the damage. This will give you more to work with than 'I am unhappy with what you want to do to my new car'. A professional third party estimate goes a long way in most disputes.

If you are very unhappy see if you can undo your deal for the car.
This would probably be less costly for the dealer than repairing your car. They could use your car as a demo car or sell it to someone who cares less about the quality of the paint.
You can then buy another car.

Good luck. It sounds like you did get mistreated but it also sounds like you are dealing with a dealer who does not value their customers.

 

I think thats actually a really good idea now that you mention it. I'm doing my best to cross my T's just so blame can't be turned around on me for whatever reason. I think I'll call around and see if I can get somebody to look at it today.

 

I can assure you that Ferman has more than enough "Bandwidth" to deal with your problem. They have multiple dealerships in the Tampa Bay area including the BMW dealership next door. I also bought from them and also had problems at delivery with missing equipment. I would also agree they can be very difficult to deal with after the sale.

You can contact the Corporate Office for the Ferman Group that is located in Tampa if you cannot reach the General Manager in charge of the MINI store. I did and they responded.

My point was simple. I can assure you Ferman has the resources to properly repair the problem. By your posts, they have evidently contacted you and offered to pick the car up to examine it and determine a course of action. Why you would not agree to this is not clear. They need the vehicle to make any repairs, they will guarantee those repairs, and they have the resources to accomplish the repairs properly. It would seem the time to continue your tirade would be after they have examined the car and proposed a repair that would not work or actually made a repair that is obviously not working.

 

From my own experience, call MINI USA. They will take care of them! Be polite and complain. They tend to care about their customers. I didn't get the second key and no one ever called back or listened at the dealership. Once I called, the key was here in no time at no charge to me!

Also, like poeople said: DO NOT HAVE THEM FIX THE PAINT BY SANDING IT!!! I've had few spots done at the dealer (their fault) and they gave me this haze effect that you can see under an angle... It's horrible! They ruined my paint! I'm waiting to send the car out to a good detailer because they would only make it worse.

 

I'm aware they have other dealerships, and I've even purchased a new vehicle from Ferman Mazda in the past. Either way, their Mini dealership just simply can't deal with the amount of sales they're pushing through.

Its taken over a week of calling and emailing, and being told I'd receive a call back. Now they're saying their standard course of action is to sand the hood, and I'm saying that't not going to happen. I just called them and told them not to send the service guy to pick up the car, because sanding the car is unacceptable. At very least, thats a complete misrepresentation. I was told at time of sale that if I needed to invoke the warranty, the car would be professionally resprayed. Thats not the case now.

So the whole package is a complete failure, an undelivered product that I paid for, and was completely misrepresented to me at time of purchase.

If that doesn't constitute a refund, I don't know what does.

 

Like I said... quit dealing with this BS and go ahead and call MINI USA. They will take care of everything especially that this is a brand new car!

 

Wow, what an ordeal.

I'd suggest, as other have, that you go straight to MINI corporate with the complaint. Seconly, if you have the paperwork for the warranty for this product, I would let MINI corporate know that you also expect your money back for this product. I agree that you should go to a qualified detailer and get a repair estimate. They should be able to tell you right away if the product was actually applied and also give an opinion of its worth sanding a new hood or just re-spraying. Typically, dealers have someone on-hand to "detail" their cars, but they are generally unqualified in the sanding area. My MA at my dealer said that they typcially have him detail the cars when they are low on staff, and he admitted he'd only been dealing with car sales for 6 months...not a good sign in general.

Lastly, and I know this is never a step you want to have to go through, but threaten to take them to small claims court. It's a pain and a hassle, but might be the only option you've got.

Never a fun situation to be in. I hope it works out.

 

You guys have far too much faith in MINI Corporate. They do no work to vehicles and will have to work through the dealership for anything to be done. They have far less control over a dealer than one might think. They can suggest much and can ultimately demand little. Either they can agree with color sanding the hood as a recommended fix or they can authorize payment by them to paint the hood.

Personally, if it were my car, I would much rather have it color sanded than totally repainted. From the pictures and the description, we are talking about acid damage to the clear-coat not damage through the color coat. If it is to be repainted, to do it the right way, the hood would have to be stripped and then refinished.

People keep talking about an independent detailer. What are they going to do? A detailer is not going to have a magic potion and in reality it needs to be done by a painter in a body shop. Take it to an independent and the dealer as well as MINI can wash their hands of the problem and it becomes a he said they said argument if there are future problems with the repair.

How the customer is being treated by the dealer is a different argument from how to fix the car properly. I can sympathize with his anger. I purchased from the same dealer and was given a similar dose of grief after the sale. At the end of the day, the prudent thing is still to let the dealer make the repairs without judging in advance how it is to be done. There will be adequate time after the repair to complain if it does not meet expectations and as long as the dealer did the repairs, it will still be under warranty.

But, then again, what do I know? I only owned dealerships and body shops for four decades and most likely didn't learn a thing about how all this operates.

 

I would say invoke the warranty. There should be an 800 number on the warranty pamphlet right? call it.

 

OP - This dude is the making perfect sense. I would jump at the chance to have the hood color-sanded and clear-coated by the selling dealer. These new better for the environment water-based paints chip so easy, more clear urethane is a good thing. One NAM member posted taking their brand new Cluman, having the stripes actually painted on, then color-sanding and clear-coating the entire car - very smart. Color-sanding is using very fine sand-paper wet, it removes any imperfections and barley roughs up the surface for the urthane clear.

But I have to laugh, coming from the opposite corner of the US in the Seattle area where I have to clean mold and algea off my cars from all the rain, and kill moss in my yard.... Love bug damage!?

Let the dealer do their thing. And just say NO to all the dealer add-ons next time. Where do you think all the profit is made.... in the closing room.

25 people waiting at one time buying new cars? Dealerships here are lucky to have 2 customers at the same time, Florida must be some kinda MINI market place.