What's your experience with the fit and finish on your new MINI?

I've had my MCS (Habanero) for about a week now and I have no rattles, squeeks, odd noises, leaks or warning lights. So far so good...but there are a few troublesome fit and finish issues.
1) The MINI wings logo on the bonnet is off center by 1/4". Doesn't sound like much but it wreaked havoc on the application of my after market racing stripes.
2) There is a paint problem along the edge of the drivers door (right where I put my hand of course, which is how I first noticed it and how I will be reminded of it until it's taken care of). I'm not quite sure what happened, but the paint is rough and raised as though that edge of the door hit something while the paint was still wet.
3) The edges of the two halves of the interior door pulls don't quite fit together perfectly leaving a sharp edge where they join. It's not something I'm afraid of scraping my hand on, but it's a constant reminder that the pieces don't fit together well.
4) The left side headlight doesn't fit evenly in the opening of the trim ring. It's very close to the trim ring on one side and on the other side I can slide the tip of my finger between the headlight and the trim ring. In fact, I can see into the engine compartment through the larger gap. The other headlight has even spacing all around.
5) Lastly and perhaps most annoying, the hatch is improperly aligned. The right side has a bigger gap than the left side, so big in fact, that I can see the orange paint between the black of the hatch edge (I have a black roof) and the black of the rear pillar. I thought the issues of misaligned body panels was essentially taken care of when manufacturers starting having robots fit them.

I know someone is going to say that these are warranty issues and I should just take it in to have them fixed, which I will, but I'm not one of the people who are willing to overlook everything as long as it's covered under the warranty. These are things I can see and I can't help but wonder what's going on in places that I can't see. Very impressed with the car overall, the ride (with non-RF's) and the power, but very unimpressed with the fit and finish.

 

The edge of my drivers door is chipped because I let the door touch the side of my carport. I was careful not to bang it but it would rub when getting in and out.

There are other posts on NAM about exterior trim not lining up in various places around the car.

 

We've had our's for a week now and have none of those issues. The FnF has been superb. I hear you about your concerns and I would be too. I would bring concerns to the MA and make sure they don't rest until your satisfied.

 

#4 and maybe #5 Is an easy fix. There are rubber bumpers under the hood you just need to adjust them(they simply screw in and out) till your hood is even. I just did that on mine about a month ago. Hood logo I would tell the dealership and see what they will do. Same with the Paint. I have noticed MINI paint is some of the best, I have seen pretty smooth paint with little to no orange peel. As far as the other one talk to the dealer about that and see what they can do for you.

 

I have had mine for almost 3 weeks now and the FnF is all very neat and tight still.

I agree with Spicy, I would be concerned as well and make sure it all gets squared away til you are satisfied.

 

Maybe you got a "Friday car"? (The story being that workers would just throw the parts together because it was Friday and they wanted to go home.)

The only problems with Fenimore are ones that I have caused myself. I dropped a screwdriver bit down into the dash, and it rattles when I go over bumps. I know how to remove the lower panel so the bit will fall out, I just haven't done so yet.

 

Those items would drive me crazy too and I hope your dealer gets them remedied for you. From reading here, they don't sound unusual, unfortunately. Knock on wood, the only fit and finish issue my Pip seems to have is some "glue" on the roof and a club door that was misaligned or improperly lubed.

 

They're more annoyances than anything else. Mechanically the car seems fine and it is really fun to drive. It's only when I'm not behind the wheel that I think about the FnF annoyances.

 

Or maybe you got a "Monday Car" when the workers got back from their long weekend of drinking.

Seriously...take it back to the dealer with a list and let them fix everything. I know that my dealer would want to fix it.

 

After we ordered out CM we went and looked at the CMs they had in the lot as well as a few other models and even the wife noticed the LARGE amount of orange peel paint on a lot of different cars. A lot of the cars had swirl marks in the paint, Im not sure if this was from a incompetent detailer at the dealer or they did it at the factory. I know I will not sign on the line until mine is free of orange peel and swirl marks!

 

I'm definitely going to have the dealer fix the issues, but I've only had the car for a little over a week so I'm waiting to see if anything else pops up before I take it in. Like I said, some of them are things that no one else would even notice unless you pointed them out, but it's obvious from this board how obsessive we are about these cars and if you notice the flaw, that's all that matters.

 

what is the orange peel paint that you are referring too?

 

As time goes on you'll find more and more little things. It just kind of goes with owning a MINI.

 

Orange peal paint is where the clear coat paint (topcoat) has an appearance similar to the surface of an orange. Instead of being "perfectly smooth" it has, in certain light, a slight orange peal surface texture. This is not uncommon with clear coat and can be buffed out (smoothed) by an experience paint technical.

 

i wonder if a clay bar would help?

 

Probably not since the clay will pick up imperfections, not clearcoat.

For the most part MINI paint is nice and smooth, swirls are the dealer's "detail" guys' doing.

 

Ive got the swirls in my black roof and c pillars. I have to think the "detailer" did it...Ive only washed mine once, with a brand new microfiber towel. Short of a rotary buffer, what will mask those? I know I will be fighting the swirly battle on the black parts of the car forever. (The one reason I have never bought an all black car)

 

Most of the time it requires to start by wet sanding with 1000 grit and moving up to 1500 plus and finishing with buffing. Sometimes the entire car will have to be sanded and polished to give it a uniform appearance. It is not uncommon occurrence just uncommon to have a car delivered to the dealer with it. It really goes to show how awful QA at the factory is!

Seem the swirl marks are common and would lead you to believe they are using a crappy clear coat product at the factory if it that easy to do to the paint.