My car is going to the dealer for repair and as it's my only vehicle I asked about loaner availability. According to my local dealer, the loaners are first come, first serve, and theres no way to guarantee availability. I couldn't even book the service a month out just to have a loaner.

It seems like if I want a loaner so many things must fall in to place. I have to be the first at the dealer that day and no one else can be on the list ahead of me, and the only way to get on the list is for Mini to HAVE POSSESSION of the car. So I have to show up with my only vehicle and pray that I'm lucky enough to get a loaner that day.

Are all the other dealerships like this, or is mine just 'special'

 

I do not think MINI is obligated to loan you a car just a nice thing they do most of the time.

 

correct

loaners are a dealer thing .... there is no MINI policy

some do it, others don't

it is something I ask about b4 I buy

some dealers provide a loaner only if you bought from them

some dealers who DO provide loaners, will provide a rental car if they are out of loaners

first time I took my MINI in for service I got such a rental ... a Lincoln Town Car ...

 

I know that, but when my car has been back to the dealership this many times, not having a loaner is getting to be a real pain in the ***. It's my only vehicle, and it's only a year old. Just getting to the dealership is a 30 minute drive in the early morning, or an hour drive any other time of day.

This will be the third time it's gone in to get the lumbar supports replaces, which is two trips to the dealer because they need to diagnose it the first trip, which means no car all day. Some camshaft sensor went bad on it the other week so they had the car for a few days. It had to go in for the thermostat recall as well. So, five times the car has had to stay at the dealers longer than a day for stuff covered under warranty. It's getting a bit ridiculous to not have a car this much.

They did offer to get us a reduced rate on a rental, but I didn't just spend $40k on a car to drive a rental for a few days every other month because something else has broken on it.

Edit: I should add that in addition to going back for lumbar support replacement, the drivers side power window is broken, which is what started all this, so add that to the list of crap that has broken on it...

 

I have yet to get any sort of help with loaners. The closest dealer to me is 66 miles, they offered to drive me home or discount a rental for me for my under warranty car in for service. The discount was no better than a AAA or similar discount.
The Dealer I bought from told me to "come on down, loaners are available when you have extended service done" I get there, they asked how far i drive daily and then suddenly the loaners "disappeared" and I couldnt get a full diagnosis for my problem as a loaner was not available and my fiance works until 10:30pm so I wouldnt have a ride.
Both of these are florida.
VA offered me a used car for the duration of my service as I took my car up there for a funeral and my AC crapped out at 21.5k miles. So I was given the choice of a VW Eos or a F150, neither of which worked for me as the insurance waiver for having to take them out of state and for the duration would have been enough to buy a cheap used car.

 

I know that,

then why did you ask?

live and learn

now you know some questions to ask b4 you buy to avoid surprises or disappontments

 

exactly

they arent required to provide you one so there is no reason to complain when they dont. and unless someone guaranteed you a loaner upon purchase of your vehicle there is no reason to be angry.

its very expensive for a dealer to provide loaners. the insurance must be astronomical (even compared to what they have for test drives) plus any car that is a loaner is now a lost sale as they will never get anything on the vehicle in a sale.

 

My question wasn't 'Does mini owe me a loaner?', it was 'Is anyone elses dealer like this?', but thank you for your input. Reading comprehension class is down the hall on your right, you should probably stop by and check it out.

 

gee thanks

the writing classes are right next door

I've an MS and retired at 52

beat that !

 

Its not a complaint that they do not require/what not a loaner. My complaint is that when I go in for extended services, I specifically ask a few questions or give these statements:

~ Do you have a loaner for me to use while my AC is being replaced? Major electrical module malfunction/ rear differential fails and nothing is in stock special order from Europe.
~ I live 80 miles 1 way/90 minute drive + 100 miles round trip 5 days a week for work.
~ Are you ok with that? If not, please schedule me for xx/xx/xxxx date.

2 dealers have burned me by saying yes and not following through with what was verbally agreed upon. (having a loaner for complex multi day repairs)
If it were petty things like cigarette lighter/charger wont work, compass is not visible/ mirror cover flew off while driving down freeway, I'd not ask for a loaner, but when a 30+k car is 6 months old and undrivable, I do believe I should be given a vehicle to drive, MINI is not shaving $$ off my monthly payment.

Its not just this, but everything the dealers say to me needs to be recorded because nothing holds through.

 

I bough my R53 used not even at a MINI dealer but I went to Prestige MINI to check on my rad fan and right away they offered me a loaner, MINI of Manhattan is closer, about 20 minutes, but I'm very happy to drive all the way to Jersey with that kind of service, I have nothing against MINI of Manhattan but I try to avoid dealers in the City, I do have a loaner guaranteed at AUDI and they do reserve an Audi for you if you make an appointment they will hold the car for you if you show up without one they still go out of their way to get you the same brand so far I've never gotten a different brand for a loaner and 90 % of the times I don't make appointments I just show up, I get the survey every time I go for service and they take the loaner being offer to you very seriously, I'm happy to fill them out every time, is very important for my SA and the dealer.
I didn't get my MINI new but for 40,000 I better get a loaner and they should be able to hold it for you if you make an appointment I agree that is something that should be discussed when buying the car but then again 40,000 ain't cheap plus all the BS little problems that come with the car.

 

Best service I ever had was Dodge. I used to have a Diesel 3500 for hauling a trailer and parts. Anytime service was needed in/out of warranty, Richmond Dodge sent a loaner of similar quality out to me at work or home.
Monday I call for service, late Monday evening 2 men come to my house, pick up my truck, inspect it for damages, leave on my truck and drive back to Richmond, service it Tuesday, and bring mine back for the swap on wednesday, full tank, full back, wash,wax, and clean interior. Best cleaning job Ive ever seen aside from show prepping. $20 tacked onto my bill everytime, but I couldnt clean that monster in under 6 hours the way they cleaned it plus filled up. Granted, diesel was cheaper then, 60% cheaper, but $20 wouldnt even cover the local wash guys to come to the house.

 

I email my SA at MINI of San Diego, give him a couple of weeks lead time, have had at least 5 services and the rental wasn't even a question, always a clean (usually random) MINI waiting for me. It's pretty crappy service if they don't offer it, especially if you're willing to take service a month out. If you have choice (I know most don't) I'd visit another dealership.

 

Not that I have any idea why we are doing this, but I'm active duty Army and will retire at 38 with full benefits. Beat.

To everyone else, thank you for your replies, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't expecting something that was too crazy. I don't have the option to go to another dealer which really sucks but at least I know it's not like this everywhere.

When we bought the car we asked about loaners and were told they were available for extended services and we said 'Ok, cool, thanks.' and left it at that. Next time we know to get the full details because while what they told us wasn't a lie, it was a bit misleading.

R60All4 thanks for your story, sounds like I need to buy an Audi

 

It is typical for "Premium" auto brands to routinely offer loaner cars - Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Land Rover. It's part of their corporate policy. With Infiniti, it actually appears on the sticker. I have had many years experience with Infiniti and Land Rover. Both provide loaners without blinking an eye. I have never had to wait any considerable time to obtain a loaner, and on many cases it has been available immediately.

So far, I have only had one occasion where I needed a loaner car from the Mini dealer. At first they told me it would be three weeks before I could get one. Then . . . by golly . . . it was available two days later. Unlike your dealer, they "Promised" me a loaner car on a particular day. I am not confident that I can count on loaners when I need them.

Bottom line, unless it's one of those brands that ALWAYS provide loaner cars, it's a bit of a crap shoot. I once had a VW that was in the shop for two frickin weeks, for warrantee work, and they wouldn't even consider providing a loaner, or any such acomodation.

Consider that next time you buy a car. Sorry.

 

In the old days no such thing as loaner was available - Someone drop you off at the dealer for service and you either wait there or take a rental car.

 

Orlando MINI has ALWAYS been very accommodating with loaners. My 56 had the engine replaced in '10 with them and has been to them more times than id like to count. I bought Marron from MINI of Tampa Bay so we will see how they hold up when the time comes. Only issue is that I live in Orlando and its 30 mins to their shop as opposed to Tampa which is 1.5 hours.

 

My experience has always been that they will give me a loaner if I set up an appointment and ask ahead of time. I've never had it where I got there and they said "we don't have anything for you." Can't imagine anybody doing that.

 

Good cheap rentals from enterprise are only 30 for a whole day dude.

 

I've had nothing bad bad experiences with Enterprise, not to mention the fact that you have to do all the rental car shenanigans if I were to go that route.

 

I bought my MINI at a Toyota used lot, and took it in for inspection/repairs at MINI Victoria shortly after (leaky thermostat housing, and anything else before the warranty expired a month later.)

I got three loaners at no charge, which was great.

Later on the SA who I had dealt with was gone, and when I was taking my car in for service, I inquired about a loaner, and it was $40/day and they booked up about a week in advance. Seemed reasonable but I figured I'd just cycle for the day and save forty bucks.

Seems to be a real "luck of the draw" situation, every dealer (and every Service Manager, maybe.) has their own policy.

I would be annoyed if I'd bought a brand new car and was carless over and over again due to build quality issues.

 

I bought my precious MINI from a Lexus dealer but when I took my car infor warranty issues to Irvine MINI or Crevier MINI, they always offered me a loaner. Irvine MINI is a smaller dealer so they run out of loaners pretty fast so they gave me a hertz rental car which was a BMW 3 series free of charge. Crevier on the other hand is a large dealer and always have loaners on hand, if they run out of MINI's then they give you a BMW. For my second MINI, I bought it from Crevier because they do offer good service and always have loaners available. To answer your question, it really does depend on the dealer you take your car to. They aren't obligated to give you a loaner but the more respected dealers will work with you for a loaner or rental. If I were you, I would go to a different dealer if possible.

 

Not sure that it amounts to a true "policy," and the language "whenever appropriate" leaves a lot of wiggle room, but I'd go to the showroom of your dealer and grab a copy of the "Welcome to MINI" booklet to show them. On the inside of the back cover is a copy of "The MINI Motorer Pledge." Take a look at what it says below.

http://postimg.org/image/4xaynn5tf/