Hello Mini Owners,
To all of you that now own or are thinking about purchasing a used Mini Cooper there is something you need to know.
I have a 2002 R50 that has been in my garage for over 12 weeks because Mini cannot supply me with the part to fix my steering problem;and I am not the only one with the problem. There are many Mini owners with the same problem, at least 4 at the dealership that I went to, and Mini has just now communicated that they cannot supply the part to anyone in the USA. Their words were, "at this time there is no ETA". (See the attachment below, it is an email from Mini Cooper's Parts Consulting Group to All Mini Parts and Service Managers). It sounds like it will be many more weeks, or months, or ???, before they can do something for all of us that have this issue, and I am very interested to know how many other Mini owners are also out there with the same problem.
If you find this forum please post, and if you are thinking about purchasing a used Mini Cooper, I would think twice about doing so until Mini can supply parts for this problem with their cars that makes them unsafe to drive. At this point all I can do is share the facts in a forum and hope that others will find it and follow my lead to help make the issue public. I am trying hard to understand their position, however it is difficult to do knowing that my Mini is unsafe to drive and I can't fix it.
Hey Mini Cooper, What are you going to do for all of us that are in this situation, customers who purchased a used Mini Cooper thinking that BMW and MINI were companies that would stand behind and support their product?
Is this really the best you can do for loyal customers?
02R50Ryder
Attachment:
MINI doc 4_1.jpg.pdf

 

Have you searched for it used to get you back on the road?

 

So far no luck!

 

It's on backorder from Germany according to your PDF. What do you want MINI USA to do? If they can't get the part then they are stuck. You can't blame MINI USA for it. This happens all the time in any industry. I work for a Samsung Distributor and we had 35 orders that we couldn't ship because one part was on backorder from Korea.

I will agree that it is good to warn potential buyers though. Hope MINI gets the part in stock for you!

 

How about a little more info about the part in question. The notice refers to a 'steering spindle.' What is that?

 

Unfortunate situation. Hope you get some resolution sooner rather than later.

 

I just checked the availability and it still shows 0 in the States and 0 in Germany. This happens with all manufactures. I myself had to wait for a part for my Mini for a couple of months due to a lack of inventory. There is really not much a manufacture can do except wait.

Part Number: 32 30 6 763 722 Description: Repair kit, lower sect. o... Coded Part: N Product Class: 30

Natl Qty Avail: 0 Germany Quantity: 0 Car Tool Part Nbr:
CDC Est. Date:

It is number one in the pic

 

Thanks for checking, have you had many requests for part # 32306763722 I think it is a steering spindle, or U-joint?

 

We currently have four cars waiting for the part at the dealership. The Customers are currently driving Mini loaners until the part becomes available. Every Mini Center should provide the same service.

 

Just looking at the diagram, that looks like a couple of tubes joined with a couple of pins with a clevis welded on to each end and a flange of some dimension in the middle. Isn't that something that an average shade tree mechanic could whip out in an afternoon out of spare parts?

 

Fly'nBrick: Are you serious? The steering shaft is a critical part which, among things, is designed to deform in a controlled fashion in the event of a front end crash. No way would I want "an average shade tree mechanic" making one of those "out of spare parts."

 

Well then go find one in a junk yard and get your car back on the road. Other than that there is nothing but, waiting.

 

Waymotorworks posted he has "a few used ones" for sale....
While installing a used one is just a stopgap measure...it will get the car back on the road...
To everybody else...
I say keep the joint lubed!! Make it last. More are in production....bet this is just a temporary situation...bet mini thought this was a lifetime part...but suddenly the failure rate meant the supply was used up...and they said "crap!! Make more!!".

 

Prepare for more pain. My Z3 M Coupe had numerous parts that were simply no longer available. MB and Porsche do a great job supporting their older cars, BMW/Mini, not so much.

 

too bad the car side is not like the motorcycle side ...

a bmw motorcycle dealer just built a brand new 1974 R90S from all new parts ordered from the parts catalog!

i forgot the cost, it was staggering ... they did it as a promotion ...

 

It's interesting who supplies parts and who doesn't. I think the ones that don't are pushing you to buy new cars. The others are real enthusiasts like us. OP, sounds like the manufacturer is making more. Sucks to wait but I blame the corporate guys.

 

Service Centers rarely keep things like this in stock. Part are typically stored in one of the six distribution centers around the country. They will submit an order and the part typically arrives the following day.

 

There is nothing wrong with replacing with used parts, your whole car is used parts.

Dave

 

If I'm not mistaken, manufactures are only required to stock parts for 10 yrs on vehicles, be happy they are still making parts for 12 yr old car.

 

I posted that I have a couple left as I had about 12 of them.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/used-lo...0-r52-r53.html

 

So far my experience with MINI in supplying parts has just been dreadful. I’ve never had so many parts show up as backordered. I don’t blame the dealer, but MINI USA really screwed the pooch in the parts chain.

 

Porsche is so-so on their older cars. They have, however, figured out that there is good money to be made there, so they are starting to produce some parts for some of the older models.

M-B, on the other hand, apparently has an explicit policy that they will always support every M-B ever made. It may take a while for them to make a new part, and you'll pay through the nose for it, but they will eventually get your part to your local dealer, who will install it for you.

I played with old Hondas before I got my MINI. There is a bunch of stuff not being made for them now, too. People were hoarding a few of the more interesting parts, and a couple of them were starting to be reproduced in small batches.

In short, you can probably change the title to "Used Car Buyers (except Mercedes-Benz) Beware!" Because it happens to pretty much all used cars.

 

Kinda related, I was given a $750.00 parts credit from the home office due to a misunderstanding about the whole fJCW side-skirt things.
You know, the part where it looks like there is openings at the rear just I front of the rear tires!
Anyway, they said I could order them and that they already talked to the dealer I was using, and they would know exactly what parts to order.
This was almost 3+ months ago and last I heard from them, 2+ months ago! they were waiting on back ordered parts to complete the parts needed.
I'll not bore you with the BS pricing I was given, (750.00 credit) gets eaten up fast somehow!

Anyway, I'm sitting politely waiting on that situation AND a tube/bottle of touch up paint ordered 1 week after those parts were ordered. No paint in North America!

 

The two parts I have on backorder are making a Corolla look pretty damn sexy at this point. I know one can't compare the two, but it's pretty damn pathetic. It's almost like I bought one of those Chiwanese scooters that no one knows where to buy parts.

 

Mini parts have never been widely available....
You must know where too look...
Just one vendor here has enough for a small fleet of cars.....
Sure, the "mainstream" parts recyclers rarely have mini parts....but several vendors do have GOOD USED PARTS....