I purchased a demo 2014 Hardtop from a dealership in NY in October 2014. Within 6 months I had the following issues: Replaced Front Wheelbearings, an oil leak in the engine gasket and a software glitch that shut down power to the drivetrain (while I was on the Interstate). All of these issues before the car had 17,000 miles on it. All were covered under warranty and subsequently fixed but I am now stuck with a CarFax report that is really ugly. If I can sell the car I will take a substantial hit. I went back to the dealership regarding a trade in. They offered me $12K less than what I paid a little over 12 months ago. (Seriously?). I pled my case to the dealer and asked them to make a case to MINI that MINI subsidize the dealership to allow me to trade the car into the dealer at retail and I would buy another comparable MINI. MINI said take a hike. They did generously offer to pay me one month's car payment. Gee, thanks.
Has anyone out there had these issues? Had any encounters with MINI directly? Know anyone at MINI I can talk to? :0) Thanks.

 

Welcome to the real world.

 

So they fixed everything under warranty, not seeing the problem. Keep the car or take a hit on a trade in, that's not MINI, that's dealers in general.

 

I dont think those sorts of repairs look bad on a carfax.

The trade in issue shows the pitfall of the year end deal you got. The car was literally a year old the day you bought it. Now its two years old, 12k sems like an expected hit.

 

Anytime you take your car to the dealer for service it shows up on the Carfax. When I'm looking at a used car and can see service / repair history it gives me a picture of how the car was taken care of by the previous owner. I do not believe that type of history would drive a hit. And even if it did, and the dealer did the work they wouldn't have to look at Carfax to know anyway. Does anyone know if KBB look at Carfax to determine car values, or is it just more general car brand/model pricing?

 

Thanks for the feedback to those who replied. Appreciate the advice but I think that MINI has some culpability here. Yeah the car is two years old and I incur a financial loss as a result but I'm taking a greater hit than I should due to manufacturing issues. Personally I wouldn't buy a car with a history of a head gasket leak and wheel bearings being replaced at such low mileage. Why would I when I can find a dozen other MINI's with same package that don't have these problems? Happy Holidays!

 

They may be morally responsible from our standpoint, but from a legal standpoint that doesn't mean much. If you really want to get rid of it, sell it private party and hold out for the price you want.

 

It's a long shot since you have a drivable car but you could insist that Mini replace the vehicle claiming a Substitution of Collateral. It was ugly but I had BMW do this for me but my vehicle was deemed un-repairable and it had 700 miles on it!

 

Why not check into the Lemon Law and see if you can get any relief with that?

http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/lemon-law

 

Herein lies the issues with buying a DEMO vehicle, you gotta know it's been abused a bit...

 

Try Carmax?

 

The dealership where I ordered my JCW offered to buy back my car for what I paid for it 3 years ago as they have a couple of potential buyers . I am not looking to sell and the car is heavily modded so I would be in the same game as 3 years ago but the use would have been free. It's nice to know that my mods have been appreciated.

ISAMIN

 

Keep in mind that there are two different KBB values on your car. The dealership trade-in value, and the retail resale value. The dealership will not offer you the same amount that they will put it on their lot to sell it for. They are in business to make money. They will offer you as little as they can get away with paying and then sell you another for as much as they can get and they are ruthless about it. You will not get retail value on a trade-in, ever! I think the last vehicle that did that was the Lexus LS-400.

 

Keep in mind dealers will also look at market factors like demand at auction or demand on the pre-owned lot and several other factors that KBB and other services like that don't take into account.

 

You take a big hit with any newer car you purchase, especially the first year. MINI fixed your car. You still have plenty of good warranty left on the car. It's good warranty, too, compared to the limited warranty jargon that comes with most others.

Keep your car. Enjoy your MINI for the next 3 or 4 years, then if you still want, sell it or trade it in. It's a possibility that it will run just fine the rest of the time you own it. Never a good economic move to get out of a car after only a year, unless it's just not fixable. In order for the Lemon Law to work, the car would have to have the same issue several times and still not be fixable.

As you said, this MINI was a demo car or used as a loaner. How many miles did it have on it when you bought it? If any of those same problems pop up again, then you might be able to use the Lemon Law.

Here's hoping it runs without problem for a long time.