Here is the short version of what I've been going through.

I have a 2009 MCS that I bought from the BMW dealership (I have a 335 too); the car had 4037 miles on it.
The hood scoop (car is Dark Silver) was bowing/sticking up. MINI said they would order me a new one, have it painted and call when it was done.
Because of work the scoop sat for a few weeks until I could drop the car off.
I got the car back the other day and the scoop is a lighter color than the rest of the car.
I call them yesterday and the service manager doesn't get my message.
I call back today, tell him what is going on and he gives me two options: go there and let them take the scoop off to match while I drive around without a scoop or drop the car off while they keep it to match. He mentioned that they should have kept the car to match in the first place. I have the BMW plus my old reliable Accord so that would have worked for me, but they never said anything about it.
Here is the rub: this MINI dealership doesn't do loaner cars, but guess what? The BMW dealership does loaners, I don't understand it. Also, who do I call when I need to set up an appointment for my MINI? The BMW dealership. So every time I have to make a trip to the MINI dealership my wife has to follow me down there with the baby in tow. Not a big deal until I start making repeated fruitless trips like the previous one.
I called the BMW service manager, told him my story and he said he would take care of me, but he doesn't have a loaner today. No problem except I have to work extended hours starting tomorrow which means I cannot get down to the BMW dealership to drop the car off. "sigh", I have to figure something out.

I have a co-worker who says he would keep the lighter scoop on the car because he likes the way it looks...I don't think so!

This is just kind of frustrating because of the service I get from BMW and the fact that so many other MINI dealerships do loaners. Plus, the MINI service manager wasn't trying to be helpful and made it seem like the whole thing was my fault. He even said they (the bodyshop) didn't notice the difference because they put it on inside. Hello, have they ever heard of a vehicle inspection and making sure parts they paint match the rest of the car?

Thanks for listening/reading.

 

Got any photos?

 

No I don't, but I can try to take some tonight.

 

that sucks man, my dealership always has had loaners, and never had a problem. Mini of Towson in MD, rocks.
But seriously though that dealership needs to work on their customer service, no loaners?
are there any other mini dealerships in your area that you can take it? meaning in the future you'll have to take it for service and i'm sure you wouldn't want to go through the same hassle as you are going through now.
hope you get your issue resolve so you can enjoy your mini.

 

Geeze Louise, how long have these scoops been melting? Has this been fixed yet by the '10 model year? Is there any reason at all to believe the OP's new one won't warp again?

 

Is this a metalic color? The scoop on my Pure Silver MCS came with a non-matching scoop. MINI of Mountain View sent me to a body shop down the block from them (does all their body work). My SA said they did excellent work (and she actually sounded sincere). My impression for seeing their work (much later) is that they do a better job than the factory.

I also had them repair some "modifications" I'd done to the rear bumper while backing out of a blind parking space (I hate SUVs ) at a super market.

I got to talking with the guy about the scoop and he was telling me about the difficulties matching metallic colors. Batches are never the same. The direction in which they are sprayed can cause them to look different...

When I called to pick the car up, they told me they had used the same color they had mixed for the scoop on the rear bumper and it didn't match the rear panels. So, they wanted to spray it again. The scoop now matched perfectly, but the bumper...

Took them three tries to get the bumper right.

Moral of the story: matching existing metalic paint on a MINI is not that easy.

It may not be a cakewalk with non-metalics, either. There was a thread here in 2007 about a guy who ordered an aero kit with his Mellow Yellow MCS. At that time, aero kits were installed at the VDC. So, when his car arrived at Port Hueneme, CA. They painted the aero panels and... repainted them, and repainted them, and gave up. They said they couldn't match the color and offered him a refund on the kit. He ended up painting them himself.

 

I took the car to the BMW dealership this afternoon. When I got there and pulled into service someone told me the MINI dealership was down the street. :D

The CS manager had already told my BMW SA I was coming in and they had a black 128 waiting for me. It isn't the cleanest, but he got me a loaner the same day. The CS manager could immediately see what I was talking about. Coincidentally, I have a clear bra and that area seems to be slightly darker than the rest, but he could still tell the scoop didn't match.

While there - don't shoot me for this - I asked the internet sales guy (I bought the MINI from him) about a 06 coupe (previous body style). Since he knows about the MINI deal I just asked him if he could get me into a BMW since they seem to have better service. Apparently they have some good financing deals on 07s and 06s. He showed me several CPO cars - the 06 coupe and an 07 coupe primarily. The 06 is loaded with NAV and the 07 doesn't have anything except satellite. I think the mileage is close to the same with the 06 being slightly higher. The used car sales manager is out of town until Thursday and the internet sales manager is going to talk to him about it then.

This (non) service experience has me frustrated. I'm frustrated because I thought I was at least buying into the BMW family. The service for my 335 has been on point so far, but the MINI service, in this area anyway, is lacking. I like how the MCS drives, looks, fits into my 3rd garage and the mileage I get during my commute. But I HATE bad customer service! I have no problems following their guidelines until such a time where they mess up and aren't responsible about it.

I would say there is a 15% chance I would get an acceptable deal on a BMW at this point, but if I did, should I stay MINI or go BMW? I think I would even consider a 328 because the 335 will be leaving soon for a X5.

 

Oh, to answer another question there isn't another MINI dealer nearby. I would think the closest one would be in LA.

 

MINI customers are often treated as second class citizens at BMW facilities since the profit margins on our beloved cars are so skimpy. We're not deemed worthy of a loaner car, but we're supposed to be grateful that we can have all the free coffee we want while we waste hours waiting for our cars to be serviced. So glad my 'stealership' days are done with on my R50 and R53.

 

Do you actually think a $35,000 Mini is worth $35,000? Pleeeeeeeeeeezzzze, they make a killing on Minis!

 

I agree. Our MINIs probably cost the plant about $12k for a base cooper. Including parts, factory space, and labor, to get from sheet metal to a finished product. Leaving about $8k of profit for BMW.

 

Jeremy, do you have anything to back up your 12k build price for a JustaCooper? Any dealers care to chime in? I won't hold my breath. I've heard the margins on MINI's are significantly lower than BMW's. In any case, there's no way they are making as much on a MINI, even if it goes for 35k when compared to a 5 or 7 series BMW.