I was washing the mini today and desided to do it very well. When I took the panel off this is what I found. Its actually quite shocking. This is a 2005 car. WtF. Is this a common thing on the MINI?

 

Don't know how common or uncommon it is but you do have a 10yr rust perforation warranty on the car. anyplace that moisture gets trapped in contact with the surface you will get corrosion, that includes road grime from a car that never gets washed, that car will rust faster than the car that is kept clean....so its not terribly surprising that this would be one of the first places rust shows up on a car

 

do you know if the warranty is international? The car is from the US and I live in Iceland.

 

I had some rust appear at the bottom of the drivers side tail light, in the gap between the lens and the body, very minor, smaller than a pencil eraser. The dealer fixed it, and also pull the other one to check there also.

My MINI is an 03, had about 105,000 miles (165,000kms) at the time (06/09). It moved to the US from Canada with me. I believe the warranty is international, at least it was interpreted that way in my case.

Mark

 

now there seams to be another problem. There is no Mini dealer in Iceland, but we have a BMW dealer.

 

Give them a call, can't hurt. Did you buy the car new? Not that that should matter, as the warranty goes with the car.

Mark

 

but it is 100% that there is some kind of warranty on the car?

 

From mini USA. Mini and BMW in the us are treated as seperate companies. Maybe you local dealer will do the "right" thing and take care of it. It does seem like it would be easy for an individual to fix too....it is a small, hard to see area, so the paint work after the repair would not have to be perfect. Good luck, calm down, and remember, you bought a used car, it will never be perfect.....think of it as character, or as a beauty mark on a beautiful model!!!

 

The car was bought new from the US, but I bought it used here in Iceland and Icelanders are not people that take good care of their cars. No maintenance history, only oil changed. I am working on the car to get it into 100% shape. It is one of the best looking minis here in Iceland and there are only 60 minis in the country. I will sent a mail to Mini international and see first what they say and then attack the dealership with something in my hands.

 

The warranty on the rust is a factory one, has nothing to do with what country the car was sold in. That said, you won't probably be able to call MINI roadside to get the car towed/shipped to the closest dealer

Now that fix is not worth much out of your own pocket, and if you do get it fixed, check the bottom of the doors also. Look under the rubber, as some MINIs have had rust issues there.

Mark

 

I will tell you that its expensive there in Iceland. Where do you want me to look under the rubber?
Just finished waxing the car. phew it looks good, except some things I know about and noticed when I clean it. Hate it.

 

With a mini, matainance should be your #1 priority....the longer things go, the more expensive they are to correct. I recomend getting a Bently manual, and doing the inspections recomended...by now #2, and giving everthing a good once over.
Also for the rust warrenty to be valid, mini must inspect the car on a regular basis, I think it is every year.

 

My Mini had not been to a dealer in over 3 years when I found the rust, and had never been to a US dealer until I found it. When you put 30k+ miles a year on a car, the warranty for everything besides the rust does not last long.

Mark

 

I would not necessarily "attack" the dealership - a friendly approach (more befitting a MINI owner) might be all you need - I've found on them (unless they really deserve it - ie: Berlin City in Williston, VT) never works so well overall...

 

About the Bentley manual, Can I download it somewhere?

 

Iceland!
Sugarcubes fan here!

 

today I went to the dealer and they said that they will need photos and that they will maybe do this, but have to talk to mini international first, but they say that mini will probably show me the finger. What can I do. I have the warranty right?

 

In order for rust to happen either moisture had to have been under the paint at the factory ( very doubtful ) or it was able to migrate there by other means. So the clear coat and paint would have to be penatrated to the metal or at least the integrity of the paint would have to be compromised. That can be done by road debris or things we attach / drill into our car.

In the first photo, there appears to be an area which must have been scratched to remove the paint, exposing the metal to the elements. Moisture worked it's way down ( naturally ) under the paint and caused the blistering.




And in this photo based upon the somewhat horizontal rust line and it's location, my educated guess would be that the back edge of the license plate or plate frame was chipping and scrating away at the paint surface or stagnent buildup of road debris / sand was working on the paint surface and this was the end result.



Every time the boot was closed, it was working on the paint surface. And since this is a HUGE damp are to begin with, this was inevitable.

You caught this in it's early stages as it is easily repaird and should not be that expensive. Thanks for bringing this to our attention appreciate the heads up

 

Yes, it is common and a known problem.
http://www.motoringfile.com/2006/05/...-rust-problem/
http://www.motoringfile.com/2007/01/...oor-sill-rust/

There are threads about it here on NAM but the search function sucks and I didn't even try.

 

This is the enswer that I got

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your Email. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We were naturally very concerned to learn of the problems you have experienced with your MINI. As you will no doubt understand, it is extremely difficult for us to review the technical aspects regarding your vehicle from our headquarter location here in Munich. We can only recommend you to contact any official MINI Dealership (www.bmw.is) for an inspection of your vehicle upon which it will be determined what action is necessary. We can assure you that your dealer is fully committed to resolving this issue and to offer the level of assistance you have to come to expect from MINI. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In closing, we thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us to offer our comments.[/FONT]

 

I guess that is a back handed insult....a form letter, telling you to do the obvious when it is impossible!! I think they know it, but with zero business in your area, not sure what they could do...maybe sub-contract the work out to BMW, but since it sounds like you took it upon yourself to import the car, they never signed up to support a car in Iceland.....sucks, but being the ONLY ONE OF YOUR KIND IN AN COUNTRY DOES HAVE A PRICE!
Sorry to hear it, but if that is the WORST issue you must deal with, and never need the ECU/BCM reprogrammed, you are doing great! So smile, consider it a fact of life...cars rust when exposed to salt and moisture...just treat/control it the best you can...it looks like it is in a discrete/somewhat hidden area, so I think it will be fine for SEVERAL years before it becomes an issue. By then, it may no longer be your car, or may be crushed, or there may be a dealer...or any body shop could fix it!

 

TO me that email sounds like good news. Bring it to your local BMW dealer. It says they must look at the issue. If it is indeed a scratch caused by a plate or plate holder, it is hardly mini's fault, but they may help anyway.

Light sanding, some rust reverser, and then matching paint and I would be done with it. Worst case I add center stripes, but it seems this is an area that will be covered, so just stoping the rust is all I would worry about, but then again, everyone is different.