Hi NAM,

Totaled a 06 cooper, red/silver top, AT, sport, just about month and half ago. this was replaced with a used mini CPO 08 pepperwhite/black top, nav, conv, sport, MT. a considerable upgrade. but as I am driving it more, I feel like it is becoming a lemon. I am a very detailed person, and I can hear everything from the plastic on the doors making noises to the wind noise (seems like its not sealed all the way--everything sounds a bit more rattle-y than on my 2006) on the drivers side, and a rattle in the engine (flywheel rattle? don't have too much experience w/ driving MT, so I am also a bit worried about the condition of the clutch) when I accel in 2nd or 3rd gear. To make matters worse, when the 08 was purchased, there was a golfball sized dent on passenger side rear wheel panel and paint chips on the drivers side door edge (imagine opening your door on a concrete wall or something). of course before purchase, i told the dealer they needed to fix these things, and the dealer said they could take care of both things at a later time at no charge. well the mini was taken in last week and the result was: it looked like some took white out and painted over the paint chips. they said they could not push out the dent, and instead with one of their tools, made another .75 in scratch on the same panel where the dent is and you can see metal. now their service guy says he will take care of everything, forget sales, management etc, he would take care of everything. at this point, he thinks the whole panel would have to be redone in a body shop, which may devalue the car he said. I will try to post some pictures later.

anyway, dear NAM community, what are your thoughts or suggestions? Thought it would be worth it to see what you all had to say. It's been a bit stressful, and some are saying this car is a used lemon! Is it even worth it to keep going back to this dealer?
and last night, i just found out the back Seat belt fastners, the black plastic pieces basically were coming off the part where you insert the belt into. would that be covered by warranty?

thanks all and pardon me if this is in the wrong sub-forum.

Terranz

 

hardly think interior rattles and scratches and small dents make it a "lemon." If that's the case, most MINIs would be lemons. Now the clutch and F/W are a diff story, they should be covered under the CPO's extended warranty

 

I don't think it's a lemon. The dealer not being able to pull the dent is a bunch of crap. They promised they would fix it, so they need to fix it, not make it worse and say "oh well, we tried."

You may need a new clutch/flywheel- something I'm always concerned about when I look at used MT cars. You never really know how the person before you drove it. Seeing that it's a CPO, there should be some sort of grace period on the clutch if it goes.

Overall there are a lot of cheap plastics in the R56, and there will most likely be a few rattles in the doors, dash, etc.

 

yes, I have to tell myself, that it is a *used* vehicle. can't expect it to be pristine and perfect like a new one.

so do you both think it is worth it to take off that panel to have a dent and scratch fixed? I don't know if you can remove it actually, seems like it's one piece. and can you take it into service to have them look at the F/W / clutch? and do you guys hear a lot of outside noise? is that something they can fix or will they say, "We don't hear anything when we drive it" kind of thing?

 

Is MINI's CPO process different than BMW? When I got my CPO BMW, their inspection process would have not have let a car in the condition as your make it as a CPO.

 

i don't believe so BGR alex
I have a copy of the inspection sheet, and saw all the check marks. but do you think that whoever inspects it, checks randomly? often times mini does not Mini Next CPO their cars, bc it's not worth it for them to do it. so it seems like they randomly certify cars, meaning the inspections of the car could be random or careless? whole reason why I even thought about purchasing this mini was bc it was backed by Mini Next.

 

My 2¢...get the dents/scratches/dings repaired to your satisfaction. That's BS that a repair will devalue the car more than some half a$$ed touch-up. In addition, IMHO you cannot expect a cabrio to be as airtight and rattle-free as a couple. These cars are not quiet by any means but your comparing an apple and an orange...both fruit but that's where it stops. The clutch is another item that should be inspected/repaired/replaced under warranty along with the interior/seatbelt items that are falling apart. Tell them you need a loaner because you want everything done...and when you go to pick up the car don't turn in your loaner until you've inspected the paperwork and your car. No big deal and this (again my opinion) is not a lemon story. Good luck!

 

guess that's what i'll have to do. it's just the dealer is a good 50 min away, so I would definitely need a loaner. and it is not a cabrio, if I know what a cabrio is. It's a hard top coupe.

 

I never buy a used car from a dealer lot if they are unwilling to give me the name of the previous owner. Did you try to speak to the previous owner?