Maybe I'm overreacting...you tell me.

We bought 2006 MCSc from a used car lot in Athens and wanting to make sure everything was good before the 60 day warranty expired, took the car to Global Imports in Atlanta. Paid $170 for a pre-purchase inspection and a couple of hours after dropping off the car I received a phone call telling me all was good except for a tail light needed replaced at a cost of $90. Not just a bulb he said. I told them to hold off, I'd do the work myself.

When I picked up the car, the person I talked to said, "oh, it was a tag light, not a tail light." Knowing this wasn't an emergency item I simply drove home and decided to look at it later.

Upon inspection, the left tag light lens was simply missing. The light worked just fine and the lens isn't even visible...just protection against the elements. I thought to myself it must be a pretty expensive lens to cost $90 to replace. I looked up the part (51247114535) and found the list price of about $6.50.

$84 in labor to pop in a lens? After I just paid $170 to have them look over the car (something most local dealers do for $90)? How can they justify this? They could have won me over as a customer, making me willing to drive 140 miles to get my car serviced if they had simply replaced the lens for me at cost (or at least not at what amounts to $1000/hr labor). Now I'm pretty sure I'm never going back.

I still love the Mini...unfortunately so does my wife and now I have to share.

Yes, I sent a complaint to the service department already. Maybe this was an isolated incident. Anyone else seen quotes like this from a Mini dealer?

OK, the rant is over....

 

Labor costs have risen to over $100 per hour, but still I too would expect the seller to make good. Was the used lot an authorized MINI dealer? Or are you saying the inspectors were a MINI dealership? In that case, they kind of owe you nothing. But it would've been smart customer relations-wise to make you happy. I would've spoken to the manager while I was there.

 

Yup... Most dealers will charge an hours labour to do almost anything...
Get to know shops like WayMotorWorks over by the Peachtree-decabbe airport...he is an independant, factory trained mini mechanic that has a great shop, and tons of Mini items. Most owners (of any make car) don't go to the dealer for anything but warrenty work, or other highly specialized work.

 

I have had mixed results at Global.
Once when I went for warranty work they wanted a $125 deposit before they would even look at it.
Another time I took my MINI in for a minor warranty issue and they did a bunch of repairs because they wanted everything right: coolant flush, oil pan gasket, brake fluid flush.
Recently I had the o2 sensor replaced under the extended warranty, but they wanted $200 to load the latest software.
When you get a good SA Global is good, but you just never know.

 

It's not normal for most MINI dealers, so I would be more apt to writing a letter to Woodcliff Lake, NJ instead of the Global Dealership......in most cases examples "start" from the top down and sounds somwhat like company policy.....your complaint could fall on deaf ears.

Fire one off to MINIUSA, you may find the resolve you seek.

Good luck.

 

Not a bad idea...thinking kinda ousted the box, and helping Mini improve the dealer network!! A win win!! I like it!

 

When I took my 2006 MCS to the stealership to fix the transmission Chewbacca howl, the service rep wanted me to sign paperwork that okayed $1690 in diagnostic work. See, if they found that the parts were "driver damaged" and not covered under warranty, they were going to charge me $1690 just for diagnosing the problem. Luckily, the parts were covered under warranty and I didn't have to pay $1690.

13 hours work at $130/hour.

My gawd. There's gotta be some way to outsource this car repair to India! I know a tech's gotta eat, too, but $130/hour? Did you know that a MINI Cooper oil change from the dealer is $200? A Corvette oil change from a Chevy dealer is "only" $100.

 

I bet the tech is only getting 1/4 of that amount...
Indpendant shops can charge far less, and often have fulley trained technicians...but lower overhead due to no shiney shop, less ideal location, buying most parts as needed, rather than stocking a big room of them.
Dealers do have their place, and the skill is knowing when it is approprate to go to one...or having an honest mechanic that tells you to go there.