Ok, we all know the culprit is "Cosmoline". My question is, How hard is it to get them to replace the flares? I just purchased my 2011 JCW Cooper S 3 days ago. I passed by the dealer to show the salesman and he told me "O , that's common all the mini's have that" when I mentioned if I should make an appointment into service for this issue he responded by saying "you could however, I doubt they are going to change that for you" mind you, i have cleaned it and removed all the cosmoline using prima cosmonot from a friend that had some and it literally removed all of it. I actually spent about 1 hour or so going all around the car removing that stuff from under the hood to trunk to bottom of the door sills etc. I mean with the car being only 3 days old.. crap I wouldn't nor think I should have to put up with stained flares. Let me know what you guys recommend on how to go about this. Can I go to another dealer for service or does it have to be where I purchased the vehicle? Also, for those of you who have had the dealer replace the flares for you how or what did you have to do or say? Thanks

Also, If your guys don't mind posting your dealers name so I can get some kind of reference going here. Thanks again

 

Get over it. Your acting like a baby. They applied it to protect your car against the elements during the voyage. And guess what, you've learned how to detail your MINI. Be happy ---

 

I would be pretty mad also if my flares got stained at 3 days old due to something that I did not cause. I have heard of someone on here, not sure who, that got new flares due to this.

 

Perhaps, but when you pay over $30k for a car I would expect better quality control. Just my 2 cents. Then again to each his own. Tell you what, if you were to take your car in for service and it comes out with dents and or scratches it didn't have before call me baby I wouldn't accept it.

 

The flares have not been damaged yet.
Just be vigilant and keep the stuff cleaned off especially in hot weather.

There are still signs of the stuff on my Clubman after 1.5 years but seems to be hardened and crystallized now.

Most of the gunk that drips down on my Clubman flares seemed to be coming from the 'bonnet' hinges near the struts then running down the underside of the bonnet. I cleaned that off and stopped most of the flow. For awhile I stuffed paper towels in around that area as well.

I will probably get flamed for this but I just use straight gasoline on a paper towel to wipe the stuff off then wash immediately with soap and water.

Sounds like you have more gunk than usual. Mine was only visible (externally) over the front wheel-wells.

You can go to any dealer for warranty or service work but in this case I would go back to were you bought it and have them clean it off better. We really shouldn't have to be cleaning that stuff. Though I believe most of the cleaning was (should have been) done at the VDC before the dealer got it.

 

Thank for understanding.. The principle here is that it's a brand new car. If it were a used car say 2,3,4 years old it's fine. No biggie, after all it's a used car but for a vehicle with 2 miles on it unacceptable. I didn't notice it prior to driving it off the lot due to them prepping the car good and applying shine to the flares. However, if your outside in the daylight it's rather distracting.

 

I agree with you 100%. On one side of the vehicle the flare has slightly deformed I would assume from it having dripped on the flare and baked on their by the sun at some point. So yea.. that's where I stand.

 

2011 JCW here. Had cosmoline dripping on my front fender flares and also down my front bumper at the corners of the bonnet. It actually messed up the clear bra on top of my bumper. Got new flares after my dealer tried to clean it of but couldn't. They also redid the clear bra on the bumper under warranty.

Momentum Mini of Houston is my dealer.

 

Glad to hear you were taken care of. Thanks for the info..

 

Simply Solution is just to have them painted. They will shine like the rest of the painted bits on your Mini.

Cheers AXO

 

Completely agree. They should be replaced. Maybe there is a service bulletin?

 

Thanks, I would have to look into the bulletin portion of it..

 

When I bought my car in late July of '09, my sales guy warned me it would happen. He suggested I wait until after it got good and cold (which would both give the excess cosmoline time to melt off plus serve to harden up any that remained) before taking it in to service to have them replaced. He said they would replace them, but only once. This was at MINI of St. Louis.

 

Do any other manufacturers have this issue?

Pretty sad if Mini can't correct it. I'm sure it would be cheaper than having to keep replacing fender flares.

 

A quick Google turned up a lot of hits for BMW. Some hits for Mercedes, Porsche etc.

 

Either way it's sad. Because I understand if they miss it upon inspection at the plant since the vehicle still hasn't been exposed to heat, cold and such elements. However, when I am paying $599 for dealer fees which per contract states for paperwork and prepping the car I wouldn't expect that I would have to not only go through this but spend over 1 hour like I did the other day cleaning off cosmoline from underneath the bonnet, front grill, flares, bottom of door which was a result was dripping on my side skirts etc.

 

I guess Hans and Deter like to get crazy and slather this stuff all over each other.

 

I have the Cosmo Pee also . I've pretty much gotten rid of the stain using Black Wow. Still BARELY visable but not bad enough to have to go to dealer. mines also bad enouogh that it drips on my garage floor on extreamly hot days, at least I hope thats cosmoline thats dripping

 

Wow, even on the garage floor! lol yea I know this cosmoline or in your words cosmo pee is commong amongst mini but would you put up with it for a vehicle with 3 miles on the odometer?

 

No, I would not. But I bought mine in November when it was nice and cool and problem started showing up on really hot days. First time I noticed it was maybe may, june....And by then I was so in love with the car it just seem to be a really minor inconvenience.

 

GAAH! Above I stated I got new flares, and this afternoon I check my flares (107 degrees in Houston) and had a few new dribbles. Cleaned it with Simple Green concentrate, looks like it came off. Trick may be to catch it when it's fresh.

Dave

 

On my previous MINI I couldn't clear the cosmoline stains on the arches and they were replaced by the dealer; MINI of South Atlanta.

 

I had to be very insistent with my dealer to even get them to CLEAN the cosmoline off of my 3 month old Clubbie. They then damaged the paint while cleaning it off and "weren't sure" if they were going to repair it. Basically, the service manager told me that they do not get reimbursed by Mini for cosmoline cleanup and they wanted assurance from Mini that they would get reimbursed for repainting my car.

Needless to say, I was pretty horrified.

The real kicker for me is that the dealership is known for their excellent service here in Dallas. They are (fingers crossed) going to be repairing the damage to my paint next week.

 

Sounds like MINI needs to implement a new SOP for the removal of this stuff before it goes to the consumer. I can guarantee you that a BMW owner wouldn't put up with this......

 

I guess it really all depends on the dealer. As far as South Motors Mini in Miami, FL they have horrible customer service and wouldn't even think twice to purchase there again. It has just been a nightmare. Today I took it in because of the stains on the flares as a result of cosmoline and was refused to have it replaced. While I was there I told them to check my JWC grill that it was loose. Before purchasing the car I noticed this and brought it to my salesman attention (Guillermo) and he told me he will have it fixed. Later that day he told me he took it to service and the problem was a loose clip. Turns out a few days later grill is coming off the car. When i look behind the grill they had used hot glue to affix the grill!!! Therefore, I had them check it out today. Besides not having the grill in stock the service tech "Nick" said he completely removed the grill and found it to be defective. He referred me back to me service consultant (Sherean) and she told me she ordered the part and it will get here Friday. When I got home I noticed the tech scratched the front bumper wither taking off or putting the grill back on. WTF!!! nothing but problems from this dealer and I've only had the car 3 days. Sigh, I spoke with the sales manager for mini (Fernando) and he seems to care less, basically said we will see what we can do when you come in Friday. If your thinking about purchasing a mini stay away from this place. Talk about a bad day!!