I will try to make this short. MCS 2006 bought with 67k. Changed the transmission oil three times yet it still bumped from second to third. I bought a water pump, thermostat, gaskets, SC oil, 15% pulley, new belt, new tensioner with an Alta stop, ATi dampener, new coil, plugs, wires etc. On my third trans fluid change I noticed a coolant leak. Since I had planned on doing the SC oil and changing the thermostat, water pump etc. I was not concerned but then I said "why?" if I bought a USAA extended warranty. I brought it in to Sandia Mini dealership (Albuquerque, NM) and they found the inlet and outlet power steering lines leaking, the water pump, and an over serviced transmission. USAA warranty covered everything up-to a certain point. I could get a Like Kind Quality (LKQ) transmission and not pay a penny. I chose that road and after they sent the dealer two non-working transmissions I chose another road. I paid the difference. So I paid $2491.00 for a brand new transmission, water pump, power steering lines, and all associated fluids. I am lucky but this is what I learned. The Mini dealership has a horrible business model. They lacked communication skills and of course overcharge for everything. I will never go there again and I would never buy a Mini from them because of their way of treating me as a customer. I did contact Mini USA about the BS non-serviceable transmission and they quickly called me. I will inform them of my experience. Just wanted to vent. Thanks

 

Good to have new tranny, but you could have changed the valve body for about $1200 instead and saved all the aggrevation.

 

I asked them to do that but Mini only swaps transmissions. The whole process is a joke and a scam. 6k for a new transmission plus install charges.

 

yup, should be a lesson for us all, only go to a dealership when there is absolutely no alternative. They only see as walking wallets.

 

Remember....
DEALERS only REMOVE AND REPLACE parts.....
Many aftermarket shops can fix the broken part and then reinstall.....
Kind of a shame to hear stories like this....but it is how most every dealer in the world operates.

 

I would have paid the same for a valve body swap at any other garage so I am glad I bought the extended warranty otherwise I would not have gone to the dealer.

 

Huh....mad at mini "will never go back again"...lack of communication, bad business model....etc...
After all that you had a change of heart?
Guess you came out $$ ahead....
But if you went to a 3rd party shop....
The $$ for the warrenty would still be in you pocket....
The car could have been fixed in 2 days....
And the bill still would have been less....
One minute you are mad and frustrated....the next you are happy...guess venting is like that....
Guess having your car back is nice....
Disclaimer....
I do use USAA for most everything they offer that I buy...service is the best, prices usually the best or close to it...but some things are best self insured unless very risk adverse.

 

I was mad at the dealership because of the communication. A third party for a new transmission, water pump, power steering lines and fixed in 2 days would be less than what I paid for the warranty and the difference? What was my change of heart? In fact I had to bring it back because of a coolant leak.....maybe your right since I did say I never would go back again. Thanks for the disclaimer about USAA.

 

The reason dealers replace parts in units like transmissions, is that they warrant their work for 2 years. At the current cost of labor rebuilding a transmission would be way more money.

I don't know of any independent repair shops that warrant for 2 years.


However I do not understand the OP's post. He was planning to do all this work on his car (bought used and I'll wager he did not have it checked over by a mechanic before he bought it) but decided that he should just use his warranty instead and let the dealership do the work. Once in the dealership found that he had overserviced the transmission and it needed replacing. He could not pay any costs and get a similar used one, or pay the difference and get a new one.


So what did the dealership do wrong, and how exactly did they overcharge you?

 

How much is the wager for? because assumptions really suck. what the dealer did wrong was the lack of communication during the process. I specifically asked for them to call me when they received the second LKQ transmission and they did not. My point of overcharging is a fact we all know about dealerships. So if you buy a car the transmission has a warranty of 3/36 buy a new transmission and it has 2/24? I was planning to do all that work AFTER my warranty elapsed but the water pump started to leak so I brought it in.

 

Yup....that's how it works.....
The junkyeard "lkq" (just a chain of corporate owned junkyard parts suppliers) usually has a year...and my local mini shop has a 1 year nationwide warrenty...many independent shops do....
The most common issue with the gen1 auto tranny is a valve body issue...hard shifts and clunks...
Same transmission was used on many vw cars...same asin made tranny...
They RECALLED THEM....fixed them....
Mini did it on a case by case basis....
But it is a Pretty simple fix (for a tranny)...unless the seals are blown from being serviced.
Not sure why a missed phone call is so bad...
The old "call me when done" is pretty common....heck...you pay the dealer to stress over this crap...let the pro's do it (they do it all day....even dealing with used parts suppliers)....micro managing NEVER turns out well...just stressful...

 

I know you are right about the stress, I figure at my age I should know my emotions. It was the fact that LKQ sent a second broken transmission. All is good in reality, it is just a car after all. I apologize to anyone if I got bitchy. Next is the pulley, supercharger oil, belt, tensioner, and dampener. Thinking I should wait until my extended warranty is over because if I do this now it will void it.

Thanks for your inputs

 

Just remember, enjoy the car!! That's why you own it right?!
Have fun, and yeah...getting 2 bad replacements is very bad luck! I would have gotten kinda mad too!! Go find a curvey road when we get a sunny drive and have some fun!!
Imo NOTHING beats a nice scenic road with some twists in a mini!!