I've been railing pretty hard against MINI for some time now due to all the crap that has gone wrong with this car in the short time i've owned it. I thought i might get some relief with the class action lawsuit that was filed, only to find I didnt even qualify for it.

Being rather infuriated by it all, I contacted my local MINI dealer and told the shop manager about the situation (probably not in the kindest words). After a week or so of going back and forth in emails, he asked that I bring the car in to have them check it out. So I did, not really expecting much.

Well, they called me today, told me there was about 2000 dollars worth of repairs ON TOP of the timing chain issue that needed to be done, but before I was able to explode into a fit of rage, he said he talked to MINI and explained my situation to them, and they're going to fix it all for an incredibly marked down price, a price so low I was happy to pay it.

I must say, I'm a little blown away. Everyone knows dealerships usually look out for themselves (they're called stealerships for a reason!), so to have them work with me like this put a ton of faith back in me. I have to imagine my situation is not the norm, but regardless, they did the right thing, and I honestly couldnt be happier.

Paul, wherever you are, thank you!

 

Name and location of dealership please. Ha

 

That's very good to hear that they were willing to work things out to take care of you. When I worked at the dealer I always tried to do my best to help the customer, especially in situations like this.

 

I hear much more positive than negative about our local dealer: MINI of the Main Line.

 

The service staff at MINI of the Main Line is amazing. The fact that I was on a first name basis with both the MAs and the SM should've been a bad thing, and it was to a certain extent. They went to bat for me with MINI so many times to get around $5,000 worth of stuff covered over the 3 years I had my R55S. That dealership was a pleasure to work with. I'm taking my new-to-me R53 to them next week to have some rust/paint warranty issues looked at. I'm actually excited to go see the team again. It's been too long since I had a broken MINI...

Your experience has been the norm for me with MINI and it's one of the main reasons I bought another one. Also, Helix has been amazing to work with for service. I'm crazy lucky to live 15 minutes from a great dealership and Helix!

 

^Ed, the Service Manager is a class act.

 

This was at Motorwerks MINI in Minneapolis. I had never dealt with them before, but told them how the dealer in Texas did their best to hose me out of a rather large chunk of change and in general were just dishonest. I dont know if it was that or the word lawsuit or if they were just feeling nice, but they came through for me big time. Should be able to pick up the car today, and be able to drive it without worrying for the first time in nearly 4 years.

I've now been trying to decide whether to keep the car now that everything is fixed. Its got over 111k miles, and I'm still a little afraid something else will fail (HPFP, for one), but I've only got about 4000 dollars left on its loan, so I dont know. I do know that if I start driving it again, I'll want to keep it...few cars are as fun to drive as a MINI. Tough call...

 

Good to hear, are local dealers have always been good around here.


I would keep it since you have it right now, once you find a good dealership it makes owning a MINI so much easier.