Ok, my experiance thus far with 3 dealerships have been terrible. I've had a clutch problem since 1 month into owning this damn car. It makes a HORRENDOUS noise when first gear catches, or in reverse. Each time I've been given a stupid excuse to why it actually makes that noise. One service center even said its somewhat NORMAL. Are you f*cking serious???? I've had the HK sound system which i paid extra for and it sounds like crap. Each time they say they fixed the speakers buzzing and they havent. I've also taken it in for my dash that is constantly making noise (buzzing, vibrating). I drive over an hour to work and over and hour back and i hear this annoying noise and i wanna pull my hair out.

I go out of my way in driving from Westchester (where i work) to Long Island to drop off my car. I bug them to get a rental ("we have no rental or loaner policy"). They keep the car over night and claim they have driven the car. Well... I wrote down the mileage before I gave it to them, and when I picked it up, it was EXACTLY the same. They said they drove the car for quite a bit and didn't notice any problems. They claim the noise was coming from a "loose exhaust plate" which was tightened. Give me a freaking break. I am really considering selling this car. I've had nothing but issues since day one and little things are just driving me absolutely insane.

I'm headed to the BMW dealer 1/2 mile from my house to look at the new 330 or maybe a Audi A4 which is also 2mins from my house with a Service center at both of these locations. I'm sick of driving 40 mins or sometimes 1 hour and 40 mins just to get service and then have them lie to me.

I'm probably all over the place with this rant but im so sick of this bullsh*t.

 

sorry to hear. maybe it is time to move on.

 

i understand how you feel! it is so difficult to deal with some stealerships... you may want to consider a lemon law buy back.. (that way you do not have to eat the depreiation by driving it off the lot..know what i mean?) gather all of your papers and talk to attorney..

note: if you car is at the stealership for more 30days or more for waranty work you can make them buy it back.. as long as it is under 18000miles..

 

Sorry about your issues. Sounds like you need to find a better dealer, or contact the MINI headquarters to complain. I know when I had my VW, service was always a top priority due to the fact that they wanted to have a high consumer rating (or something like that). As for the Audi, be careful. They're expensive cars to maintain (uncle works on them). I wish you the best with your problems. It just doesn't sound right for you to be ahving so many issues. I've got 78,000 miles on mine and have minor buzzes, but nothing that doesn't make me "pull out my hair." Good luck, and if you want to part with anything before you sell, drop me a PM...

 

Nice color selection, first off... I'm all stock still, but I bet your car pulls very enthusiastically indeed, from those listed mods.

Rant On, and find a new dealer. When I read unhappy rants, I always think how lucky I am to have responsive and successful (in the sense they fix the problem) service dept. at my dealer's. No loaner? I'm gone - that's just crazy. I'm not being sarcastic when I say you should "call someone (a different dealer) who cares".

Good Luck, don't jump ship,
Tatt

 

I've noticed that my '05 MCS does indeed emit an odd but brief whrrrrr when I let the clutch out from a standing start when driving in casual, law abiding fashion. Have not noticed the sound in reverse. I've never asked anyone about it . . . I do find it strange but I'm not overly concerned about it.

Although I don't believe that I'm letting the clutch excessively slip, the sound does not occur when I'm a little bit more aggressive!

I've also noticed some minor vibrations coming from the dash . . . but this is not consistent and I've chalked it up to being subject to temperature.

I understand your frustrations with dealerships . . . it seems that remains a constant wildcard no matter the make.

Too bad . . . I love my car . . . not gonna let the middle man spoil it!

 

Hey, isn't "constant wildcard" an oxymoron?

Love my car too, and your points are well-taken,
Tatt

 

Hilarious . . . you are correct!

 

I would find another dealer, and report your current one to MINIUSA. They tend to be hit or mis as far as service goes(though most seem to have service quality at the top of the priority list), and from what I can tell you have already put in a signifacnt amount of money into your MINI and probably don't want that to go to waste. However I also know that there are only 80 dealers across the US and another dealer may just be too far, in that case take the time to see if you qualify for the lemon law. Hope it all works itself out soon.

 

Have you tried Westchester Mini?? I have got my car there and from what I understand, service has improved there a lot compared to the past.

I had two experiences (nothing technically wrong with the MINI) with them and both of them went very well. Ask for Peter.....I am sure they will help you out (ie., if they are not one of those whom you have already visited)....

Having a problem free car and able to really enjoy the MINI experience, I feel anytime I hear about another owner having an issue with their car.

 

Sorry, man. I feel your pain. Like just about any other business, there are good MINI service departments, bad ones, great ones, and crooks. Too bad it has to happen, though, with such a great car.

What a bummer.

 

Yes, Pat....why not give Westchester MINI a try? I also agree with contacting MINIUSA to let them know about your unsatisfactory experiences, to date. Especially about them claiming to roadtest your MINI and the mileage not being any different...that is outrageous. I had a persistent rattle in my 2003's dash, and the dash was removed, a washer installed, and no problems since. Good luck and sorry about all the annoyances!

 

I've tried 3 dealerships. Westchester was a horrible experiance also. But this was almost a year ago. I've yet to find a dealership that has correctly fixed any issues I've had with my car. They are all minor issues (except for the clutch) but honestly, after a while they will drive someone INSANE and that someone is me....

I've honestly tried everything you guys have stated.... I might just part out my car and get something new.

What really sucks is I just ordered a ton of new things from outmotoring... ;(

 

I agree with investigating the lemon law option. Sounds like it would provide you with the best recourse.

 

Why don't you just take it to whoever did all the MODS on it? You trusted them enough to potentially VOID your warranty, so why not let them work on your other problems!

 

While this may sound like plugging for Westchester Mini, I suggest that you visit them again.

From all I have heard, they have changed enormously in the service department.

I would rather that you still motor in a MINI than any other car!!!

 

Amen brother!

 

How many decades has that sign been in repair shops, you know the one? Hourly rate is $45, if you want to watch $60, if someone else worked on it, $80 and if you worked on it yourself, $100 plus!!

 

Why the hell should i?? It's obviously a problem I had since I first got the car. I have this issue dated from a month into owning the car.

Eric at Helix actually knows what the problem is and I've talked to him about it. I told him I had a noise and he actually described the actual sound and told me hes heard of a few 2005's with that problem. He said it's probably the flywheel but why should I pay to have it fixed????? My dealership has been nice enough to overlook the mods... and lets not get into warranty talk that is a completely different topic.

 

Pat, the clutch/flywheel thing is a known issue. I had mine replaced (fixed) and know of a few others that MINI of Pittsburgh has also fixed. The techs had to communicate directly with their counterparts within MINIUSA.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations. It is terrible that such a great experience can be turned sour by stuff like this.

 

It sound like Eric had identified a known issue. Take it to Westchester and TELL THEM what the problem is. If Westchester has improved, as others have posted, it should go smoothly.

 

curious . . . are there any issues with this other than the noise? causing undue wear on the clutch? As I mentioned above, I do not hear this on a consistent basis.

thanks . . .

 

No - it really wasn't anything that would cause undue wear. The tech actually asked if I was sure that I wanted them to open up the bowels of my car for the replacement - saying that the factory was sure to be able to put it together with more precision than he could put it all back. I appreciated his concern, but wanted the noise gone.

Actually, I probably jumped to conclusions a little with this (based on what Eric is reported to have said) since I haven't actually read a description of Pat's issue. Mine was an intermittent "rattle" at idle that disappeared when the clutch was engaged.

 

Pat's clutch noise is described in the first post of this thread....
This is not the rattle-at-idle, throw-out bearing/flywheel noise.

 

Oh yeah, I did read that! I guess my short term memory isn't so good.

I apologize - Sorry.