I have a huge long story which I would be glad to get into but I'll just sum it up here.

My engine failed at around 100k miles due to the timing chain tensioner guide completely breaking and destroying the engine. I took my car to MINI of Chicago and was told I needed to buy a new engine. They wanted to charge too much so I took it to an independent shop to get the work done.

Let me preface as well by saying that my MINI had a 100k mile maintenance package which means my car was maintained by MINI by their recommended intervals up until the engine blew.

Skip forward to about 6-8 months ago I get a letter stating that there was a "campaign" to replace faulty chain tensioners. My VIN fell in the range. The letter mentions calling if you've completed prior repairs. Since I paid out of pocket I figured I'd call and see what the deal was and if any assistance might be provided. After being ignored and not called back I was finally given a NO without any explanation. I spent the next 2 weeks trying to reach out and find out why I was told NO. Finally someone was able to tell me why. The reason why is because MINI of Chicago blamed ME as a CUSTOMER for the engine failure. They stated the car was low on oil and it was MY fault the engine blew. They themselves stated that the engine oil had already begun to mix with the coolant due to the failure so I'm not sure how they can give a reliable measurement of the oil. They also never told me that it was caused by the low oil when I first had it towed in. They agreed with me that it was caused by the tensioner failure alone. So not only did they blame me but they also lied and deceived me by adding those notes to my service record without actually telling me.

Funny thing is that I still had the 5qt jug of Mobil 1 in my trunk that I had purchased a week earlier to make sure my oil was topped off. I'm not some guy who just starts a car and goes. I take pride in my vehicles. I would never run ANY vehicle with low oil. I check almost every fill up. I have my bank statement which shows the oil purchase but I don't have any way to prove that it was put in the car. And its my word against theirs and they are winning.

To sum it up. Do not use this dealership. They will lie and cheat you. They will blame you as a paying customer without telling you that they are blaming you. They assume the fault is your own without doing any research. I would not recommend this place to anyone and I will do my best to spread the word of their deceit.

 

Sorry to hear - I'd push this with MINI USA, call up whomever, etc. and see what can be done. I absolutely hate MINI service departments, it's worth pursuing. May even want to get legal consultation or class action, as I'm sure it's happened to many people

 

I've tried barking up a lot of trees. I finally got someone who I felt cared but they said they tried everything and weren't able to get anything done. She cited the fact that MINI of Chicago says the vehicle was low on oil so the failure was my fault.

The MINI US rep who I dealt with was absolutely terrible. He finally called me back after 7 voicemails and basically told me to go screw myself. He wouldn't tell me at all why my claim was denied. He just told me it was denied and I wouldn't be getting any help from MINI. He told me to stop wasting their time and that nobody else will give me a different answer. He should not be employed in customer service. He shows no empathy and seems to take pride in turning people down.

I don't even care if they don't want to cover the labor. I hoped they would at least give me some sort of reimbursement for the engine.

I figure I'll just resort to hitting social media and spreading the word of how they treat paying customers. Usually they don't like the negative PR and even if it doesn't help me maybe it will help the next customer they try to fault.

 

Just a bump so it stays the top topic in this section.

 

had your warranty expired?

 

Yes it had expired. Why do you ask?

 

Just curious...I'm waiting on my first mini from oxford and debating if I want to purchase the extended warranty or just dump it after the 3 year warranty expires. I read the extended is not got the same coverage as the original. I dont trust cars that blow engines after 100k. I have not experienced that since my first new car a 1965 VW beetle. Yep I'm an old fart. Sorry you had that trouble.

 

Yeah it was expired. When I test drove it at the used car lot she sounded extremely strong. It just failed on my one day without much warning.

My replacement engine I am replacing the oil myself every 4500-7000 miles. I will never go back to this Chicago dealer.

 

sad.. any updates on this?

 

Not really. I did have a lawyer contact me saying they are getting a class action in 2 states. I forget which ones. New York maybe. Depending on how that goes they may move it nationally.

 

So your car had 100k and no warranty? You feel the dealer and MINI of Chicago cheated you? Neither MINI or the dealership have an obligation to reimburse you. If you sold your car "as is" a week before you had all these problems, you don't owe the new owner anything if the engine blows up, correct? Same is true if you have no warranty. I've had three MINIs. One with over 100k. Never had a problem with this dealership since it opened or Knauz before. If you want peace of mind, you have to pay to play. Sounds like you are better off trading a car in before a warranty expires, get an extended warranty or do the work yourself. Take some ownership of your problem. It's not a MINI or any other car brand or dealership problem, it's a your problem. Little sympathy for you dude. Yeah it sucks your engine failed. Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

This dealer lied and decived me as a paying customer. At the time of my engine failure I was out of warranty. I openly accepted that. I paid for the engine out of my pocket knowing this.

A year later I received a letter from MINI stating that the timing belt tensioner is a known fault item and to contact my dealer if I have a case for reimbursement.

When I took my car to the dealer to be diagnosed, I was told that it failed due to this same timing chain tensioner. This is what they told me. Little did I know that they marked up the engine failing as having no oil in it. They never told me this. They lied to me. I know the engine had oil in it. I check it religiously. I have a receipt which shows I purchased a gallon prior to the engine failing.

So because MINI of Chicago lied and stated the failure was my fault I've been left without any assistance with an engine failure that has been officially admitted as being a faulty part design.

That is where the problem lies. They lied to me and wrote something entirely wrong on a service report. No where on my invoice did it mention low oil. No where.

 

I recommend you change your oil a LOT more frequently than 4500-7000 K. I suggest you change it every 3 K and a new filter every time.

 

Every 3K miles is way too often, especially with the synthetic oil recommended for the MINI.

Dave

 

While I am not doubting what you infer, just makes no sense for a dealer to do this. Each dealer is a franchise. And if the manufacturer is willing to foot the bill in a campaign for this fix as in this case, it is not financially sound tactic not to do it. It's literally throwing easy money out the font door free for the taking...

 

3000 way too frequent for oil changes?????????I disagree....I have 141 K on my 07.....the only trouble I've had is a flat tire. Oil gets dirty....doesn't matter what it's made of....

 

Unfortunately I promise you I speak no lies. I've been back and forth with MINI the last 6-10 months on this issue and I've got nothing. Their recent offer was a credit towards the purchase of a new MINI. Why would I throw my $7-8k I put into a new motor out the window just to buy a new car? I even asked for a courtesy AC Compressor repair instead of the engine bill but they wouldn't even cover barely 25% of the total bill.

According to MINI corporate my claim is being denied only due to the fact that MINI of Chicago cited my failure to fill the car with oil as the cause of the failure. Absolutely terrible. They changed the oil last about 8k miles before the engine failure. So I was only halfway into their recommended oil change window. I currently alternate between Mini of Naperville and myself for oil changes. Roughly 5-8k between changes. I've recently completed a rear sway bar install in which you have to drop the subframe. How in the world would I not be able to check my own oil?

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my MINI now. I've started autocrossing it this past year and I'm having a blast. I've just lost any faith in MINI as a corporate company. I am disgusted at the lack of transparency in this matter that MINI of Chicago gave me. From the very beginning they have been vague and hard to reach about this issue. They've place all the blame in their customer and none on the part that they told me was the reason for the failure. A part that I received a formal letter from MINI stating a known high failure rate. My VIN falls within the "campaign" VIN requirements.

I've kept all invoices and documents and have forwarded them along multiple times to plead my case. I've got nothing in return.

MINI's are a fun car. MINI's can be great. IF you don't follow their far too long recommended service intervals. Don't expect support in the event of a failure. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE MINI OF CHICAGO FOR SERVICE.

 

Seems like you got the bad side of the stick here. Almost seems like they put it was your fault so they wouldnt have to repair it on their dime. Then the recall or whatever came down... and since they worded it the way they did... to cover their *** in the first place. Now MINI USA is rejecting it as well because of how they worded it. I'm from Illinois as well and havent heard really anything good about Bill Jacobs Mini. On the other hand... Patrick Mini in Schaumburg has a pretty good reputation. I've never actually had work done by them... just heard good things about them.

 

I figure since its just an oil change here or there I'll use Bill Jacobs. I'll keep Schaumburg in mind though if I have any problems. Pretty far north from where I am now.

 

Just found this and wanted to add my $0.02 DO NOT USE MINI OF CHICAGO. I had a very bad sales experience there not only that but my one trip to the service department was also very poor. Mini of Schaumburg is where I go now. they have been awesome, I recommend their service department 10/10!

 

If I was the OP on this thread, I would have headed to Small Claims court with all my documentation. MINI of Chicago said low oil, OP says not. A small claims judge might side with OP. Who knows?

 

I've taken every step I can think of aside from that.

I'm afraid of the cost and the idea of going up against a business with far more money then myself to defend it.

At this point I've practically admitted defeat. I can't seem to get any recognition and anything they offered as compensation has been completely unacceptable. Laughable really. $1500 towards a new car purchase? I just spent 8k on an engine for a car I am still making payments on. Why would they think I'd have the money to buy a new one? $300 towards an A/C repair that will cost $2k? Ha.

 

Small claims court is pretty inexpensive for you. Don't forget they have to send someone to defend, prepare for it, etc. In many cases it causes them to count the beans and decide that the cost of appearing is too expensive, and if they lose they have to pay you in full. If they made up the low oil part, how do they prove it? What if you want affidavits or personal testimony of the tech who did the work to show that? What if the guy doesn't work for them anymore? Very likely they will just offer you a better deal to settle. And if they don't, then you are pretty much done anyway.

I did this once against someone, I won easily but the guy couldn't pay and his company offices were in another state so the cost of me recovering would have been more than the dollar amount owed. The paperwork on the initial claim was pretty simple (SF/CA at the time).

Good luck!!!

 

Well I shall look into that then. I've never researched the topic so I guess I have some weekend reading planned.

Thank you for the help!

 

or something similar !!