I haven't seen any mention of this on MCO, but Bridger's site has a rumor that more BMW dealers will be allowed to do service work on MINIs. This should be a welcome relief for some folks that live hours from their nearest MINI dealer:

http://www.bridger.us/mini/?Y=2003&M...ServicingMINIs

 

That would be great if it happened. I live roughly 100 miles away from the nearest Mini dealer and only work 10 minutes away from a BMW dealership. There isn't a Mini dealer in my state at all and the thought of problems was something I had to think about before getting my Mini. If it had been more than 100 miles, like some here, I'm not sure if I would have a Mini in my garage now.

Last week I recieved an e-mail survey from Mini asking my thoughts of the dealership and the car. I made sure to add in the comments section that it would be nice if BMW dealers would service the Mini. Hopefully others have done the same thing. :smile:

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home.mchsi.com/~mini/index.html

 

That'll be great if it happens. But I assume you read the recent interview on the MINI2 forum with the MINI USA president where he pretty much said they had no plans to do this. Maybe he thought better of it though.

My main wish is that they consider travel time, not just distance. I live 25 miles from one MINI dealer and 40 from another, but due to heavy traffic it can take an hour or two to get to either of them. I'm only 20 minutes from the nearest BMW dealer though.

 

This would be good thing, but doubtful in the near future according to Mr. Pitney...I'm still a good distance from any BMW dealer anyway...

 

I've got a BMW dealer up the block but a great mechanic at Ferman Mini
30 miles away. Guess where I am going??

 

Given that the existing network of MINI dealers seems to have a hard time keeping track of MINI service issues (e.g., some say they've never heard of the first gear stumble, while others claim to have reps off learning how to fix it), I wouldn't think that adding more service locations to the network would help....it'd only result in more angry and disappointed customers. And that's no doubt what BMW is worried about. For good reason.

The thing is that the common MINI service issues (oil changes, etc.) are really very easy to deal with and could be done by ANYONE. Not to mention, these are things that don't require frequent attention so dealer location inconvenience -- if a factor -- can be managed. BUT, the real problem is that many of us have been subjected to the weird, hard to diagnose, manufacturing/Q.C. issues (e.g., airbag light, electrical system problems, annoying rattles, windshields, etc.) that really only EXPERIENCED and competent MINI service folks -- specially trained in MINI and familiar with the problems -- can deal with. Hence, adding inexperienced BMW service folks who relatively infrequently see MINIs may not be helpful.

It just seems logical that BMW wants to sort out the new product with a limited number of dealers and service locations before adding more to the mix. Just my thoughts...

 

Maybe they (MINI) actually read the comments section of the service reviews. I made a comment that I was 2.5 hours exactly travel time from 4 different MINI dealers and 12 minutes from a local BMW dealer that sells used MINI's! What gives? I must live in a MINI black hole.

 

i live in Canada.. i too work only minutes from a BMW dealer...but my car hadto be trcuked 3 hours from here to the nearest mini dealer to have it serviced when i over heated....how convinent..NOT...and besides the Mnin dealer that is three hours away..is NEW..and scares me to think they didn't know too much about the coolant tank issue...and would not change it ...even though you could visually see the start of the tank leaking...i told them..your gonna see it back on a truck down here in the near future..i guarantee it....the dealer i acutally bought the car from, told me he just automatically changes the tanks with the new designed one when they come in weather they are leaking or not...it is just inevitable he said....