With only four and a half months and 6,000 miles of ownership, four dealer visits and now it has to go back to the dealer again.

I had to have the car towed to the dealer on August 21 for electrical problems. They didn’t “finish” the repairs until 4:00 pm on August 30.

My wife and I made the 100 mile, 2 and a half hour round trip today to pick up the car. One of the original problems was the car would not go into sleep mode and it would drain the battery in less then 24 hours. I waited 9 days for parts, among them the gas filler cap locking actuator that had gone into a continual locking cycle. That part still does not work as it will not lock the gas cap and now a new problem, the driver’s door will not lock or unlock electrically, it must be done manually. I have tried initializing the door locks to no avail.

My question was rhetorical as it will end for me in less then two months when my ’04 M3 gets here. The BMW went to status 150 on Friday and the production date has been bumped from the 19th of September to the 12th.

This MCS has been the worst car I have had in 40 years of automobile ownership, the problems have been non-stop, one problem gets fixed and another one comes and takes its place.

I usually figure car ownership in years, not months.:???:

 

Sorry to hear about your problems.
I was fortunate enough to purchase a trouble-free MCS almost a year ago...best car I've ever had in a list that includes Acuras, Infinitis, Audis and Volvos.

 

jerrygee,
Sorry to hear about your electrical problems. I have heard that some BMWs can have loads of trouble with wiring woes. And MINIs will occasionally be big big headaches. Our dealer had to work on one MINI for a month to rewire a MINI that had trouble with electrical stuff after a failed attempt by someone to install an aftermarket car alarm. Sounds like your car might fit into the lemon category at some point.

For you the good part is you're getting a 2004 right around the corner and we all hope that this car will be perfect for you. Let us know how you like the new baby.

 

Those of us with practically trouble free cars can only scratch our heads and wonder why some end up with so much trouble. Must be soooooo frusterating. As much fun as the Mini is, it all vanishes when you've got constant troubles. There's no fun in that. God speed, jerrygee.

 

Thank you for your kind words. It has been very frustrating, the problems have tempered what should have been a very enjoyable experience as the MCS is one of the most fun cars to drive I have ever had. It I obvious that my troubles are the exception and not the rule as there are many more trouble free Minis then problem plagued. One thing that the Mini owners do seem to have very much in common besides their passion for their cars is they are simply very nice people and that is demonstrated over and over again on this very forum. God bless.

 

Good for you - thumbs up - snaps - kudos - for trading in your lemon for another Mini, rather than giving up the Mini fun altogether! That takes guts and a true appreciation for the Mini experience!!!

Motor on!

 

>>Good for you - thumbs up - snaps - kudos - for trading in your lemon for another Mini, rather than giving up the Mini fun altogether! That takes guts and a true appreciation for the Mini experience!!!
>>
>>Motor on!<<

Um..Cat...Jerry is selling his MINI and getting an 04 BMW M3.

 

Jerrygee,

Sorry to hear that you got the lemon. You will love the M3. It is a great car and fun to drive as well. I personally like the Cooper S but I am partial to it. I am assuming that you are trading in the Cooper for the M3.

Enjoy and hopefully you will give the MINI another chance down the road.

 

>>Good for you - thumbs up - snaps - kudos - for trading in your lemon for another Mini, rather than giving up the Mini fun altogether! That takes guts and a true appreciation for the Mini experience!!!
>>
>>Motor on!


I JUST KNOW we are related,
perhaps twins seperated at birth!!
:smile:

I just hate it your MINI is electrical crap! could you have a hose or something leaking water onto something that is shorting the thing out? - reason I ask is I had a Toyota Celica that was electrical crap until they found the hose with the leak! then like magic all was well - - and that was after 6 trips to the shop and no one knew why the electric top would sometimes and then other times wouldn't open up (was a convertable) ... or to have it down and it wouldn't close.

anyway, your time in MINI he11 is almost over ...
set your sights on that BMW M3!!!

Take care,
BJ

_________________

 

BJ

If you do ever make it out to SoCal you have an open invitation to come visit, we would both love to meet you face to face. Julian is a quaint old mining town about two blocks long that has become a popular weekend get-a-way with lots of bed and breakfasts and shops and is famous for its apple pies and Apple Days during the fall and is a popular destination for car club runs and motorcycle rides due to the abundance of great twisty mountain roads custom made for a MCS (and a M3 I might add). It is nestled in the mountains of San Diego County at 4,200 feet. We have lots of old growth oak trees and Coulter Pines and plenty of wild life. We have resident deer, turkey, numerous song birds, one large bobcat that comes for the ground squirrels, gray squirrles and a few passing through mountain lions. My wife thinks it’s her duty to feed the forest so our yard always has lots of activity.

I should find out more tomorrow about my car. I am hoping it is something simple that was just overlooked when it was in for the last repair. My problems have for the most part not been related except for this latest fault. Electrical problems can be among the most difficult to find and fix.

Jerry

 

Sorry to hear you got a troublesome MINI. So far I have been pretty lucky with just a leaky coolant tank, a cracked windshield, and now a very slow leak at the oil cooler that has to be fixed next week.

All in all, I am very happy with my MCS and its decent reliability so far. We'll see how it fares in the long term.