Tom Purves, Chairman
BMW of North America, LLC
300 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677





Tom Purves:







I’m writing this letter regarding my Mini Cooper Convertible which I purchased on October 30, 2004. Let me just say the experience has not been what I expected from a company such as BMW/Mini. Ever since the Mini’s arrived in the US in 2002, I had always liked them, and in 2004 when the convertibles were announced that just added to my excitement over the car. In August of 2004, I decided it was time for a new car, and I thought to myself, how could I go wrong with a Mini. The one thing that kept racing though my mind was should I really purchase a car in its first year of production? I should have gone with my first instinct and not purchased the convertible. After seeing the number of issues my father had with his first year Cadillac Catera, it is obvious that first year car buyer are used by car makers as ginney pigs to get the bugs out of cars.



I purchased my car at Crown Mini of Richmond in Virginia which is a dealership about 2 hours from my house. They seemed to have much more information then Mini of Sterling which is only 10 minutes from my house. As well as they said they could order me an Auto/CVT. My car was ordered in August and I received it Oct 30th. My first issue was when I went to pick up the car, and I was told after arriving at the dealership the Convertible alarm was not yet available and I would have to return all the way to Richmond when it arrived to get it installed. It’s now a month later and still no alarm which I paid approximately $600 for.



On November 2nd I decided to take my Mini Cooper Convertible into the shop because there was a dead pixel on my NAV screen, a rattle in the back, some shipping tape still on the car I wanted removed, and some of the dealer programmable features that I wanted activated. I emailed Mini Of Sterling and received an email from Kerri Brown, service appointment coordinator, telling me to come in on November 10th.. I emailed them back to make sure I would be able to get a loner car and they assured me one would be available. The 10th arrived and I headed over to the dealership in the morning to drop off my car. First, I wasn’t even on their appointment list and second no loner car was available. I was also told it would cost me $ 49 to get the dealer programmable options set up and that my car salesman should have asked me what I wanted before picking up the car. Needless to say I couldn’t wait there all day as I had to get to work. When I got to work I emailed Kerri about the appointment and received an email letting me know that since I didn’t purchase the car from them-I was low on their priority list.



“Dear Mr. Marans,



You neglected to tell me you picked up your new MINI from a different dealership. When we were emailing back and forth I was under the impression that you were a new purchase customer of MINI of Sterling.



The issues you discussed with me are delivery issues. For our customers that purchase here they are taken care of on the spot. I did not make an actual appointment because that is our new purchase customer policy.



I regret your inconvenience, but this could have been cleared up had I known you purchased elsewhere.”



I also emailed my sales person regarding the Programmable options and I was told they charge to set those up too. After an email to MiniUSA they called Crown Mini of Richmond for me and told me that they should have asked me before picking up the car if I wanted anything set up. Needless to say I wasn’t about to go drive 100+ miles to get that set up.



A few days later we had our first big rain since I purchased my car, much to my surprise water was leaking into my car through the rear passenger-side window. I immediately called Mini of Richmond, since I assume it was a defect, they told me to bring the car in, when I stated I don’t live anywhere close to them, they advised me to call Mini of Sterling. Upon calling Mini of Sterling, I set up an appointment to come in the next week. I arrived at the dealer they day of the appointment this time before they even opened, my service advisor Tradd Dozier was not in so I worked with someone else. We went over all the issues and then I got the all-to-familiar news again, they were out of loner cars. Well lucky for me the guy who was driving the courtesy van was nice enough to drive me all the way to my job and then pick me up later in the day. My car was in the shop for 2 days, when I finally went to pick it up, they said they had fixed the water leak, programmed the dealer options and had to order a new NAV screen as well as some molding that was coming loose. The next morning when I got in my car to drive to work I noticed my front seat had oil and grease all over it, as well as huge water stain on my back seat. I called numerous times to the dealer but my calls were not returned.



A few days later it rained again and what do you know, water was leaking in my car at the same location. This brings me to my major issue here, I immediately called the dealership when I got to work at 9am and said my car was leaking again and I needed them to call back ASAP. By noon I had not received a call back. I then called of MiniUSA and talked to James Frost. I explained to him the issue and he told me he would call Mini of Sterling for me, but I heard nothing from anyone the rest of the day. Finally around 7 pm I called MiniUSA to find out what happened and James told me he had to run out for an emergency and he would call them as soon as he got back the next day. The next day still no calls from anyone, so I called MiniUSA again, and a nice lady told me James was out to lunch but would call me back. When I finally talked to Mr. Frost he told me he talked to Brad Stuller, the service manager at Mini of Sterling, and that he would give me a call regarding my problems. Still no calls from anyone, so I called and left him a voice mail message which of course wasn’t returned. At this point I called my service advisor, he told me that he thought Brad was going to call me and Brad thought my service advisor was going to call me. I then asked what was going to be done about my car and basically was told, there is nothing they can do. I was told Mini is aware of the issue. This led me to ask how long this could take for them do decide what to do about this issue-one week or six months. Unfortunately he could not answer that question. So my next question posed was what I to do when it rain and I was told to bring a towel in the car. What did I buy a car or a swimming pool? My parents just bought a pool for approximately the same amount that I paid for my car. They were told to bring a towel. Me, I bought a car-no towel should be required.



I think you would agree that having a pool of water in my back seat whenever it rains is not acceptable. Would you accept the proposed solution of placing a towel in your car, as a reasonable one? Since the Service Advisor at Mini of Sterling is unable to determine how to fix the problem, I am looking to a higher authority for help. In my estimation, since the dealer claims they are unable to repair the root source of the leak, then this means that BMW North America should either a) Replace the entire roof to correct the leak or b) provide me with a replacement Mini in the interest of using mine for engineering defect analysis.



I look forward to hearing your expeditious response for repairing my waterlogged Mini.









cc



Brad Stuller – Mini of Sterling Service Manager

 

Looks pretty good, though you need to get your spelling right.

Loaner, guinea, etc.

 

My first response is WOW!

I am sorry you are having problems. That is no fun....

I think the tone of your letter is great. Firm but not angry.

I would suggest that you add in the bottom of the letter a request for receipt acknowledgment. Make sure they call you or email you as soon as they receive the letter. That way you know they have it and are trying to help.

I hope I don't fall in the same fate as you! I bought mine at a different dealership only because they had what I wanted in stock! Oh boy....

Good luck and please keep us posted!!!!

Chris

 

Yeah, do some more proof reading... you've got some little errors "then" instead of "than" mixed-up words, etc. Nothing major, but you'll get more respect from who ever reads the letter if the items are fixed. Is it who or whom... I can never tell

Sorry to hear of your issues. The reviews I read of the convertible were excellent. I also live over 100 miles from the dealer so I feel your pain.

One last comment... try to contact the CEO, owner, etc. of the dealerships. You're more likely to get a response from them.

 

good luck, looks pretty good i really dont think that they can have a comeback for your towel nedded mini:smile:

 

While the letter is very detailed, it is tooo loooong. You need to edit it more and correct some of the grammar/spelling errors you have.

Honestly, you are going to have a better response if you make an attempt to contact the dealership's owner rather than getting a hold of a high ranking BMW executive.

If your letter ever makes it to BMWUSA, it will be tossed in the garbage can.

 

Also do yourself a big favor and get a hold of a Lemon Law attorney in your area. It sounds your car has some pretty nasty manufacturing defects. get to know your rights under Virginia's Lemon Laws.


If you want my honest opinion, while your letter is detailed and emotional in content, is not going to solve your problems. If you can't get satisfaction from the selling and servicing dealers, then you need to get a hold of a lemon law attorney to handle your case.

Otherwise you will live with a water leaking car for the rest of your days. Not fair IMO, so get legal counsel.

 

It might be a bit long, but I've learned from numerous other letters I've wrote, Sears, GM, Sprint. if you send your letter to the right people you will get a response no matter what it says.


Howard

 

What an experience. I love how dealers treat you when you didn't buy the car from them. I moved from St. Louis to FL with a saab and the dealer was overtly possessive of their loaner cars every time I had to have any service done. They said "we have loaner cars for our customers". The best one was when they told me they didn't have any available, even though there were 8 of them parked right outside the service advisors door. I told them that in a year, the car I'm driving is going to be replaced, and do they want me to buy a car from them, or are they actually trying to dissuade me? When the time came I bought a volvo V70R, and the first place I went with my new car was that saab dealer, to show them my new ride.

I would post your letter on roadfly.com, in the mini forums - mini of north america actually reads and responds to angry posts there. Good luck.

 

I agree ... you spent the first half of the letter detailing previous problems you've dealt with. Summarize them in a line or two (or don't even mention them) and describe the problem at hand.

Good Luck

 

Actually a long letter is not a deterrence. I have written several letters like this in the past and it's pretty good.


First, fix the spelling of "loner". It's loaner as in a car "loan". Next correct the other things mentioned by the other posters.

Then, bring up the lemon law issue. If they can't fix the problem then the car can be declared a lemon and they have to buy it back. Research your state's lemon laws and a a paragraph informing them of the law.

Last, send a copy of this letter to your sales guy, both dealership owners, BMW/MINI customer service and BMW/MINI's CEO. This might sound like overkill to some but when you do this, and you let them know you did this, then they usually realize they have to do something because now a **** load of people know including senior staff. Be sure to mention you are copying the letter to the other people.

Send it certified to whoever is #1 on your list.

Let us know what they say.

Matt

 

I don't know if you should liken a BMW product to the Cadillac Catera. They might just stop reading right there.

-mike

 

A friend and I also bought our Mini's from Crown at the same time. We didn't get the option to have the programming done either. I have seen the form Checkered Flag in VA. Beach uses to get your preferences so they can set your car up from the start. My friend and I both had problems with the delivery of our cars.

Your letter sounds good and I'm sorry you have had so much trouble.

 

I agree with you, but the problem is that when it comes to cars, long letters to executives seldom if ever produce any results. If this helps you better deal with the situation, more power to you. There are procedures established by the manufacturer of the vehicle and your state's lemon laws in order to effectively deal with defective products such as your new car.

You need to document every service visit and phone call made to each party involved. Keep a neat record folder with all the repair tickets and make sure the servicing dealer does not have any open status tickets on your MINI.

Your first line of attack is Sterling's MINI service manager. Have you sit down and talk to this individual? Does he know about your problems with the car? The service manager in the dealership organization has the power and leverage to help out customers with chronic problem cars as he deals directly with the regional manager on a daily basis.

If the service manager is not willing to work with you in obtaining satisfaction, then you need to escalate the problem to whomever is above him (Often the dealership owner(s)). If that doesn't yield any results and you have exhausted all possible avenues of dealership contact to help you resolve your situation, then you need to get in touch with a Lemon Law attorney and get legal counsel specific to your case.

This is a very important step as you will need to become familiarized with your rights according to Virginia Lemon car laws. Your warranty booklet should detail steps to follow in problem resolution regarding a defective new vehicle.

Also you need to understand that often times you need to give the manufacturer a number of attempts in order for them to correct the vehicle's defect before you can start making "Lemonade". Here in Florida, for example, the car has to be out of service for a total of 30 days and 3 repair attempts to correct the same defect(s). I am not sure what the lemon law says in Virginia for how many repair attempts you need to allow the manufacturer, so on and so forth.

I am saying all this so you realize that this is a bit of a complex proceeding and in order to succeed with either a full vehicle replacement or full refund you must ride one pony at a time and follow the established procedures.

If this is all new to you or very initmidating, you are adviced to get legal counsel.

Sending long letters to a BMW executive somewhere in New Jersey, will not get your car fixed or a new replacement car altogether.

If you want to waste your time is up to you certainly, but if you want to put an end to what it seems a very uncomfortable and emotionally draining situation start today doing things they way they are supposed to be done.:smile:

 

This issue is secondary to your leak, but is the 05 alarm really $600? The factory alarm for our 04 was around $200 and only took about an hour to install.

I think $600 was about what they were charging for alarm installs in early cars because a bunch of the wiring wasn't included form the factory, but if the 05 is the same as the 04 in this respect, I think they overcharged you.

 

You know what these executives do with long letters like Howard's? They use it as toilet paper in the executive washroom.


Seriously guys, these people could care less about what problems you are having. That's why there are laws and procedures in place. Magunson act is another clear example of dealing with bad products et al.

Letters are nice powerful and what not, but legal counsel and saviness are even more effective in getting the ball rolling and getting things done.

Often these letters never get to their intended recepients either. I have never known anyone getting a car replaced or money refunded by just sending a love note to an auto executive.

 

Very nice indeed...and I do not think it is too long...if is well worded and it kept my attention all the way through....ALSO, I like the fact that you did not rant...I have a few friends who think yelling and ranting (basically throwing a temper tantrum) is how you get things done...and yet they can't understand why noone wants to deal with them...LOL...

Well done...I look forward to reading what happens...

chris

 

The Service Manager never calls me back like my letter states. And there is no way I can have the car at the shop 3 times for the same issue, because they won't take it in, since they know they can't fix the issue.


And 599 is what Crown Mini of Richmond is charging for the alarm/installation.


Howard

 

Well having said that, I think you could have a solid case to initiate Lemon Law proceedings. If I were in your shoes I would not hesitate another minute and start getting in touch with a lemon law attorney.

Car is not fixable, dealer refuses to open new repair tickets on it and the service manager refuses to work with you in solving the problems.

Don't waste your time. The writting is on the wall for all to see.

 

I would edit your letter down to get it as short as possible. You can make your points a lot clearer and with a lot more punch. Keep the direct quotation from MINI of Sterling, because that really helps drive the point across.

Maybe something like this (forgive me for taking the liberty, but I hope it does help you.)

Dear:

I am writing to bring to your attention a service and quality issue with my 2004 MINI Cooper Convertible. The experience since I took delivery of my car on October 30, 2004 is not what I expected from a company such as BMW/MINI.

In August of 2004, I decided it was time for a new car. thought to myself, how could I go wrong with a MINI? I have been very interested in them since you first brought them back in 2002.

I purchased my car at Crown Mini of Richmond in Virginia. This dearlership is located over two hours from my home. I purchased from them because they seemed much more knowledgeable about your cars than MINI of Sterling and were willing to order me the CVT car I wanted without hassle. MINI of Sterling is located ten minutes from my house.

My first issue was when I went to pick up the car. Upon arrival at my scheduled appointment time, I was told the Convertible alarm option I ordered was not yet available and I would have to return when it arrived to get it installed. This requires me to make another trip to Richmond. I am deeply dissapointed I paid $600 for an option on my car which I do not have installed to date.

On November 2nd I needed to take my MCC back to a dealer because there was a dead pixel on my NAV screen, a rattle in the back, some shipping tape still on the car I wanted removed. In addtion, some of the dealer programmable features that I wanted activated were not.

I emailed MINI Of Sterling and received an email from Kerri Brown, service appointment coordinator, telling me to come in on November 10th. I emailed them back to make sure I would be able to get a loner car and I was assured one would be available.

Upon arrival at my scheduled appointment time I found I was not on their appointment list. No loaner car was available. To make matters worse, I was also told it would cost me $ 49 to get the dealer programmable options set up. This charge was explained by saying that my car salesman should have asked me what I wanted before picking up the car.

Needless to say I couldn’t wait there all day as I had to get to work. When I got to work I emailed Kerri about the appointment and received an email letting me know that since I didn’t purchase the car from them-I was low on their priority list.

The e mail reads as follows:

“Dear Mr. Marans,

You neglected to tell me you picked up your new MINI from a different dealership. When we were emailing back and forth I was under the impression that you were a new purchase customer of MINI of Sterling.

The issues you discussed with me are delivery issues. For our customers that purchase here they are taken care of on the spot. I did not make an actual appointment because that is our new purchase customer policy.

I regret your inconvenience, but this could have been cleared up had I known you purchased elsewhere.”

I followed up by e-mailing my MA at Crown MINI in Richmond. I was informed they woud also be required to charge me for setting up the programmable options. When speaking to MINIUSA to follow up on this call, I was further advised that I should have made my intentions known when picking up the car, as this is the only time it is done free of charge.

No mention of my needing to do this was made when I purchased the car or when I scheduled my appointment to pick it up. How was I supposed to know and why should I be penalized now?

However, my larger issue is this. A few days later it rained. This was the first rain since I took delivery. Much to my surprise water was leaking into my car through the rear passenger-side window. I immediately called Mini of Richmond and explained the problem and that I did not wish to travel 200 miles. MINI of Richmond stated that MINI of Sterling would be able to handle the problem.

I set up an appointment to come in the next week. I arrived at the dealer they day of the appointment prior to the dealership opening. Despite being the first appointment of the day, no loaner car was available for me. No offer to set up a rental was provided. The only bright spot in this expericne was the courtesy van driver who was nice enough to drive me all the way to my job and then pick me up later in the day.

My car was in the shop for 2 days, when I finally went to pick it up, they said they had fixed the water leak, programmed the dealer options and had to order a new NAV screen as well as some molding that was coming loose.

Upon examination of the car the next morning, I noticed my front seat had oil and grease all over it and there was a water stain remaining from the leak on my back seat. I called numerous times to MINI of Sterling but my calls were not returned.

When it rained again, I was dismayed to find the water leaking in the same location. I immediately called the dealership to arrange an emergency repair. Three hours laterI had not received a call back. I then called of MiniUSA and talked to James Frost. I explained to him the issue and he told me he would call MINI of Sterling for me. At 7:00 pm, having not received a call from either MINI of Sterling or Mr. Frost, I called MiniUSA to find out what happened

Mr. Forst told me he had to run out for an emergency and he would call them as soon as he got back the next day.

When I did not recieve any calls the next morning, I called again. I was informed Mr. Frost was out and would return my call. When I finally talked to Mr. Frost he told me he talked to Brad Stuller, the Service Manager at Mini of Sterling, and that Mr. Stuller would give me a call regarding my problems.

Mr. Stuller did not call. At this point I called my service advisor. He told me that he and Mr. Stuller were confused and that each belived they had returned my call, when in fact neither of them had.

I then asked what was going to be done about my car, the answer was that there is nothing they can do. I was told MINI is aware of the issue. No one could tell me how soon MINI would be able to address what I assume is a manufactuer's defect.

My next question posed was what I to do when it rains. The answer I was given was to bring a towel in the car. What did I buy a car or a swimming pool? My family recently installed a pool for approximately the same amount that I paid for my car. They were told to bring a towel. Me -- bought a car -- no towel should be required.

I think you would agree that having a pool of water in my back seat whenever it rains is not acceptable. I think you will also agree that the service experience I have had with MINI of Sterling does not meet expectations. Would you accept the proposed solution of placing a towel in your car, as a reasonable one? Since the Service Advisor at Mini of Sterling is unable to determine how to fix the problem, I am looking to a higher authority for help. In my estimation, since the dealer claims they are unable to repair the root source of the leak, then this means that BMW North America should either a) Replace the entire roof to correct the leak or b) provide me with a replacement Mini in the interest of using mine for engineering defect analysis.

I look forward to hearing your response.

Sincerely,

 

Well done Jen! Still may have Mini for MINI... I'm not sure... anyway, good luck Howard! Such a shame, as so many of us have had virtually no problems. (And I've got an early '02!)

Godspeed.

 

While your intentions are noble I am sure I see many problems with the letter.

• First, you have addressed this way to high up the chain of command. This is your first escalation. You don't jump from a service manager straight to the Chairman of the company. I guarantee you will get no result with this letter.
• I agree with the dealership, some of your first issues are delivery issues, and you can't expect another dealership to fix someone elses mistake, especially delivery issues. $49 is a reasonable price to charge for reprogramming options.
• Mini is quite clear in their warranty documentation that a loaner car is not provided feature. Some dealerships are nice and provide one, but they are not required to.
• You should always look over your car prior to picking it up from the dealership. Again mistakes happen and you should look it over.

I think your other problems should be addressed, but again I think you need to address it appropriately. I am not trying to be too harsh, I have gone through this process and had BMW NA purchase my car back, but in my opinion it should be done differently.

 

I think that you have to be a little more realistic about this problem. I live about 120 miles from the nearest dealer, and when I bought the car I understood that it was my choice to do so. BMW can not be responsible if people at the North Pole buy their cars and expect the same convenience as those who are 10 minutes away.


I am not aware that Mini or even BMW official policy is that you are entitled to a loaner car when you bring your car in for service. I believe that this is at the discretion of the dealer, and as such can not be used against them or the car.

I also believe that Lemon Laws are designed to protect the buyer from serious mechanical and/or safety failures. A leaky window on a new model where rubber parts may not be immediately available is not going to get you far. I think that you will complain enough, and they will fix the window and reupholster the back seat and solve the problem, but understand that parts for these cars are going to take some time to get down the pipeline. This is new model year or new model introduction stuff. It goes with the territory. The old saying was that you could always spot a Pioneer - he was the one with all the arrows sticking out of his back!

"Also do yourself a big favor and get a hold of a Lemon Law attorney in your area. It sounds your car has some pretty nasty manufacturing defects. get to know your rights under Virginia's Lemon Laws." Bad advice. I truly doubt that any lemon law attorney would touch this matter, since there are no valid safety issues, and the dealer has a pretty good excuse for not having fixed it yet if the parts are back-ordered. Nothing you have mentioned is a "Nasty Manufacturing defect."

I know that there are National Standards for things like dead pixels in a Nav screen, believe it or not, since I had some in a notebook computer and investigated. The number must exceed a certain percentage of the screen or cover an aggregate area. If the dealer feels good, he will replace it. If you threaten to sue, he may never have to fix it under law.

Try not to turn a leaking window into a Federal Case - I doubt if the system will be fair to you.

 

I see a lot of folks is advising you not to go up the chain of command, from experience the higer up you go the quicker the response, when I had problems with my Cosworth Vega I called the GM of Chevrolet that got me a factory engineer at a dealer of my choice to repair my car, so calling high does work just make sure you are not ranting when you call or write and you will usually get an audience, getting you problem solved may be a diffrent issue. In my case a defective engine on a flagship car that cost $6800 in 1974 got very quick attention.

 

I'm not even to concered about the loaner car, I am just listing my issues up to the leak. Don't even begin to tell me if you purchased a 30,000 dollar and rain was leaking inside you wouldn't be pissed. As for the dead pixel issue, anytime you buy a laptop or an LCD, and it comes with dead pixels to begin with you have everything right to return it, (most stores will do it within 30 days) This isn't a 500 dollar monitor, this is a 1800 dollar Nav System.




----



Tom Purves:


I’m writing this letter regarding the Mini Cooper Convertible I purchased on October 30, 2004. Let me just say the experience has not been what I expected from a company such as BMW/Mini. Since the Mini arrived in the US in 2002, I have been impressed with them. In 2004, when the convertibles were announced, I became even more excited at the prospect of owning this vehicle. In August of 2004, I decided it was time for a new car. I decided I couldn’t go wrong with a Mini. I ignored my concerns about purchasing a car in its first year of production. I have had many problems with this car and feel I am a guinea pig who has been testing out the car for the manufacturer.



I purchased my car at Crown Mini of Richmond in Virginia, a dealership about two hours from my house. They seemed to have much more information than the closer dealer. The also said they could order me Auto/CVT. My car was ordered in August and I received it Oct 30th. My experience has been downhill since then.



My first issue occurred when I went to pick up the car. I was told, after arriving at the dealership, that the convertible alarm was not yet available and I would have to return all the way to Richmond when it arrived to get it installed. It’s now a month later and I still have no alarm, which I already paid approximately $600 for.



On November 2nd I decided to take my Mini Cooper Convertible into the shop because there was a dead pixel on my NAV screen, a rattle in the back, some shipping tape still on the car I wanted removed, and some of the dealer programmable features that I wanted activated. I emailed Mini Of Sterling and received an email from Kerri Brown, service appointment coordinator, telling me to come in on November 10th. I emailed them back to make sure I would be able to get a loaner car and they assured me one would be available. The 10th arrived and I headed over to the dealership in the morning to drop off my car. There were several problems upon my arrival. First of all, I wasn’t even on their appointment list. Second, no loner car was available. I was also told it would cost me $49 to get the dealer programmable options set up and that my car salesman should have asked me what I wanted before picking up the car. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait there all day because I had to get to work. When I got to work I emailed Kerri about the appointment and received an email letting me know that since I didn’t purchase the car from them-I was low on their priority list.









“Dear Mr. Marans,



You neglected to tell me you picked up your new MINI from a different dealership. When we were emailing back and forth I was under the impression that you were a new purchase customer of MINI of Sterling.



The issues you discussed with me are delivery issues. For our customers that purchase here they are taken care of on the spot. I did not make an actual appointment because that is our new purchase customer policy.



I regret your inconvenience, but this could have been cleared up had I known you purchased elsewhere.”



I also emailed my salesperson regarding the programmable options and I was told they charge to set those up too. After an email to MiniUSA they called Crown Mini of Richmond for me and told me that they should have asked me before picking up the car if I wanted anything set up. Needless to say I wasn’t about to go drive 100+ miles to get that set up.



A few days later we had our first big rain since I purchased my car. Much to my surprise, water was leaking into my car through the rear passenger-side window. I immediately called Mini of Richmond, since I assume it was a defect, they told me to bring the car in. When I stated I didn’t live anywhere close to them, they advised me to call Mini Of Sterling. Upon calling Mini of Sterling, I set up an appointment to come in the next week. I arrived at the dealer they day of the appointment this time before they even opened, my service advisor Tradd Dozier was not in so I worked with someone else. We went over all the issues and then I got the all-to-familiar news again, they were out of loaner cars. Fortunately, the courtesy shuttle driver offered to drive me to work and then pick me up later in the day if my car was ready. My car was in the shop for 2 days. When I finally went to pick it up, they said they had fixed the water leak, programmed the dealer options and had to order a new NAV screen as well as some molding that was coming loose. The next morning when I got in my car to drive to work I noticed my front seat had oil and grease all over it, as well as huge water stain on my back seat. I called numerous times to the dealer but my calls were not returned.



A few days later it rained again and what do you know, water was leaking in my car at the same location. This brings me to my major issue here, I immediately called the dealership when I got to work at 9am and said my car was leaking again and I needed them to call back ASAP. By noon I had not received a call back. I then called up MiniUSA and talked to James Frost. I explained to him the issue and he told me he would call Mini Of Sterling for me, but I heard nothing from anyone the rest of the day. Finally around 7 pm I called MiniUSA again to find out what happened and James told me he had to run out for an emergency and he would call them as soon as he got back the next day. The next day still no calls from anyone, so I called MiniUSA again, and a nice lady told me James was out to lunch but would call me back. When I finally talked to Mr. Frost he told me he talked to Brad Stuller, the service manager at Mini Of Sterling, and that he would give me a call regarding my problems. Still no calls from anyone, so I called and left him a voice mail message which wasn’t returned. At this point I called my service advisor, he told me that he thought Brad was going to call me and Brad thought my service advisor was going to call me. I then asked what was going to be done about my car and basically was told, there is nothing they can do. I was told Mini is aware of the issue. This led me to ask how long this could take for them do decide what to do about this issue. Unfortunately, he could not answer that question. The next question I posed was what I to do when it rain and I was told to bring a towel in the car. I do not feel that this is an appropriate solution for this problem



I hope you would agree that having a pool of water in my back seat whenever it rains is not acceptable. Since the Service Advisor at Mini of Sterling is unable to determine how to fix the problem, I am looking to a higher authority for help. In my estimation, since the dealer claims they are unable to repair the root source of the leak, then this means that BMW North America should either a) Replace the entire roof to correct the leak or b) provide me with a replacement Mini in the interest of using mine for engineering defect analysis.



I look forward to hearing your expeditious response for repairing my waterlogged Mini.