I took my three month old MINI in to have a broken battery box cover replaced. When I was washing my car and wiping under the bonnet, I noticed that the battery box lid was not locked closed,when I looked at it closer I found that two of the plastic clips were missing/broken off. I called for an apt. and arranged with parts to order a new one. When I picked up the car, the Service Manager informed me that this was not a warranty covered item, but he would cover it this time... I asked him why a broken part on a three month old car would not be covered under warranty. His response was; it was prob. broken off when the box top was removed... I informed him that I had no reason to remove the battery box cover... His response: "I said I covered it this time for free"...

At the same time I had them take a look at a problem I was having with the inside of my door windows streaking and getting covered with a white deposit. The service manger said they would pull the door panels and check it out... He said that upon inspection, they found the inside of my doors were "loaded with road salt". He said they cleaned them out this time, however this just a "design problem" and that he would be unable to clean them out under warranty in the future because it was NOT a warranty issue... He also asked me if I washed my car... WELL I wash my car by hand twice/week in a heated garage... I don't know about the rest of you, but I have never owned a car that the doors filled up with road salt to such a point that the inside windows were getting covered with it... IMO, salt building up to that degree will surely lead to premature RUST out... I asked him again, if this occurs in the future and I'm sure it will, would I have to pay to have serviced during the warranty period? He said because it's NOT a warranty issue... I asked him how/why BMW/MINI would not cover or try to correct such a problem... He said that was not
his problem.

I have never encountered such a POOR attitude from a auto service department as I continue to receive at the BMW/MINI dealership in Cleveland, Ohio.

Paul

_________________
Paul830

Paul,

I'd report the dealer to MINI USA, or BMW headquarters itself in New Jersey. Go straight to the top.

I'd agree that both of those items should be covered under the warranty, at the very least.

Sounds like this problem is easily solved.

Sack the rude and unfriendly service manager ASAP! He needs to spend a little more time washing cars out back and get some sensitivity training before he can be allowed to speak to the customers.

I am quite certain that this is NOT the way that BMWUSA and MINIUSA want their MINI owners to be treated!


Sorry to hear that this jerk has tarnished your MINI experience.

Road Salt in the doors! That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard!

Also, please post this on the Dealer Rating System on the menu to the left.

Share your experience there, as I have a good feeling that BMW is reading everything put down there!

This jerk may think he is a BIG FISH as a service manager, but he is really only a small fry in the BMW pond.

Best advice would be to put him in the frying pan and see if he jumps into the fire or back into the pond with a new attitude.

Patti Labelle "I got a new attitude!"

_________________
~Yucca Patrol~
I'm just here to have fun, participate, and not make an @$$ of myself!

7 sub 21

Start at the top...MiniUSA.
Eventually the flow will reach him.
Sounds like a moron.
Don't forget the dealer eval on this
site as well.....

If road salt accumulating in the doors really is a problem (and I hope it's not), perhaps a how-to on pulling the door panels to clean this ourselves would be in order. Anyone familiar with how to do this? I sure won't pay BMW to do it.

If time could be reversed, I get the feeling that the dealerships that took on the MINI, would probably pass if given that choice again...it's like they don't want to be bothered with these issues. It seems there is a definite communications gap between BMW/MINI and the dealerships. BMW reading this?

It seems to me there would be no way that road salt would be spraying wildly THAT far into the interior of the doors. Come on. And if the road salt isn't spraying a fairly long distance up into the inside of the door, then the only way you could get deposits on your window would be if the salt built up slowly to such a level that it was piled up in the bottom of the door frame so that when the window was dropped completely, it would come in contact with a pile of muck in the door. Again, give me a break!

And even if this ridiculous explanation were true, it would certainly be a warranty repair. A door that allows salt into its interior is very much a serious flaw that could affect not only cosmetics down the road, but in the end could affect the very safety of the vehicle. Since the door locks, dropping windows, etc are all controlled electronically, if their contacts were to corrode due to salt deposits, you could become locked in the car or unable to close your door without the windows hitting.

I have heard this window streaking issue discussed before, and I understood it to be a somewhat greasy substance, and many feel it is lithium grease or a similar substance coming from the inside of the door frame where the glass is making contact with something.

The issue with the battery is a given--sounds like they broke it at the factory, at the boat, or at the dealership.

The service manager is definitely NOT doing his job. A service manager should never be adversarial and flippant with a customer. If anything, he/she should be a liaison between you and the mechanic and BMW Corp, assisting you in resolving your problem in the most cordial way.

I would definitely report your treatment in the dealer rating system, and I would definitely notify MINIUSA.

Best of luck,
JS

The Service Manager is full of you know what. That's one of the lamest one's I've ever heard. If by some unbeleivable chance that it was "road salt" it indicates that you have a faulty vehicle and MINI's bumper to bumper warranty will take care of it.
Why they wouldn't want to do warranty work is beyond me. That's what's keeping the service departments viable for the first few years.

Paul, I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like Classic Mini/BMW's service dept. The sales and parts are INCREDIBLE (who could dislike Julie?), but service, ugh. I went to get a new front spoiler put on my car, it only took me 15 minutes to take the old one off to inspect it after I smashed it up. They wanted to charge me for 1 1/2 to 2 hours to install the new one... and they'd have to take off the entire bumper... and I ask... WHY!? Needless to say, I'm not getting it installed there. I hate to put down the dealership in any way, after all they sponsor MINI NEO, but a little constructive criticism could never hurt.

I think the problem with service is probably isolated at
certain dealerships. Some people are bound to have
problems and some are not. Fact of life.
But I agree....this sounds wacky....
...and please, don't say Focus.

>>
>>I have never encountered such a POOR attitude from a auto service department as I continue to receive at the BMW/MINI dealership in Cleveland, Ohio.
>>
>>Paul
>>
-----------
Paul,

Suggest you post your frustrating experience on the "Dealer Rating System" on MCO as I know at least three dealers do read this section for customer feedback.

SMKKVK

I know that Classic does check the dealer rating system. Since it is the dealership in question, they should see it. I also just e-mailed Julie at the dealership to let her know.

Thanks for the support...

The dealer (MINI sales) does know about my dissatisfaction with BMW Service...I stopped in after this incident and "vented" with them. Unfortunately, the sales manager was not in. Believe me they KNOW how frustrated and dissatisfied I am with BMW service. I have no problems with the sales department and/or their performance, GREAT group of people. In fact when I purchased my car the sales manager did tell me "If you have any problems across the street" i.e. BMW, "let me know". That type of statement makes me wonder if they have had other MINI service related complaints. I'm waiting for a call back from him.

Maybe we need a separate Dealer Service Rating System in addition to the "sales" Dealer Rating System? I know the "Dealer "relates to both the sales and service aspect but the two areas in many/most cases are separate. Maybe if there was a specific area to post/rate our service related experiences this would help point out after sales "dealer" performance, i.e. BMW. After all if you don't provide good service your sales will begin to suffer...Our interactions with service last much longer than our interactions with sales...

Update: After "repair of the problem"... Picked up a friend last night and he asked me why my windows were so streaked up... The "cleaning" by BMW service actually made the streaking worse...His comment was... "OMG this mess is on the inside of the windows, I've never had a car that did that". I'll give MINI another wash today and see if their is any improvement....

BTW... I still love my MINI....

Thanks, Paul


:smile: :smile: :smile:

_________________
Paul830

Paul,

I've talked to our favorite Mini Sales Goddess (and fellow MINI NEO member) at said dealership, she feels horrible about the situation that you faced... she said this to me in an e-mail, after having talked to me about it as well (I've had bad experiences, as I've said, and after her reading this forum.. hope you don't mind me using your e-mail message, Jules): "eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...i don't like those posts - except for yours, that was sweet! I care, I do, and I know that I represent Classic and it upsets me. I am trying to keep on it so that these things get resolved. That's all I can do."

Let's make that part of our agenda at the meet on the 9th, see who else has been having difficulty, and see if we can't figure out a suggestion to send straight to the managers at the service department. There's really nothing that sales can do but to tell them how we feel, as they're not the ones making the mistakes, y'know? Talking to their bosses is the way to get things done. :smile:

-Jer