I have talked to two new owners that have been told by their MA's that thier Mini was damaged in route and was repaired at the VDC - both were not happy but took the Mini anyway because the damage was minor and repaired... One ask the question point blank and then the MA admitted to damage.... So, does bad news travel fast or is this a common problem - Also, how minor/major does the damage have to be before the MA MUST tell you about it??? From what I have seen - Repaint is never as good as from the factory.... Never would have thought to ask "any damage reported to you" as I am taking delivery??? So, I put the queston here..

 

I'm pretty sure this isn't too common of a problem or we'd be hearing a lot more about it. I don't know how much damage has to occur before one's MA is required to tell them, but I do know if repair for said damages exceeds 3% of the value of the car then they don't even give you the option of taking delivery. Personally, if my MINI had taken more then 5 days tops at the VDC I'd have been suspicious. Luckily it flew through in only two so that wasn't an issue.

 

MINI will disclose ANY type of body repair or part replacement to the dealer. BMW NA lost a big law suit in the 90's because of improper disclosure of repairs made prior to delivery on new vehicles, so ever since they disclose anything and any car with damage that exceeds 3% of the value of the car will not be delivered to the dealer to be sold as a "new" car... they replace these cars, and keep the damaged cars for the press fleet, company car fleet, or use them for other demo use, and then they sell them after as used cars.

When I mean anything, I've seen cars come with a damage disclosure from BMWNA because they've had the tow hook cover on the bumper repainted/replaced.

 

I have seen the dollar amount somewhere and it said if the damage is greater than that amount they have to tell you. I can't remember where. But mine came very quickly from VDC to the dealership so.... I think mine was not damaged.

 

Harley, dont forget about my story: my car was damaged beyone repair at the VDC three weeks ago.
One MA told me that they take the minis out of service and wont sell them if any damage to 3% or more occurs durring transport/VDC

 

Buyer Beware:
After my MINI sat on the dock for 4 wks I finially ruffled enough feathers at the dealership (had to finially go through sales mgr as my MA was clueless) found out mine was damaged ( still don't know to what extent) at the port! Still sitting at the repair shop at the dock as we speak!!!!

First clue kept getting bumped off of one ship after the other.

Thank goodness I read the NAM or I'd still be waiting!!!

 

Did they ever tell you what happened to your Mini?

 

I am aware of both your and Minmor - those are easier to deal with - its the ones Below the 3% - this was my orig question - do ALL Dealers report ALL damage or what is Required - I have had two owners tell me that either the MA did not know or maybe accidently forgot to disclose it.... Repaint is Never as good as factory... esp on the bonnet/hoods...

 

I think many sales guys opt not to volunteer the info, or even ask to discover the damage in the first place (ignorance is bliss POV). Honestly I think dealers should be forced to disclose damages/repairs to a car pre-delivery, really even if it was used and sold as demo or whatnot, the buyer has the right to know and who to go to if there are paint or related issues. Shouldn't take someone finding a bubble in the paint (like a friend with an M3) and having a pain in the butt time dealing with it once the car is paid for.

 

I forgot to ask about mine, but something might have happened to the bonnet. The first clue was that the scoop color did not match the bonnet. The dealer sent me to a body shop down the block. At the same time, I had them fix a damaged rear bumper (parking lot accident).

The body shop mixed a color to match (as closely as possible) the color of the bonnet and re-sprayed the scoop. Then they went to use the same color on the bumper, but it didn't match the back panels. The bonnet and boot were not the same. You can't see it, looking at the car.

The car was not at the VDC very long. It may have been repainted at the factory. Bonnet might have gotten scratched during assembly. What puzzles me is why you don't see the difference where the bonnet meets other panels. Did they repaint the front half of the car and blend it? Or, did they just paint part of the bonnet and blend it there?

 

mine was taking awhile at the VDC so I asked my MA the same thing. He told me MINI must disclose ANY damage for ANY amount. I then said something like why I should believe that and he showed me a document on his computer that updates all the cars going to that dealer, where they are, and there was a special column for damage and amount.

 

Thats the question... The Dealer knows but how do YOU know without asking THAT question... I did check with my MA and he said they disclose any damage - I still plan to ask him face to face = and I may even ask to see the print out on my MINI..

no ask no tell????

 

My car was delayed 20 days at the VDC. I asked my MA many times, what's the deal with the delay? Was my car damaged in transit? I was told no.

I did see a big dab of touch-up paint on the left fender, and wonder if there was something else that delayed my delivery.

 

Interesting. I traded my '06 MC about a month ago for an '07 MCS, and was asked during the trade-in negotiations if it had undergone any body work. It was only a year old and didn't have so much as a door ding, so I was surprised by the question. They said that it appeared that the left quarter-panel had been repaired. I told them that if that was the case then it was done by them, not me. (I bought the '06 from the same dealer) I didn't press the issue as they were very fair on the trade allowance, but I figure this could only mean one of two things. Either they were jerking me around and trying to reduce the trade-in value, or they had repaired it prior to delivery... and didn't say a word about it!

 

BMW did get in trouble for secretly repairing major damage on cars without disclosing it to owners, but I don't thnk the current threshold for disclousure is "any damage". Cars incur all sorts of minor nicks and dings in transit and as long as the damage is below a threshold, I don't think they're required to tell you a thing. What that threshold is today, I couldn't say.

There are a lot of reasons a car may be held up at the port than have nothing to do with damage (availability of rail cars/trucks, labor issues, in-port recalls, back-order of port-installed options, special inspections for certain blocks of cars, etc.) so I wouldn't assume that all delays are damage-related. I think the best course to defend yourself is to go over the car very carefully on delivery.

- Mark

 

http://www.autospies.com/news/Did-yo...-factory-1348/
this link had pics of damaged Minis getting fixed at VDC

 

Sounded interesting but I can't seem to see the pics :(

It seems a bit random to have the company self police on this issue and determine that damage is worth X amount (wholesale, based on what rates/costs?) and how much of the value of the car that represents. Does that mean a car that has more options and thus has a higher price can sustain more damage without reporting it? Overall it just does not seem in the consumer's favor or best interest and therefore the most logical thing would be to divulge any repairs without the buyer having to dig for it IMHO.

 

Does anyone know the "term" or phrase that 'we' could ask our MA's about damage report from MINI/VDC?? What I mean is 'if we can ask the right/correct question and know that doccument name - Information is Power... For lack of the proper name 'damage report from VDC'???

Kinda like asking your kid "Is your homework done? - Yes" or "Is ALL of your homework done?? No.. Ask me the right question, I will give you the right answer. We have to remember - our MA's are Just car salesman - We have to learn to ask the right questions...

 

I went to the VDC link,,, I also could not see any pictures but found the reading = Interesting....

Quote from link:

If the car suffers damage in excess of 3% of it's value it has to be disclosed to the dealer. As I understand it, if BMW replaced the engine in your car at the VDC, that would not have to be disclosed to the dealer. This is because all BMW parts are being used and installed to BMW spec. However, repaired body damage (something on the order of the MINI's roof, not like a replaced bumper cover) would be declared to the dealer.

According to the above quote.... if a MINI has less than 3% damage, the dealer may NOT be told???? Kinda 180 from what I have learned???? I believe I was told that any/all repairs were disclosed to the dealers = the buyer you/me may NOT be told unless we know 'How' to ask...