Neat idea...

 

HAHAHAHA

 

The Magnuson-Moss Act is a good idea in principle, but the problem with it that many people have discovered the hard way is that it has no "teeth". There's no third party with any authority to enforce it, short of actually pursuing a full-blown civil lawsuit.



The reality of invoking the M-M Act usually goes something like this:

Dealer - "Sorry, we're not honoring the warranty on part X because you modified part Y.

Customer - "But, but - the Magnuson-Moss Act says..."

Dealer - "Sorry, we're not honoring the warranty".


Despite the M-M Act technically putting the burden of proof on the dealer, the reality is that you can't put a gun to the dealer's head and force them to fix your car, and the dealers know that most people aren't going to pursue a protracted legal battle.

 

Not sure what state you are in, but most states require yearly vehicle inspections.........which includes safety related components as well....

Has your MINI been inspected by your state after the mods and passed ?

 

The correct number is 1-866-ASK-MINI. (I think 1-800-ASK-MINI is unused, though - why MINI doesn't grab it as well is beyond me).

 

Hey Arnbut,

I'm sorry to hear that you're spending your time dealing with this but thanks for taking the additional time to post.

Your letter is well written. Just curious... What field of work are you in?

Best of luck!!!

 

why not take it to centry mini in greenville, sc? shouldn't be too far of a drive. maybe they would feel "safe" driving it.

 

I'm just flabbergasted that the dealer is trying so hard to avoid troubleshooting a latch problem and an airbag problem. The latch probably just needs aligning, and they can tell a lot about the airbag system from their computer diagnostics.

Like many owners, I've got coilovers, camber plates, adjustable control arms, a sway bar, and a host of other mods, and I've never had a dealer say "boo" about them when I've brought the car in for troubleshooting. I've even got my freakin' autocross class/numbers on the car in permanent vinyl, so they know even before they get close to the car that it's nowhere near stock.

Is there *anything* about your setup that they might mistakenly think is "dodgy"? (i.e. extremely-lowered, lots of negative camber, weird offset on the wheels, wheel spacers, clunks/squeaks, etcetera)

 

I painted my rotors. My SA thought they were aftermarket brakes and mentioned something about voiding warranty. It seemed like he was looking for reasons to void the warranty. I wonder if there was a directive from MINI/BMW?

I do have non-factory pads, so I don't expect new rotors or pads under warranty, but I'd be really #@$%ed if the used that to claim they couldn't test drive the car.

Perhaps my next car will be a Honda. They actually replaced the head on my Integra a few months after warranty expired.

 

I think it all boils down to how well the individual dealers represent the brand. I was talking to a MINI Service Advisor a few months ago, and he said that they frequently do free out-of-warranty repairs (even major ones). It turns out that there's an unadvertised "grace period" after the expiration of the warranty (something like 15 months/15k miles) where the dealer can do a "goodwill" repair for free and still be reimbursed by MINI NA for the parts/labor.

 

When you first pick up your car wasn't there a sticker on the windshield that basically says if you mod your car you void the warranty? Mine had one... Just saying...

 

So if you put on aftermarket windshield wiper blades or non-stock tires or replace the factory stereo should that void the warranty on the whole car??

 

I had a vacuum leak that i cause... I broke the vent valve on the valve cover. this cause a vacuum leak somewhere i couldnt find.. so i took it in... and there covered everything.. this is with all my mods.

It really depends on the dealership.. in my case they looked the other way.

that sucks man.

 

Just telling you what the sticker said... I agree though, all dealers are different, some thrive on modified cars and some won't touch them.

 

I assume you mean calipers, not rotors? Actually there is a MINI/BMW directive that painted calipers voids the warranty (for the brakes).

 

Yup, I meant calipers.

I could see that if paint on the calipers caused a problem, but should it allow them to decline to fix a fault not caused by the paint? That would be very bad form, IMO.

I don't expect them to warrant the brakes, because I have Carbotech Bobcat pads, but I don't think that should allow them to not fix an engine problem because any mod makes the car unsafe.

 

This really sounds like one particular dealer using a "creative" method of avoiding warranty claims. Sadly, unless MINIUSA steps in and smacks their paw over it, it's likely going to take an order from a civil court judge to get them to change their mind.

 

I still vote for taking it to a better dealer and seeing how that turns out.

 

Only smog inspections in GA --- I'll look into something from GADOT or local law enforcement though. A seal of approval from the local gummint can't hurt.


Thanks; fixed it.
Did you call her?


Thanks; should've done better though. I wrote it while angry... ...never write or drive angry...
I'm the senior administrator at a training lab for very geeky test and measurement devices. One of the things that rankles me about the MINI tech's assessment of my vehicle is that he used absolutely no objective criteria for determining that my car was "unsafe"; he rendered a seat of the pants opinion.
We train professionals from every jurisdictional entity on the planet in my lab; I wonder how that tech would react if a tech in a crime lab were to determine him guilty on an opinion rather than actual genetic sampling...


Will be trying Minis of South Atlanta next, I think. Unless MINI comes to their senses and I get some sort of closure from Global.


Again, Global Imports isn't the culprit here; they've tried to fix the problems. They've been professional, helpful, timely, polite, etc.
If I were to pick nits, there are two: 1) they led me to believe that it would be a fairly easy fix at first. 2) they scratched the car.
Other than that, they've provided stellar service; they just didn't get it fixed or convince MINI to get me a replacement car...
I'm not angry with Global; I'm angry with MINI. I'm disappointed in Global...

The mods to my car are Enkei wheels, g-Force tires, H&R springs, Hotchkis swaybar and camber links. That's it underneath; very mild indeed.
Alignment was done by a shop that specializes in track Porches. The car rides a bit stiff but sticks in the curves like gecko feet on velcro.

 

I'm still wondering why a test drive is needed to determine how to fix an airbag light and latch problem? My dealership only drives my car if I ask them to, or if the problem is intermittent and they are trying to duplicate it. Weird.

I can only remember ONCE in my 5 vehicle ownership history where they drove my car FIRST to diagnose a problem. It was a clunking suspension sound and I could not tell what wheel it was so they drove the car to figure out where the sound was coming from.

I bet if you told them you had a stereo problem they would say: "Well-- we need to drive your car around in order to diagnose the stereo problem, and since your car is not safe to drive... well... we can't fix your... stereo... errr.... so there..."

 

I have two Hondas. A 99 CR-V (I split time in with the Mini and my wifes 2004 Accord EX-L. I've had two repairs done for free no questions asked out of warranty. On the CR-V Sears said they couldn't do an alignment that I had a broken inner tie rod. I took it to the dealer and the SA said I don't believe it, we get those cars with 200,000 miles on them, and the front end is still in tact. I had 50,000 and about 4 years or a year out of warranty and he fixed it for free saying 'gee, it shouldn't have done that'. On my wife's accord I get a letter from honda warning me about a faulty part on a board in the radio which is used to display the radio and heater information. The letter says your display may go blank and it advised us it was extending the warranty on that part and failure for 100,000 miles and 7 years. Sure enough my wifes display went blank and it was repaired for nothing. My local honda dealer is also very competitive on general maintenance items. In fact he beat everybody for my wife's accord recent tire replacement.

I love my mini, but I'll always have a Honda in the garage. Given what I've read over the last couple of years about mini customer service, I can't say the same thing about mini. I am fortunate however, in having a great mini dealer, Mini of Nashville.

 

glangford,
I used to work for Honda... ...although they make some fine products, they're not you're Momma either... ...trust me...

All in all, we consumers are lucky that we have the NHTSA and FTC to do their part or we'd get seriously burned. Large auto companies ran rough shod for many years before consumer laws started to level the playing field.

 

I have had my mini for 10 weeks, no mods at all. Last week, my passenger seat airbag warning disabled light came on. Sounds like there may be an issue with this light/passenger airbag function. I will take it to mini soon and see what happens. They will not be able to make up any excuses for it, I think.

 

My passenger seat airbag light has come on a couple times, but on both occassions, my wife was in the car, and I *think* it came on because she was sitting "abnormally". For instance, "indian-style"... er... "criss-cross apple-sauce" . I wonder if mine coming on was a problem or if it was really because she was sitting weird.

On an off-topic note, why is it un-PC to say "indian-style". I mean, they DO sit like that (at least on TV haha), and it's not like sitting that way has a negative connotation. Or is it because of the use of the word "indian"? Would "Native American-style" be acceptable?

 

It certainly appears that dealers may have too much leeway when making these decisions. Just had my R56 S in to have the computer updated after an iPod interface install, the tailpipes shortened and the RF tires rotated (Gotta keep that lifetime warranty in good standing). The dealer was very good about the entire process, they ended up giving me a Chili Red '09 S as a free loaner (that was a sweet ride )'cause they were having a problem with the computer coding. I have made a few mods to the car, Alta drop in air filter and the Alta Turbo inlet hose, CB front strut bar and they did not give any grief.