Hi all, I've been reading threads on the forum for months but never actually posted. But with recent events I want to check a few things.

I picked up a 2011 Cooper SD one week ago and on the hundred mile drive home it turns out there was exhaust gas leaking into the car. I rang mini assist when I got home and had the car taken back to the dealership to be inspected. I wasn't pleased, not just because the car had a fault but because it's a dangerous one. After 2 hours in the car my head was spinning and I felt nauseous, as did my passenger.

When I called mini assist it was outside of the dealerships hours, so the next day and called at 9am. I gave them both barrels, told them I wanted to be told exactly what the problem was and why they would allow a customer to be exposed to carbon monoxide/diesel fumes. They wanted time to inspect the car but apologised and told me they'd let me know what the issue was. The car arrived back at the dealership much later that day and their technicians began their investigation. I rang to see if there was any news at 5pm, but was told their technical staff had left for the day and that I'd get a call first thing in the morning. I reiterated that I wanted to be told what the issue was before the fix was applied.

Next day and I was still waiting at 11am for the call, they open at 9. So I called for an update, a cheery customer service manager told me the car was fixed and they were organising the return of my car. I flipped. I asked to speak to the dealership principle, I'm still waiting.

Later in the day I got to speak to the Mini brand manager instead, I told him I wanted to reject the car and they better have a good reason for giving me a dangerous vehicle. I was told there was no option to reject and they had 3 chances to repair the vehicle before that was possible, by law apparently. The legal advice I got over here in the UK suggested different, that if a fault occurred I could return the vehicle for a full refund, replacement, or a repair. My choice.

So the discussion about the fault began. The fault was, 'a piece that should've been fitted upon manufacture was missing, allowing smoke from the turbo into the car'. In other words the dealership is blaming Mini UK.

I asked why the car had been released in a dangerous condition? I was told 'it really wasn't that dangerous and that the previous owner hadn't complained after 32000 miles'.

My response? The previous owner had only covered 32k miles in 4 years, it's likely they could smell it but never spent more than 20 minutes at a time in the car, in other words it's been a shopping car. Plus, if it wasn't dangerous why did my passenger and I feel the effects to the extent we did? The fact the dealership performed a repair immediately suggested they thought it was serious enough to do so without consulting the new owner.

The response about why it wasn't spotted? It's not part of the AUC checks carried out when a vehicle is prepared for sale. The conversation got worse; this is a known problem, quite a few Cooper SD's were built without the part but because the batches weren't know a recall wasn't carried out. Great, mini is letting their customers drive vehicles knowing they're being poisoned whilst they do. I'd suggest anyone who gets a strong smell of diesel exhaust in their car get it checked immediately.

So Mini insist I had to have the car back and it was delivered back to me repaired the next evening. The car runs fine, however it still smells of diesel inside, it's had this fault for 4 years, the oil from the exhaust has seeped into all the soft fabrics of the interior. Worse still there are now oily handprints all over the cream leather of the drivers door, and blue ink from a clumsy oaf with a pen in his hand.

The conversations continue as well as emails from citizens advice being forwarded to the dealership, proving they need to check the law. I've reiterated that I want to return the car, because although the car has been repaired it was against my instruction and the problem now is very much a quality issue. The car stinks inside, everything else aside it's just an unpleasant place to be. I have no choice but to use the car, I need to be able to get to work otherwise I can't pay my bills. Life.

Yesterday I called again asking them to clarify what part was missing and why smoke was coming from the turbo. Turns out it's the seal between the DPF and the turbo. Not serious? It's unfiltered exhaust gas.

One question I know someone will ask; did I not notice this on the test drive? Yes I could smell it but I assumed I'd trapped the smell in the car when I got in, the engine was already running. I also considered that the car might be clearing the DPF and that the smell would go.

So has anyone else had this issue? I can't imagine Mini US allowing the same crap to happen to their customers without there being a recall or some policy being in place to deal with it better than what is happening in the UK.

 

We don't have the SD here in the US. I can imagine Mini US doing exactly as Mini UK.