Yes Unfortunately I did look at Yelp but only after this happened. Otherwise I would have gone elsewhere. This is why dealers get a bad name - because they resort to tactics like this where an unsuspecting customer get charged $400 for some crap he didn't need. Regardless of what happens I'm not going back - even for the free stuff. I'll take it to Matt at the Little Garage (where I take my 3 series). They do service Mini's, even though they mostly do BMW's.

 

Euler - you have info from Mini themselves where they say NOT to do the fuel injector cleaning/induction? If so, is it it a PDF you could send me or share?

 

Every time I take my mini in for work at the local dealer in Scottsdale (am still under warranty), I get the pitch for the $200 fuel injector service. Have always turned it down, can't see the value...

 

This madness has to stop...

Two words: Media Attention!

This type of shenanigans has to stop. Expose it! Call your local BBB or TV & radio peeps and spill it.

But first, file a stop payment or dispute if you do not get an answer before noon tomorrow.

Everyone is on your side on this...

 

Thanks Joeygonz! The sA said she would get back to me by noon and even if the manager doesn't "approve" of the refund, she'd give it to me anyway somehow. I hope it's not just smoke and mirrors.

But yeah, this crap has to stop. Dealers would make more money if they were honest. They just lost not only someone who would go to them for service, but also someone who is might buy another mini this summer. Idiots.

 

I am not sure if your SA is "authorized" to perform a full refund... SA work just like sales reps and get a commission on whatever job order they write. So if your SA is willing to forfeit her commission (where not talking a lot of money here) it is still up to the service manager to make the final call. Offering a car detail & basically anything you want at their gift shop is simply to me a sign of peace offering that your dealership did you wrong. DO NOT ACCEPT ANY OFFERS from those folks EXCEPT for a FULL REFUND.

Forgive me for saying this but exposing these folks in FB, TW, Yelp and other social media is not adequate. What needs to happen is to expose it to a stronger medium where there is visual contact and dialogue conducted in a controlled environment. Do this for yourself and as public service to others that were done wrong by these folks.

Best of luck!

 

Well I do have a friend who is a journalist...

 

This sounds exactly what happened to me at Habberstad Mini in Long Island this week.

I dropped my car last Thursday because of a check engine light (High Pressure Pump problem).

On Monday they called me and told me my car is ready and it will be $385.43. When I questioned the charges they said I "authorized" them to perform Induction and Injector Flush service when I signed the paperwork. Apparently I did, unbeknownst to me.

They offered me the same $250 detail for free, plus the next 2 Induction and Injector Flush services would be free. But no free accessories.

 

F**ing bastards! And I bet when you signed the paperwork, the SA didn't mention to you anything about adding the fuel induction and injector cleaning, right? That's exactly what happened to me (minus a check engine light). I assumed it later that evening - when I went over the work order in detail - that it was part of the factory service schedule. Is your car under warranty? If so, the whole thing should have been free.

The SA hasn't gotten back to me by noon today as promised. Now there's two of us - who knows how many others! It's a systematic practice at Habberstad Mini, apparently.

 

Correct, when I dropped my car off no one verbal talked about doing the fuel induction and injector cleaning, and definitely didn't tell me about the cost.

My car is 4 years old and not under warranty, but I do have 5-year wheel protection and 6-year maintenance program.

But the good news, I found the General Manager’s name on Yelp and called him. He said he is going to refund my money. I will let you know when that happens.

 

Yes please do. And while you're at it tell him to refund mine too! The SA lady hasn't gotten back to me, apparently the GM (or her manager...who knows) hasn't gotten back to her yet on authorizing a refund...but I doubt them refunding your money (and mine) will change their practice. It's despicable.

 

An update for those interested: after yet another email, manager finally approved refund and it will be in the form of a check. Let's hope it doesn't get lost in the mail.

What a saga...

 

Good for you.

 

Thanks. I'll give one final update once the check arrives and clears, just to make sure...

 

Hi - unfortunate experience you (and the other person..) had.

Can I check, did they explain to you exactly what they did for that money? Did they pour something in your gas tank? If so, was the car full of gas or is the ratio all wrong? Or..did they claim they pumped something into your inlet tract (after the airfilter) that supposedly cleans the inlet tract? If so, how much does that can of stuff cost and how long does it take to do the task?

In a separate point to paying for it or the way they tried to catch you out and make you pay for it, saying you approved the work..it would be interesting to find out what they think they did that was worth the money in the first place.

It's always interesting asking someone to justify their work and price charged.

Good luck.

Steven RW

 

As far as I know they did not pour anything into the gas tank. They didn't explain what the work consisted of, but I suspect there is some machine they hook up to the engine that forces some sort of fluid through after the air filter. Each "job" (injector and induction) took 30 minutes looking at what they charged. But I have no way of knowing they did anything as the car was working perfectly before I brought it in. And it's just fine now. Meanwhile, I wanted them to change the air filter (recommended by Mini and free) and they didn't do that. I just bought one myself and will do it on my own.

 

FYI, I got the refund check in the mail today.

 

I'm still waiting for mine. Maybe I'll find it when I get home from work today

 

hopefully they will change their practices...i doubt it, but we can hope. bet they MIGHT have used a product that uses propane that connects to the fuel rail...was very common product on our style motors(port injection)... on direct injected 2nd gen cars, the valves need a different system since the fuel dies not pass by the valves, cause the fuel injectors are screwed into the head like a sparkplug....a seafoam like product can be fed into the pcv system....but vs carbon(hard baked on)...it stands little chance of doing much good, but can clean gunk out BEFORE it gets baked into carbon.

 

So basically there's a fundamental flaw in the design of these engines

 

i might not go that far...early versions of many technology have issues...and the n14 was one of the first DI motors made....sometimes waited to adopt a technology makes sense....
gen2 motors did get better...the n18 added variable valve timing to BOTH the intake and exhaust....much of the gunk is from splash back due to timing....that is why the n18 motors can go far longer between walnut blasting....the pcv gasses still condense...some auto makers added an exra injector too add a bit of fuel to the intake to clean the valves....

 

I do long for the days of simpler cars and engines that could be easily worked on. Sure - technology is great, but as these cars age I wonder at the expense of keeping them running (compared with cars of yesteryear).