I had to remark this, we took our CM to 3 different dealers for an opinion on a major issue, and got 3 different answers, and get this, it was not the 3 they gave that was the answer. We did find out the correct answer and they all 3 were out of the ball park.

Anyway, I find that the people that work at these MINI dealerships are very inexperienced and somewhat uneducated to say the least.

If BMW wants to step up the PR on this brand, they need to train these dealers better. Did you know that MINI dealerships have the highest turn over of management and ownership that any other brands.

I am not cutting them down, just trying the give a point on our experience.

My 2cents.

 

Dude you seem to have nothing but bad to say about your car, the brand, now dealers. You seem to really hate the car. MINIs aren't for everyone. Why not sell it/trade it for something you and your mom will be happy with. Life's too short....

 

Mini dealer mechanics are trained, to read codes stored in the ECU, other than that their useless and lack troubleshooting skills. It's true, the turnover rates are one reason why Mini Coopers are at the bottom of the list when it comes to customer satisfaction of ownership. If you have no faith in your dealers mechanic's ability to find out what's wrong with your Mini why own a Mini in the first place unless you find an independent Mini specialty shop, of course this only works if your out of warranty.

Those that just want to drive their new Mini's and can't because the dealer is incapable of finding and fixing the problem tend to get rid of it and purchase a car that has dealers knowledgeable enough to know what's going on with the car, when you have that you have faith in your dealership and you keep your car knowing there's someone who can properly diagnose your vehicle.

I remember when Mini dealers and Mini engineers couldn't figure out why the first 2007 Mini Cooper S's had a rattling sound at warm up, it took quite a while for engineers to figure it out. At first when they couldn't figure it out they said it was normal until owners started blowing engines, even then they knew what the issue was but didn't know how to implement permanent fix.

It took Mini 8 years of redesigning the chain tensioners to finally have a tensioner that would last. There were so many lawsuits to deal with regarding those who had to pay out of pocket $12,000 for a new engine when it was still under warranty with under 2500 miles which Mini refused to fix under the warranty. There is no campaign in the UK to fix and repair the timing chain components, it takes multiple lawsuits force Mini USA to do the right thing.

 

He is stating facts, he is not attacking your purchasing decisions. Mini's are not for everyone non-sense is not an excuse for a porly designed car. They rate bad because they are unreliable just as the the dealers knowledge on how to fix the car and properly diagnose it. Please be realistic.

 

Thank You.

 

I read that as well. Many lawsuits still pending. There was a report written in either C&D or Consumers a few years back on why MINI has so many issues, and I think it was because of so many suppliers, so many to count making their parts. Its like coming home and finding 20 cooks making the same soup, its gonna take like S*&* cause they can't work together to get it right.

 

In the works!

 

Yeah Mini outsourcing most of the parts that make up the Mini Coopers was the problem. I would have to say that the first Gen Mini's had stronger more robust Mini, those Triton blocks could handle just about any hp rating, even 350 hp without the pistons and rods falling apart, the Triton blocks were actually a Chrysler block back when BMW owned 29% of Chrysler stock.

There were a few issues but nothing like the R56 Cooper. The newer F56 Coopers was Mini's last chance at creating a reliable Mini Cooper, BMW put a lot of their own parts into it, tons of R&D! The new F56 even sounds like a BMW engine and runs extremely smooth regardless of the rpm at idle, so far so good. I already want one but would like to take it into service at a BMW facility instead of a Mini facility. Mini is like the younger inexperienced sibling to BMW, teen age punk with little true skills. The last sentence is a figure of speech.

 

If you live in California here's the solution. Leave it at one dealer, get a loaner car, and let it accumulate days in service. You can have it bought back under lemon law after 30 days in service. Also, they get 3 attempts (each time a repair order is written) to fix it, or you can force them to buy it back under lemon law, even if it's only 3 individual visits that only accrued one day each to fix the same problem.

What's the issue this time? You made no mention of that in the OP, nor the dealers' proposed solution, or your found fix.

 

Dealer 1 Axle Nuts
Dealer 2 CV Joints
Dealer 3 Brake Pads

Independent Shop with a 5 star rating and in business for 40 years - Problem = BAD TRANS

PS I want to add, you will find dealers that do not give you a receipt for service if they know where your coming from. They say, we'll mail it and then you don't get it. I think they know about the Lemon law and make it hard on you. I was told this by an attorney we have talked to.

 

BennyF, you work for Fiat?

 

You got to be kidding...

 

They have to give you a receipt, it's the law even if it's under warranty. There are other ways to deal with crooked dealers, you can easily make it hard on them!

 

How, I could use all the help I can get please.

 

1) Bureau of Automotive Repair

2) Better Business Bureau

Done.

It baffles me how some people don't know about this stuff. Additionally, I told you there's a bulletin about noise from the axles. Why don't you let the dealer do the repair for FREE instead of PAY your personal mechanic to fix a problem. Then if the dealer doesn't fix it the first time, they have two more tries or its buy-back time. Can't be any simpler.

 

They have tried 3 times already. They make excuses every time. Thanks for the info.

 

If your already at the point of the Lemon Law than its not like they don't know how many times you have brought it in and for what, so you can't start the process with the dealer. If that doesn't work take them to court and the judge will force them to fork over the documents. You can also subpoena the records from the BAR about them refusing to provide you with the service paperwork. Are you sure you filed a complaint with the BBB and BAR? The reason I ask is because they would have told you what you need to do in order to get your paperwork except for some reason you don't have any clue what to do about it.

 

Depending on what state Benny lives in, 3 attempt doesn't always equate to lemon buyback. In most states, the problem has to render the undrivable or it has to an safety issue in order to qualify for the lemon law.
A clicking noise can be cause by many things, I would decide on one dealer and let them fix it instead of trying to second guess them and diagnose the problem yourself.