I've had my mini for a total of five months, and the problems have been nonstop; loose suspension components, loose engine mounts, whistling windows, broken sunroof, hatch not closing, voice option not installed, etc... etc...

Now that it's getting cold here I have more problems, like the electrical system randomly dying, something in the suspension is loose and causing more rattles and a "thud" noise, rattles in the dash, rattles behind the seats and loudly squealing brakes.

The car has spent about ten days total in the shop. Counting tomorrow I will have made ten trips to the dealership to try and fix problems. After 5 months and 8000km I have lost faith in this car (mostly from the new electrical problem). I need to replace it with a reliable vehicle. (likely another acura or nissan since my ownership of those cars was completely trouble free)

I have spent $8000.00 when I add up my down payment and my monthly payments paid to BMW finance. Do you think I will be able to walk away from the lease? Do you think I should get money back, or do you figure BMW will want more money still? I am in Canada and lemon laws are non-existent in my province. Any advice on how best to handle this would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. the car ran well for about three weeks after they fixed the first round of problems, and during those three weeks I loved every minute behind the wheel... I am so disappointed.

 

Not sure what state you live in, but you may qualify for a Lemon Law refund. You may want to check into that. Talk nice to the dealer first before invoking the law...tend to get a better response that way.

 

He's in Canada.

 

You need to talk to your dealer's Service Manager and lay everything out. The contact Canada's CR Dept.

 

Your basically renting the car so you should be able to get out of it, with just reason.

You can go to arbitration in Canada instead of the court to get solutions instead of a lemon law. But arbitration if BMW can prove they are working to do the best they can to help you will go in their favor, but my friend did go to arbitration on a 350z in Canada and got the vehicle replaced.

You have consumer rights, check you province laws they are on the web, be informed. Talk to the dealer, the provincial rep and the country customer rep if possible. Then if that does not get some results then see legal or arbitration.

 

Sorry to hear it. Don't know much laws. But why not ask to lease another Mini?

 

i always thought there is no way out of a lease agreement without a stiff termination penalty. don't know what the laws are in canada; surely they have their own version of the lemon law?

i agree with Sin MINI ... try being cordial with the dealer first and see where it gets you. if that doesn't work, explore other options.

 

Sorry to hear the progression of your problems. We've had our minis for about the same time, and I remember talking about similar issues in the beginning. I'm still suffering from whistling windows. New rattles and squeals are showing up. I'm afraid of catching your electrical problems now.

It's a shame because this car is so much fun to drive.

 

Thanks for the replies, advice and sympathy.

I brought the car in this morning to get the new electrical problem fixed as well as the loose suspension. It's caused by an electrical drain and they can't figure out where the drain is coming from. I got a loaner car from the dealership. - a red mini cooper that drives like a dream and feels very solid, quite unlike my Cooper S.

The dealership made it clear they were not going to swap the car, take it back or replace it until the lease reached it's term. The warranty is all I can expect. I am willing to pay the difference on a new lease or transfer to another mini but the dealership refused to consider any alternatives. I guess they know my car is garbage and the want nothing to do with it.

The service manager will be contacting BMW/Mini Canada with my concerns but the dealership is aware of BMW Canada only authorizing the replacement of one car deemed a lemon.

 

Wow that is rough for Canada. I am sorry for your troubles man. Its so weird that something like that will happen. While other than weeping washer jets my car has been a dream.

 

Seek arbitration
http://www.camvap.ca/

 

NOW And contact Mini directly yourself, should be a number in the manual...

 

I am hesitant to use canvap for a couple of reasons, firstly is that it is fully funded by automobile manufacturers, and secondly it's final and I waive the right use the courts if I've gone through canvap even for other damages.

Has anyone here used canvap or knows anyone who has won a settlement through canvap?

 

No advice, just condolences. I'm sorry to hear that you're having such a bad MINI experience.

 

Have you tried the equivalent of sending a letter to MINICA VP of Customer Service? In the US it's Sal Talerico - Canada I'm not so sure.

I just looked at your Camvap - it's strictly an arbitration process for consumers to seek recourse - I'd suggest making a lot of calls and letters to your MINI Canada Customer Service. Ask that you're seeking a total replacement of the car and you'd like to invoke the Dealer Assist program (where the Dealer trades in your car, and then MINI CA contributes an amount that usually equals the replacement cost of the car - you can either seek a like for like replacement (substitution of collateral) or order a new car and use the new car as a replacement for collateral as long as it is similiarly priced.

You do need to start raising heck with MINI Customer Service in Canada - I've found if you're polite and have all your facts (i.e., all the service records) you'll most likely get a satisfactory resolution to the problem (i.e., substitution of the car with a new one).

Good luck!!

 

I have collected my car from the dealership yet again. I'm told I won't need to come in until my first oil change which I am about halfway to. They actually gave me some paperwork this time, for the first time ever. The dealership is all electronic and makes you sign on a touch screen, I asked for a complete service history but she doesn't know how to print a history on a car, she told me to ask the service manager for a report tomorrow.



My car still rattles quite badly but the electronic problems are gone, the display is now bright, the steering feels powered, and the system doesn't randomly reset anymore. The front suspension problem was apparently just a rock stuck in the shock absorber boot, although it felt exactly like it did when the suspension bolts needed tightening, just on the other side of the car.


The sales manager told me the service manager would contact Mini Canada regarding my problems, He didn't. I will be contacting mini canada tomorrow to see what they consider a lemon. if ten trips for service in five months isn't a lemon it will be interesting to find out what is.



This last repair is the first time my loaner car has been a Mini, they gave me a Cooper with sunroof and not much else, my car is a Cooper S with pretty much all options. It was nice to compare the two, if I have advice for anyone getting a Mini I would definitely do without the Nav system, climate control, headlight washers, keyless entry package and Bluetooth. Quite honestly these options are not very well thought out. Not having these options would improve my car by quite a bit with the added bonus of having less junk to fail.

thanks everyone for the advice and support.

 

in the interest of full disclosure i have to say i have all these options except keyless entry and headlight washer, and all have worked flawlessly on my S. not that i doubt your woes, which are extensive.

good luck getting a satisfactory resolution. i hope it works out.

 

No advice, being in the US. Just wanted to say if his Canadian version is anything like him, talking to the Sal Talarice equivalent is a good idea. Sal is a super nice guy and actually followed up with me personally a couple times regarding an "issue" I had with my new MCS and the dealer.