Maybe I am crazy, but I've previously owned 2 BMWs and a Volkswagen and I've never been put in a position to have to pay for a rental car when my car is in for warranty work.

I bought my MINI at Universal City (SoCal) but my office is within 10 miles of Bob Smith MINI in Calabasas, CA. Bob Smith said they only offer loaner vehicles for people who purchased their MINI there, and that they could "get me a discount" at Enterprise. WTF?!

On top of that, even at Universal I have to fight for a loaner vehicle every time. You know, I could have bought a Toyota if I wanted this kind of treatment, but I didn't, I bought what I thought was a BMW and I'm a little irritated that I can't even get a friggin' loaner car for warranty repairs.

So I guess I will continue to motor merrily with my check engine light on until I can afford to be without a car for a couple of days (oh wait, I live in LA, that will NEVER HAPPEN.) Ugh.

 

Mazda always gives you a loaner...

 

avoid Bob Smith in all occasions...

 

My Mini dealer in (BRAMAN) West Palm Beach Florida, gave me a prepaid rental when I brought it in for some minor maint items and they had to keep it for 3 days.

 

My dealer has the same policy. If you bought there it's free; if you didn't, you pay...

 

I can understand the policy... They only get a small number of loaner cars. It's not like they have an infinite supply or something. If they gave them out to everyone, they wouldn't have enough for those customers who already did business with them. They obviously wouldn't want to tell their existing customer they don't have any loaners because they gave them out to someone who did not buy their MINI there. Consider it a perk of buying your car there. I really don't think that's unfair...

Under warranty and roadside assistance, MINI has their "trip interruption" policy which will cover incidental expenses (hotel stay reimbursement, rental car reimbursement, etc). However, you need to be over 100 miles away from home, the MINI needs to be towed in, and the service department won't be able to fix it that day. If you satisfy that scenario, then MINI will reimburse up to $35 per day for five days per incident for a rental car.

 

Loaners are a dealer thing....not a MINI USA policy.

It is a valuable question to ask when shopping. Some dealers give loaners as long as you make an appointment. Some dealers restrict this to cars bought from them. Some dealers say no loaners period.....some will give 'em to anyone.

Some dealers use MINI as loaners, some give what ever they have around, some pick up the tab for a rental. I've gotten MINIs, Toyotas and a Lincoln Town Car from a MINI dealer.

Frankly I've found MINI dealers in general to be better about loaners than any other make I've had...

 

I've been extremely happy with the loaner policy at my dealer (MINI of the Woodlands). I got a loaner for a few hours once. The repair ended up taking a couple days because they reflashed the entire software and I kept the loaner. When my car was ready, they even sent my car to me on a flat bed tow truck on a Sunday and picked up the loaner so I didn't have to drive all the way up to the dealer, about 30-40 miles. That is great service. Glad I bought from them. And I don't know if it is standard MINI service, but they always wash the car before giving it back to me so that there is a clean MINI driving off their lot, whether it is warranty work, oil change, tire rotation, or whatever.

 

Last week I was given a Pure Silver/Black Cooper Clubman automatic loaner (with 1K miles on the clock) while my '05 R53 S was getting the rear brakes replaced. My dealer (Lauderdale MINI) always hands out MINI loaners or free enterprise rental cars when they are out of MINI loaners.

This is one of the reasons I avoid the Miami dealerships and make the 30 mile drive to Broward county.

Oh and my dealer gives loaners REGARDLESS or where you bought your MINI.

 

Neillo Mini in Sacramento doesn't do loaners. Period. Tried to get my 08 Cooper in at day 3 of ownership and they flat out refused to provide me with a loaner of any sort. Really rude service department. It's funny because the MINI dealer shares a house with the BMW dealer and the BMW side hands out loaners like candy.

Looks like I'll have my MINI serviced in San Francisco.

 

He is dead on! Everyone loves to blame the dealer for everything....

 

I agree with this, too, about the loaner car policy. But most other things, my dealer has been crap about. At least MoS has an Enterprise desk at their location. Towson told me, "There's an Enterprise 10 minutes away. Call them." Gee, very helpful.

 

My BMW dealer always gives me a loaner, last one was a 330 4 door.