As a followup to my previous thread about "No help from MINI USA..." today I got a telephone call from MINI Division telling me that they will be buying back my 2008 MCS due to the continued heat issue in the footwell.Naturally he goes on to say they bring the cars up to factory spec on all repairs done but since I am still not happy with the results they decided to buyback my car.

I emailed a copy of my buyer's order and contract,MINI Financial Services contract who I finance my vehicle with and a copy of my monthly account statement with all of the vehicle information and payment records.

I might hear back from them tomorrow (Friday) but if not sometime next week before Thanksgiving.

I will update as soon as I know the final answer.

 

So will you now be MINI-less? Will they sell you another one or will you be on their naughty list?

 

Hard to say since I was told they will buy back my MCS with no mention of offering me a replacement vehicle like some others here on NAM have reported getting.

 

just get another one

you get your money back.

 

Congrats, mine is being bough back because of my sunroof!
Can't wait!

 

is it really that bad??

 

Congratulations! I've been keeping up on your other thread about what you have been going through. Nice to see Mini stepping up to the plate on this! Definitely keep us posted on this process...as well as to what your next ride will be!

 

Thank you all for the additional and supportive comments

Unfortunately I am playing the waiting game right now on what to do until I hear back from MINI USA on their buy back amount for my car.I will stop off at Vista MINI to tell them that MINI USA is buying back my '08 MCS since my MA (Georgio) and the Sales Manager both knew what I have been going through with my current MCS and see what they say.Personally I would love to get a '09 MCSa as a replacement.

As always the more info I get I will certainly keep everyone updated.

 

I'm asking for more d'tails 'cause as I type this my '07 is sitting in a dealer garage yet again this year, 18 months after I took delivery.

Same problem as the first time earlier this year (which the selling dealer never fixed but they DID replace the 6-speed - bad 'helper' springs - under warranty) which was terrible cold-start problem. Was in the shop for a month.

Been in the second dealer's shop for 10 days. They found excessive (!) carbon in the cylinders & intake ports from what they say is "inadequate oil vapor filtering" in the original valve cover. There's an updated assembly available to cure this.

I had a look at the four pistons this morning and I'm Not Kidding when I say there's about 1/4" of carbon on all of them, everywhere around where the direct-fuel injection sprays fuel! That CAN'T be a good thing....

It's evident there's been a problem for most of the 36,000+ miles I've been driving, maybe 50% interstate miles, all driven using BP Gold fuel.

I wanted a Clubman when I had to buy into the 2007 S 'cause the Clubmans weren't for sale here at the time. Trading up now would cost me $12K which I'm reluctant to take on considering the global economy right now. If they'll buy it back the difference would be about $500.

Who did you work with an Mini USA to do the buy back? Can you get me a name and / or contact information please?

 

Go through your state's lemon law process. The BBB offers a great service for this, too. If you can prove your defects sufficiently, you should be ok. This is a relatively easy process.

Those in contact with MINIUSA directly, please don't share contact information!

 

You must not live in Illinois. Nothing about government here is easy.

Why, pray, would you say that? You work for them?

I'm not looking to work through others' contacts, I'm looking only to get some kind of idea whether they're being cooperative about defective product. I want only what's fair, nothing more or less.

 

No, I don't work for MINI. This is about following the rules and respecting the privacy of these employees.
If you follow your state's process you'll be assigned directly with a person at MINIUSA.

The first step is to gather all of your information and call 1-866-ASK-MINI and open a case. MINI has a program called "Trade Assist" which may be available in IL.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for your information. I'll look into it.

Under Illinois law a claim under the lemon-law program must be established while a new vehicle is still within 12 months or 12,000 miles. I crossed the 12k miles line late in 2007, before the cold-start & gearbox issues first surfaced. Whether that makes me ineligible remains to be determined.

 

I don't mean to clutter this thread, but this is useful info.

I'm in CA, and the "law" is 18months/18000 miles. I have 34k now, and had 9k when the problem first arose. From what I can tell, as long as it first occurred before your state's "cutoff", you're ok.

You generally have to have 4 attempts at the same problem before it's considered a lemon, however.

 

To answer the questions on how and why I filed for the Florida Lemon Law with MINI USA is a long and continued process.

To go back some I was contacted by PM here on NAM from MINI Division when I originally posted about my continued problems with my '08 MCS.I provided my personal contact information and an assigned Rep from MINI Division contacted me on the telephone.With his involvement with my MINI dealership those problems were finally corrected.

Now the excessive heat issue on all of the pedals in the driver footwell dating back to my first complaint on 6/9/08 was never corrected after 4 attempts even from the Factory Rep who personally looked at my car and told them to replace all of the alloy pedals with rubber pedals from a MC.

I contacted MINI USA directly as required in the Service & Warrantry information booklet to request a replacement MCS.Between telephone conversations with my MINI dealership and the MINI Division Rep I was then told sorry but no assistance.

Since I was told no I was then forced to file for the Florida Lemon Law with the booklet that was provided to me when I bought my car.I filled out all of the information required on the last page and sent 1 copy by certified mail to MINI USA and a copy of that to the Florida Office of the Attorney General.

On 11/20/08 MINI Division contacted me after they received the Lemon Law filing and told me they are buying back my '08 MCS and to sent copies of the repair orders relating to the heat issue,a copy of the bill of sale and who I financed my car through.I will hear back from them some time next week with the amount of refund they are giving me.

If anyone wants to look at their specific states Lemon Law information here is a link and just click the state you live in.

Link: http://www.carlemon.com/

I hope that helps answer most of your questions.

 

I wonder who they'll sell your car to? Would this be something to show up on a Carfax?

If they sold it to someone in Alaska... well, that buyer may appreciate the extra heat!

When I lived in Maine, I tried to start the Lemon Law in '97 with a brand new Jeep I had purchased. The passenger door could not be fixed so that it would sit flush with the rest of the body (4 times). I was told by the dealership after many visits that it was just how it was because it was a "utility vehicle" and actually said, "What do you expect... it's not a Mercedes!" . (Yes I can laugh about it now... looky where they are!) Took it to an independent garage and was told that the framework of the vehicle was actually twisted but the garage owner would not be a witness for me. (Also the hinges around the windshield started rusting in less than 6 months of owning... starter went... blah blah blah.)

Needless to say, the dealership and management thought I just wasn't happy because I was a GIRL and because it wasn't a CAR... but I loved that Wrangler... SO much fun to drive. I was in college and had finals, I was sick and it was really stressful trying to get anyone to help. I don't remember if I filed for Lemon formally or just gave up... but I ended up "trading it in" which you know how that goes. But the dealership was nice enough to "roll in" the loss for me . I've come a long way since then.

So my point is, YAY for MINI for taking care of this without the torture! And JCR1960 I hope you get what you want.

 

^^Actually very good point miniola as that has never crossed my mind if they resell my car or not.This being the first buy back that I ever had to do before in all of the cars I have owned before in 31 years of driving.

And thank you for the nice wishes and I hope it all works out for the best for me too.

 

Very interesting and informative thread.

Naturally, I hope I never have to go down this route on any car we own, but it's good to read about some positive results.

miniola, I feel for you and can just imagine the "Girl" issue - been there myself...and with a Jeep, too.

Keep us posted JCR1960 and good for you for following through and for, ultimately, getting what appears to be a positive response from MINI.

 

^^Thank you Otra and I certainly will.

 

UPDATE

Well today I get an email plus a letter from MINI USA regarding their offer to repurchase my '08 MCSa.Lets just say it was not what I was expecting from them.They are adding in what I put as a down payment plus the payments that I have already made less interest charges then deducting a usage allowance (mileage) going back to my first reported complaint of the heat issue in the driver footwell plus the negative equity of my original trade in when I first bought my MCSa.

So if I sign the enclosed paper and send it back to MINI USA for them showing I accept their offer I then take my car to a Mini dealership AND a check for $1649.56 for the original negative equity!! So they get the car back and a check.Gee what a deal!!
But honestly the negative equity is my full responsibility not theirs.

So I called and asked the MINI USA CSR what if I just trade it in for a '09 MCSa and the negative equity added to that? He said that would be fine and would be just like a normal trade in/purchase.

So I called my MA and told him what transpired and he said there is a snag because the Sales Manager said come and talk about it when I have resolved my issue with MINI.Now if I do go ahead and trade in according to them I will have to pick a MCSa that has a $1649.56 profit on it from options/add ons.

Anyway I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with my MA to see what can be worked out or not and possibly put this ordeal finally behind me.

As always I will keep everyone updated.

 

That sounds odd about the trade in and not very good, if I am following what you've said.

 

JCR1960 that's encouraging news! I haven't yet gone the Lemon Law route here in Illinois but I did take the first step in getting some kind of dialog started with MINI USA today with a brief phone call stating what's transpired to date re: my '07 S & it's recurrent cold start problem.

I'll be expecting a return phone all once the fellow I spoke with has had a chance to check in with all the relevant dealer reps & corroborate my litany of grief.

When I took it in two weeks ago today (fourth time for this issue, third at this dealer ) I inquired of the sales manager as to the trade-in value mine would bring against a new custom-build Clubman S. For $.20 a mile I'd try to find a way; the sales manager's offer was more like $.33 which seems a bit extreme, considering the book value....


That's what I'd wanted in the first place last year, but as they wouldn't become available for another nine to twelve months & my 2003 S had 133,000 miles on the clock, I paid cash for my '07.

For $.20 a mile I'd try to find a way; the sales manager's offer was more like $.33 which, considering the book value, makes me think (more than) twice in today's economic situation.

 

Otra yes you followed it correctly.

Naturally I still have a lot of thinking to do at this point.

Thank you.And I wish you the best of luck and hope that everything works out for the best for you.

 

We'll await the finally decision and will hope for the best outcome for you, Jim.

 

^^Thank you Otra.