I am considering buying the Clubman S 2009.
I do not expect every car produced to be trouble free or without design defects, what I do expect is that the manufacturer will correct defects and keep its customers satisfied, in or out of warranty. I had a Mercedes C320 (not a trouble free vehicle) but the Mercedes dealership (Devon,PA) was excellent. After reading your post and some of the others I am more concerned that BMW does not provide adequate support (which is the reason I bought a Yamaha motorcycle instead of a BMW- at least I am not paying an extra $5k).
My questions are simple: Has Mini and the dealership been responsive and corrected problems without making you fight for the service and repairs that you are entitled to? Does the dealer do the fighting with the zone rep and manufacturer for the Mini owner? Or, does the customer have to spend the time and effort to get Mini USA involved? Are potential defects and problems corrected, without cost to the owner, before they become prominent or disable the vehicle?

 

Depends on the dealer some will bend over backwards for you, others will let you hang in the wind.

Remember too that on the forums you read about problems. For every car with an issues there are dozens if not more that are trouble free.

 

My first MINI, a 2005 S, was a real lemon-y shop queen. Bugs bugs defects defects etc etc. But my dealer bent over backwards to insure all problems were fixed and fixed right the first time. So while I soured on my 2005, I did not sour on the brand because of this top-notch service. So I got a 2009, had it for a month, almost broken in, and the only problem I can discern in 1200 miles is a minor rattle in my pass door trim.

But then the 2005 was problem free the first 3,000 miles, so we'll see....

 

No problems with my MINI services; I use MINI of Peabody for warranty service.

 

Every dealer for every vehicle I owned is different. I have had horrible experiences with some dealers, and incredible experiences with others on the same brand vehicle. Shop the dealer as well as the product, it is part of what you are paying for.

As far as buying a Yamaha instead of a BMW because of a distrust of the dealer service... wtf? Those are completely different classes of products, heck you could buy a Hyundia instead of the Mini, but do you seriously think the cost is just service and support, I never found cheaper car that handled like a mini. Nor could I get the same quality of ride off a *** bike. My poorly supported Beamer will dance circles around that cheap Yahama every day of the week, as well as be half the maintance issues.

 

maivin I can understand you being a bit apprehensive as I am sure most would be that read complaints posted on the message boards.Keep in mind problems tend to get posted more then no problems at all.

But my personal experience with Mini Customer Support has gone very smoothly when I had a chronic problem with my former '08 MCSa where they worked closely with me and my Mini dealership in doing a trade assist today into a brand new 2009 PS/B MCSa on the dealer lot.

 

Prior bike was the Beamer K100RS. Looked at the K1200RS but with BMW failing to resolve reported spline and other problems decided on the FJR1300, no problems after 6 years and 24k.

 

Thanks.