So check this out, bought my 2005 HB MCS on Jan 20, 2005. It has 30k on the clock as of 3 days ago. Take it into Nick Alexander last week for some wiper blades and to check on a weird "wah wah wah" type of sound coming from the front of the car(especially noticeable on a sweeping turn like a transition ramp). The frequency of the sound being heard is directly related to the speed being traveled and it can be felt in the steering wheel(but the wheel doesnt 'shimmy')

Basically im told when i get there that my warranty is already expired as of October 30 2008!!! Of course im like "WTF, i bought the car here!". So nick alexander mini decides to check it out for me gratis because they have record of when i bought the car, but they made me feel like theyre doing me the favor. Turns out they cant find anything wrong, bearings/boots/suspension etc. they claim all ok. So they chalk it up to some slight rubbing of a steering component and decide to send me on my way.

On the advice of Alpha_Motoring, i decide to go down to South Bay MINI for a second opinion. That was the 19th and left i left the car with them. They end up find a few things going on with the car: leaky oil pan and front control arm bushings starting to separate.....so at that point nick alexanders service is worth crap to me, never going there again...

The Service Manager Roy(cool dude, great customer service) advises me to call MINI and have them fix this warranty discrepancy because in the computer it states my warranty has expired as of Oct 30 2008. Although South Bay has a copy of the contract i signed when i purchased the car from alexander mini on jan 20 2005, Roy wants to make sure whatever gets fixed on my car doesnt come back as a denied claim.

So i call MINI, talk to Laurie. She says nothing can be done, its based on the date the car went into service. Told her i didnt special order this car, it was off the lot, not a demo, 15miles on the clock when purchased. That didnt persuade her in the least. She actually added that the front control arm bushings wouldnt be warrantied anyway because theyre considered a normal wear and tear item....

Im going to call back tomorrow, and b*tch them out...This is unacceptable. How could my warranty have started Oct 30 2008 when the first time i even stepped in the door of Alexander MINI was on Jan 20 2005 to buy my MCS...????? Did they almost sell the car to someone on oct 30 2004 and it fell through? Im lost here...


PLEASE ADVISE!!!

 

Find out if the car was registered before it was sold to you. But unlikely since it had only 15 miles at the time of delivery. Was this car a dealer demo?

The key here is the "In-service" date. The warranty coverage specifically states that your blanket is either 4 years or 50K miles, whichever occurs first. Since you are way under in terms of mileage, then your warranty will expire on the basis of time.

I would insist on having this strengthened out. As an added measure, run a Carfax report on the car and see if there is anything in the history of the vehicle that they are not telling you about.

Regarding the bushings..... The OEM bushings are made of soft rubber and unfortunately don't last (Usually between 30K-50K miles). I have never seen bushings being replaced under warranty either. And quite honestly, why do you want to have the dealer fit the same crappy parts that are going to fail again in another 3-4 years?

If you intend to keep your MINI post-warranty, be prepared to dump some cash into it for maintenance items. My recommendation is to switch the OEM bushings to Powerflex Poly bushings. Poly bushings last 10 times more than he OEM rubber junk and truly bring the car back to life.... Better steering feel, better handling, braking stability and reduced tire wear.

I paid $200 for my Powerflex bushing kits from www.waymotorworks.com. I got the set for the front control arms, poly insert for gearbox/engine mount and poly insert, plus new arm, for the lower engine control arm support. My 2005 MCS with 52K miles feels better than new.

Find an independent shop to get the poly bushings installed. My MINI independent shop did the job in 3-4 hours plus 4-wheel alignment (Required after installing them) and charged me $500 for the install. So in all and all I spent $700 to replace all worn rubber bushings in my MINI. Steep, I know, but I won't have to worry about it ever again as Poly outlives rubber bushings anyday of the week.

 

Thanks ClubmanS for the insight...i knew the bushings arent worth much being rubber and all but hearing you say theyve never and will never be replaced under warranty makes me feel a bit better...

On the plus side, SouthBay MINI did find the passenger side wheel bearing making noise, so theyre gona handle that for me gratis.... kudos to South Bay MINI, BAD on Nick Alexander MINI!!!

Im left to believe Alexander Mini just let me go out the door because i was practically out of warranty....

Now ill need to replace my valve cover gasket and my oil pan gasket but these are things i can easily handle, im a pretty good shadetree mechanic.

How difficult is the bushing install? Im assuming a shop press is needed to get'r done? SouthBay quoted $1100 for the part and install on the control arm bushings, soooooo anything i can do myself would be awesome...

 

Installing the bushings in these cars is an absolute BEAR. Expect 3 to 4 hours if you know what you doing. Likely the subframe will need to be dropped.

Look up a very nice bushing replacement tutorial written by NAM poster "K-Huevo" (Do a search here for bushing replacement) and you'll get a better picture of what is involved.

A friend of mine (3 time MINI owner) happens to own a repair shop so he did mine for $500 (Parts were another $200) 4 hours @ $75 per hour plus $100 for 4-wheel alignment which is highly recommended after bolting everything back together. Still much cheaper than the dealer and they won't do the Powerflex stuff either.

Good luck.

PS: I also had a leaking oil pan seal but that was replaced under warranty TWICE I believe the last time, the oil leaked in the clutch bell housing and this helped accelerate the eventual failure of my second clutch and flywheel (Also replaced under warranty TWICE ).

As you can see, I have juiced my original warranty and MINI Extended service contract to the MAX

 

Probably you'll also need the BMW tool to remove the old bushings and press in the new ones...

 

Did you ever get the in-service date straightened out? I bought my car 2-8-07 with 15 miles on it, and the in-service date is 12-30-06. Salesman said they punched it out of inventory on 12-30 so they could order more cars. I'm not giving up on this one...