I'm confused. I come from a Honda, and I was expecting far better levels of service.

So far, my car is 800 miles old. It has gone back to the dealership twice.

This time, though, the dealership told me they needed to talk to the plant in order to fix my issue (water pump / pulley) and that fixing it would take close to two weeks. No loaner car. I had been promised the car would be ready in 4 days.

I used to own an R53, which spent close to two months at the dealership in the 5 or so months I owned it (a different dealership, by the way).

I keep on wondering. The Honda dealership used to come and pick my car up, service it, and bring it back in less than a day. I never used the warranty on my car.

I was expecting at least the same level of service from BMW / Mini (around here, BMW sells Minis).

Am I mistaken?

Or should I consider the Mini as a toy, and not a daily driver?

Because, from my experience, these things break down all the time. :(

Maybe I should have just bought a GTI or an MS3.

Sorry, I need to let off a bit of steam. Tomorrow I'm going to raise HELL with my dealership.

 

My MINI dealership treats me good. It has a BMW facility on site, but there is a distinct split between the BMW and MINI sides.

I have a problem with my bonnet being mis-shaped, which I will be making a 3rd trip to them tomorrow for. I will be meeting with a regional rep from MINI who will then be relaying my situation to MINIUSA, who will then report what to do about it. They have been nothing but helpful in the whole process.

My first trip they tried to re-align it thinking it was a problem with how it sat. That was done in under an hour while they installed my stripes which were missed at the factory. My second trip lasted all of 10 minutes, when I met with the head tech of the dealership who explained to me the situation and how it would play out.

 

I get treated very well and am very pleased with them. My current 08 is a year old and the only reason it's been to service was for it's oil change. My 07 was a dog, spent nearly a month of combined days in the shop. Again, during those problems with my 07 Mini service was great.

 

mini in concord california has been great--i bought my mini cooper s at mini cooper san francisco--tried to bring it to them for upgrades and service--did not like them at all compared to concord for both $ and treatment to me--i would higly reccomend concord but i would avoid san francisco for service and upgrades--my deal on the cooper s was hard to beat in sf though

 

I suppose it has to do with the fact that there are only 3 Mini dealerships in a 200 kilometer radius or so around here. They can treat you like dirt and you have to come back to them no matter what.

Just came back from the dealership - again. They said they know what the problem is - water pump / pulley; and that they know that it's a design flaw (then why on earth don't they check the cars before they sell them?!?!?), and that they need to ask for BMW's authorization before doing any warranty work - which takes 1 week time. They said they'd start working on my car tomorrow and may have it ready by Thursday next week.

Two weeks in order to fix the water pump and pulley.

Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

 

My issue has been diagnosed by the regional guy as being a mal-formed wheel arch. A new one was ordered and will be painted and ready to go by next Friday. If I am not happy with the paint match, they will order another and paint that one too. I was told I will have 3 attempts to get a proper paint match before I have to live with the fault or start to pay.

 

Most state consumer laws give the dealer three chances to fix a defect. If still unsatisfactory, you have legitimate grounds to begin a "lemon law" action against the dealer. You don't "have to live with it". Research your state's version, and put some fingerprints into that SA's chest the next time they BS you like that.

 

The Dealer that I purchased our vehicle from has been wonderful, Sales Dept, Service Dept, Events etc.... I'm gonna by another one for my wife next year.

 

The dealer here in Minnesota, Motorwerks BMW/MINI have given me great service. Tucker, the MINI service manager actually listens to me and the problems with my car, including the numerous rattles that drive me (pun intended) crazy. I have been disappointed in the number of times I have had to take the car to the dealer since picking it up April 1 of 08. The window positions have goofed up three times, the sunroof doesn't open in heat, key fob died. Every time I have scheduled an advanced appointment you can request a loaner car (under the factory warranty), always a MINI and sometimes a BMW. Almost every time the car has been gone it, it is for at least three to five days. But that doesn't bother me since I have a decent loaner to drive. And they really do put a good effort to communicate with me. BMW's quality seems a little shaky however, my Dad's 645Ci has been in numerous times (he bought certified used with 100k warranty thank god) for major issues with active suspension and other systems.

I really do recommend Motorwerks BMW as their sales and service do a good job.

Unlike my experience with Ford dealers, they ignored me and the problems with my car and four different dealers tried to charge me for components that were covered under the federal emissions warranty. CHEATING BASTARDS!!

 

Lemon law applies to something that makes the car unsafe to drive. Paint match doesn't quite fall under 'not safe.'

 

called around to all the local mini/bmw dealers for oil change. One didn't answer the phone and didn't reply to voicemail, the second was fully booked for the next 9 days, the 3rd was fully booked for the next 7 days.

chose the 3rd, everyone was extremely kind and curteous, needed warranty service as well so they gave me a crappy saturn for a loaner car. Told me the next day they did the majority of the work but some parts are on order. Since they don't let me keep loaners while parts are on order, I had to pickup the car, then bring it back in when the part comes in next week.

So far, I'm not a big fan of the whole ordeal... it's a huge hassle to go back and forth, but I guess it's better than being stuck with a saturn for a week.

 

Fine, no complaints with service received.

 

My Dealer in PDX, OR has been nothing but OUTSTANDING!! Kudos to Ann, she's the ONLY SA I want Servicing Molly. She understands that Molly is more than a Car to Me. I just called last week for a Service Reminder (Brakes) appointment and though I've got one set-up for Sept. 4, she apologized that it was 2 weeks out. I didn't care, they always take great care of Molly!!

 

I also go to motorwerks-mini / bmw. And I've had nothing but great service from them. I've had some issues with windows that most other people have had, as well as some cold start issues. I've received a BMW loaner every time, and even got to keep it over a weekend, even though my car was ready to pick up (what can I say it was a fun car to drive). Tucker does a great job, plus everyone else outside the service department has been great too. I've had my car for exactly a year now, and I don't have one negative thing to say about the quality of service that I've recieved at the dealer. Dealer stories like this kind of make me scared and glad that I don't have to deal with those people.

 

That's not true, at least not in NY.

Lemon laws vary from state to state. In New York, any issue that the dealer can't fix after 3 tries qualifies, so long as it "substantially" affects the value of the car. It does not have to be a safety or driveabiliy issue.

So, a non-working sunroof, or badly misaligned body work, or lousy paint job, which would substantially affect the value, would qualify. However, you must read the text of the law in each state, as the rules can be very different, and more or less restrictive.

 

Habberstad MINI in Huntington, NY has given me great service. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

 

Called the dealership again today. They didn't receive authorization from BMW to fix my car, so they'll wait until next week.

I'm sad to say, I regret having bought my Mini. I needed a reliable car I could use everyday - and so far, it has been at the dealership twice in 800 miles. My dealership isn't helping at all - they have been mostly courteous, but they don't fix my issues.

The thing that bothers me the most is that these cars aren't known for their reliability, so I shudder to think - this has been my first month of ownership. How will things be when the car is out of warranty?? (around here, it's 2 years max, and no extended warranty is offered).

I should have bought a MazdaSpeed... the only thing that makes me feel better is that Minis hold their resale value quite a bit.

 

Not thrilled with my dealer either.

 

It would be very unusual for an authorized dealer to have to wait for factory approval to make warranty repairs. They may have to wait for parts or in rare cases wait for additional technical assistance. Their function as a dealer is to do warranty work and have complete written instructions as to how to accomplish this in a timely manner.

Where do you live? All MINIS sold in the U.S. have a four year or 50,000 mile warranty, not two years. Either you are totally misunderstanding this entire process or being lied to at every turn. I would suggest you make an appointment with the dealership's General Manager and discuss your problems in person.

 

I had the best treatment from my recent trip to the newly opened Passport Mini of Alexandria. I had a problem with my car and had to stay over night so they provided me a rental. They had just opened (Grand Opening Day) and hadn't had their operation in full swing but they tried hard, were happy to please, and everyone there was nice. I will definitely go back for all my service!

 

Kudos to sales and service at Patrick MINI in Illinois and service at St. Louis MINI in Missouri.

 

My dealership, Bramman of West Palm Beach FL, has bent over backwards for me for service and next day appointments. and always gave me a loaner if it was held overnight, even offered to have the car delivered to my home and pick up the loaner. This happened twice and this was just regular warrenty servicing ( oil change ,etc)... Great people to deal with.

 

djam... I wish I lived anywhere near you. My last trip to my dealership was such a nightmare that I will not be returning. When the new dealership opens in Seattle, I'll be taking my business there.

 

I live in Mexico. My warranty is 2 years / 40,000 kilometers (something like 25,000 miles). So I suppose BMW can get away with a lot more stuff here than in the States.

 

my dealer is the one reason I decided to get a 2009 after all the troubles with my 2005. Simply awesome, and I get treeated like a VIP when it comes to service--thankfully very little on the 2009 (compared to the 05.)