The coating on the D-ring striker on the tailgate of my 2009 MCS is chipping away. Dealer said it was "normal wear and tear" and not covered by my warranty (currently at around 46k miles).

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Needless to say, I disagreed. They took pics to email to their regional service rep (or someone like that) for a decision.

 

Seems like it should be covered but it's a $10 part so I wouldn't mind paying for it.

 

$37 part according to the dealer ($7.65 according to realoem).

I tried just paying, but they didn't have any in stock. And as easy as it is for me to pay for a $10 part, it seems just as asinine for them to deny coverage for it. Just annoying.

 

It's about $8 on Pelican Parts. No idea what shipping would cost though, but probably less than $29.

I'd be annoyed too! Try talking to the service manager.

 

I don't know, personally if it's not something that happens to everyone's MINI's (which I don't think it is), then i'd say it's probably "wear and tear". If this was happening a fair percentage of MINI's I could see it being deemed a design flaw and thus they'd be liable in my opinion to replace it. For $7.95 just replace it yourself.

Are you slamming your door too hard? or did something get lodged between the D-Ring and where it latches to causing it to chip?

I've not seen any wear on my MINI's D-Ring

 

Or a faulty part.

Perhaps there was an air pocket or something between the metal and the coating that meant it wouldn't stand up to the rather light use I've put it through in the last year and a half.

Warranty repair doesn't only cover things that break on a lot of vehicles.

 

Bumper to Bumper Warranty means that if it does not hold up then they should replace it under warranty. Tell the dealer to SUCK IT UP and do the job. If they refuse to do it then take it to MINI USA that is the only way that will make them STOP doing this kind of crap. There are only a few items that are NOT cover as wear items and those are bulbs, tires, brake pads and wipers and even the wipers and brake pads are covered by the maintenance plan. Don't let them bully you into paying to have this fixed.

 

I wonder if something is not quite aligned right.....

 

ditto, that's why we pay extra for the maintenance plan (included in the price of our mini). just make it known that you will not be happy and it will be reflected in the customer survey.

 

Thing is, this dealer has gone above and beyond on some things ... then turns around and pulls petty crap like this on others.