Hey, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with reporting problems before the warranty expired and trying to have them fixed after the warranty is done.
Here's my situation:
I noticed that my mini was burning some oil at around 45k miles, started taking notes on top-ups and took it to the dealer at 49.2k miles. They added some coloring to the oil to see if it was leaking, and told me to come back later. We asked if it would be covered under warranty, they said that it shouldn't be a problem.
Well, we came back at maybe 55k, and sure enough they said that we're out of warranty and that we'd have to pay to replace the valve stems. Annoyingly if they had just checked this when we first came in it would have been covered without any problems.
Mini USA wasn't very helpful about this either.

Any suggestions/experience with this?

 

Well you came back 10,000 miles later?

That's a whole year's worth of driving for some people....not too sure I see why the dealer should be responsible unless they specifically said to wait that long.

 

It took me a while to get it back there for various reasons, partially because the service guy said it wouldn't be a problem. It was less then 10k miles, but that's besides the point.
My question is on what the warranty covers regarding problems brought prior the expiration of the warrant after it expires.

 

You will need to try and contact someone at a higher level. Maybe a regional rep or something. It never hurts to call your local tv investigative reporter and tell them your sob story. They would love the story and when they call the dealer watch how quick it turns into a goodwill story. ???


Oh and what do you think the better business bureau is for?

 

Pointless organization, don't waste your time.


Your first bit was good advice though. However, I have to agree with the other as well. You put a lot of mileage on before you went back rather than running it for a week and going back. I have a feeling that this is going to be on you to resolve. MINI really isn't responsible for it.

 

Have you actually used them? Companies take them pretty seriously. I had an argument with some poor service at a local body shop, they weren't even affiliated with BBB but they sure responded to my complaint and I got more than I was asking for in my complaint.

Also I work for a consumer services marketing company on behalf of many fortune 500 companies and anytime we get any kind of BBB complaint it gets addressed immediately and 95% in the consumer's favor.

 

It all depends on the local BBB office personnel. The office in my home town is totally worthless. But the one 40 miles away in another town is very good.

As for the OP's complaint of Burning Some Oil. How much in how many miles is my question?

Normal oil consumption for many a MINI is 1 quart every 4k-5k miles. And if I remember correctly MINI will allow as much as 1 quart in 1500 miles before they think there is a real problem.

 

I don't know, it sounds like he has pretty good documentation of the issue prior to the expiration of his warranty, but as Schatzy says, if it's not outside MINI's limits on oil usage, it won't matter, they won't pay.

I'm surprised it needs valve stem seals, haven't really heard of this being a problem on any modern engines. Wait, is it the valve "Stems" or the stem seals they think are the problem? Your post isn't clear on this...

 

Yes and I have found them pretty worthless, basically they were no help at all. I have also worked for a company that had complaints lodged against them with the BBB and the response as basically "so". If you found a company that responded then you were lucky.

 

It burns more than a quart for every 1000 miles.
As far as the bbb it's worth a try, but BMW already has a F there with lots of complaints. I haven't looked at the local dealer yet since mini USA denied it after the dealer told me to contact them.
And the valve stems thing was what the dealer diagnosed.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

 

I just got the BMW/mini TIS disc from eBay because I'm almost out of warranty. I'm going to do most of my work myself. I just fixed an issue the dealer said their "best" tech looked at for 5 hours and couldn't figure out. So they pointed at some aftermarket parts and made me come get my car. So it was just what I thought it was. A cracked Cylindar head cover. There is a new version out with a high pressure release valve. I had it fixed in an hour after I received the new part. Stupid dealers.