Update...

Surprise, surprise. I'm not getting my car today afterall. The dealership just called and said they plan to keep it another 2 days, at least through Thursday.

Sigh...

 

Sorry to hear that. :(

I would probably call MINI if it gets longer than 2 weeks of them keeping your car.

 

Very sorry to hear it.

I guess if anything, be glad that they're not rushing it back to you only to still have the problem.

Who knows, maybe you'll have a car with no troubles after this (doesn't pay to think otherwise).

 

I think a "sigh" is a good tact to take. If after you get it back and you still have trouble with the car, then I have to say take the gloves off.

But it sounds like they have some issues there still trying to solve and that's better than the alternative.

 

126 HP from 1.6 liters. Either 10.6:1 or 11:1 compression ratio, depending on what source you check. It's not "excessive", but it certainly qualifies as high-compression to me. Remember, all (current) MINIs require premium-grade fuel; they are not low-compression.

If they had valve reliefs in the pistons large enough for the valves at TDC, they'd either have a noticeably lower compression ratio, or smaller valve lift, or both. (Likely both.)

Like it or not, most performance engines these days are interference engines. As long as you can rely on your customers to keep up on the maintenance, it's a good way to get good compression and valve lift in an engine.


To the OP: I'm sorry to hear that your car has been gone for so long. It must be frustrating as heck!

 

This is exactly why I got rid of my 2011 Hardtop S after only 5 months and 1400 miles. I felt I was driving a time bomb, waiting for something to break or blow up. I traded it for a Lexus IS 250. No worries...

 

Did you get a loaner?
If not, you should call and ask them if you can rent a car locally and have them reimburse you for all rental charges.

It not only gives you a car to use in the meantime, but it puts pressure on them to give your car top priority as each day racks up more rental charges for them.

Heck, I got a rental loaner (not a mini) from my Mini dealer when I had my iPod and alarm installed on my '08. They certainly should do it for you since this is unacceptable.

 

I've never had any problems with my MINI, It's been to the dealer once, for my free annual oil change.

With the thousands of cars they build, there is bound to be a few problems, don't paint the whole marque with the same brush. The dealer is trying to do their job, let them.

People don't come to car forums when they have no problems, unless they are an enthusiast. What you see here is not representative of the flaws these cars have, you will see that on any car forum.

Dave

 

I also rode sport bikes, I know all about ridiculous launch speeds. I miss it sometimes but not much. My gently modded Justa is a blast. The S is faster but I don't compare my R50 to an S.. there is always a faster car, so who cares? I have enough trouble staying out of, well, trouble as it is.

To the OP: That is frustrating, I would be pissed too! I hope they get it back to you solid as a rock, it sounds like they are being thorough, which is something!

 

+1 I bought my car with 8k miles and now have 32k miles after a year and a half. Been trouble free and engine feels very tight on my justa awesome cooper
Recently bought the new bentleymanual for it so I guess Im going for high mileage lol

 

I eventually got them to agree to reimbursement for a local rental car. They insisted I could only rent a vehicle of comparable size... so I'm now rolling in a Mazda 2. It's no MCS, but it gets me where I need to go.

 

And no fun.........

 

OP,
You really do need to get in touch with someone who can take care of this for you. Regardless of when you get your car back it seems like they have no real idea what is wrong with your vehicle and you will be frequenting their shop for random repairs. That aside you are coming up on the point in time where you will receive your first payment bill in the mail. I don't think you want to be making payments on a car you have yet to really drive...

 

I understand your frustration I really do. You shouldn't have to spend the time (and loss of income as a result of your time driving back and forth to the dealer) I mean this is why you bought a new car to avoid all the hassles. But you must understand that the industry world is not perfect. It is approximated that about 5% of all things manufactured are defective and it may not be your dealer's fault. On the bright side you should have it soon. Have fun motoring!!!

 

The car was towed to the dealership. I don't think the OP has been driving back and forth. Mostly by phone at least according to the first post.

Still has the same amount of frustration though.

 

How are you going to get the car back? Is someone going to deliver it or will you have to pick it up? That is the main reason i stated "driving back and forth"? Still it's a pity for a new car to be in the shop especially if you had to wait for it while it was being built.

 

Mini will flatbed it back to his residence.

But I agree the frustration is still great.

 

Yep, MINI Roadside will eventually bring the car back to my house on a flatbed. I am thankful that I don't have to drive back and forth, but would still like to be driving my MCS right now instead of a rental. It's been more than a week...

 

Two things:

1. Has your dealer kept you up to date on what they think the problem is? It seems clear that they don't know for certain and should at least admit to it. I would want to know how they are diagnosing it. What tools, computers, etc. As well, are they in contact with MINI as this might be a known issue.

2. Have you sent a letter to MINI USA? Might be worth politely venting your disappointment in the car and the long wait to have it repaired. They might eliminate your first monthly payment or take some other positive measure.

I think we all feel for ya but it will be worth the wait if it's done right. Good luck.

 

Hang in there friend. I am very hopeful for you that when you get the car back it will be right. If it is right and your satisfied, it may be worth your while to take a nice drive one day and go see those folks. Get to know them a bit better and do an inquiry as to exactly what they did and just show some appreciation that the problem is fixed.

You would be surprised at how far something like this will go. If you can develop that relationship it will sure help for future good experiences!

Of course if it isn't right you may have to take a more direct approach.
But they WANT to get it right. A company does not enjoy nor want bad publicity. It's just not good for future business.

 

Thats why on consumer reports they question MINI reliability

 

So far I have not contacted MINI USA. I will probably write to them after this all gets resolved, just to let them know how I feel.

As for keeping me up to date, I have been in contact with the dealership on a daily basis. They always seem to be forthcoming with information, but the story has already changed multiple times. They come off as not knowing what the problem is, and just throwing parts at the car and hoping for the best. They ordered me a replacement HPFP during the first couple of days, but then claimed they didn't need to install it because that was not the issue afterall. Then they diagnosed a wiring problem and replaced the wiring to the oil pressure sensor, but evidently that did not fix the problem as they had claimed it would. Looking for something else to blame, they decided it was the "EME" or "AME" - I still have no idea what that acronym means and I'm a semi-car-guy. And whatever this mysterious part is, they told me yesterday that only 2 units exist in the nation and they have to wait for it to come from Tennessee. I guess it's coming on a boat, because it's been 3 days in transit.

 

True - except the MINI Cooper (justa) gets high marks for reliability, especially 2010s and higher.

Plus, if you read CR carefully, you'll discover that when you read the details, often the poor marks are for minor things, like wind noise or fit and finish.

Overall, if reliability is a major concern (as it was to me), a regular Cooper hatchback is a good bet.

 

That EME part sounds like a computer or brain component. Can't be sure but it sounds like it. Many times the dealer is in communication with the Mini factory because sometimes they do not know what the problem is. The Dealers is not the manufacturer and lets face it these cars are pretty complex. Just the amount of computing power in these cars is astronomical. It's amazing how much can go wrong. So while it may seem that the story is changing, it may in fact be changing. The dealer is serving two masters in reality. The drive to take care of you the customer is typically foremost but they also have another master and that is the car MFG Mini. Mini audits each dealership to ensure they are on the up and up and only want to pay for things that they truly should pay for. It is a for profit business after all. So the dealer in this case is probably not sure what the problem is but the factory engineers will probably be involved in trying to troubleshoot and fix the problem. After all this could affect thousands of cars. I don't know that but it could.

Anyway, I think your taking the right tact. Hopefully they will have the solution soon.