I know, I know, there have been tons of these topics but I have a quick question about my slightly melted hood scoop.

For starters I think it had already been replaced, or mended, once. I bought it a few months ago (used 08). There is some kind of "foam-ish" cover under the hood that I haven't noticed on any other MINI's I've seen.

That said, the hood scoop has melted ever so slightly. Now, unfortunately, I'm a little OCD. Grant it, there are several scratches (and a broken side light...grrr...just noticed that yesterday), but I know from other topics that the hood scoop is covered under warranty. My MINI is still under the original factory warranty until August of this year. It really is minor, and you really can't notice it, but it's definitely sagging in one spot.

My question is, do dealerships have a "degree of damage" for the hood scoops? Like, more specifically, does it need to be very apparent that it has melted? Again, it's minor, but considering its covered, I'd rather not have to pay several hundred dollars down the road after my warranty is up. I'm going in next week for the recall replacement so I'd rather get it done then.

I'd rather know ahead of time from you guys how much fight you had to put up in order for it to get replaced. Thanks!

 

Just had the scoop replaced on the wife's '08 MCSa. Mini of Nashville said they would replace it sight unseen. It was noticeably warped, but not really that bad.

 

The scoop on my '09 Clubman S was very slightly warped and the dealer replaced it with no question.

However, my issue is that the paint (Lightning Blue) on the scoop doesn't match my car.....it's not far off, but noticeable by anybody. In retrospect, I might have gone with another color - like black to match my top and grille surround. MINI won't offer the carbon scoop, even if you pay the difference......

 

thanks for the quick responses!

 

Yup just go in and they will take care of you. I put a little bit of aluminum heat reflection tape on mine after that and didnt have any more issues with it sagging.

 

I had mine replaced under warranty without question about a year ago. Because of my reading here about the aluminum heat shield that MINI was retrofitting on the cars for other folks, I requested that they put it on when the replaced the scoop....they did. It's only a $25-$30 part and it works. Ask them to do the same for you when you take it in. If you make it clear to them that you will be bringing it back in if it warps even slightly (and it surely will especially as soon as the heat of summer is upon us), it makes sense for them to put this cheapo part on to save themselves another warranty claim. The cost of the scoop plus having it painted is pretty pricey for them I'm sure. That's my logic anyway......dealership logic is not always logical though. : )

 

My retrofitted heat shield was installed requiring zero dollars out of my pocket.

-Kevin

 

Also, any parts MINI replaces have a 2 yr unlimited mile warranty so if the 4yr 50k mi expires, the hood scoop can extend beyond that.

 

I'm on my third scoop now, and was just installed, along with heatshield on the underside.

And thanks to some savvy advice on THIS board, I was also able to rectify the low idle rattle/noise relating to the water pump.

 

Mine has a slight sag, but I am afraid to have it replaced for this very reason, I don't want 2 different shades of dark silver on my car. So I've decided to live with it for now.

 

Had ours painted black to match the roof. Even though our car is garage kept, I knew they would never match the mellow yellow paint perfectly. The black scoop looks good with the black stripes and grill.

 

We had 2 chrome scoops bubble even with the aluminum heat shield retro fit - asked for carbon fiber the 3rd time and offered to pay the dif - carbon fiber is spendy.

We waited and waited several hours for the install only to be told the one and only carbon fiber scoop they stocked had the mounting tabs in the wrong location. We go home wait for another to be ordered - it comes with mislocated tabs too!!!

Dealer orders a 3rd carbon fiber scoop and it comes with the tabs bonded on in the correct location. Get this - they send mechanic to our house - install it in a few minutes - no charge! All is well that ends well.