Oh my GOD.

Frankly, they cannot REQUIRE you to take some sort of "driving class" in order to return your car to you. You PAID them to repair it, it is YOUR car.

I would march in there, TELL them you are insulted, that you are only paying them because you are sick of the inconvience, maintain that you did NOTHING to damage the car, that it was CATASTROPHIC FAILURE of the part.

Give them the card, take your keys, and get the **** out of there!

And make them give you YOUR broken parts for the BAR complaint, as well.

Mini of north america is closed (new jersey) right now.
I left a very angry voicemail.

I work full time and have freelance photo jobs at night.
It's ****ing 1.5 hrs away!!!!!
For a lovely cruise around the block?!?!?!
CUT THE ****ING ******** AND BE STRAIGHT WITH ME!!!!!!

I'd call them back and tell them no, to be honest. It's your car, and to sound childish, I don't see how they can make you.

, BS!

+1, I agree with both Wagners post!

believe me i did! Kyle just passed the buck to mini of north america, which is conveniently closed.
I waiting for kyle to be done with a customer so i talk with him.

DO NOT withdraw your BAR complaint.

They have NO legal right to make you DO anything since you paid the bill.

If they don't release your car, and you have proof of payment, call the cops and report it stolen.

Unless I'm seriously mistaken, MINI-Roadside's ONLY responsibility is to get the car to a MINI dealership and DOESN'T include transporting the repaired vehicle from the dealership to your location.

When you decided to pay for the repairs, you effectively gave up any & all bargaining chips that you possessed. YOU were in control of the situation and if you could've held out instead of caving in (which is what they wanted!) you would've gotten the repairs done for FREE.

Call me heartless...call me a biotch...but you'll know who to point a finger at when you look in the mirror.

This entire thread is just.......unbelievable. I'm speechless and so angry on behalf of angelos.

I haven't signed anything.
I haven't given my payment info over the phone.
Mini roadside service DOES in fact tow the car back to you.
They call it a "reunite", which invokes all sorts of tingly feelings, like seeing an old relative. High-5 for NLP.

@ UberBlu: Why should I even have to go through this anyway? This endless up-hill battle of run-arounds and fuzzy information? I am but one man with very limited resources. They are Mini of North America.
I don't want to spend precious free time in my golden years fighting a cause I frankly could care less about. I'm not look for sympathy my dear, although I appreciate it. I came here for expertise.

Have you signed anything or authorized payment?

If not, call the police and report that the dealership has unlawfully confiscated your vehicle. Meet them at the dealership with proof of ownership. If the dealership cannot prove that you authorized repairs, I don't think they have a leg to stand on in regards to holding your car for payment.

This way, you get your car back, and don't pay for the repairs. Of course, you'll have to make the trip.

The other avenue is to cooperate, then speak with your CC company to challenge the charge. When you sign for the charge, sign it something like "This signature is to authorize release of my vehicle" or some such nonsense, stating clearing that you are not authorizing payment.

Don't sign anything!! You still have the upper hand. The dealership has no right no withold your vehicle without a signed authorization of repair.

I think.

Sympathy, no. Empathy, yes.

I do understand your viewpoint & feelings involved...however, you were in control and you've relinquished a good portion of the control.

You gave them authorization via phone to do the repair. As others have said, it's on longer an estimate; now it's a bill.

Thanks for sharing the info about the "reunite" program. I'll tuck that info away in case I ever need to use it in the future.

Perhaps I misinterpreted your sense of urgency, but I got the distinct impression that you were MORE CONCERNED about getting your car back in time for your two dates--even though you DO have a loaner to use in the meantime. (Priorities come to mind...)

You should go through "this" because: (1) everyone has already told you there's a known issue; and (2) you're in CA and you have the benefit of the BAR.

Yes, it was your decision to throw in the towel...but although everyone has told you that you would win this situation, you decided that it was important to get your car back in time for this weekend's dates. (I sure hope those two dates are the best damned dates you've ever had in your entire life...)

They cannot make you drive for them to demonstrate how you drive the car. Especially since they aren't really covering it under the warranty. What if you drive it for them and they say you drive perfectly well, are they going to cover the repairs, I seriously doubt it.

It is your car, you paid for the repairs. That is all that is necessary. I would not withdraw the BAR complaint. I would request the bad parts. Then I'd seek further council from an attorney.

When you sign a credit card receipt, you are agreeing to the amount charged--you can't claim coercion at a later date.

When the OP spoke to Kyle, he gave VERBAL authorization to do the repair work. Had the OP been wise, he should've had everything (quotes, after-repair instructions, etc.) faxed to him or emailed to him. Had the OP done that simple thing (get everything in writing), he could've effectively committed Kyle to the statement "give the CC # by phone & MINI-Roadside would "reunite" the OP & the car." Then, when Kyle changed the rules by saying the OP had to drive to the dealership and take a drive with a tech, the OP would've had something IN WRITING from Kyle which stated that it WASN'T a pre-agreed upon requirement for the OP to do the "drive around" with the tech.

Simple CYA in action: Cover Your A$$

i know. my humor doesn't always land.
i couldn't care less about the dates.

its the inconvenience of it all.
It's borrowing people's cars and bumming rides.
its the feeling of something i paid good hard money for, locked away, in someone else's custody.

from what i understand though, verbally agreeing to something, and having them act on it, is binding.

Kyle conveniently left early for the day (he's almost always there till 7pm).
I asked for his manager. He too was out. I asked for ANYONE.
Spoke with Roger. At the least, he offered to have a valet come up and drive me down.

UberBlu. Thanks for the feedback, it really is appreciated.
I guess what I am most saddened and frustrated by, is that I have to worry about this in the first place. Naive? Sure.

I agree with Uber Blu.

btw, has the meaning of "golden years" changed recently?

oh, you know what i meant.

Hey, we all make mistakes...but that's how we gain knowledge & experience!

Looking back, I've made some bad decisions and thinking about 'em now causes me to scratch my head and say to myself "WTF were you thinking?!"

I wanted to say that I took a peek at your online portfolio--very nice work!

I think in the BAR complaint you could legitimately argue that you signed/paid "under duress"...you need your car for work and to live your life. The fact that you filed the complaint before you paid illustrates the point.

Keep the BAR complaint rolling...I honestly cannot see how in this case you would lose. Request the broken parts and any and all paperwork from the job.

And FWIW, I would flat-out REFUSE to take a little "drive around the block" with anyone when I got there. Demand the things you need (keys, paperwork, parts), pay, and get outta there.

thank you kindly.
le sigh. i'm anticipating quite a bit more of this down the road.

I'll keep the BAR thing going. Particularly since they would repeatedly bring it up as a counterpoint to the "goodwill" they were offering me in the form of 50% off... and offered no incentive when I said I could withdraw the complaint.

What's funny, is they told me they have people keeping up to date with issues on NAM. So, hello Mini of NA.

As far as taking the car and "peacing the **** out".
I'm a bit fearful of what hidden repercussions there might be.
Although, I'm trying to figure out why in the hell they want me do it in the first place, and what they could possibly use against me.

Oh I think they're doing it to try and show that they "really" thought you jacked up your own clutch and are being "nice" by "showing you" how to avoid it in the future. They then can document that they did it, so it looks like they were trying to help you.

Help, my @$$, but whatever...

Politely decline the offer for driving coaching, but there's no reason to get pissy over it.

I don't really agree with Uber Blu. While the position is technically correct, there's no way to force the issue with a large company without breaking out a serious amount of cash.... It costs more to litigate than to repair. And there's the time and effort involve. The deck is stacked, and not in your favor! So while I agree that it's all BS, there is a point of diminishing returns when one should cut one's losses.
That said, keep all the other avenues of complaint going against the dealer. That's what those channels are for and you should use them to the full effect possible.

Matt

Hmmm...you may also want to contact your local media sources (tv, newspaper) they are sometimes very interested in this sort of story as a consumer alert/report. It probably would have been more effective though before you gave verbal consent for the repairs.

That's a pretty good idea Simposon. Even after money is paid, those consumer alert types at the newsrooms love stuff like this.

I just want to say that I am so sorry for the way you have been treated. No one deserves that, especially on a car that is supposedly under warranty(???)
Hang in there, go get your car, and dont put up with any of their crap. Please dont give up on the BAR, Im sure they can help you. Best of luck to you, I hope you never have to deal with those 'people' again!