Hi All,

I own a 2002 MINI Cooper that has a serious issue and I am not getting
the appropriate response from my dealership service department.

The auto has 117,000 KM on it. I bought the vehicle after a 3 year
lease and purchased it after at 74K with an extended warranty of an
additional 40K.

At our service mark as recommended by the car, we brought the vehicle
in for servicing (Oil Change, etc) approximately 2 weeks ago. My
wife brought the vehicle in. When she brought the vehicle in she
mentioned that she was hearing a pronounced grumbling sound below the
vehicle, the same sound she had mentioned earlier. We have mentioned
that the engine was making a sound during previous visits but this was
not marked on our service record. Previous attempts to rectify a
clamp sound were noted but ignored, instead being fixed the next time
after we were adamant about it.

They replaced our brakes for $1400 (not needed according to successive
visits to the dealer) and do not have a record of it.

What we found out was that they would like us to pay for the
transmission, even though we were only 2K outside the warranty at the
time. They continually delayed and did not respond to our requests.

They also mentioned that they found metal shavings near one of the
plugs during their investigation and that the transmission might be
loose.

In the process of this service, BMW damaged the rear bumper when
washing the car. The dealership admitted then denied that they would
repair the damage afterwards.

I have elevated this request to the service manager but he is not
responding. He would not meet with me for even 15 minutes to discuss
the problems and view the bumper. The last conversation was that BMW
would pay for half of the cost of the transmission, only after we paid
for the investigation to open the transmission up.

The service has been astoundingly bad. BMW Service for one year could
not determine the source of the sound and did not note it on my file
for my automobile. Hence, they feel that half of the cost of the part
would be adequate as compensation since it cannot be under either
warranty (BMW or extended) as there was no note of it on their files
(which I have not seen). I believe that I got a bad transmission part
and that I am not getting my due attention as a current and still
potential BMW product owner.

I am wondering if anyone could give me any advice first on the
transmission issue. I understand that the MINI manual transmission is
sealed and once it is open it needs to be replaced anyways. The cost
for the a whole new installed was told to be $5000 CDN. Since my
vehicle is older, it is not worth my while almost to pay this price for
something that should have been covered. Even with the half of the
parts cost being offered by BMW, it will still be $3500.

Secondly, how can I get this resolved in order for it to be covered
as it was covered but was not repaired during the warranty period due
to dealership incompetence? Do I need to escalate this action higher
to the manager above the service manager? I am willing to do this. I
am also willing to contact BMW Canada to try and address this problem.
I am surprised that there is no goodwill within this dealership
considering the negative press they could receive from their actions
(including this email thus far).

You advice would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Michael M. Stahl

optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:

You will find that it's very rare for any extended warranty to
do "any" goodwill repairs once the mileage/time is up. It's
even true with GM's GMPP plan. When you are over,
the warranty is done and that's it! Any kind of "goodwill"
warranty is usually done by the manufacturer when you
are "slightly" over on the time or mileage of the "original"
factory warranty.

Ian

<optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Ian is probably right...Out of warranty, even by a couple of thousand
kilometers, probably means
out of warranty. You can of course hire an attorney, but I suspect that
will avail you nothing.

I suppose you have the CVT?

I found some examples of these trannies at www.car-part.com and you might be
able to find a
tranny from a junker that would do the job at a lower price than you were
quoted.

This type of car seems to be full of faults unlike the German buit BMW
branded cars, The Mini is assembled in the UK & its parts are sourced from
all over the world using bits from the far east & sout america, the cheaper
parts compromises qualiy quite often, the smaller pre 2000 model minis as
well as being easier to repair are actualy smaller overall, a reconditioned
manual box for one of these should only cost about a few hundred pounds.

Steve.

<optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

"Steve68s" <steve68s(remove)@btinternet.com> wrote


Steve,
you are quite right , parts are made and all over the world, sent to the UK
as already assembled components, we here in UK then build the car and
distribute it,

The BMW/ MINI network, does not have a in house gearbox repair section,
infact even BMW GB LTD don't repair gearboxes in house, they might change
auto filters and reverse light switches and various other gearbox related
components, but they would not open the box and then rebuild with new parts,
1,, because of the labour costs as opposed to an off the shelf replacement,
2,, they are not equipped with the various special tools required to strip
and rebuild,
3,, they don't have staff trained in this field,

I would bring this whole saga to the attention of the dealer principal, he
is above everyone,
bring it to his attention by LETTER, and if necessary, CC it to your family
solicitor, and your local newspaper motoring section editor, and BMW
customer services North America, and Canada, and Germany if necessary,

Offer him a way out of this mess by
offering him your alternative suggested repair for this vehicle, acceptable
by both you and him, afterall you are the customer, and with out you he will
be out of a job,

The principal will call a meeting of all staff involved ,,,
his main aim will be to impress BMW and his staff by successfully rectifying
this problem and demonstrating "customer retention" to his staff,

"Note"
I have just completed a replacement g/box in a 02 cooper and the total cost
was £1100
this included fitting a new clutch while the box was out,
this was a reconditioned box with a guarantee of 12 months or 12,000 miles,,
done by a none franchised garage in UK,

Hope that helps,
Fitzy

By the way Michael............. your in the wrong NG,
should be alt.autos.new-mini
but we don't mind helping out here,
Fitzy


"Fitzy" <dontbotherme (AT) home (DOT) com> wrote

On 30 Dec 2006 16:54:13 -0800, optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:

I've been to a lot of dealerships for service in a lot of places
within the US. Never once have I been to a dealer and had service
work done and NOT gotten some kind of paperwork. If you were having
issues that weren't documented on the paperwork they gave you then you
should have done something about it then... Now it is your word
against theirs. Sorry, but it sounds like you should have been more
persistent in having the noise diagnosed and repaired while the
vehicle was under warranty. As it stands now they have offered more
than I would expect they would in this circumstance so I would take
them up on it before they change their mind!

Steve B.

I think you were extremely stupid to not have documented the problems
'while it was under warranty'. Especially with the 'sleaze' reputation
of car Dealers, used or new that you seemed to have been the recipient
of already in the past from these bozos.

I also think you are extremely lucky they are willing to pay for any of
the repairs.

It is out of warranty...

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:

The sheer fact that they are willing to pay for a "percentage of the
repairs" is almost an admission of responsibility, regardless of any
paperwork,
and I am sure that somewhere in there computer system is the documentation
you need,
providing the car was booked in with the dealer for diagnosis, a job card
opened up and a invoice submitted to the owner for this service,

Fitzy



"Mike Romain" <romainm (AT) sympatico (DOT) ca> wrote

<optimieron (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Write a letter to BMW Canada and explain the problem. I believe there is
also a Canadian equivalent to the BMWCCA. If you aren't a member, you
should become one. They can probably help as well. It's clear the dealer
will not.

Manual transmissions shouldn't fail like that. I have a 535i with 320,000
miles on the transmission and it's just fine. Transmissions fail for a
reason. Somebody needs to find out what that reason is.

I am surprised you haven't done so already.

My advice is never to buy a front wheel drive car. Dropping the transmission
on the 535 and putting it back is a three-hour job in the driveway. Dropping
the transmission on the new Minis is... well... not fun.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."