Mini Cooper Reviews

That was the end of it. The car had to be towed to the local BMW dealer for a repair estimate. To my surprise, the repair bill for the transmission was over $9000, which equals the value of the car. This problem with CVT transmission should be addressed once and for all by the manufacturer. Customers were used as guinea pigs for their new technology, but only at our cost. This is unfair. We all talk bad about Toyota cars, but at least they decided to recall the vehicles and fix them. Why is BMW acting different? Maybe because they build disposable cars, only designed to be used for 2-3 years, traded in and replaced for a new model. It is time for an attorney to take action on behalf of the hundreds if not thousands of people that had severe problems with their Mini Coopers.

Now, in April 2010, after putting 15,000 miles on it, I am looking at 7 to 9 thousand dollars for a new transmission, over half of what I paid for the car and I still owe about 12 thousand on the car and of course I have no warranty. As if living paycheck to paycheck isn't enough, now I have a loan and insurance for a car I cannot afford to fix!

Anybody know if there is a Class Action lawsuit filed in regards to this transmission? Was there a recall? Is anybody taking responsibility? I still love my Mini, only now it's a 12,000 paper weight! Or better yet, perhaps I could cut holes in the floor, throw my dinosaur in the back and Flintstone it to work, yabba dabba dud!

The car handles wonderfully and is fun to drive but requires a lot of disposable income and that you live near a dealer. The car has been a very pretty money pit and that is with many things done free at the L.A. dealer, Universal Mini, who so far, have been very good. I am going to sell it before the 50,000 mile mechanical warranty goes out. Also, because of my internet searches, I am not the only one with the cold start problem.

I spent all day at the dealer in Sacramento, CA finding out the problem was either the fuel pump or carbon build up on the valves, something I knew before I left home in Lake County. Because the dealer could not duplicate the problem, they could not determine which of the two possibilities were the problem so they could not fix the car without my leaving it for another day or two, which I could not do at the time. I asked them to fix both if they were not sure and they replied that BMW would not let them fix both items. I have never owned a newish car to have so many problems nor have parts like tires and brakes wear out so prematurely (and be normal) and I have owned over 50 cars in my lifetime.

I contracted with a local auto body repair shop (Shanahan's Autobody, Sacramento, CA) to fix the damages, but they were unable to fill the transmission with fluid, so they had to tow it to the dealer, Niello BMW. Shanahan only guarantees mechanical repairs for 90 days, stating that sublet work should be guaranteed by those suppliers. Niello BMW replaced the transmission pan and filled the transmission according to the invoice. All seemed well until I started having problems with the transmission again (March 15, 2010), with no indication that the transmission was going bad, i.e. no indicator light came on. As a result, I had to have my car towed to the dealer. The dealer told me that I needed a new transmission. The car only has 43,000 miles on it, and already it is going to need a third transmission.

The dealer tried to reopen the insurance claim from the accident, stating they didn't know if the damaged transmission was a residual of the accident. The insurance company (21st Century Insurance) refused to reopen the claim, stating that replacing the transmission ($6,000-$8,000), plus the cost of the other work ($7,888.70) done on the car as a result of the accident would exceed the market value of the car. They recommended scrapping the car, a car that is in excellent condition, if it were not for the transmission. I understand the insurance company's position to a certain degree.

The question I have is who is responsible for paying for a new transmission? The dealership can't be sure the transmission was damaged during the accident and I can't be sure it was just another faulty transmission to begin with. The Mini Cooper 2005-2006 models are known to have transmission problems. In fact, I was contacted by a group of Mini Cooper owners who want to start a class action law suit. The economic impact is that after the accident, I decided to refinance my car and I also borrowed from the bank to help reduce some credit card debts. I had not had a pay raise in two years and needed a more manageable budget. Now, I have a car that is only good enough for parts, no transportation for work and I can't afford a new transmission. Even if I had the money to buy a new transmission, I'm not sure I'd want to buy another good for two years transmission.

Since November till now the car has shifting problems, like when I brake it kind of skids and jumps or jolts and when picking up speed it does not shift and in order to do that it jumps and then it shifts. It used to do it on the street but now even on the freeway. The other day as I was switching lanes it would not accelerate. I almost got killed by a big truck because my car did not pick up speed. I have taken it to the dealer and they "think" it is the transmission that will cause about $8000 and suggested me to buy a new battery because that can be the problem. I paid almost $300 with labor. That was not the problem. Who knows what the problem is; the mini dealer does not. I don't guess. I do not have money or the time to play the guessing game here.

Someone should take responsibility for these repairs. I thought it was just my car but now I see am not the only one. What it the US government doing to help us the consumers? Look at Toyota. People are risking their lives and they said nothing. How many people have to die to make car companies be liable to repair their bad cars? I love my mini but I can't afford repairs--they are outrageous. I have lost wages, sleep and almost lost my life this time. What about my sanity? I can’t sleep thinking how am I ever going to pay for the repairs. I had to go my doctor. I am so depressed. This car was a gift from my husband for our 10th anniversary and he is no longer with me. This is the only thing he left me. I don't want to trade in for another car but I can't pay for repairs either.

Every time I bring it in, the service guys can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it and I swear, I feel like I'm delusional because they can't find the problem. I've been there 3 times this week because they don't have loaners and I need my car to go to work. I brought my car in with 70 miles left on the gas tank and when it was returned to me, I had 43 miles left on it, service adviser said that they drove around and during traffic. But I know my car, I know that if you have the AC on and drove in traffic you'd use more than 27 miles. So I think they are just giving me the runaround until my car completely fails on me.

It's scary to drive because the last time I drove it during traffic, it revved up 3 or 4 times when I pressed lightly on the gas. I can't imagine what a horrible situation I would have been in if I pressed on the gas normally and zoomed in to the car in front of me or stall in that spot. I'm dreading the work that they'll have to do and how much it'll cost to fix it.

I immediately called the BMW dealership I usually had it serviced at and took it up there. Within a couple of hours, they told me it was low on fluid and was leaking around the transmission. They said it would need to be flat-bedded to the nearest Mini dealership due to the fact that everything on Minis require "special tools". I had it flat-bedded to the Towne Mini dealership in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, Feb. 20th, 2010. I walked into the service center and told the service rep that I was there to drop off my 2003 Mini Cooper for its appointment. He asked me what was wrong and I said "there is a problem with my automatic CVT transmission". As soon as I said that, the rep jumped into a rant about how I shouldn't read online forums, because they only replace 2 automatic transmissions a year at Towne Mini.

They told me a technician would "take a ride with me". I responded that it wasn't a good idea, but they were the technicians so of course we ended up going. We got in the car and it started up fine like it had a thousand times before. But you could hear and feel the transmission under your feet stressing and eating away at itself. The technician popped it into drive slowly and lightly pressed on the gas. The car immediately red-lined and jerked forward into gear. We made it maybe 100 feet to the parking lot's stop sign.

When we went to pull out onto the main driveway, the car jerked again but this time there was nothing on the other end. The car simply revved and would not go into gear. We coasted for a second and then the technician applied the brakes. The technician giggled and said "Well, it’s the tranny," which we already knew was the problem. So, the tech put my car in reverse and backed all the way to the spot I initially had the car. I got out and was told they would call me on Monday with a status report on what exactly was broken.

On Sunday, Feb. 22nd, 2010 with the dealership closed, I decided to research the Automatic CVT transmissions myself and found a staggering number of posts related to the faulty transmission. There were even posts from Mini owners that hadn't even gone over 35,000 miles on their new car, because the transmission needed to be totally replaced. I also found that Mini knows about this problem so the automatic CVT transmission is no longer available with the new Mini Coopers. And Mini currently has a lawsuit against the transmission in Canada. I researched for over 5 hours and printed out over a hundred pages of research on the faulty transmission.

On Monday, Feb 22nd, 2010 I called the dealership around noon to be told that my Mini was in need of a new transmission. I asked how much the transmission would cost and the service rep told me "usually around $6800 for just the transmission". I immediately felt my heart drop. I had nowhere near that amount of money. The service rep said he would give me a call back around 5 to tell me actual prices so I patiently waited.

Around 5pm I received a call to tell me that the transmission was going to be $6,825 and with installation it was going to be $9,380. Knowing that Mini has had troubles with the transmissions, I asked Towne Mini for the Mini-USA number and gave them a call. After telling the customer service representative about everything she told me that she would try to get "Mini Goodwill" to pay for the repairs, she said it would take 3-5 days to figure out whether or not it would be covered.

On Thursday, February 25th, 2010 after a couple of calls and a trip up to get my owner’s manual out of my Mini Cooper, Mini USA decided it would not uphold its obligation to its customers and offered me no support. This leaves me to pay almost $10,000 for a transmission that is faulty. I'm at the point where I do not want them to replace the transmission. I want a full refund for what I paid on the car from Mini.

I brought it to my regular mechanic three times while this was occurring and by the time they were able to tie the problem firmly to the transmission. They also said they couldn't do anything about it. The reason being that it is very difficult (some say almost impossible) to get replacement parts for Mini's CVT transmission in the US or to find anyone aside from a dealer to work on them and in general, the entire unit must be replaced.

But being as there are computer issues it could be, I called my dealer (Towne BMW/Mini in Williamsville, NY) the same day of my last mechanic visit and scheduled to bring it in for diagnostics. Well, after a test drive to show them the problem and an hour and a half in their back room. They gave me back a car that now grinds and stutters and which the RPM may shoot up to 5000 plus at any speed above being stopped or in park. They also gave me an estimate for replacing the transmission and TCU on my Mini (the latter of which they told me they switched with another faulty unit they had around for years that had a 'flutter' to see if the same problem would still occur, but I don't know if they switched it back, as this was supposed to just be to test the TCU) which came to $8267.71! That's more than my car booked at when I checked it's resale value online!

And PS, when I drove it back to Towne BMW/Mini in Williamsville after driving it for a block and complained that the car was now driving much worse than it was when I brought it in, the assistant service manager Mark H told me it was still safe to drive and should get me home and that the stuttering and other problems would stop after about 10 miles when the car's computer 'relearned'. I told him I couldn't go home. I had to go to work, which is past Niagara Falls NY over a forty mile round trip every day.

Mr.H told me it should still be fine for that and that after a bit of driving the car would act just like it did when I brought it in that morning, 2/23/2010, which was yesterday. Well, after a day of driving, it is still exactly the same as when I drove it off their lot, which means much worse than when I drove it in. My car does not seem at all safe to drive, it's unreliable but it is paid in full. My 2003 Mini Cooper is now a paper weight that cost me over $22,000. Seems like a lot of money to buy a car that is for all purposes 'junk' after six and a half years.

That Wednesday of that week, leaving home within 2 blocks my car was not moving so I went back and called Mini to pick it up. They told me engine parts melted and broke off, also the exhaust was damage and some brackets. The adviser Ryan said it could be because I ran the engine while overheating. I told him that I never got a warning light or any smoke from overheating. Then he said I might have missed shift and missed a gear. I advised Ryan I have been driving stick shift for over 10 years. He said he had to send it to Mini to check the computer.

About a week later, he told me the Mini tech told him it's because of downshift and going over the RPM's 6.7 when red line is 6.5 and that's why it won't be covered under my warranty. He advised to call Mini, I did and talked to three representatives. Last one was, Aaron, a regional manager he looked further into it and said the same thing - my fault. I have 39,000 miles, the warranty is 50,000 (4 years). I have read forums where they talk about the same issue and the problem was the cam chain tensioner.

On Wednesday, Jessica from Mini Cooper Concord called me and told me that my new car needs transmission replacement. I called different days and everybody was telling me that they can not help me because it is not their specialty. On Wednesday I went to get a loner car and I spoke with Viki the manager and I told her to replace my car because it broke down only after 3000 miles and she said she can not do that. Sshe told me to call Mini USA, but she doubts that they will replace my car.

So I called Mini USA and I talked with Cody. He was not too much help. After I was with him on the phone for 10 minutes trying to get a new car, he kept saying no because he does not think is a lemon car. I said, ok, then what are you offering me? He asked me what do you want? I told him I want extra 50.000 miles warranty on my car and a car payment; he told me I can not have both, and he will check with different managers to see what he can do.

On Saturday, my car was ready to be picked up when they called me. I told them I will not pick up my car until I have the answer from Mini USA about my extra warranty. So I called Cody 3 times and left him messages until finally he called me back and he told me that because my car was ready in a week and they replaced my transmission and gave a loner car; they don’t think they need to do anything extra for me. He said he talked with Viki from Concord and other manager and that is what they decided.

Their service is bad and the cars are the worst cars ever. I will never buy a Mini Cooper again and I will tell everybody that I know what kind of cars these are. My car had only 3000 miles; just think about it. No help from them. I don’t trust my car anymore. I don’t think I should pay $500 for 5 years for a car that already broke down on me. It is not fair and I told those people from Mini when I bought this new car with zero miles I never thought it will break down only after 7 months from the day I bought it. Mini Cooper is bad.

What I found astounded me. It seems that this supercharger was manufactured with cheap seals. It was also manufactured with two oil check locations that no one knows about. Over time, these cheap seals go bad which causes the oil inside the supercharger to basically "evaporate". The leaks are not visible to the owner. Mini Cooper claims that the supercharger is "unserviceable" by the owner, makes no mention of oil needs and by the time you've heard the noise, it's too late. The only way to check the oil level (if you would be lucky enough to find out you can check it) is to completely remove the supercharger which means a major tear down of the components.

During my research, it has become apparent that this failure is very common. It almost appears as though the supercharger was designed to fail right after the car warranty expires (naturally). The consumer/owner has three choices, buy a new supercharger from Mini for $2,100, a "rebuilt" one for $1,600 or have the original rebuilt with better components for about $1,000. In addition, when the supercharger goes out, the water pump usually goes with it since the water pump is driven by the supercharger. This all adds up to a major repair bill no matter how you slice it. It's not a matter of "if" your supercharger is going to dry out and fry, it's "when". The car is still being repaired, but at this point, the cost (so far) has been about $1,500 and this is through a friend of mine who's a mechanic. This is just for parts. I'm estimating by the time I'm done, it will be over $2,000.

While my car was at the dealership, a large deep scratch (horizontal) happened and nobody will claim responsibility. They wanted me to drive all the way back to SA so they could see the scratch with no guarantee that they would fix it. When you try to go to the next level of management, they block you. Anyone above the local manager (District Manager) are inaccessible! They have very poor customer service and are insulting. They refunded my $125 diagnostic fee to try and make me go away, and stop calling. I will never return to this dealership and do not recommend anyone use them. Thank goodness the new Mini service dealership here in Austin will be open in February of 2010.

The car just ceased to go into gear; obviously, had I been on the freeway on a road trip in the middle of traffic, this could have been really dangerous. I had the car towed to the repair shop. I paid the $7,200 to have the car fixed, rented a car during the repair period. How good is the new transmission? It has a two-year warranty (big deal).

Early on, during the initial three-year car warranty period during which I had many negative experiences with Mini/BMW service, I concluded that I would never buy another BMW. I paid nearly $30,000 for this car. A repair bill of $7,200 at 41,000 miles is unconscionable. The transmission problem, the lack of response, support and responsibility on the part of BMW of North America trashes whatever resale value I might have had in the car. America/Mini bears some kind of responsibility for a transmission in which the metal belt disintegrates at mileage as low as 41,000, especially considering conscientious driving and maintenance. I have some pictures of the opened transmission and metal bits from the disintegrated belt, as well as a reasonable detail from the repair shop.

After I drove back home to TN with the roof up (I didn't want to chance not being able to close it correctly if it were to rain), I immediately called Mini of Nashville. I spoke to Gary, the manager, who said to bring it in, a 3.5-hour drive. He told me it was the switch in the trunk, and I asked him if it could be something different because I already knew about the switch from the manual and it was the latch that wasn't releasing. I felt he should have checked the track that rolls back the top. My Mini only had 28,000 miles on it at that time. I got home and the same thing happened, the latch would not release. I called Gary and he told me I was no longer under warranty and that it would cost $3,000 to fix, all without inspecting it. He told me it was a mechanical problem and I told him the rail that moves the top to open was still working just not enough to release the latch.

I got nowhere with Mini of Nashville. I called Customer Service and emailed and spoke to Trista at least 6 times asking for help. She told me that I'd have to take it to an authorized dealer again which I did. Atlanta was closer and I believe I spoke to Brian, one of the managers. He walked out to the car looked at it and told me it was out of warranty like I already didn't know that. I told him this problem started while in warranty. I got nowhere. He didn't document the visit or reason, same as Gary in Nashville. I contacted Trista and she told me there was nothing they could do due to the fact it was out of warranty and there was no documentation on my records about the faulty top, just a service visit. I would not have driven all those miles for an oil change. Due to the fact neither representatives for Mini never wrote down the problem or what they did, I was out of luck!

I called Trista and insisted to talk to a supervisor and this was in Sept. of 09 one year later. His name was Patrick; I got the same runaround, but he promised to call me in a week. It never happened. I left 2 messages with him without a response. Today, 11-4, I called any and spoke to a different supervisor who turned me over to Patrick. Patrick was "busy" at the time and "promised" to call today - nothing. I don't have $3,000 to fix this car I'm no longer enjoying and will never buy another Mini or BMW. I bought it to save money on gas! If there is anyone who has similar experiences with Mini of Nashville or Atlanta, please contact me. Maybe things can get done in numbers! I just want to get this car fixed and then sell it and buy an American made vehicle.

The car went in for that rattle a few more times and it was never corrected. I was told it was a chain tensioner and I would have to live with it. The car's first check-up coincided with a transmission warning light symbol on my dash. The light wasn't on by the time I got to the dealership, and it wasn't included in the service write up (just now realized that). They replace the chain tensioner because I still complained about the rattle. It still rattles.

On 3/09, I took my car in for a tailpipe recall notice. On 6/09, the car goes in for its 2nd annual routine maintenance and for the transmission warning light again. The car is 2 years old and has 15,700 miles on it. On 7/09, my car starts idling rough, although intermittently, while at stop signs or signals. It feels like a big gust of wind hitting the car, but it's obviously coming from the engine compartment. On 8/09, the car takes four times to start one morning and the rough idling is now more apparent. It goes to the shop and one of the two fuel pumps is faulty and it is replaced.

On 9/09 (17,700 miles on the car), three weeks after the High Pressure Fuel pump is replaced, the car starts idling rough again. Back into the shop, and I tell them to please find the problem because I am going on a 1,500 mile desert road trip in two weeks. The service tech claims that there is nothing wrong the car. I asked them to please check it again because I don't want to become stranded in the desert. I am again told it's fine. Front brakes are replaced at this time.

On 10/09 (18,700 miles on the car), I was about 70 miles away from home when I got into heavy traffic (the shoulder of the road was not wide enough to safely park my car). I took my foot off of the gas and applied the brake. At approximately 20 mph, the car began to shake and by the time the car was completely stopped, it was shaking violently. My head and my passenger's head were hitting the seat. It felt as though it was fuel starved. It was impossible to pull to the side of the road, so I had to put it into neutral and give it gas simultaneously. It really didn't help. I drove like this for at approximately 10 minutes before I could safely pull over, but by that time the road speed increased and the car ran better.

I decided that I would drive home at least as far as the car allowed. The car was fine at freeway speeds, but then shook hard at the toll plaza on the Golden Gate Bridge. I limped all of the way and as soon as I got my car in front of my house, the engine light came on and the car died. This time it had to be towed into the dealership. Luckily for me I didn't go on the desert road trip because I hadn't put the 1,500 miles on the car since the previous complaint. I would have been stranded in the desert. This incident tripped 9 engine codes. An intake valve was "stuck open".

On 12/2/09 (today and 19,300 miles on car maybe) while parking at my job yesterday, the transmission warning light comes on again. My car is spending the night at the dealership tonight. This time it needs its gear shift assembly replaced. If going through all of those major repairs on such a young vehicle isn't bad enough, the dealership is almost 20 miles away and the service staff is mostly apathetic (I had only one professional person) until it comes to asking for a 5 star review for their performances. I could go on, but I will stop here. I loved this car and I wanted it so very badly, but it is turning into a huge disappointment. I'm glad that when I purchased this car, I kept my 15 year old vehicle (with 100,000+ miles on it), otherwise what would I drive when the Mini is inoperable! Good thing I got the extended warranty.

Currently my car is under warranty, but I have brought this car in for various problems multiple times before the problems are corrected. These are all major repair and the mileage on the car is still very low, lower than average for the car's age. I am a couple of months out of the lemon law period, but I want Mini to take this car off my hands. I no longer trust its reliability. I don't know what they will do.

On 3/13/09, the engine was knocking again. On 3/17/09, I called the dealer again and got nowhere talking to **. (I went online and found out that there was an issue with the turbo vehicles having an issue with a cold engine chatter that was noted on many of the Mini Forums. MINI2.com, NorthAmericanMotoring.com, MotoringUnderground.com, MotoringFile.com, etc. It was posted on NAM, northamericanmotoring.com that my dealer wouldn’t do anything). On 3/20/09, in an email, I mentioned my concerns to my salesman ** and received no reply about the issue.

On 4/06/09, I called and left numerous messages with the service manager, **. He never returned my calls. I was later contacted by email from two forum members asking for my VIN and build date. They also wanted copies of all correspondence I had with Mini of Nashville. I declined to give them the information. I called ** again airing my concerns. He said that I could have the vehicle towed in at my expense (his estimate was $600 for the towing). I declined due to the cost and the spermatic knocking. After questioning him about the chain tensioner issues I had heard about on the forums, ** said that my Clubman was not in the build date parameters.

4/29/09-5/03/09, I attended Minis on the Dragon and was starting my car up in the public areas and once more, the car started knocking badly. I was approached by a Mini tech from Alabama and he said “Sounds like you have the Death Knock too”. He also referred to it as the “Cold Start Chatter”. He said that Mini had a fix for it. The Alabama tech found me again, gave me a piece of paper with a PUMA reference ** or ** written on it and said that I should call Mini USA the next time it happens and complain and have the car towed in at no charge using Mini re-unite program.

On 5/18/09, my car once again started to knock badly, so I called roadside assistance. On 5/19/09, the car was towed to your dealer for repairs. It took 2 days for ** to let me know the car had made it to the dealership eventfully excessive engine noise was noted by the tech and the timing chain and all related components were replaced. On 5/27/09, the car was returned to me under the Mini re-unite program at no charge. About 2 weeks after getting my car repaired, I got a postcard stating that my parts were in and to contact the service department to schedule to have them installed. I called ** and he said that he got the same notice and that not to worry about it and throw the card away.

On 9/20/09, I started hearing the knocking again at cold start up. 9/21/09, once again the car was knocking at cold start up. On 9/22/09, I moved it out of the garage for about 2 hours and put it back into the garage with no noise. On 9/23/09, I started the vehicle up and the noise was excessive. Again, I attempted to drive it to get to work and for about 1 mile, the noise didn’t go away. So I returned to my house and I called ** and left a message at 8:00am ET the rest of the day and the next, I did not receive a call. On 9/25/09, I called ** again and left a message. At 9:30am ET. I received a call from ** telling me that it was my fault that no one responded because he left a message on my ** number on 9/23/09, at 4:30pm which I never got.

So, I went online as we were talking and pulled up my account detail with AT&T and I had not had any incoming calls or messages to that number since 9/19/09. So ** was not telling me the truth. ** said my car could not be making a noise because he had already replaced all of the parts. He said that I could leave the car with him but that they wouldn’t find anything wrong it. I inquired about a loaner car since I was told these were available free of charge at the time I purchased the car. ** laughed and said there was no way I was getting a loaner and that if I needed another car, he would give me a number to Hertz.

On 9/25/09, after unsuccessfully talking to **, I went to the Mini of Nashville website to get the email address or phone number of **, the Mini Sales manager to see if he could help. I got a pop up asking if I needed to chat with him. I responded yes and it turned out to be salesman **. I explained I was having a problem with the service department. ** said I need to talk to **. I informed ** that I had already left many unanswered messages with ** and that it is not working. ** said that he would have the General Manager ** call me back. That was last Friday on 9/25/09.

I talked again with ** on Tuesday afternoon of 9/29/09 and he said that we should try another dealership and that he had good luck with ** at Global Imports. I made a call to ** the following morning on 9/30/09 and left a message. I went on Wednesday 9/30/09 and tried to start my Clubman the knocking was so excessive that I got my camera and took a video. On 10/01/09, I posted the video to YouTube and then called and left another message for ** to return my call. ** call me back at 1:32pm on 10/01/09 and we discussed my issues at her request I emailed her a link of the video on YouTube. She said that she would look at it with her tech and talk to the engineer assigned to my case and then get back with me later in the day.

I once more attempted to start the Clubman and it continued to knock and I was unable to drive the car so I returned the car to the garage. On 10/02/09, at 2:45pm, ** with Global Imports called me and asked that I come with the car to Global and meet with the engineer. On 10/03/09, I tried to drive the car with my mother and we returned because of the knocking noise. On 10/04/09, I tried to warm the car and drive around my neighborhood. The car continued to knock so I returned it to my garage. On 10/06/09, I left at 9am for the 3 hour trip to Global Imports to meet with ** (service manager), ** (service tech), ** (engineer) at my 12:30pm appointment. The car knocked all the way to the Hickory Valley and Hwy 58 intersection when I made my left hand turn. By the time I arrived, the car would not knock due to it being warmed up. The meeting was not very productive, but they gave me a loaner Clubman and I got back home about 4:30pm.

On 10/09/09, I received updates from ** the service adviser stating that ** was not able to duplicate the noise. I told them to start the car move it a few feet and shut down for 2 hours. Then start the car and move it again then wait until the next morning and it should do it or park it on a hill with the front of the car point downhill. On Friday afternoon, I was told that none of these worked but they did change my oil, checked the tolerances in the timing chain tensioner and everything was okay. They also replaced a missing door trim piece on the driver’s door. ** asked that I come and pick up the car, so I made arrangements to pick it up the next day.

On 10/10/09, I got up at 5:30am to make the 3 hour drive to Atlanta to pick up the car. I checked in the loaner. With all the trouble I’m having, I asked salesman ** about trading in my car. The Sales Manager gave me a price of $21,000 for my car; $10k under payoff, no deal. The car started with no noise. I proceeded on the 3 hour ride home and stopped off at the store and got home about 1:00pm. Later in the afternoon, I drove 3 miles to the boat dock stayed about 2 hours and returned the car to the garage.

On 10/11/09, we got up to go to breakfast and started the car and the engine started to knock again. We decided to drive the car and see if it would stop, which it did after about 2 miles. We drove the 9 miles to the Cracker Barrel and back home then to the dock and back. On 10/12/09, I got up to go to work and the knocking was so loud that I had to borrow a car to get to work. I called **, left a message at 8:08am. At 8:50, ** returned my call and told me to go home tonight and try the car once more, if it makes the knock again, then to call him either before 5pm or first thing in the morning and they would have a local BMW field tech out to the house to help diagnose it.

On 10/12/09, at 5:50pm, I tried to start the car and it knocked. I took a video. On 10/13/09, 7:10am, I tried to start the car again and it was knocking again. Once again I took a video. Once I got to work, I uploaded the video from Monday night 10/12/09 and Tuesday morning 10/13/09 and emailed 3 videos from Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to **, the assistant service adviser at Global Imports. And then followed through with a phone call at 8:50am and notified ** that I gave him the links. He said he would pass on to the engineer and get back with me.

On 10/13/09, 5:47pm, I received a call from ** at Global Imports telling me that the local tech has all of my contact numbers and that I will be getting a call from him around the end of the week. So, it looks like I will be borrowing a car for the rest of this week again. So far I have not been able to drive the car for personal use since September 20th. I tried to start the car again tonight and the engine knocked loudly again I took a video of the engine compartment knock and posted on YouTube. This has been going on for over 7 months and BMW is stalling.

This has caused me to borrow cars to get to work resulting in frustration and stress causing my blood pressure to rise to extreme conditions. Towed to Mini of Nashville for repairs 5/19/09-5/27/09 (8 days with no loaner). The noise started again 9/20/09. I stopped driving the car. At Global Imports 10/06/09-10/09/09 (4 days with loaner picked up car on 10/10/09) no diagnosis or repairs were made. Days at dealer: 12 days to date trying to fix the knock. Days that I was unable to drive car: 33 (8 days original repair + 25 days to 9/20/09-10/14/09 = 33). Days that I had to borrow a car 29 (33 days - 4 that I had a loaner = 29).

In reading other issues with Minis, I learn that the entire transmission may also be ready to fail soon, all this without any recourse through BMW to stand behind their product and certainly nothing through the dealer. They did a poor job finding problems I asked about when my car was under warranty and are impolite at best when I say I'm not accustomed to cars having this number of problems with such low mileage. Service is definitely not part of their vocabulary when it comes to sharing the excessive and unreasonable costs of repair on my car. I'm not looking forward to discovering how much this next problem will cost. I routinely own cars for a long time, well over 150,000 miles and I'm now realizing my favorite car of all may not even make it to 100,000. If BMW would admit some responsibility for poor quality in the form of money, I would continue to invest in this fun car - when it's working well!

Six months later, the car overheated again and I had to get it towed which cost $300 and had to get the cooling fan replaced which was $1,200. I ended up paying for the repairs but they also told me that my electrical unit was out which is why my gas light and other warning signals would not turn on and quoted me $1,500 and $500 to fix the passenger side window for the third time which went out again. I neglected both of those offers since I just paid $1,200 for the cooling fan. Three months later my car overheated again. This time it was the radiator that needed to be replaced. Keep in mind the majority of the miles on the car are highway miles. The car is kept in great condition, and I don't drive it hard. The repairs totaled $1,300.

Over the course of the next few months, the car would turn off completely when I was sitting at a stop light. And a few days ago as soon as my car hit 103,000 miles, the car would not drive even though the engine was running. Again, the car was towed to the dealership and they told me that the drive axle seal of the transmission needed to be replaced which is $538 and after they repair that, then the tech can determine if the front drive axle shaft assembly is damaged which would cost $738 to repair. I told them to go ahead with the first repair because I need a car. Today, they called me stating that the clutch packs inside the transmission are blown and needs a new transmission and with the first repair plus the transmission, the total would be $10,741.00 which is double the worth of the car itself.

I am a professional graduate student in optometry school. Although, I have a part time job while being a full time student, I mainly live off of student loans. I bought this car because it was supposed to be a good quality vehicle and gets great gas mileage. After finally paying off my car last year, as soon as the car hit 80,000 miles it fell apart. Not only did I spend $3,000 fixing the cooling fan and radiator this past year, they are telling me I have to pay almost $11,000 to get my car working again.

Obviously being a student living off of loans, I cannot afford to do so. Therefore, I am left with no car that I have spent over $30K for with the repairs and the initial purchase of the car. I cannot get to class, I cannot run errands, and I cannot go to work. Now, I have to request more student loans so I can put a down payment on a car. Furthermore, the dealership is still making me pay for the first repair of $538 even though the car is undrivable. They kept changing what the problem was and then wanted to charge me double what the car is worth.

Sadly, I have lost it. I will not be paying any more car payments to BMW Canada and will be bringing my Mini back to Richmond Mini. I will be returning the car without its plates tomorrow. This will happen after I purchase a brand new Nissan Cube van. I will be taking legal action as well and talking to my MP and MLA. Let me explain why. Given the long service history on my 2007 Mini Cooper, which I did indicate to Mr. Jay ** yesterday that purchasing my 2007 Mini Cooper has been the absolute worst customer experience I've had in my entire life as a consumer, I expected better service. What happened? I arrived at Richmond Mini to discover that the rubber seal was torn from the passenger side of my car and sitting on the passenger seat. In addition, the chrome was hanging loose on both sides of my car. In frustration, I took off the chrome myself, as it was just hanging there loose.

In short, after talking to Mr. **'s assistant for several minutes, it became clear that Richmond Mini was flatly refusing to fix this problem, a problem that was minor in nature (i.e., my car looked almost normal when it arrived for servicing yesterday) and a problem that your service technicians clearly exacerbated, i.e., the rubber was removed and chrome trim was now detached. At that time, your colleague indicated that rubber wasn't covered under the warranty due to a minor dent repair that happened on the other drivers' side of the car. What I cannot figure out is how a small dent repair and a bit of new paint on the driver's side cause damage to the rubber sealer on the passenger side? And why would I have gotten back my car in worse condition than it arrived for servicing? Should it not be the other way around?

Honestly, I am fed up with BMW brand, Mini Canada. I am once again filing a formal complaint. In addition, I have blind cc'd my lawyer and cc'd BMW Canada's director of Corporate Communications, Kevin **. As a former director of corporate communications myself, an ABC and APR designate and organizational communication consultant, I trust Mr. ** will respond appropriately. I know if I was in Mr. **'s shoes, it is necessary to see what really is going on. First, I assume your computer system will have the list of ongoing problems that have occurred with this particular Mini. My VIN number is **. You will note, that I addition to the rubber/chrome problem noted above, my car has now had: (1) a catalytic converter replaced due to a factory recall; (2) a defective sunroof replaced; (3) rear wiper mechanism replaced; (4) defective battery replaced; and (5-12) many reprogramming issues fixed, which included reprogramming the air conditioner that mysteriously and suddenly stuck on high cold during the dead of Alberta's winter and one scary incident while traveling at night through the Rocky Mountains.

In addition to other issues surrounding substandard customer care at Edmonton Mini, I have now received unprofessional service from Richmond Mini. This indicates to me that a systemic problem is happening with BMW's Mini brand. BMW has no quality control mechanisms in place to monitor its entry-level brand, Mini Canada. Sadly, this ongoing level of customer care service has been my experience dealing with all Mini Canada dealerships. As a highly trained communications professional myself, it is clear to me that Mini Canada lacks corporate quality control over its network of dealerships. Internal communications systems at both Edmonton and Richmond Mini dealerships clearly lack the internal checks and audits.

Moreover, BMW corporate audits to ensure its entry-level brand, Mini Canada, maintains the integrity of the Mini brand does not appear to be effective. How can Mini Cooper be a good entry level segue for those seeking to upgrade to a BMW? How can this entry-level marketing strategy benefit BMW when basic tenants of customer care are not adhered to at Mini Canada's dealerships? Albeit separate, these brands are tightly integrated. They often share the same physical car lots and building and have clearly aligned optics, just as Audi has alignment with Volkswagen and Lexus with Toyota. I'm not saying that the customer is always right. Often that is not the case, this I know from experience. What I am saying, however, is that the customer deserves to get their vehicle, not to mention which is still under warranty, back from a dealership’s service department in the exact same if not better condition than when it arrived for servicing.

To arrive yesterday and find my car in worse condition is upsetting to say the least. To find the passenger side rubber sealer on ripped off and lying on my passenger seat of my car and the chrome on both the passenger and driver’s side visibly loosened is not good customer care. It is not a good customer experience. This gets around offices. It makes potential buyers reconsider both Mini and BMW. Me? I was clearly mad. I removed the passenger side chrome in a fit of rage as it was dangling there, flapping about. I had had it with Mini Canada, as this ongoing substandard level of customer care is simply not acceptable, whether it is from Mini Edmonton or Mini Richmond. As such, please take this as formal notice that I am filing a lawsuit. Let me explain why. My problems started the day I bought the Mini at Edmonton BMW/Mini. The new car salesman who sold me the car and after close questioning on my part given that I live in a very cold place and knew I would not have access to heated garages at work or at home insisted that this car has a block heater. He assured me that the 2007 Mini comes with a block heater. I would not have purchased the Mini had I known the truth. I may have even walked across the showroom floor and bought a brand new BMW that had a block heater.

Sadly, however, I discovered several months later when looking for the block heater plug-in cord that my Mini does not have a block heater. How are your salesmen trained? Do they know their product? This does not appear to be the case. When I questioned the service manager at Edmonton Mini, his response was "We don't know what our salesmen say. They're salesmen. They're here to make a sale. They'll say anything for the commission." This is not comforting reassurance to a customer. And I know as a former marketing communications director, I'd be disturbed to hear of such things happening in my organization (i.e. **).

When I bought my Mini, I ordered winter rims and wheels well in advance, only to make the long 100 kilometer commute into Edmonton to discover that the parts were never ordered. Why didn't Edmonton Mini have the courtesy to call me to indicate that the rims and tires had not yet arrived? Edmonton Mini did call to remind me that I had an appointment that day. But why couldn't they connect the dots to determine that the parts, which was the purpose of the servicing and which were ordered long in advance, were not yet in? Again, internal organizational communication issues abound, issues that impact the brand and customer experience with that brand. This is not the only problem.

I have had on numerous occasions where my dashboard warning lights flash to life, looking very much like a scary China syndrome situation. Very poor optics. Within two months of purchasing my brand new 2007 Mini, while driving through the Rocky Mountains, this scenario happened. The transmission warning light started flashing. Scary thing for a female driving alone at night through the Rocky Mountains miles from nowhere. I pulled over. I refer to the manual, but your manual says to park the car when the transmission light comes on and call a dealership immediately for repairs. I called the 1-800 line, but was out of cell phone reach. Timidly I drove on, nervous as hell as it was getting cold and dark and I was miles from nowhere civilized.

The car seemed fine, however, so I called BMW when I got into Revelstoke, BC. I got a recording and left a message to return my call for help. This was never returned. The car seemed fine, despite the dashboard being lit up like a failing nuclear reactor, so I drove the car on to Vancouver to a convention and everything seemed okay mechanically with the transmission. I was attending a convention and everything seemed fine. I was very busy and needed to do my marketing communications for my employer so I kept driving. Oh yeah, that reminds me that requested returned call from Mini Canada roadside assistance never did happen. It happened in early July 2007. What else has happened?

In addition to having a sunroof replaced, the rear window wiper replaced, the car reprogrammed numerous times to eliminate what I indicated above as "The Recurrent China Syndrome Problem" meaning that my transmission lights keep flashing for no apparent reason and having problems with the air conditioner running non-stop in the middle of winter (another programming issue that took two trips into the dealership to fix), then having ongoing problems obtaining replacement parts in a timely manner, i.e., a working air conditioner and wiring harness due to a collision with a coyote (cost 8-9k in damage), I now have this nasty situation on my hands at yet another Mini dealership. Is this a systemic problem with Mini Canada? How is BMW monitoring its entry-level brand? The bottom line is that Richmond Mini has returned my car in much worse condition, damaged condition, than when it arrived yesterday morning. Is this called good customer service? Is it even mediocre customer service? Far from it.

My professional field is organizational communication. Not only do I teach organizational communication, I do it for a living. I am a consultant that helps fix problems like this. But I'm not asking to be hired on contract by BMW Canada. I have enough work. Instead, I will be filing a lawsuit in small claims court, if only to save future customers from the grief and inconvenience I have suffered at the hands of Mini Canada and its network unaudited dealerships. I will also be writing my MLA and MP about possibly launching a "Lemon Law", a law that's a similar to that legislated in the State of California, where a car can only have so many issues (numbering five, I believe) before the dealership must take it back and void the original contract as if it never happened under the contract law doctrine of Mutual Mistake.

PS: My experience of dealing with US-based Mini dealerships, Long Beach Mini, has been far superior to any Canadian Mini dealership. Maybe Mini USA has laws like the lemon law to keep their dealerships on their toes? Or, maybe USA Mini has better internal audits of its dealership chains? I am not sure, but you may wish to look south of the border for clues as to how you can fix a systemic problem with your Mini brand.

On 8/21/09, they stated it was a "possible blown head gasket" in which the estimated cost was $4700. It's more than what I was told my car was worth should I trade it in. Then they told me it would be a minimum of $1000 to "go in and see if that's the problem." At this point, I had already paid for a diagnosis (8/10/09) that proved worthless and a radiator cap that didn't fix the problem, either. I was completely frustrated, felt helpless, and stresses.

I tried talking with the controller, CEO, managers, and lead techs, and no one seemed to be able to give me any clear answers to what was going on. Skeptical of their ability to help and not wanting to keep paying them, I took my car to an independent repair shop and found the problem was a simple one: air in the coolant system. I paid a total of $150 to that repair shop. Not only did I feel I was being taken advantage of, I was completely shocked that the dealership was so incompetent at diagnosing their own cars. I work in a community mental health, and I don't make enough money to keep paying for what they cannot figure out.

All of these alternatives range from a minimum of $5000.00 to $8,000.00. Our mechanic said that BMW has stopped using the transmission that our car uses and it is no longer under warranty. This seems like an excessive expense for a car with so few miles on it, and it is frustrating that there is no alternative or remedy provided by BMW / Mini.

Oh and I forgot, my passenger door does not open and has not opened for some time. The windows always make noise when rolling them up and down, and sometimes they won't roll down at all. Sometimes, I cannot get my car to lock or unlock. And the cover to the mirror on the passenger side mirror fell off. I think that is all, but I could very well be forgetting things. But I am reading here that people are thinking of doing a class action lawsuit, count me in. This is total **!

Now, one year later, I have power steering problems. It's intermittent at first. Then, it became constant. I took it in for new brakes (It's $2000 to replace calipers and rotors.), and now, I was told the power steering will cost at least $1000 and they're not even sure what's causing the problem. The dealer has taken very little responsibility for this faulty product, acting like problems are caused by normal wear and tear and cost of repairs is reasonable. I completely disagree and will never buy another Mini.

This is the most expensive car I have ever purchased and I love my car, but I expected it to last a long time and I don't think 100,000 miles is very long. I have recently been laid off from my job and do not have the funds to repair the car. Now, I'm not only unemployed, but also do not have a car to drive. For a single mom, this has been very stressful. I feel so betrayed by a company whose slogan is "Let's Motor". I think this should be amended to "Let's motor, but not very far".

Besides the inconvenience and cost of missing work to get to and from the repair shop, if my transmission had failed completely while I was driving the car, I could have sustained serious physical harm. Please be assured that I will not be purchasing a Mini Cooper or BMW vehicle ever again.

In Feb. of 09, I had it towed to NW Mini in Tacoma, WA (this is where I live now) and they refused to honor warranty and fix it. They told me that my car had been wrecked and had replacement parts on the suspension and new fuel tank. I was shocked because I have never wrecked my car. I pulled a Carfax and found the car had been wrecked in NJ at 5,000 miles and was certified after the wreck. Flow states because the wreck cost less than 25% of the value of the car, they didn't have to tell me about it. And, they are refusing to honor the warranty they put on the car and fix it.

Because the cambers were off and the back tires weren't aligned correctly from the original repair - my right strut broke, possibly the trailing arm is broken, bent at the very least; the rear end is growling now so bearings are bad and possibly the whole axle will need to be replaced. Because the car fell onto the rear wheels, it has worn them down to the cords. This car has eaten tires since I bought it and from the rust on the replacement parts - my repair shop said that these have been on there for awhile.

I wish I'd had the accident as then I could have dealt with my ins. co. with no problems. Flow has refused to take care of the problems and said it's my fault, that I must have had an accident. There was body work done in the original accident too - I've not had any accidents in my car - I was just driving down the freeway when the strut collapsed. I've contacted several attorneys regarding this issue. I contacted Mini USA and they said they can't help; they aren't responsible either and to hire an attorney. However, they are confused due to the jurisdictional issue and the complications regarding the warranty and work done.

Way to pass the buck! Since I've owned this car I've replaced two tires; it needs a new clutch, gears grind. I replaced a window motor, a speaker and its cover, and one of my rims is bent from the original accident and the tire won't keep a good seal so it continually goes flat. I will say the JCW kit is fast and fun - but the Mini Cooper is definitely not worth the hype or money. If you do the math, they cost as much to own as a more comfortable larger car. My Mini averaged me about eight hundred a month - insane. I'm letting them repossess it as I won't pay the fees to fix - I didn't have the accident. I can't believe that Flow Mini and Mini USA treats their customers like this - it's absolutely appalling.

Princeton Mini in NJ is also part of the problem as they supposedly fixed the vehicle originally. They did piss poor work and the result is that the parts have failed and I'm stuck with a huge loan to pay off (or not, and screwed credit) and no car. This issue has caused serious consequences within my life with my job and just the ability to survive.

The windshield wipers stop working in the winter, they only work when it's warm out (above 70F). The driver airbag light recently turned on, which I can only assume is a computer failure, all other things being equal. I don't understand how an expensive car could get so many problems. I previously owned a Honda Civic for 3 years and never had to go to a garage for repairs. I will never buy another Mini again and will try to sell mine off at the earliest.

I never ever had anymore trouble and they have been fantastic, but now the dreaded power steering is going out. I see many others with the same complaint. I'm still waiting to hear back from them but as I check out the other Mini sites, they all say it is expensive and must give away my granddaughter in order to get a pump. Has anyone gotten one fixed free of charge?

I do know that most Mini dealers have the ability to do a courtesy fix without charging you for them, a nice little PR maneuver and if not, what is the best way to get it done? Thanks for your help, and hey, remember it is a Mini and like all BMWs, you either get a good one or a huge piece of **.

Last summer, our car started overheating and so we had to take it to Mini. $150 right in the door. We finally got someone to talk to us on the phone and set up an appointment. Once they finally looked at the car, they told us the thermostat went out. That was another $200 just for a $50 pump. When we left there, everything seems cool, and now the airbag light is on. We don't know (and hopefully won't have to) if the passenger side airbags work or not. Once in a while, it acknowledges that there is something large enough to warrant the use of the airbags on the passenger side. But 99% of the time, the light just stays on and the no airbag light is lit as well.

We've also just put on another set of brakes (front and back), changed the oil, and bought another set of tires (they're $500, 85,000-mile touring tires, yeah). Also, I would like to mention the incredible stupidity that we're up against with our local dealer. We've had receptionists hang up on us, servicemen who won't call back, people hand us off to other people with no result, and everyone acts all peachy when you walk in like there's nothing wrong. They're like robots with happy faces.

Then, I was told the struts needed replacement to the tune of $1600. My male friends who are mechanically inclined and/or engineers said that one would need to be doing stunts in a car to need that kind of repair at 58K miles. Later, the air conditioning system died which cost $1400 to replace (at 60K miles). Now at 69K, the transmission is going bad. My present mechanic (cheaper and more reliable than dealership) says replacement of transmission and clutch with re-manufactured system will be $4000.

This is an outlandish amount of repair for a car with <70K mileage. I have had 2 previous Hondas that were cheaper than the MINI and never needed a clutch or transmission. My son drove my '95 Honda CVCC until last month and it had 200K miles. I will never buy another MINI, or BMW for that matter, based on this experience. I will be sure to discourage others from buying one. I hope a class action suit is formed.

It was towed in and apparently fixed..not! I brought it home to have the pressure tire light go on and still stalling. On my second return to this dealership, I had to threaten that I would go to channel 10 because I was told it must be my driving and the warranty would not cover...In this short 4-mth period, the dealership was bought by Balise who absolutely refused responsibility for the previous dealer. So they said in good faith they would pay half on the comp. brain which was the problem...whatever that was. And this time I could not get a rental for free..un-freakin-believable. I had the ** done. They so kindly added it to my loan with them for 1,700. You know to help me out.

I quickly brought it to a legitimate mechanic who said wires were unplugged and to get rid of the car. They fixed what they could for the cheapest price of 800...this **! I loved Mini's until that! Never again! Got rid of it happily to....a car dealership..as a trade-in, which they told me the car was upside down in price. I have to say Citifinancial was wonderful to deal with in going over all the paper work. They could see I was absolutely clueless as to how the car went upside down in price. Well the car dealership helped me with the loan remember..they forgot to tell me they added some DEALS to the warranty. And in trading in the piece of **, I was responsible still for that warranty...go figure, it was all greek to me. Citifinancial cut my price of the new loan down to what it should have legally been for the new car. Total out of pocket cost for a freakin Mini..about 3,000..**! Having a reputable financial institute step in and fix things for me..sweet.. Placing this complaint on the internet for everyone to read...PRICELESS!

Upon investigation on this web site and others, there are dozens of similar stories of low mileage clutch burn outs on the 2007 Mini Cooper specifically. The dealer denies any advisories or problems of this nature despite numerous examples that I provided from the internet. The Mini service representative would not talk to me directly even though I asked. In one case, a user cited a bad clutch shortly after leaving the dealer and they still maintained that it was the user. I am filing this report so that others, considering this vehicle will be aware that they may be buying trouble and second, that Mini Cooper is not very good about standing behind their product in the face of numerous experienced drivers having clutch failures at such a low mileage. Third, I want to make sure that if others experience this problem, that they don't buy that this is the first the mini people have heard of this issue. I loved our Mini until this incident and have had no other problems. In view of how Mini Cooper handled this situation, there will be no more Mini's in my future. There may be a good case for a class action suit in all of this...there is no telling how many people just paid the repair and made no fuss. Any bright attorneys are welcome to call me.

I brought the car back to Nissan and they said they would take care of it. 1 week goes by...nothing. I called and nobody knew anything so they said they would get back to me. No one called me. I called again. They told me that they sent it to a Mini/BMW dealer for the column and heat. Ok finally someone who knows this car is working on it. Right? WRONG!!! Mini calls me to tell me they changed the thermostat and the noise in the column is a common problem and Nissan won't pay for it because it's not considered to be a serious problem. Whatever. I picked up the cart that night and within 50ft of the dealer, the heat went cold again. I brought it straight back. They called me a few days and told me they changed the radiator. Once again I picked it up and the heat went cold within the first 20 minutes!

Now, I was pissed! I went back to the dealer the next morning and sat down with the Service manager and told him how I felt. I'll put my Foreman on it right away, he told me. They called me later that week to tell me it was fixed. It actually seemed ok this time, until the next night when I was on the way back from Jersey and it was only 31 degrees out! My girlfriend and I froze to death the whole way home! Thank God, the heated seats work! I contacted Lemon Law and they told I had to take it up with the dealer where I purchased it. The dealer told me I had to get a lawyer. Needless to say, that was more than I cared to deal with. I decided to have my mechanic fix it because I would rather pay to have it done right. Now I'm having the power steering problems and the clutch feels like it's going so I guess I'm on the short list for a world of headache. But there is no way I'll ever bring it to another Mini dealership again! Oh and I was told later on that unless you actually buy the car from Habberstad Mini, they can't be bothered with it.

I just wait for month or so. Window at driver side started some problem. It wasn't working. I couldn't open or close. I have to use it caz I have to scan my apartment pass. Then, passenger seat couldn't adjust. Thus, I decided to wait for another month to check, if somethings going to brake again. Nothing happened. I call to make appointment. They said, they have next week available. I asked if they can order all parts. They said, Yes I got there. I didn't go anywhere I just sit an wait at the dealer. They guy said, you can take your car back today, and bring it back when a part come. I was like okay. I drove here more than 30 mins...Okay they said they fixed panel at both seat.

After, a week took my car back, it's fall off again. I couldn't open the door in the winter.

I responded that I didn't know what kind of a car could have be ruined by driving it off the lot. I was insulted by the assumption that I caused the problem when 1) I have always driven a clutch and 2) the problem was persistant from the beginning.

Anyway, I got a new transmission and all was fine for about a month. I was on the freeway and after a horrible noise, my clutch went dead. I had to call roadside service to have my car towed. It was at this time that I wrote Mini and informed them that I was planning on NOT taking back this car as it was a lemon. I never encountered any problems with MiniUSA and the process was smooth. In total, I drove the car for 3 months! I could have received a replacement vehicle but I seriously doubt Mini's reliability.

Now at 66,000 miles I need a new transmission for an unbelievable price of 8500.00. I have an extended warranty that has a month left on it and I will bet 1 million dollars that they'll somehow get out of paying for it. It is criminal what they charge for repairs and criminal that these cars need so many repairs.

This car has cost me over 3,000.00 in repairs in the last 2 years and is going to probably cost me another 8500.00 soon if warranty won't cover new transmission. I can't afford 8500.00 and I will be without a car if the warranty company screws me.

Light came back on 2 wks later, riding rough again. Took to local shop: transmission. Had it towed to tranny shop. IF it's only the control module, it will be $1000. If it's the unit, $7000. ARE THERE ANY CLASS ACTION SUITS OUT THERE? ARE THERE ANY LAW FIRMS OUT THERE LOOKING FOR A SLAM DUNK CLASS ACTION? PLEASE CONTACT US, WE WILL JOIN.

Potentially major repair bill OR sell off of vehicle w/ transmission problem at a major loss.

Blown rod - $6000 - $10000

Almost killed

I also have the problem with my driver's door not unlocking with the key button, and I have had to bring my car in three times to repair broken seats that were stuck in the reclining position. I also have a stress fracture in my windshield that they would do nothing about while under warranty, because it must have been an impact problem. Guess what? The service manager has never heard of any problems like this before! Once I figure out how to get this transmission replaced, I'm selling this car so fast my own head will spin. What a piece of junky crap.

I saved for so long to get the car of my dreams, buying it brand new thinking that it wouldnt have all the problems a second hand car would have. I discovered how wrong I was. I have spent so much money fixing my mini when I have only had it for 3 years. I'm so disappointed.. I have to get rid of this piece of ** before the repairs become more than the actual car itself. What a piece of **. I feel sorry for the next owner and for all the other new Mini owners. You don't know what you are getting yourself into. Might look cool and nice, but comes with price tag of repairs more than what he car is worth. Just ridiculous.

Out of pocket cost to replace sun roof. Mini would not cover under warrantee. Very signficant safety hazrd as shards of glas had come down all over while driving.

The airbag light for both the driverside and passenger side has had to be replaced when the light goes on the service department says they cleaned up the wiring and it might last a week..a month..a year..in both cases it lasted a week which in the second case they had it for three days of that week so we got four days before the light went back on...there has been a leak in some tubing around the sunroof where they had to replace the carpet....but it was obvious the carpet had not been replaced...since then they have found a multitude of leaks that before they had assured me they had soaked the car and found nothing except every time they get the car they find more leaks.

The power stearing has gone out often Twice I have taken it in I have been told they see nothing wrong and can only fix what the car tells them. The car now sits not running because The alternater is bad and there is oil in radiator run off resevoir which I have been told is a cracked engine block....But I can't find any one to work on the car and I won't take it back to the dealer....

Well! the following day he calls and tells me that the transmission was a done deal and it would be $8000.00 to replace it. I asked him if there was a problem with the Transmission from the manufacture and he said no. There is no way I have $8000.00 for mini to fix it so I had the car towed to a Transmission shop where the man said it would cost me only 1,780.00. Even though I think it was high I asked him to get it fixed.

Well after a week and 2 days my mini still sits at the shop with no parts avaliable, no salvaged mini transmissions, no transmissions period! unless you come up with $6000.00+ and buy it from mini.. What a SCAM, I love my car, but Now every mini I see I say to myself there goes another $8000.00 transmission down the road, and if these people know what is ahead for them in the near future. I say all mini owners should sue mini for selling this piece of junk to the public.

I am out of a car that takes me to and from work, picking up my kid from school, basketball practice, her games. Having to borrow my sisters car, dropping her of to work, picking her up, putting extra milage on her car. Its just a headache, till I find a Transmission, if I find one. The stress it has caused me everyday is something only someone that has this problem can understand, specially if you are running on a tight budget.

Most owners are incurring a $7,000 +/- bill to repair this problem.

At about 19,000 miles, the clutch on my 2005 Mini Cooper S convertible began groaning during takeoff (ie, while moving from a full stop into first gear). I mentioned this to the dealer in San Francisco during an appointment to fix a non-related issue, and she later informed me that the clutch was in fact wearing and would soon need to be replaced. She added, much to my surprise, that my warranty would not cover it. Terms of the warranty cover clutch replacement only after 30,000 miles.

I took issue with this and, after posting to an online forum, was contacted my a Mini National Customer Service rep, who agreed to look into getting me full coverage.

Several months later, and after much back and forth with the rep (who for the record was very patient and courteous) the end result was this: Mini agreed to cover 50% of the cost, but only on condition that I agreed up front to shoulder the other 50%.

Though I'm paraphrasing, their reasoning was this: if a clutch needs replacement within 30,000 miles, it must be due to driver abuse.

This really blew me over. What a blatant leap in logic. From my standpoint, if a clutch needs to be replaced within 30K (or just 19K in this case), it's a pretty clear indication that the clutch itself is deficient or defective in some way.

To provide some background here, I am 37 years old and have owned stick vehicles exclusively since I first got my license 17 years ago. I have never, ever, ever gone through a clutch in less than 70K, and have seen them last well beyond 100K on vehicles that I've owned. There is no way that the problem I'm experiencing is due to abuse on my part, and the mere suggestion is just absurd and proof of this company's refusal to stand behind its product.

Other postings here on Consumer Affairs prove clearly that I am not alone on this issue.

Furthermore, I have spoken to various mechanics (from BMW) who have confirmed that these cars have clutch issues. My service adviser at Mini in San Francisco even admitted as much, but kept insisting her hands were tied by corporate policy. So, in the end, the dealer is bound by corporate, and corporate passes the blame right back to the consumer. What a fantastic business model!!!

Needless to say, I will not be purchasing or recommending any other Mini's. I've also decided against taking the company up on their 50% offer. Though that may sound absurd, my local mechanic wants $1200 to do the whole job. Mini quoted me $1800 for the work, $900 of which I would owe. I will gladly pay $300 extra to see an honest man perform an honest day's work before I'll see another nickel of my hard-earned pay go to these clowns.