Not intending to start any flame wars here, perhaps I should clarify what I meant by "shoddy build quality." Numerous owners have reported squeaks and rattles, due in many cases by loose parts. There have been complaints of loose rubber around the windshields, windshields cracking, boot hatches not closing properly, loose interior trim, etc. One owner found his rear seat was not bolted in place. The dealers have been able to fix most of these niggles by tightening bolts, adjusting latches, etc. The left pulling may be partly due to improper assembly of the suspension parts, since some owners were told "a spring was mounted upside down."
If these "niggles" don't indicate "shoddy workmanship," then I don't know what does. The term applies to a lot of cars besides the MINI, but the MINI has a reputation for "BMW build quality" to uphold. More than one poster has mentioned that some English workers were taken to the BMW plant in Germany to see how it is done there, and were shocked. The MINI is not cheap and "niggles" should not occur. Hopefully many of these problems were due to the temporary workforce and will improve, but even the recent build cars seem to have may of the same faults. |