says the man who has a new R56 with no problems. ;)

It must be nice to be on that side of the fence.. My car now has 7 different faults. I paid over £20k for the car and I am supposed to be calm? that is after the car being delayed for 4 weeks due to faulty fuel pumps....

take that info and then add in that I advised them in writing on Wed at 6pm that I was rejecting the car and I've had no response since then, from MINI UK or the dealer.

I doubt you would be so calm if you had been treated in this manner with a car that is so sub-standard..:frown: :frown:

RANT OVER


Sorry Craig.

I did not want to under-estimate the seriousness or frustration for owners of the cars that have problems, I know how terrible it is to be in such a position.

Did you email dealer? I suggest a Special Delivery letter and that you put on it that you expect "an early reply within five days" or words to that effect.

I assume you are going for a rejection, you are perfectly within your rights if the car is still faulty.

I am another happy R56 MCS owner. After 3 months and 2500 miles I have no problems.

Before I took delivery the dealer said it had arrived with some imperfections in the paint and offered to sort it out before delivery but there would be a slight delay. Coincidentally I had exactly the same issue when I bought my Boxster S. So whilst it should not have happened it is not a problem unique to MINI.

And the Boxster has been the source of complaints from owners about premature failure of the Rear Main Oil seal. Something that Porsche ought to have been able to get right but took a while to fix. The equivalent discussion forum to this used to be full of it. So serious problems do happen elsewhere.

So whilst I accept that there have been some duff R56s and this is very disappointing particularly for the unfortunate owners, I am not sure that the problem is a lot worse than with other manufacturers. And it does seem as if MINI is trying to put things right although they have perhaps been a bit slow to respond.

Sorry Craig.

I did not want to under-estimate the seriousness or frustration for owners of the cars that have problems, I know how terrible it is to be in such a position.

Did you email dealer? I suggest a Special Delivery letter and that you put on it that you expect "an early reply within five days" or words to that effect.

I assume you are going for a rejection, you are perfectly within your rights if the car is still faulty.

Emailed MINI UK (and got an auto response to say the got it..)

Hand delivered my letter of rejection to the Dealer myself... ;)

I did not think that I needed to tell them that I wanted an early reply as I thought they would kind of get the message from the letter that I wanted to get rid of the car asap.. Others seemed to have got a response much quicker than myself, but I suppose that's just your donald duck..

currently looking at face-lift cooper and "S" cars as I might not get another R56 for a year to let them sort out the problems... or I may just take the plunge and get another one and keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't have these problems.. whatever happens, it will be a MINI...:D

Apparently my car has been spotted in bits at the dealer Today by another M2er, seems they're still working on the steering noise!

Waiting to hear on Monday about my rejection. They (the dealer), obviously wanted me to take a replacement, but with two bad R56 S experiences already, and the tone and manner of the communications from the "customer service manager" has put me right off.

I'm gutted, been looking around at other cars, and quite frankly, comared to the MINI they suck in so many ways.... But I just cant see myself being happy in the 2nd generation MINI. :(

I guess it's how loyal you are to put up with problems, if you are then it's not much of a problem :p

Being loyal has made this whole situation much harder for me. If it was a "lesser" brand than the MINI I'd have probably called it quits sooner. It's made the decision to reject and not go for a replacement a strangely emotional one (considering this is just a car we're talking about!), but I've had to accept the fact that from my experience of my own car and a press car it's not the car for me anymore.

No interest in buying back your old S or one of the last 1st gen ones?

None at all. Been there and done that, and I've got a 2002 S to drive if the urge takes me. :D

None at all. Been there and done that, and I've got a 2002 S to drive if the urge takes me. :D
True. Poor old S is going to wonder whats hit it :p :D

when i first ordered my GP all i could think of is what if the gen2 cooper s is better than the GP. because i was tying my self into a three year finance payment i was really thinking of canceling my car nearer the delivery time. but i think my gut feeling has payed off listening to Paul's and a lot of other disappointed folk on here. its a sad time i think on mini2 at the moment, :(

when i first ordered my GP all i could think of is what if the gen2 cooper s is better than the GP. because i was tying my self into a three year finance payment i was really thinking of canceling my car nearer the delivery time. but i think my gut feeling has payed off listening to Paul's and a lot of other disappointed folk on here. its a sad time i think on mini2 at the moment, :(

...but there were a LOT of unhappy R50/R53 owners, I was one of them.

There seemed to be far less, less quickly, but of course one major difference is the ramp up of production being a lot slower compared to this time around. They've had to hit the ground running, which is always going to be a tricky situation compared to a slow build up from scratch.

Just had a quick look at the R50 faults and fixes forum and found one example:

Robert Lye said
"I've got creaking and rattling everything else but not the a pillar, mine is also relativley new, July 06. Maybe they down graded the quality before the R56 came out? Could explain alot. I've already had a new gearbox, 400 miles in total, need a new rear speaker, squeaky seats, side skirts falling off. Need i say more?"

I think the previous generation was not necessarily any better than the current model, remember the steering column faults, creaks and rattles and the dreaded gearbox rumble with Getrag box but what is dissapointing is it's round 2 with the new car, nothing has changed :mad: Would BMW keep producing thses faults if they were common in any of the other model range? I doubt it.

Apparently my car has been spotted in bits at the dealer Today by another M2er, seems they're still working on the steering noise!

Waiting to hear on Monday about my rejection. They (the dealer), obviously wanted me to take a replacement, but with two bad R56 S experiences already, and the tone and manner of the communications from the "customer service manager" has put me right off.

I'm gutted, been looking around at other cars, and quite frankly, comared to the MINI they suck in so many ways.... But I just cant see myself being happy in the 2nd generation MINI. :(

I can sympathise as once you own a MINI they are addictive, but are other makes of car out there so dire? sometimes it just needs new direction away from the MINI way of thinking.

I have an aversion to black plastic, it's hard. :D

Just had a quick look at the R50 faults and fixes forum and found one example...

You don't have to tell me, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. :D

I have an aversion to black plastic, it's hard. :D
Buy a Nissan, they come in all sorts of weird colours! :p

I have an aversion to black plastic, it's hard. :D

Datsun Cherry or Mr Mullet then :D

Where's my letter opener, I cant take any more of this! (It's the only sharp object I'm allowed you see). :D

Dear me. There seem to be so many faults, and I do feel genuinly sorry for all un-happy R56 owners. So so lucky, that all thats wrong with ours is a kinked bonnet stripe, door sills, and a new squeaking LR suspension.

Anyone have any idea where there would be a delay between them offering a refund or replacement, me telling them I'd like the refund, and it actually happening? Anyone know the process from the dealer end?

I would imagine that 'papers need to be drawn' - they wouldn't want any legal kick-backs after you've spent the money.

What? Paul Mullett without a MINI? Whats the world coming to?

I hope everyone gets it all sorted out. Not good to hear of so many problems.

This is getting really annoying.

Thursday offered refund or replacement.

Friday morning confirm I want a refund.

Yesterday I call Wollaston and they're calling or waiting for a call from BMW etc and will call me right back.

Still no news so called them again, in a meeting, so left a message.

This whole thing is leaving a really sour taste. :(

It's not good is it?

I suppose with all new model cars there is a balance between the testing the manufacturer does and the "testing" they leave to the initial customers - boils down to money I suppose.

But it should mean that the manufacturer and dealers are really geared up to sort issues out promptly.

Yes, they have to be a bit tough to people who present with trivial problems but in the early stages they should surely be prepared to react better than they seem to be doing. Not long before a call to Watchdog might be in order.

Had a call back, apparently they're (the dealer) are waiting on BMW, but expect it to be settled and sorted by the end of the week.

As I'm paying finance on some of it I assumed I'd get it all back, but from the figures he quoted, apparently not?!? Any ideas why that could be? :confused: :mad:

Didn't really sink in at the time as I had a shouting three year old in the next room to deal with, but now I've done my sums I'll be out of pocket?

Had a call back, apparently they're (the dealer) are waiting on BMW, but expect it to be settled and sorted by the end of the week.

As I'm paying finance on some of it I assumed I'd get it all back, but from the figures he quoted, apparently not?!? Any ideas why that could be? :confused: :mad:

Didn't really sink in at the time as I had a shouting three year old in the next room to deal with, but now I've done my sums I'll be out of pocket?

I can only assume they are charging interest on the finance.....:confused:

Sh!!t Paul, looks like you might need to get legal advice if things are not sorted out this week!

Sorry that you have to go through this :(

I am so worried now about getting mine.

As I'm paying finance on some of it I assumed I'd get it all back, but from the figures he quoted, apparently not?!? Any ideas why that could be? :confused: :mad:
Sadly not. Regardless of the fact that you have rejected the car, you have still owned it for three months.

You are entitled to a refund up to the total 'on the road' price of the car - in your case part exchange value and deposit, as this is what you have actually paid for the car.

The finance company (MINI?) will just cancel the agreement, and will get back their original advance from your dealer.

At least you're not being charged a mileage allowance, like you would be if you were rejecting a Ford!

I figured it was only a tiny amount, it really is, but I still though, hmm, that's not all my cash back! Assumed it would be fees etc for setting the deal and so on.