What are the alternative replacements Paul?

is it just me or will it be an odd situation to have the proprieter of the biggest MINI owners website in the world without a MINI?!?!

Would you consider going back to another older shape S? Maybe hunt down a real minter? not as if you don't have the connections... and with all the help and parts available for it you could have it just how you want it.

Just a thought...

get a new one Paul they will be desperate for you to take one maybe they will be a few buckshee options play them bigtime your to laidback

Had a call from Wollaston MINI.

Offering either reject/refund or a replacement.

Mulling on it. But swaying away from another MINI for a while to be honest.

Splendid, Paul!

It seems the bad rap has finally reach the offices of MINI UK.

Me thinks you should reject and take a full refund. MINI has explicity put in writting that they can not guarantee a fault free R56, at least not for the time being. It is a tough decision for sure, but knowing that these cars are still riddled with faults, I would take the money and wait out a couple of years until MINI irons out the wrinkles from the new car.

Of course, that's my opinion. I think you risk yourself way too much by accepting another replacement. You may end up with another dud in need of having multiple clutch and flywheel replacements.

The way I see the situation, as a whole, MINI by repurchasing these cars is clearly admitting to irreparable manufacturing and/or design defects in the R56. More of a reason to set away for a year or two and watch the progress of the car from the sidelines.

Perhaps you fancy another car or simply want to try something different, then this is your golden opportunity.

Congratulations to a happy ending and hope that everything works out for you.

Why dont you take the option of a replacement,

but draw up a contract saying that if you have any further problems with your new mini that you will get a full refund no questions asked.

and sneak in a few extra options for free

is it just me or will it be an odd situation to have the proprieter of the biggest MINI owners website in the world without a MINI?!?!

Would you consider going back to another older shape S? Maybe hunt down a real minter? not as if you don't have the connections... and with all the help and parts available for it you could have it just how you want it.

Just a thought...

If I were in paul's shoes and would not see myself driving anything else but a MINI, I would start searching for a '05 or '06 MCS and perhaps get one with the JCW package. Get a 2-3 year warranty and enjoy a fairly solid car. Then revisit the R56 when MINI has addressed the QC issues and perhaps by then get into an AWD 50th anniversary 2009 JCW MCS. I think that would be something well worth waiting for.

May I recommend a Skoda Roomster!

Why dont you take the option of a replacement,

but draw up a contract saying that if you have any further problems with your new mini that you will get a full refund no questions asked.

and sneak in a few extra options for free

He'll be in the same boat again. I do not see how MINI already has rectified all these faults, considering the car has only been 3 months in full production?

He'll be in the same boat again. I do not see how MINI already has rectified all these faults, considering the car has only been 3 months in full production?

But you say there are problems, there are also alot of falt free minis out there,

in my opinion if you could get a contract drawn up then your covered what ever, you get a crap car again then its refund time, but you could just as easily get a perfect car like quite alot of people on here.

When its all working the car is awsome and i cant think of another car out there that offers what the mini does, civic is a HONDA enough said, The vauxhall will without doubt break, Clio enough said, Mini in my opinion is class less and completely unique.

Give Them one more chance lol, and say you want to follow the car through the production line to make sure that its built properly,

Am I right in thinking that all rejected cars end up on the MINI cherished site ?
I wonder if it would be possible to keep tags on these cars by recording say, their Chassis Numbers to warn prospective buyers on here of their history. Hmmmm :(

At last MINI have seen sense. Now Paul has a difficult choice.

Imagine how he would feel if the replacement R56 was worse than the current. Highly improbable, but it could happen!

If it was me, I would probably chance another R56.

Paul, how about a new MCSC ragtop?

That would be a nice change from the hardtop thing....

Best of luck Paul whichever you choose. Hope it all works out.

At the risk of sounding negative myself I just have to record how difficult it is to read (every SINGLE day) another lengthy diatribe from some of the people on this forum who don't actually have one, about how bad a car the R56 MCS is. Not naming names, but this thread is particularly illustrative.
I feel for people like Popey, Paul, TraceyWebb (sorry of any of the names are incorrect) and any others who have had the misfortune to buy a defective car and I'm very grateful for what they can teach the rest of us. These people all put their money where their mouths are.
What pains me, however, are the repetitive posts from certain quarters about how defective the car is, how we early adopters should suffer the pain of having offered ourselves up as beta testers and how much they look forward to reaping the dividends at some later date.
I'm all for discussion and exchange but can I for one say that I now understand your position. Please consider it noted.
Any more of this repetition just smacks of triumphalism.
I for one am looking forward to my new MCS any day soon. I sincerely hope I'll be lucky. If I am not then I hope that I won't have to listen to "I told you so".
I actually think that hearing that might be worse than getting a dud car

Enjoy your R56.

At the risk of sounding negative myself I just have to record how difficult it is to read (every SINGLE day) another lengthy diatribe from some of the people on this forum who don't actually have one, about how bad a car the R56 MCS is. Not naming names, but this thread is particularly illustrative.



you think it's bad here you should go look at the R56 forum on MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring (http://www.northamericanmotoring.com)

It's getting extremely bad there. There are about 6 people in specific that own R53s that go into almost every thread and start bashing on the R56 for any reason they can think of.

We're trying to strike a balance, we want to allow debate and discussion, but a MINI is a MINI is a MINI, and this is a MINI enthusiasts site. Infighting is stupid and we do our best to steer people away from it. ;) We're all MINI owners at the end of the day. :D

, but a MINI is a MINI is a MINI ;) We're all MINI owners at the end of the day. :D

Fully agreed!

I expect a crackdown post from a mod to emerge pretty soon on the other site the ways things are going.

We're all MINI owners at the end of the day. :D
For how long :eek: :( :p

Paul

When you had the yellow S and silver cooper did you have any problems with them?

Along the same lines as the problems that you have been having with your car?

What i am trying to kinda say is if that yellow S you had was your actual car that you had bought would you be rejecting it now?

The yellow S the trim broke off the wheel arch/well same as mine, but on both sides!

The bonnet fit was very poor, you could see the headlights through the gap when looking from the side!

But other than thaf, from memory, it didn't have any problem. However, I did at that time, and even more so after it happened on my own S, have great concern that the car isn't up to my daily drive to and from Alfie's nursery down the country lanes. The very same country lanes that got me hooked on Minis and then MINIs in the first place.

Best of luck Paul whichever you choose. Hope it all works out.

At the risk of sounding negative myself I just have to record how difficult it is to read (every SINGLE day) another lengthy diatribe from some of the people on this forum who don't actually have one, about how bad a car the R56 MCS is. Not naming names, but this thread is particularly illustrative.
I feel for people like Popey, Paul, TraceyWebb (sorry of any of the names are incorrect) and any others who have had the misfortune to buy a defective car and I'm very grateful for what they can teach the rest of us. These people all put their money where their mouths are.
What pains me, however, are the repetitive posts from certain quarters about how defective the car is, how we early adopters should suffer the pain of having offered ourselves up as beta testers and how much they look forward to reaping the dividends at some later date.
I'm all for discussion and exchange but can I for one say that I now understand your position. Please consider it noted.
Any more of this repetition just smacks of triumphalism.
I for one am looking forward to my new MCS any day soon. I sincerely hope I'll be lucky. If I am not then I hope that I won't have to listen to "I told you so".
I actually think that hearing that might be worse than getting a dud car

Everyone is entitled to their opinion whether good or bad ragarding the R56, for me I'm more dissapointed with BMW / MINI themselves for not doing a better job more so in the design and production and to produce car that doesn't have or appear to have so many inherent faults. I still don't buy the excuse that the R56 is an all new car so you should expect faults, not when it's a manufacturer such as BMW, their hardly new players in this game.

I'm really pleased for you Paul that you have been offered a result, I personally would still go for another R56 as there are plenty of happy owners out there. If you pass this time and looking for something else in between waiting for MINI to get there act together have a read of this months What Car, plenty of features of the Suzuki Swift 1.5 GLX and gets the thumbs up as great little car and is well regarded as their long termer. I don't think I could have chosen a better car at the price to compliment my S, regardless of the endless brainless comments I have endured on here the past 18 months :mad:

The yellow S the trim broke off the wheel arch/well same as mine, but on both sides!

The bonnet fit was very poor, you could see the headlights through the gap when looking from the side!

But other than thaf, from memory, it didn't have any problem. However, I did at that time, and even more so after it happened on my own S, have great concern that the car isn't up to my daily drive to and from Alfie's nursery down the country lanes. The very same country lanes that got me hooked on Minis and then MINIs in the first place.

In your opinion, Do you think that Mini rushed the car out, or have used poor quality components, or just been unlucky with how things have turned out with the new cars certain aspects?

What about maby waiting and putting a deposit down on a new R56 JCW if it ever turnes up?

You should do that thing that bbc2 car program used to do where they got new and used cars to test then lined the best ones up. Maby book up test drives for cars your considering and test them back to back. When i bought my mini 1 i test drove it in the morning, walked away for a vauxhall sport hatch test drive, got out the car and bought the mini 15 mins later. I just think it has so much to offer as a car and an experience.

you think it's bad here you should go look at the R56 forum on MINI COOPER :: North American Motoring (http://www.northamericanmotoring.com)

It's getting extremely bad there. There are about 6 people in specific that own R53s that go into almost every thread and start bashing on the R56 for any reason they can think of.


Not any different from a legion of 5-6 R56 owners-to-be that are on a crusade to diss the R53 and its owners and creating silliy topics as to why an idiot water temp light is much better than a working gauge needle....

Cuts both ways...

The yellow S the trim broke off the wheel arch/well same as mine, but on both sides!

The bonnet fit was very poor, you could see the headlights through the gap when looking from the side!

But other than thaf, from memory, it didn't have any problem. However, I did at that time, and even more so after it happened on my own S, have great concern that the car isn't up to my daily drive to and from Alfie's nursery down the country lanes. The very same country lanes that got me hooked on Minis and then MINIs in the first place.

Ahh, but remember that the car is more "refined"now, so those country roads may prove to be a little to ruff to this MINI Rolls Royce.

Glad you got a good deal in the end.
Hope you dont get rid of the MINI or there wont be much point running a MINI site;)

If you do go elsewhere, promise us you wont get a Suzuki Swift, or even worse one of them '100bhp' pandas everyone is raving about :laugh8kb:

Before i ordered my r56, trust me considered literally everything but i couldnt do it. After all teh hate i heaped on the Clio 197, i actually went and had a look. i really liked it i have to admit:redface: . But its too hard to even consider anything other than the MINI.

Basically i am saying get another MINI:yes9cv:you know it makes sense.

MINI has a strong history of poor quality in new models. The fact that this is happening has been no surprise to me after owning my early model MINI. However they have shown that they do fix them, and in time they will be much better.

Paul, IMHO take the cash and buy one this time next year. It will be a great car then. :) In the meantime that's not to say people won't get good R56, but their chances are less :o

Had a call from Wollaston MINI.

Offering either reject/refund or a replacement.

Mulling on it. But swaying away from another MINI for a while to be honest.

Well, at least the dealer is being honest and treating you as you should be.


I am completely sickened by the attitude of MINI though. At least you were aware of your rights, some people are not and would no doubt be walked all over by MINI.

If I did not have my MINI already and had read this thread, I WOULD NEVER HAVE BOUGHT A MINI - I hope MINI are reading this.

I think someone should send this thread to the MD and ask her/him to comment on how they treat their loyal customers!

The yellow S the trim broke off the wheel arch/well same as mine, but on both sides!

The bonnet fit was very poor, you could see the headlights through the gap when looking from the side!

But other than thaf, from memory, it didn't have any problem. However, I did at that time, and even more so after it happened on my own S, have great concern that the car isn't up to my daily drive to and from Alfie's nursery down the country lanes. The very same country lanes that got me hooked on Minis and then MINIs in the first place.

I forgot, it also had a creaking windscreen that sounded like heavy rain or even hail hitting the screen.

If in Paul's position, I would return the car, take the cash and buy a 1st Gen-2006 with low low mileage and proven history and save up for a 50th anniversary Cooper-JCW. I just cannot see myself driving anything else but a MINI but would not want the headaches of the current new release.

If in Paul's position, I would return the car, take the cash and buy a 1st Gen-2006 with low low mileage and proven history and save up for a 50th anniversary Cooper-JCW. I just cannot see myself driving anything else but a MINI but would not want the headaches of the current new release.
If you read all the thread you'd know that Paul already has a first Gen MCS, and the reasons that he wanted to compliment this with the addition of an R56 MCS;)