[Redwytch]

Took my 9 month old pride and joy 'Jasmini' (EB MC, HK, Chilli, SR, Leather, Tinted, Chrome int/ext, chrono, etc) in for its 1st Oil change yesterday to Bluebell Mini in Wilmslow, made to feel very welcome, they appear tp share my passion for the Mini, even gave Jasmini a free vacuum out and washed her down (tho didnt polish my chrome! lol!), and were completed within the hour, so left feeling very happy.

However, took a friend home last night and wondered what they had used to clean the rear window, cos it was smearing all over when I used the wash wipe, but didnt think too much of it. This morning when I let my hubby borrow my Mini (only his 4th time driving her in 9 months - and only cos I am on hols this week and he was late and needed something that is quicker than his car ) and watched him drive off it was to notice a large amount of oil on our drive, oil that wasnt there before, so rang Hubby and asked him to have a look and check the oil, and sure enough it was below minimum!

Rang Bluebel and spoke to Service manager, who did send someone out within a couple of hours to have a look, turns out the oil filter seal had been fitted incorrectly, and almost all of the oil had left the engine, thoroughly coating the engine bay, underside and rear paintwork of my beautiful car with oil, which smells awful and could adversley effect my paintwork and plastic trims!!!

The guy who came out to the car has sorted the filter problem and refilled her with oil, and after talking with Paul, the service manager, who was trying to get someone to come and fetch her tomorrow to do a valet, I am now using some of my holiday time to take her to them tomorrow to sort her out!

All I can say is that if they value their lives they had better steam clean her underneath and in the engine bay, replace the rear wiper blade, remove all paint from her paintwork and plastic trim and leave her in as good a condition as she was before I took her in! (She is definitely pampered, the week I got her I spent £90 on Autoglym and other cleaning materials, and spent 3 days polishing and sealing - with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection)

The other thing that I know Paul has mentioned is getting someone out to clean our drive, which is good cos it was absoluitely pristine before Jasmini's lifeblood was let leak out all over it!

I know it was probably nothing more than a mistake or accident on the part of the technician, but my Mini is my dream car, she cost me £16500, a years salary at that time, is my first new car and is my pride and joy, so accident or not, it has my blood boiling!!

Not at all impressed!

Redwytch
(aka Bonesigaur)

'What does not kill me makes me stronger'

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seekerspath/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/spiritwolf

[Redwytch]

Been back to Bluebell today to have all the oil removed, and for the free valet of my Mini. The service Bod, Paul, was great, very apologetic, degreased her underneath, full valet inside and out, checked the brakes for contamination and cleaned them just incase, checked the tyres, overall a fairly good job.

Also had a discussion about a discount on the JCW Sound kit for the Cooper, he's checking with his boss to see what can be done, but it looks like I may get one, fully fitted for about £500. At least it will make up for the problems caused by their mess up with the 1st Oil change!

Redwytch
(aka Bonesigaur)

'What does not kill me makes me stronger'

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seekerspath/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/spiritwolf

[Mooyer]

Something about BlueBell i dont like, think its cos the Mini bit is at the back of the BMW used showroom. Much prefer Williams Manchester

[Redwytch]

Bluebell doing me the JCW Sound kit for cost as a sorry for their mess up! Result!! Booked in for wednesday! Well cool!

Happy bunny now! lol!

Dark Dreams
Redwytch

[Redwytch]

Had the JCW Sound kit fitted yesterday by Bluebell, must say I'm very impressed! Got a good price for it (by way of an apology for the oil change problems we experienced), and have to say the whole JCW Sound kit is great!!

The engine remap has improved the torque band consideranly, she pulls at 2000 revs like she used to at 4000, and goes on pulling until 6000!! The sound is fantastic, at idle its a low resonant burble, at 3000 you can hear the whine from the air being sucked into the performance air filter - tho it is a discreet noise - and at 4000+ revs she growls!! Very impressed with the job, even the techies said how good it sounded on my 05 MC (they did another last week and reckonned mine sounded much better at low end, much deeper!)

Confidence has been restored in Bluebell!!

Big thanks to Paul from the Service desk, for looking after us so well, especially after the mess up with the oil change! That guy knows his stuff and is almost as enthusiastic about MINI as I am!

Dark Dreams
Redwytch

[Kathy]

Hi all,

New to mini2 here. Unfortunately my first post is a negative one. Someone vandalized my car and broke my antenna base. How it broke God only knows. So I proceeded to bring it in to Hassel Mini in Freeport... of course it's not a warranty issue so I paid for the part. Picked it up the next day and to my disappointment it was cracked again... which leads me to think that the part was defective in the first place. Hmm. So I said whatever let me see what they can do for me. They said sure no problem we'll change it for free. So now how is it that now I can't even get to speak to someone to find out if my part is in so I could bring the car back to fix it? Three phone calls three days in a row and no call back... The computers are down, everyone's busy... blah blah blah. I guess it's true you get no service unless you're in their face...

[Boxed-In]

My Son took his two week old Mini One (Seven) to Eastern Motor Co. Ltd on Corstorphine Road

The Bonnet is slightly out of allignement and he has difficulty shutting it!

Well they are messing him around. He took the car in and they had a look at the bonnet and said he would have to book it in to the service department. Took it to the service department and they had a look at it. Said he would have to take it to the body shop as the bolts would have to be replaced and then painted. While at the service department they tried to shut the bonnet but couldn't get it to latch down on one side. They called for a technician to have a look. Iain opened the bonnet again and the guy just came out, slammed the bonnet down and said there you go, it's closed. He then contacted the body shop and took it in to them. They asked if he had an estimate from the service department. He explained the car was less than 2 weeks old and it was a warranty job. They still wouldn't do anything until they had this estimate.

He's a student and because he doesn't wear smart clothes and look like a business man they are treating him like a second class citizen and he is not happy.

Anybody else had this experience

[jlynn091]

I was in the military stationed in Germany when I bought my 2005 Mini CooperS. I moved to Arizona and brought it with me. I needed to have the flywheel replaced and took it to the dealership in Scottsdale, Arizona. They fixed everything and told me it was all covered under my warranty. They knew the car came from Germany. Nobody explained to me that I needed to switch the warranty from European to North American. After the work was done, I got a bill for $1500. They told me after the work was done that I wasn't actually covered at all. i was treated like a second class citizen when I complained that I was lied to and that I could not pay that kind of money up front. I am not one of the wealthy clientele they usually deal with at BMW. They promised to send me info to switch my warranty but I have received nothing. I left messages on the collectors phone but I get no call back.

If anybody reads this, do you have any advice. How do I get in touch with a main office so i don't have to deal with BMW Scottsdale any longer?

[AprilWhine]

Call 1-866-ASKMINI to go to MINIUSA directly. The car you bought is a US spec car and should be covered.

[berty]

Well ive bought two mini's from Halliwell Jones in Southport & found the service Dept to be first class. I had a number of problems with my first mini & these were sorted out speedily & efficiently. I would certainly recommend them.

[andrewcregan]

I took my car to Halliwell Jones in Chester yesterday (its a 4day old Dooper with dashboard rattles) which needs a full day in the workshop. It is a good 12-15 miles from home, so a courtesy car really would be nice. I would have had to wait 4 weeks (as in FOUR weeks) before they could accommodate me! Obviously I want my new car sorted as quickly as possible, so asked how long without a courtesy car. That would be a wait of little under 2 weeks. At this point it was also mentioned they may need to keep the car a second day. Now I really want my problem fixing, and if takes 2 days that is fine with me, but how do you get anywhere without a car for 2 days?!!
I have had previous good dealings with Derek Woodmans up in Blackpool, so decided to give Dave a ring in service. Going there will add a good 80 miles to my round trip, on top of going to Chester. Woodmans were able to fit me in, within 6 days, and with a courtesy car for as long as it takes. Fantastic. Dave always makes you feel extremely welcome - thanks.

[sjm]

i to have had terrible service from three MINI dealerships. When i ordered my car they made a mistake with the orderand did it to early and the car had to be kept in storage as i was not ready to take delivery. When the car was finally collected two months later it had obviously been just left outside dirty and it was covered in bird c**p which damaged the bonnet stripes and left a mark on the roof. I then ordered a cooper S fuel cap for my r56 cooper and when i ordered it they said it would be no more than £120 however when i went to pay they said it would be £168 which i was not pleased at. I then had a problem with my car when it kept stalling the other day and it had to go in for two days, which i was promised a courtesy car however they were not interested in arranging it, after a day they said it was fixed and i could go and collect it the following morning and it would be ready and waiting at 9 am, 1 hour 40 mins later i finally left as they hadnt finished it. I have also had problems with trying to order the jcw bodykit, wheels etc and they say we will have to get back to you with prices however they have not done on three occasions. Its not what you expect when you spend £18k on a cooper

[andrewcregan]

It certainly isn't what you would expect sjm. If you got this kind of service from Kia or Suzuki you would be disappointed - I am shocked with BMW. Which dealers are you talking about?

[sjm]

all three dealers were stephen james in ruxley bromley and keston

[bubblegoose]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

I took my car to Halliwell Jones in Chester yesterday (its a 4day old Dooper with dashboard rattles) which needs a full day in the workshop. It is a good 12-15 miles from home, so a courtesy car really would be nice. I would have had to wait 4 weeks (as in FOUR weeks) before they could accommodate me! Obviously I want my new car sorted as quickly as possible, so asked how long without a courtesy car. That would be a wait of little under 2 weeks. At this point it was also mentioned they may need to keep the car a second day. Now I really want my problem fixing, and if takes 2 days that is fine with me, but how do you get anywhere without a car for 2 days?!!
I have had previous good dealings with Derek Woodmans up in Blackpool, so decided to give Dave a ring in service. Going there will add a good 80 miles to my round trip, on top of going to Chester. Woodmans were able to fit me in, within 6 days, and with a courtesy car for as long as it takes. Fantastic. Dave always makes you feel extremely welcome - thanks.

Thanks Andrew...

Always nice to hear we're doing our job right!
See you on Monday

Dave.

[analisaj]

Have just bought my 08 Silver MINI Cooper two months ago. Not had any Service Experience yet. I had a good experience with the Dealership - Feman MINI - in US 19 Palm Harbor Florida. They seem to be okay. I will let you all know if they have a good Service Dept.

From this Forum - did you have a good Experience with Ferman MINI - dealership and Service Dept? I am dreading bringing it to them.

I always have a Toyota - traded in my 04 Rav4 and had a great experience with Toyota Service Dept. So I hope I have a good experience with the MINI Service Dept.

[superluminova]

I would advise anyone within the Glasgow area not to use the Mini Douglas Park dealership in Hamilton.

I got my new car on the 14th on May and when i went to collect the car and i was looking over it before i paid for it, I noticed several problems.

1: The Speedo had several large / deep scratches
2: The Dash had two rips on the passengers side, one which was above the air bag about 1" long.
3: The fluid trim had scratch marks all over it,
4: One of the cup holders was chipped.

Not what you would expect form a brand new car, so i told the dealership i was not happy and that i wanted all of the parts replacing, they said they would do this for me.

I then got a voicemail on the 16th saying that they had the parts and that i could book it in when possible. So i phoned on the 17th to book it in for 19th for the parts to be replace, and when i called i was told they didn't have the parts and they would have them in on the 20th!

I asked why i was left a voicemail saying they had the parts and i was told they didn't leave on and that i was lying (This is when i almost lost the plot).

I told them to book my car in on Wednesday, pick it up from my home (as they didn't have any courtesy cars) and delivery it back to myself on Wednesday, with a full tank of petrol again as the dealer ship is a 50 mile round trip from my house, so 100 miles in total.

They sorted it all out and for my troubles gave me a £100 valet voucher to use when i wished.

So a week after getting my new car, i got my new car. lol