[dmanmulder]

Patrick MINI has an outright dishonest Customer Relations Manager working for them. Below is an email I wrote to the Manager of Patrick MINI. Needless to say, this dealership did not receive high marks on MINI’s customer satisfaction survey. I also attached the below email to the survey so that MINI could read it first hand.

Dear Mr. Robert K. Davis,

This past Tuesday (3-9-04) I purchased, and picked up, a new 2004 MINI Cooper from your dealership. I have some concerns about the service and integrity of your Customer Relations Manager, Mr. Bill Piper.

When I mentioned to Mr. Piper that I would be having a third-party alarm installed on my car, he firmly told me that if I were to have any alarm installed on my MINI Cooper, other than the BMW alarm that your dealership sells, my electronic warranty would be “automatically void”. I would like to know why Mr. Piper would knowingly put your dealership at risk with the false statements he made to me and three other witnesses who were present in his office at the time he made those false statements.

According to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, third-party modifications or components “cannot” void a written warranty. Only if a dealer can “prove” that a third-party component is the cause of a particular problem, can they deny service. If a dealer denies service without sufficient proof of the problem’s cause, the consumer can then contact the Federal Trade Commission for a dispute. The consumer also reserves the right to file a lawsuit for breach of warranty.

There is no question that Mr. Piper was using scare tactics and false statements to sell a very expensive alarm to me. I was happy with your dealership up to the point that I met with Mr. Piper, and feel that overall integrity should have been worth more than a $700 alarm. Please respond to this email regarding your dealership’s policy on third-party components and warranty coverage. Thank you for your time.

[Greyson]

Could you keep us apprised of the situation?

[dmanmulder]

Patrick MINI has made no attempts to follow up with me. I should mention that Mr. Piper at Patrick MINI did not merely tell me that any aftermarket alarm would “completely” void my electronic warranty. He went on to say that any aftermarket modification of “any” kind would completely void my mechanical warranty. When I asked if there was any way an aftermarket part would not void the warranty, his exact words were, “…as soon as they put anything under the hood or cut one wire, your warranty is void.” That is an illegal policy if enforced and is an extremely low method to use in trying to make an additional sale. I will keep you posted as to any new developments.

[Frodo]

Hey d-man if you are car savy you can install the alarm yourself. I just ordered mine (Mini alarm kit) for about 236. If your interested, I can pm you the info where I got it an the instructions. The dealer I order it from said my car was prewired. I dont know how much if the kit is prewired but I will find out soon. I will need the dealer activate it when I am finished (I think). We'll see...

[dmanmulder]

Let me know what you find out, and where you got it. Very cool.

[font]

Just to corroborate: When I bought my MINI, I was given the exact same spiel. However, I didn't really need a car alarm anwyay so it didn't bug me quite as much.

[dmanmulder]

I just spoke with the Manager of Patrick MINI over the phone and he is doing everything he can to resolve the situation. He will speak again with Bill Piper and has informed me that I was correct that aftermarket parts DO NOT void a warranty. Service can be denied under warranty ONLY if the after market part is the cause of the problem.

[dmanmulder]

The manager of Patrick MINI has since spoken, at great length, to Bill Piper. He has assured me that something like this will never happen again, and that the MINI warranty will be "fully" explained at this stage of the purchase in the future.

[AmRov]

At least you guys were informed there's no alarm and were offered one. I (naively) just assumed there was one (as there has been on each of my last 3 cars... I was never offered any alarm. I avoided any high pressure tactics, but now am on my own for an alarm (and 80 miles from the dealer).

Also, for further warranty amusement -- check out the sticker at the top of your windshield. It mentions something to the effect that using a non-hard-wired cell phone in your car can affect the warranty. (I don't recall the exactly language, but I spotted it while languishing at a long traffic light lately, and laughed pretty hard.)