ok what would you do?

[flav]

just got my MCS back from the dealer. at 2300 miles it has had transmission and the drivers seat replaced. transmission is great now. strangely the gear ratios seem abit shorter. more power in the low end revs. is it possible i got the newer transmission put in.

anyway i happened to look at the back of the replaced seat and noticed a dent in the plastic backing. it is just a concave dent about three inches long on the upper right side of the plastic back. it is hard to see and can only be seen from the back but it is noticable once you see it. and it dents in quite a bit. first off it is annoying me knowing it is there (has to be a factory defect in the seat). do i just let it go. would you. will it harm resale.

[DrJ]

personally I would take it back and ask for another seat. It seems like a pain in the now but you will probably regret it later if you don't get it sorted out now. If you know a defect is there I suspect it will prey on your mind anyway.

[Mustang7302]

When the day comes and I have my MCS, and there is any problem with it that was not created by myself, then I would expect nothing less than perfection. I would take it back to the dealer and have them replace the plastic pannel (or whole seat if need be).

[steebo777]

Definitely replace it. You will kick yourself in the end if you don't.

[MiniSMan]

hey Flav what year and build is your MCS just curious? why was the seat replaced?

[tavis1]

Have it replaced, you don't want to be kicking yourself in the "seat" later.
Tavis1

[flav]

2004 MCS feb build. i had the seat replaced because some of the stiching on the seat area was not as "tight" as the passenger side. no big deal. i just brought it up to my dealer and before i could say anything he said "we'll put in a new seat". now the dent in the back is actually worse than the stiching of the previous seat. i might just leave it. its not that bad. not really easy to see. i'm just worried about when i go to seel it or trade it in if it will lower the value. nothing is perfect.

[joebickley]

Its a bit late and i guess with the delivery wait times its different with mini but i would never permit a dealer to replace a major component on a car so new. I would want a new car! I had this problem with a Ford Fiesta i got for my Grand parents (discount cos i work for ford). After a week or two the engine overheated and as it turned out the clyinder head was pourous (aluminium blocks occasionally do that) and all the coolent came out while driving. Ford wanted to repair it and tried to fob my grandparents off without even offering them a courtasy car. I went in with my "report u to trading standards hat" firmly on and they had a brand new car within a week. trouble with major unit changes is you never know what knock on effects it may have had.

Yours is probably fine though wouldnt worry to much and with the waiting list you probably donthave much choice, but be aware of your rights.

As for the seat, if they broke it, they should fix it!! Your not obliged to be nice to your dealer, not like their going to give you a discount on a new one! Make sure they give you a loan car too.

[flav]

i was going to make them give me a new car but there is no law that allows me to ask for one. i don't have a leg to stand on. they get three tries to fix it and then i get a new one. i even asked for a free oil change for the trouble and they only offered a free hat. not so good. so it seems so far so good. car runs great. i'm going to be selling for a 2006 or 2007 anyway. i got a barebone MCS and would like the HK stereo as well as heated seats ect. got a newer job so i can pay more $$$$$. since the resale is so good it is not a bad idea to sell and trade up.

if they replaced the WHOLE transmission it should be good as new RIGHT? i did notice something weird. the day i got it back i opened the hood and saw coolant sprayed all over the engine. why? i never had any overheating. why would changing the transmission cause that? i took it right back to the dealer and they said it was ok and was nothing at all. they said i had the newer coolant tank and it looked fine. and my engine temp meter never went past half. then why was there coolant sprayed all over my engine after getting the transmission replaced?

[tavis1]

Quote: Originally Posted by flav

then why was there coolant sprayed all over my engine after getting the transmission replaced?

They probably had to pull the whole engine assembly to change the transmisson.
Tavis1

[northandy]

Quote: Originally Posted by tavis1

They probably had to pull the whole engine assembly to change the transmisson.
Tavis1

mine didnt, it is possible to get it out without completely removing the engine, though I guess some of the pipes would have needed disconnecting while they did the swap, maybe that was it ?.

[Pebbles]

Take him back to the dealer for another new seat.

The only marks on your seat should be from your cargo sliding forward as you drive. Marks should not be on the seats before you get them home! Oh, they may think you are picky, but deep down, they'd be the same way about anything brand new that they've purchased. If you don't pay attention to details, who will?

[flav]

thanks for the replies. i will bring up the seat next time i get to the dealer. as far as the coolant. i looked at it again today. it looks like it sprayed out of the coolant tank (spray all over surrounding areas) and also like it boiled over. the coolant tank has a ridge around the edge of it. and the ridge has dried coolant all the way around it as well as on the heat shield right under the coolant tank. so unless my mechanic was having a seizure while he was topping off my coolant tank i want to know what happened. i don't care so much about the transmission or the seat (car drives nice and seat can be replaced) but this coolant thing indicates to me that it was a possibility the engine overheated at some point under their care. that makes me mad. i take extra care of my engine (most inportant part of the car). make sure to warm it up before stressing it ect. if the engine was brought to a point where the coolant boiled over who knows what damage could have been done to the engine. and why did this happen under mini's care. also i just checked the oil yesterday and noticed it had a smell of gasoline to it. (cracked ring? flooding from the mornings where the car would not start on the first try?) who knows. is oil supposed to smell abit like gas? is that normal? again the car has 2600 miles on it. and is leaving no liquid leaks underneath when parked.

[moorlockx]

Whatever you do, don't depend on the temp gauge to tell you anything. The way it's designed it doesn't act like a normal gauge. There have been discussions aboutthis on the forums. If you do a search you should come up with something.