Insane mechanic issue... am I in the wrong? - MINI Cooper Forum

davegilmour · #1 (**permalink**) Sep 14th, 2012, 02:51 PM

Hey guys, I stepped inside my 2002 Cooper S one day after some rain to discover that there was water in in the driver's side footwell up to the pedals.
I went home and immediately shop-vac'd all the water out, but I could tell there was still much water remaining below the floor. I set up an appointment at my local dealership and two days later went to take it in.

The car was towed to the dealership June 10th. I was informed that day that to take a look at the extent of the water damage would cost between $200-$500. I gave them the okay to go forward with inspection.
Later that day they said there was corroded wiring and broken sunroof drains (the cause of the flood). I was told the repair would be around $2500. I gave them the okay to go forward with the repair, under the impression that this was all the car needed to be back in working order.

June 12th they called back and told me that upon further inspection, they found that the General Module had been fried, and also needed repair. I was told this repair was also around $2500.
This surprised me, as I was not clearly informed that even more work needed to be done after the initial repair. I told them to hold off, as I could not afford that. They insist that they told me that after the initial repairs, there would be more to inspect (they definitely did not, and if they did, it was not at all clear to me).

IF I HAD KNOWN IT WOULD COST $5,000 TO REPAIR MY CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN THEM TO DO THE FIRST REPAIRS, I ONLY PAID $8,000 FOR THE CAR!

Anyways, I am now considering suing them. Any thoughts on this situation?

Macguyvic · #2 (**permalink**) Sep 14th, 2012, 03:08 PM

It's hard to believe that much water could leak through the sun roof drains in one day. From what the dealer's findings it sounds like it went through a flood. Was it only wet on the drivers side? I think they could have been much more up front regarding the water damage before their process of elimination of quoting one part at a time. Are you dealing with the service manager or the dealership manager? Go up the ladder. Legal gets very expensive.

ging · #3 (**permalink**) Sep 14th, 2012, 03:29 PM

Good luck with suing them
I have no idea about canadian law, but in most counties you must demonstrate a finacial loss to sue over a matter like this, before you have paid the bill you have not suffered any loss at all so the first step would be to let the company know you are unhappy and make a complaint and dispute the bill before paying. Most courts do not look favorably on people who do not take reasonable steps to resolve a finacial matter before taking court action.
I would get some other quotes for the completion of the work from some other garages and also ask them to quote a price for the work already done and confirm it has been done to a good standard and was neccassary. if it is an amount you would be willing to pay then show the dealer the quote for the work they have already done and offer to settle the bill for a similar sum. Then you are free to try and get the dealer to match the quote for the rest of the work or just take it to the other garage.
If you cannot get any other quotes at a better price then you need to decide how much a half fixing the car was really worth to you give the extra repair costs, and make an offer to settle the bill on that basis.

davegilmour · #4 (**permalink**) Sep 18th, 2012, 04:35 AM

Thanks for the responses, I have already spoken with people as high as I can go, I already notified them about the suit and are awaiting a reply from them.
I have seen other documented cases of this happening on other forums, I know I'm not the only one, in fact, a salesman at one MINI dealership told me that that problem exists and that no one should buy pre-2005 Minis as the problems are plentiful.