[notters]

I spoke to the Technical Manager from my local MINI dealership yesterday. I said I was disappointed by the number of faults on my MCS. I said I was surprised with BMW. He pointed out in no uncertain terms that not one part on a MINI is made by BMW.

He said a MINI is made in UK from parts from UK suppliers.

He said a BMW was made in Germany with German parts ( he implied German quality was better than UK).

There you have it BMW dealers officially say a MINI is not a BMW !!!

The knock on the steering column is a regular fault & will be replaced under warranty.Poor quality UK parts were blamed.

[Bonjour]

The MINI is manufactured by BMW group, in Cowley, with parts from a number of countries (including Germany).

A MINI isn't a BMW though, it's a 'MINI'. It doesn't say 'BMW' on the front does it?

[AprilWhine]

I'm going to assume you are not a troll trying to provoke a flame war, and give you a doubt.

Your technical manager must have never looked under the bonnet. The MINI is a world car assembled in the UK. The engine is from Brazil, made by Chrysler-Benz. The CVT is from Belgium. The throttle and others are stamped BMW, with a BMW part number on them. And so on down the list.

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by notters
....He said a BMW was made in Germany with German parts
...

And exactly how does he explain US-built BMWs such as the X5 and Z4, and South African-built BMWs, etc. ?

As AprilWhine said, if you've ever taken a good look around your MINI you'll find parts made in Hungary, France, Germany, UK, Brazil, Italy.... etc.

[Mugami]

All this is true but As when they release the MINI. The idea was to keep the two Name brands apart. That is all the BMW guy is tring to do.

[dukesantos]

True, but all MINI dealers I've seen in the USA are co-located with their BMW affiliate and every time I've bought a part I've had to go to the BMW dealer's parts counter.

An interesting bit of trivia is that the MINI's VIN begins with W, which is assigned to Germany, not S which is assigned to the UK. Parts content on the window sticker shows 55% UK, 15 % Germany. Similiar perhaps to the Finland assembled Porsche Boxsters also having a W VIN.

[olerud400]

There is one place (at least on my car) that is says BMW...there is a sticker on the radiator or just above it on the body...i forget. I do know it says ACHTUNG! and BMW AG

Adam

[TheBlackKnight]

If you look on your tyre air nozzles, the caps are quite clearly stamped 'BMW' !!!

[tip]

I better run down to the BMW dealer and tell them quick, that the mini is not built by BMW before they go any further. They placed a german power steering pump in my last MC. Could it be the wrong pump?
I better go outside and pull off all the stickers that say BMW Group on the door jam and under the bonnet.

Notters, you service manager is a TOOL!

[Bonjour]

Quote:

Originally posted by notters

The knock on the steering column is a regular fault & will be replaced under warranty.Poor quality UK parts were blamed.

Ha. I've just realised this bit. As has already been pointed out, the steering pump isn't a UK part.

Someone had better take that BMW sign down from outside the Cowley plant...

[AprilWhine]

Just wanted to add: When I took the factory tour of the BMW plant in Greenville SC last year, the tour guide told us what BMW really stood for, Bubba's Motor Works.

[Bonjour]

Bubba's Motor Works plant, Oxford...

[veloceracing]

I find this funny...as I had lunch at the North American BMW/MINI Eastern Regional Headquarters yesterday.

[ashley adam]

The mini is built by bmw you will see various parts that are similar to other cars in the group i.e. Sat Nav - Almost Identical to New Range Rover. I am sure if you check the rest of the group you will see that parts are made all over the world, as I understand the MCS & Z4 share some common parts - good luck anyway

[sjbartnik]

My MINI has a sticker under the hood that says "Manufactured by Bayerische Motoren Werke." If that doesn't say "made by BMW" I don't know what does

My window sticker BTW says my car parts content is 50% UK, 20% Germany and the rest is Other.

[ARitz]

Don't forget the rear suspension is based on the 3-series also.

But when you switch out OEM parts many of them will be stamped by BMW, like my new sideskirts came with BMW stickers all over them.

-Andrew

[cooper4us]

The originator of this thread is the real 'TOOL'.

[Apial]

Did someone blame the build quality on a non-German workforce??? Well, my "Italian" Fiat Coupe has been dogged by poor German engineering efforts.
How? The ABS pump and modulator unit has started to leak from the body casting joint. Fiat want a mere £1650 plus labour to fix it. The part in question is made by Bosch, ie German.

Are the Germans losing their touch? I don't know, but 5 ABS pumps will cost the price of a new MINI ONE. Well I'm not so stupid as to pay it. Breakers yard here I come!

[BillK]

Quote:

Originally posted by ashley adam
The mini is built by bmw you will see various parts that are similar to other cars in the group i.e. Sat Nav - Almost Identical to New Range Rover. I am sure if you check the rest of the group you will see that parts are made all over the world, as I understand the MCS & Z4 share some common parts - good luck anyway

Well, that's an interesting observation. Of course, Range Rover is now owned by Ford, and their World Headquarters is here in Irvine, Ca. USA. But it was an interesting obsevation . . .

[FiremanMike]

I always answer the 'who makes it, BMW?' question by saying MINI, but the company is owned by BMW. I then qualify that by pointing out that a Neon is not a Mercedes, it is a Chyrsler that happens to be owned by Mercedes/Benz/someone. I believe I read that there is only one make that is NOT owned by any other manufacturer, not certain who but it speaks to the world market and corporations that continue to merge.
Mike