Here is the text of a letter that I have sent to my local Dealer Principle (what ever one of those is!)
I bought a MINI Cooper form Vines of Gatwick on 9/7/2001. All my dealings were with Geoff Owen and have been cordial on all occasions. I would like to stress that in all our dealings Geoff has acted completely professionally and sympathetically.
My problems stem from the quality of materials and version of the seats that were installed in my MINI. Approx (from memory) a week before delivery Geoff informed me that the car would not have sports seats (as it is a Chilli pack car it should have them), the passenger seat would not be height adjustable and the car would have a radio cassette rather than a radio CD. The options that I was given were that I accepted the car as it came or I waited 10-12 weeks to get the car I really wanted.
As I had already been waiting four years (since the MINI was first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997) for this car, I was unwilling to wait any longer, So I accepted the car. As way of compensation I had a CD stacker fitted in the boot in September. My understanding was that as the Seat Height adjustment cost £170 and the difference between the CD and the cassette player was a further £70 that this was about right. There is no cost difference between ordinary and sports seats. Geoff was made aware that, though I would take the car because I couldn't wait any longer, I was not happy about not getting the sports seats.
On 9/7/2001 when I went to pick up the car, before I even got in it, I was singularly unimpressed with the standard black panther leather seats (Geoff should remember my comments). When I considered that I was spending an extra £970 for them I thought them inferior before I had even sat in them. They looked flat and lifeless (they reminded me of the seats that Austin put in the original Mini). My first impression then I sat down was that you sat ON them rather that IN them. I then found , when driving, that they were positively dangerous. When I went round a roundabout, because there is no lateral support at all, that my backside SLID ACROSS THE SEAT. If I hadn't had the steering wheel to hold onto, I would have lost control of the car. As it was, my wife ended up smeared across the passenger window. I make no bones about it - it frightened the life out of me. My wife has got used to it now - whenever I go round a corner she braces herself against the door!.
The car has now done 6,500 miles. The look of the seats has deteriorated so they look like they have done 100,000 miles - not just the base but the back as well. All the leather has gone slack and wrinkled. I went to a MINI meeting at Gaydon on October where there were more than 100 MINIs.
There were four cars with the standard black panther leather seats. All of them looked to be deteriorating badly.
My last car was a Ford Mondeo Ghia X with leather seats. Those seats looked and felt as good when the car had done 50,000 miles as there were when it was new. I could drive that car for 3+ hours and get out and walk away from the car. If I try that in my current seats, I can barley walk when I get out of the car. Is it right that Ford use better materials than BMW in making the seats?
I believe that the motoring magazine EVO has a Cooper on long term test with standard black panther leather seats. They have spent £800 to have the seats stripped down and rebuilt properly because they found the quality and design so poor.
The MINI is a brilliant car. It is without doubt the best drivers car, for the money, on the road. Unfortunately, I cannot drive it as its meant to be driven because the seats will not let me stay where I should be - behind the wheel. I now find that instead of getting into the car thinking what a great car it is - I'm thinking how bad the seats are.
Unfortunately, I appear to have been unable to get anything done about them. I have been speaking to MINI Customer Services and yourselves since I've had the car and have got nowhere. You say I have to speak to Customer Services - They say I have to speak to you (I only learnt of YOUR existence today!). I am now completely frustrated and disillusioned and have decided that as I cannot get the car perfect (even though it cost me nearly £15,000), I shall have to get rid of it. This also means that unless I can get a resolution, I shall be cancelling my order for a Cooper S that I have with you - I'm number one on your waiting list.
I have been a Mini/MINI fan all my driving life. I have had six classic Minis and was delighted to be one of the first in the country to get the MINI. It is a great car, but, it is being completely spoilt for me by the poor design and inferior quality of the seats. Please don't make me one of the first to sell a MINI in the country.
I bought a MINI Cooper form Vines of Gatwick on 9/7/2001. All my dealings were with Geoff Owen and have been cordial on all occasions. I would like to stress that in all our dealings Geoff has acted completely professionally and sympathetically.
My problems stem from the quality of materials and version of the seats that were installed in my MINI. Approx (from memory) a week before delivery Geoff informed me that the car would not have sports seats (as it is a Chilli pack car it should have them), the passenger seat would not be height adjustable and the car would have a radio cassette rather than a radio CD. The options that I was given were that I accepted the car as it came or I waited 10-12 weeks to get the car I really wanted.
As I had already been waiting four years (since the MINI was first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997) for this car, I was unwilling to wait any longer, So I accepted the car. As way of compensation I had a CD stacker fitted in the boot in September. My understanding was that as the Seat Height adjustment cost £170 and the difference between the CD and the cassette player was a further £70 that this was about right. There is no cost difference between ordinary and sports seats. Geoff was made aware that, though I would take the car because I couldn't wait any longer, I was not happy about not getting the sports seats.
On 9/7/2001 when I went to pick up the car, before I even got in it, I was singularly unimpressed with the standard black panther leather seats (Geoff should remember my comments). When I considered that I was spending an extra £970 for them I thought them inferior before I had even sat in them. They looked flat and lifeless (they reminded me of the seats that Austin put in the original Mini). My first impression then I sat down was that you sat ON them rather that IN them. I then found , when driving, that they were positively dangerous. When I went round a roundabout, because there is no lateral support at all, that my backside SLID ACROSS THE SEAT. If I hadn't had the steering wheel to hold onto, I would have lost control of the car. As it was, my wife ended up smeared across the passenger window. I make no bones about it - it frightened the life out of me. My wife has got used to it now - whenever I go round a corner she braces herself against the door!.
The car has now done 6,500 miles. The look of the seats has deteriorated so they look like they have done 100,000 miles - not just the base but the back as well. All the leather has gone slack and wrinkled. I went to a MINI meeting at Gaydon on October where there were more than 100 MINIs.
There were four cars with the standard black panther leather seats. All of them looked to be deteriorating badly.
My last car was a Ford Mondeo Ghia X with leather seats. Those seats looked and felt as good when the car had done 50,000 miles as there were when it was new. I could drive that car for 3+ hours and get out and walk away from the car. If I try that in my current seats, I can barley walk when I get out of the car. Is it right that Ford use better materials than BMW in making the seats?
I believe that the motoring magazine EVO has a Cooper on long term test with standard black panther leather seats. They have spent £800 to have the seats stripped down and rebuilt properly because they found the quality and design so poor.
The MINI is a brilliant car. It is without doubt the best drivers car, for the money, on the road. Unfortunately, I cannot drive it as its meant to be driven because the seats will not let me stay where I should be - behind the wheel. I now find that instead of getting into the car thinking what a great car it is - I'm thinking how bad the seats are.
Unfortunately, I appear to have been unable to get anything done about them. I have been speaking to MINI Customer Services and yourselves since I've had the car and have got nowhere. You say I have to speak to Customer Services - They say I have to speak to you (I only learnt of YOUR existence today!). I am now completely frustrated and disillusioned and have decided that as I cannot get the car perfect (even though it cost me nearly £15,000), I shall have to get rid of it. This also means that unless I can get a resolution, I shall be cancelling my order for a Cooper S that I have with you - I'm number one on your waiting list.
I have been a Mini/MINI fan all my driving life. I have had six classic Minis and was delighted to be one of the first in the country to get the MINI. It is a great car, but, it is being completely spoilt for me by the poor design and inferior quality of the seats. Please don't make me one of the first to sell a MINI in the country.
