HELP!!! NC auto repair

GubNi

GubNi

8 lug disc brakes?
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Jonesborough, TN
February 6th I buy a Mini Cooper with a 60 day 3rd party warranty. The automatic trans is noisy and manual mode doesn't work. On February 12th I have it towed to the closest mini dealer which is Century Mini in South Carolina (3 hours each way). They replace the trans and call me to tell me it's done. I went to pick it up on March 6th and without moving the car I shift to manual mode and it still doesn't work. I keep in constant contact. They replaced the shifter with a used one and that doesn't help. Eventually they give up and tell me they don't know what the problem is, but it's not in the transmission. They also tell me the car runs fine other than the manual mode. They want to charge over $1000 for diagnositics even though they were unable to fix the problem. I told them I only authorized repairs covered under warranty and refused to pay. They let me get the car. I go to pick it up April 2cd. Yep they had it nearly two months.

I get it home and try to drive it to church Easter Sunday and it randomly downshifts. The tach goes to 5k and it feels like the brakes were slammed on. I know for sure I can't take it to the same dealer. They had it for two months and it was clear they didn't know what they were doing. I had it taken to another dealer.

On April 6th it is towed to Flow Mini in Winston Salem which is a little over 3 hours each way. I include a letter with some background and that I don't care about manual mode. I authorize up to $500 to fix the car. They replaced the shifter as part of diagnostic and that fixes manual mode but still has the other problem. They continue to work on it and get authorization from Mini to replace the transmission. They remove the front clip and drain the fluid and find the output speed sensor was unplugged. The plug it in and reassemble and it's all ok.

I feel that the first dealer installed a defective shifter. They did not charge me for it because they were going to send that car to auction. I feel that the first dealer left the trans connector loose. I feel like I owe nothing. At most I owe $500. I am willing to pay $500 just to be done with the mess and go on with life. They want $2009.

I have called mini corporate and they are going to look into it. The first dealer claims I didn't pay for shifter so no warranty and it should only take an hour to fix the connector. Second dealer says that both problems are unrelated to first dealer and I just need to pay the bill. Mini corporate is going to talk to the dealers and probably do nothing.

What is NC law about authorization? Last cost I was told was the trans replacement was warranty. Next was $2009. I never authorized that much.

Can I go there offer to pay $500 and if they won't give me the car call the police? I don't want to hire a lawyer since it's so far away and the lawyer will probably charge me $1000 or more anyway.

Does anyone here have influence (cop, lawyer, mini employee) that can get this fixed for me?

Thanks!
 
Sucks hard man, your going to have to get a lawyer involved or you will get the shaft, dealers are bastards, especially right now with car sales way down.
 
I've always found its best to hash these things out in person. I had some issues and never could get it fixed and finally spoke with the general manager and got it worked out (somewhat) from what the original issue was.

Whats going on is the dealer was OK with racking up the hours because it was under the assumption that the transmission was going to be replaced under warranty. Now that a sensor plug was loose or not connected, that no longer counts as warranty work and they want to get paid for it since corporate will not pay since it was not covered. Corporate should pay for it but it may be a little bit of a gray area the dealer and corporate can screw you on.

I'd say go there and pay the $500 as agreed upon and take off in the car. If they don't have authorization for repairs/costs above that, that is the risk they take.
 
I have a couple of friends that work within the Flow conglomeration. Not high up, but might be able to get you something. If it comes to lawyering, I've got your man. A couple of official looking letters would probably get the job done. PM me some details like your full name and the names of the mechs or supervisors who are working on your car.
 
according to nc law, you have the right to a written estimate before any work is done. if you authorized $500 worth of repairs and the repair exceeds that amount, by law, they have to inform you and give you an estimate. if you then agree to a price then it is done. if they performed work that exceeded your original authorization/estimate, you don't owe them anything. they worked for free. i would fight this to the end.
 
Did the 3rd party warranty cover the cost of the transmission replacement that the first dealer did? (Just so everyone knows, NEVER EVER buy and aftermarket warranty). They are sold by insurance companies ans we all know how THEY work. How much did Flow charge you to actually fix the car? And shouldn't you be asking about South Carolina law as the offending dealer is there?

The first dealer put in a USED shifter and left it in there even though it didn't fix the problem? Strange.

How many miles are on the car and what year is it? If it's close enough to the warranty ending date/mileage, they can just goodwill it.
 
rattlecanpaint said:
Did the 3rd party warranty cover the cost of the transmission replacement that the first dealer did? (Just so everyone knows, NEVER EVER buy and aftermarket warranty). They are sold by insurance companies ans we all know how THEY work. How much did Flow charge you to actually fix the car? And shouldn't you be asking about South Carolina law as the offending dealer is there?
The first dealer put in a USED shifter and left it in there even though it didn't fix the problem? Strange.
How many miles are on the car and what year is it? If it's close enough to the warranty ending date/mileage, they can just goodwill it.
Click to expand...

Yes, the third party warranty (fidelity) paid without any problems.

Flow wants $2009 to fix the car.

The bill should go to the SC dealer, but one step at a time. Have to get it from NC dealer.

Yep they left the bad shifter in it.

Less than 70,000 miles on a 2003 Mini Cooper. Factory warranty expired.
 
I would contact our Attorney General if I was you since you're from out of state. I have a cousin that took his Cadillac to the dealership for a oil change. When time came to leave they had done an inspection for him and replaced some bulbs they said were bad and several other things and wanted $400 dollars for what they did. He told them there was no way he was paying for services he did not authorize and left with the $400 dollars worth of stuff for 30 bucks.
 
I told them I absolutely refuse to pay one penny over $500 and they took out the $600 shifter they had installed that was mostly unrelated.
 
Well BMW does stand for Break My Wallet.

Just get rid of the mini all together, cause I'm going to have to lump you in with all the other CRAZY ASS MINI OWNERS! I swear, the strangest people buy those things. If you don't call their car by it's name, (Pooky) they go ape shit!
 
how the hell do you fit in a mini...
 
They just a had a mini rally up here in the WNC this past week, probably to ride the tail of the dragon and other roads. It was pretty weird seeing 40 of those pass me on my commute the other day. But it's nothing new, I've seen Nissan Z rallies, Corvette's, pretty much any enthusiast car group. The Mini's this week were a first though.

Anyway if you could get it to one of those rallies that thing would sell in a minute flat. Just leave out the whole dealership nightmare! I feel your pain, I try to stay away from them as much as possible.
 
FunkSkunk said:
They just a had a mini rally up here in the WNC this past week, probably to ride the tail of the dragon and other roads. It was pretty weird seeing 40 of those pass me on my commute the other day. But it's nothing new, I've seen Nissan Z rallies, Corvette's, pretty much any enthusiast car group. The Mini's this week were a first though.

Anyway if you could get it to one of those rallies that thing would sell in a minute flat. Just leave out the whole dealership nightmare! I feel your pain, I try to stay away from them as much as possible.
Click to expand...
Yup. They were at Deal's Gap last weekend. I had to deal with those buggers crossing the yellow lines while I was slaying the dragon on the bike.:wheel:
 
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