My 2004 mini 5 speed wouldn't start the other day. After two tries with AAA they towed it to the dealer. The dealer said that the bad news was that the battery was dead and costs $129 for a new one. The good news was that there was a factory recall on it and they replaced it for free. While there, they told me my transmission was ruined and needed replacement. Combined with a new clutch (needed but not required) the bill was $5000. The next bad news was that my car was 5K miles out of warrenty. After fixing it they told me that the brake rotors were in need of replacement. I looked at the rotors and there was nearly nothing left of them. None of this is phoney. The faults are real. What I am upset about is that the dealer never told me about the warrenty nearing expiration and secondly, the transmission problem was systemmic and had to have been bad much prior to the event. Talking to the manufacturer was of no help. They just sent me back to the dealer. I doubt my problems are unique. Better have yours checked out.
- posted
15 years ago