Warranty Issue & Transmission Repair Advice (Toronto BMW)

Hi All,

I own a 2002 MINI Cooper that has a serious issue and I am not getting the appropriate response from my dealership service department.

The auto has 117,000 KM on it. I bought the vehicle after a 3 year lease and purchased it after at 74K with an extended warranty of an additional 40K.

At our service mark as recommended by the car, we brought the vehicle in for servicing (Oil Change, etc) approximately 2 weeks ago. My wife brought the vehicle in. When she brought the vehicle in she mentioned that she was hearing a pronounced grumbling sound below the vehicle, the same sound she had mentioned earlier. We have mentioned that the engine was making a sound during previous visits but this was not marked on our service record. Previous attempts to rectify a clamp sound were noted but ignored, instead being fixed the next time after we were adamant about it.

They replaced our brakes for $1400 (not needed according to successive visits to the dealer) and do not have a record of it.

What we found out was that they would like us to pay for the transmission, even though we were only 2K outside the warranty at the time. They continually delayed and did not respond to our requests.

They also mentioned that they found metal shavings near one of the plugs during their investigation and that the transmission might be loose.

In the process of this service, BMW damaged the rear bumper when washing the car. The dealership admitted then denied that they would repair the damage afterwards.

I have elevated this request to the service manager but he is not responding. He would not meet with me for even 15 minutes to discuss the problems and view the bumper. The last conversation was that BMW would pay for half of the cost of the transmission, only after we paid for the investigation to open the transmission up.

The service has been astoundingly bad. BMW Service for one year could not determine the source of the sound and did not note it on my file for my automobile. Hence, they feel that half of the cost of the part would be adequate as compensation since it cannot be under either warranty (BMW or extended) as there was no note of it on their files (which I have not seen). I believe that I got a bad transmission part and that I am not getting my due attention as a current and still potential BMW product owner.

I am wondering if anyone could give me any advice first on the transmission issue. I understand that the MINI manual transmission is sealed and once it is open it needs to be replaced anyways. The cost for the a whole new installed was told to be $5000 CDN. Since my vehicle is older, it is not worth my while almost to pay this price for something that should have been covered. Even with the half of the parts cost being offered by BMW, it will still be $3500.

Secondly, how can I get this resolved in order for it to be covered as it was covered but was not repaired during the warranty period due to dealership incompetence? Do I need to escalate this action higher to the manager above the service manager? I am willing to do this. I am also willing to contact BMW Canada to try and address this problem. I am surprised that there is no goodwill within this dealership considering the negative press they could receive from their actions (including this email thus far).

You advice would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Michael M. Stahl

Reply to
optimieron
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You will find that it's very rare for any extended warranty to do "any" goodwill repairs once the mileage/time is up. It's even true with GM's GMPP plan. When you are over, the warranty is done and that's it! Any kind of "goodwill" warranty is usually done by the manufacturer when you are "slightly" over on the time or mileage of the "original" factory warranty.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Ian is probably right...Out of warranty, even by a couple of thousand kilometers, probably means out of warranty. You can of course hire an attorney, but I suspect that will avail you nothing.

I suppose you have the CVT?

I found some examples of these trannies at

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and you might be able to find a tranny from a junker that would do the job at a lower price than you were quoted.

Reply to
<HLS

I've been to a lot of dealerships for service in a lot of places within the US. Never once have I been to a dealer and had service work done and NOT gotten some kind of paperwork. If you were having issues that weren't documented on the paperwork they gave you then you should have done something about it then... Now it is your word against theirs. Sorry, but it sounds like you should have been more persistent in having the noise diagnosed and repaired while the vehicle was under warranty. As it stands now they have offered more than I would expect they would in this circumstance so I would take them up on it before they change their mind!

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

I think you were extremely stupid to not have documented the problems 'while it was under warranty'. Especially with the 'sleaze' reputation of car Dealers, used or new that you seemed to have been the recipient of already in the past from these bozos.

I also think you are extremely lucky they are willing to pay for any of the repairs.

It is out of warranty...

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

Write a letter to BMW Canada and explain the problem. I believe there is also a Canadian equivalent to the BMWCCA. If you aren't a member, you should become one. They can probably help as well. It's clear the dealer will not.

Manual transmissions shouldn't fail like that. I have a 535i with 320,000 miles on the transmission and it's just fine. Transmissions fail for a reason. Somebody needs to find out what that reason is.

I am surprised you haven't done so already.

My advice is never to buy a front wheel drive car. Dropping the transmission on the 535 and putting it back is a three-hour job in the driveway. Dropping the transmission on the new Minis is... well... not fun.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

So sorry that my post ignored the fact that this is a manual... Junkyard trannies still offer a potential solution to you.

Reply to
<HLS

wrote in purple crayon..

Don't buy bmw muck... :)

Get a REAL mini. :)

Mick

Reply to
Mick Rouse

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