Warranty work at BMW dealerships?

[TWISTER]

I'm afraid so. Only MINI trained mechanics can do the work. They will provide you a loner if its over 5 hrs of work.

[TWISTER]

call me if you have questions
336.391.8084

[simplygriff]

Thanks, that what i expected to hear, just thought i might get lucky. i'm trying to decide between a cooper S and an RX-8 and i've been torturing myself with the pros and cons :)

That's an interesting comparison. I was actually looking at a 350Z first but I looked at a MINI. I checked out a used one at a dealership and it felt like it was falling apart. Compartments not closing properly/smoothly, little to no cargo space and none even remotely available ( not that mini's have much but I have hauled a good size mini fridge in mine. :D ) I don't know if the dealership had just received it and hadn't done anything to get it ready to be sold or what, but that really turned me off of the Z's. Nearly $30K for a car that would have that many problems in 2 years (it was an 03)... Nope...

The Mini's feel like little tanks. They have a very solid construction and the craftsmanship is top knotch. Very much like their BMW counterparts.

My suggestion is take a look at a used RX-8 and see how it's stood the test of time and wear & tear.
-G

[RedBaron]

If the car breaks down, they'll tow it to the dealer for repairs. With the maintenance period being basically an annual event, it really shouldn't be that big a deal from 88 miles away. Hanes Mall is right down the road, and I hear Mark offers free shuttle service. :D

[TWISTER]

I haven't been to Hanes Mall in 4 years. Target has everything I need.

If you do need somthing I will try and help. :) :)

[Lou777]

I had these concerns as well when I purchased my MINI - I am in the same boat as you with a 97 mile one-way trip to get service. So far I've been down for my first two scheduled maintenance visits and a third visit for true warranty work (my run-flat switch had not been properly seated and through a few different times of trying to fix it myself, the wires were pulled and it stopped working :rolleyes: ). All 3 visits have been done on a Saturday - they have a pretty nice waiting area with Wi-Fi and a television to keep the kiddies entertained for at least a minute and if that fails, you can always go over and look at the new arrivals...that's also the side where they have the car wash...which can keep me entertained for while. On our way out of town we found *the best* Mexican restaurant that we always stop at - we've just made it a day when we go - our typical day is 8am - 3:30pm, and that's with a lot of lolly-gagging.

Buy the MINI - you won't be sorry.
~A

[RedBaron]

thanks for the info. so getting one will just cost a tiny bit more than planned since i'll be hanging out at a mall while it gets a little attention :p

LOL, yeah, probably.

RB

[Ramjet]

88 miles ain't nothing, I'm 200 miles from my dealer. Have had my Cooper S 9 months of trouble free miles so far. I'd go for it, anything other than a Mini is just an appliance. I know I've got two of those too.

[simplygriff]

Sounds like we need to have a beach meet. :D Come down that way and see you. :D:D
-G

[Ramjet]

Sounds like we need to have a beach meet. :D Come down that way and see you. :D:D
-G

That might be fun, not a lot of Mini's around here, except for the ones that are passing through, a few around Wilmington, was down there Monday and didn't see a single one. We need a Mini dealer in Wilmington, but don't think thats in BMW America's plans.

[RedBaron]

last I heard, there won't be any more franchises. I have heard rumors that there might be a satellite dealership in the RTP area in the future, but nothing concrete.
RB

[Ramjet]

last I heard, there won't be any more franchises. I have heard rumors that there might be a satellite dealership in the RTP area in the future, but nothing concrete.
RBI would imagine if they put a dealership in Wilmington it would crimp the sales in the Charleston area, a lot of cars sold in the Wilmington area come from Mini of Charleston, thats where I bought mine, a little closer to me than Flow, plus I like going to Charleston. When I first started looking for a Mini, I emailed the BMWUSA and asked if they had any plans of opening a dealership in the Wilmington area and they indicated that there weren't any plans in the future. I kind of look at it like this, if you want one bad enough you'll do whatever it takes to get one. Mini's are not for everybody, only special people drive Mini's.