Complain about a product or service

Mini Cooper

Barb of Valparaiso NE (07/01/08)
I purchased a used MINI Cooper model year 2002 with 32,400 miles on it in July 2007. Im very disappointed in the car. Ive had nothing but problems in the year since I purchased it. Specifically, the passenger window broke and does not roll down, the passenger seat back wont adjust, the sun roof does not open and close, the car over heats if the air conditioning is running or I have to sit through more than 3 stop lights in a row and lastly the sifting cable has come off twice in the year Ive owned the car, even though it was part of the recall and supposedly was fixed. I know this was a used vehicle, but with only 32,400 miles the car should not have so many issues.

Wilfredo of Los Angeles CA (07/01/08)
I leased my Mini Sport in September of 2007. I chose to get a new performance vehicle to treat myself and at leasing I was told that it would be covered from bumper to bumper as well. The only things I was told that were not covered were the tires. I was OK with that. Since I picked up the car, I had been smelling the slight odor of burning oil here and there. Especially when accelerating or driving on the highway. Then like an idiot, I would completely forget to follow this up. At 5030 miles with only 8 months of driving, my clutch went out. You could imagine my surprise when I was told that I was responsible for $3000 worth of repair. Having driven clutch my entire life, 28 years to be exact, you could imagine my rage. I have only had to replace a clutch once, and that was for my old JEEP and it was over 65,000 miles!! Really? Seriously? They really expect me to claim responsibility for a blown clutch? They also insinuated that it was all my fault. I am presently searching for a way to break my lease and return the car. There is NO reason this should happen!!!!!!

Michelle of Bishop CA (06/30/08)
I have a 2005 S with ~30K miles. #1 In Jan my brake pad sensor light came on, so I had my brake pads replaced immediately. The light still won't turn off. The shop tried installing a new sensor and I've tried the hacks on the Mini forums. I refuse to pay the dealer to reset a stupid light. #2 My BST cable burned up a few weeks ago (symptoms included random electrical failures so I took it to the dealer). The BST cable was designed as a safety mechanism in advent of an accident because of the rear battery. I was rear-ended in April 07, but neither the insurance company of the guy who hit me or the body shop who did the original repairs would cover it. Cost: $1200 #3 This weekend my clutch slave cylinder failed due to a cracked seal. The cylinder is plastic! I drove my previous car for 89K miles with no sign of clutch damage. WTF, Mini? Cost: $70 (DIY fix fortunately)

Shawn of Merrick NY (06/29/08)
I had my 2007 Mini Cooper S brought here on June 2, 2008 by Roadside Assistance because it was running poorly (rough idle, a miss and it would almost stall if revved out of gear). I was told by my Advisor Jason Barach on June 3rd they would not work on my car because of the aftermarket items I had under the hood. I told him I was sure the items were not the cause as they had been on for a while. As a good faith gesture I offered to pay for whatever repairs were necessary if it was found that my items were the cause. Over the next week I was forved to remove the items (luckily I knew how) and the car was now back in stock configuration. Jason now promised the vehicle would be fixed after I signed an agreement the dealer would prepare. During this time I tried to speak with John Choe (Service Manager) but he never bothered to return my calls. After waiting 5 days for this agreement to be written and approved it was rejected by Robert Portesy the facility General Manager. I tried to speak with Robert Portesy but he also would not return my calls. I also tried to speak with John Choe again but he was now away on vacation so I was forwarded to Jim Delveccio who told me Robert Portesy had decided that in order for any work to proceed on my vehciel I would have to pay for diagnosis up front. I unwillingly agreed as I had no other choice as a tow to the next MINI dealer would have been prohibitively expensive. Over the next week and a half I was told they were waiting for special tools, since the car was so new. I was lied to by Mr. Delveccio who told me they were waiting for a compression check tool because the MINI used different plugs than any other car including the previous MINI and the BMW's they service. This was a complete lie as the new MINI uses the same plugs as most BMW's and the older MINI. They finally said they checked the compression and reflashed my computer but the car still ran the same. I was then told the crankshaft oil seal was leaking and it looked like the crank pulley was tampered with and they would have replace the seal and re-time the engine. None of this would be covered under the warranty. I told them nobody else had ever touched those parts but they would not relent. After a few days of being told by Jason they were waiting for the oil seal fix the car. I went in to speak with John Choe and try to clear up the situation and make them realize that maybe debris had done the damage. John was rude and unprofessional, he told me he had never received my messages although they were left on his voice mail. He would not relent and accused me of tampoering with the vehicle. I told him after 3+ weeks it was obvious they were concocting damage and if I was forced to pay I would see them in court. He told me I would have to pay by certified check if I wanted the work done. I spoke with Jason Barach that afternoon and was told they were still waiting for the seal and the repair should be done shortly. Two days later nothing was done and I was called by John Choe and told they would not repair my vehicle and I should come and pick it up. I recommend you think twice about using this Dealership for anything but sales. Their reputation is quite poor and if you search the web thoroughly you will find that I'm not the only person to have serious trouble with them. They are notorious for damaging customer vehicles, not completing services paid for and for most importantly double dipping customers by saying that repairs are not covered under warranty, charging the customer and then collecting again under warranty. MINI Customer Service is involved and only after 28 days of being jerked around by one of their authorized dealers/service facilities is MINI having my car taken to MINI of Manhatten. NYS DMV is involved and will be investigating the situation. I will be pressing for revocation of Hassel's DMV repair license. I've filed a formal complaint with the FTC. I've filed a complaint with the NYS DA's office. I plan to file with the Better Business Bureau. If the repair is not covered under warranty due to the tampering Hassel obviously did to cover itself I will still take them to court.

Philip of Garden Ciy NY (06/21/08)
my 2007 mini cooper s has 15K miles. I noticed on Wednesday June 18, 2008, that my clutch seemed to be slipping. I called mini to tell them that this needed to be adressed and was told that it would be a couple of weeks before they could schedule me for the work and provide the promised (and touted) loaner car. I insisted that this could be a safety issue and they eventually and reluctantly agreed that they would test drive the car the next day. As I was driving to dealer (long drive) the problem worsened to the point that the car wouldn't move. I called Mini Roadside assistance (another included benfit)and after three phone calls and 2+ hours, was finally towed to the dealer. I was already disappointed and frustrated at the poor care at this point, but since they gave me a loner car (strings attached) I was willing to let it go, since the car is covered bumper to bumper including brakes, windshield wipers and all mechanical and drive train for longer than the period of my 30 month lease. I was extremely surprised to hear later that day that they were not going to cover my repairs and wanted over $3500 to fix my car. I am amazed. The service rep said I don't want to say you abused the clutch, but.... I have driven manual transmissions for 25 years and have rarely, even on cars with over 100K miles, had to replace a clutch. This apprears to be a bait and switch where a waranty is not being honored and a ridiculous excuse is being offered. Please help!

1. over two hour wait on busy route 80, when tow truck arrived driver said his shop was 5 minutes away and they were not busy. 2. Dealer is refusing to repair under waranty (cost $3500+) 3. much inconvenience and missed one half day of work

Bryan of Little Egg Harbor NJ (06/19/08)
These cars are certainly not built to last. After 100,000 miles, everything is going! The CVT transmission, dampener plate and torque converter at $6500 (would have been over $10,000 if BMW/MINI did it!! Now power steering pump at $1000!

Steve of Deer Park NY (06/11/08)
I have always had clutch transmissions. I am very easy on them.With less than 70,ooo miles i am told i need a new transmission.A whole tranny--not just a clutch!!!The parts to rebuild them are not made available by mini--so they soak you for the whole thing!! They are very scarce in salvage yards-probably because of this very issue!!What a rip-off! I have also had 2 windshields replaced because of stress cracks.It seems like every repair is a fortune--if you can even get the parts within a reasonable time frame!! My radiator and wiper motor also went bad. Finally-i have not met a mini owner yet that is satisfied with the gas mileage-the mpg claims are not even close!!

Gerardo of Orange CA (05/30/08)
I bought a new mini cooper 2005, on october 2005, and the car warranty is for 3 years or 36 k miles, the car is with 15 k miles now, but my warranty is already expire, that hapened on january 2008, that said the service advisor on my last car service. I called to the deler financial department, to ask, why my warranty is expired, on january, and the guy told me, the car when you bought it, was used, that is the only reason, he said. On my buyer contract, say, NEW car and the salesman, never told me this car was used. the car is perfect , but I want to now if I can do something, becouse this is a bad action, sale used car like new cars. thanks for your atention, and I hope an answer.

Henry of Kerrville TX (05/26/08)
i bought a used 04 mini cooper s @ 23,000 miles on it. this last weekend around 26,345 miles the battery light came on while in san antonio, at the same moment that happened the power steering quite working.im a mechanic nearby and have never had a problem with any of my chevy's.i bought this car for gas milage and dependability,but maybe i should have bought a chevy, at least they recall thier screw ups. while in san antonio we could have had a wreck cause the power steering failed .the electric power steering pump get its power from the alternater{a yellow wire from the alternater feeds power to the pump,another problem is that heat from the exhaust burns up the pump, causing the power steerin g to fail.there are way to many problems with mini cooper and the company should recall the whole car. its nothing but a problem. if you are already having problems now, what kind of problems will you have in 10 years from now,guess it will be junk by then.there should be a law suit against bmw

Austin of Sauk Rapids MN (05/16/08)
Well afer reading all of these comlpaint i am feeling sick and used. It seems like one big scam!! I own a 2003 mini cooper. when u buy a high end car you expect a certen craftsmanship. so when i bought this mini with 147,000 i was not concerned with a TRANSMISSION going out. HOW stupid I am. we used the car for six months and owe $8000. Hard lesson learned come to Consumeraffairs.com first befor I make a dumb move like that. For the rest of my life I will bad mouth BMW to everyone I will come in contact with. Word of mouth the best addvertisement aroud.

Elizabeth of Orange CA (05/09/08)
October 25, 2006 my mini was 6 months old and I got a Stress Crack in my windshield. Crevier replaced it. May 5, 2008, I got another stress crack in my windshield and BMW refused to replace my windshield. I went to a private glass company and They have stated that it is a stress Crack and BMW should have replaced the glass. I replaced the glass out of pocket.

Christine of Morro Bay CA (05/03/08)
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S. Before the original warranty went out I was having problems with the onboard computer that estimated gas consumption, average speed and temperature. This was shortly followed by problems with the power door locks. I took it to the Bob Smith Mini Cooper in Calabasas, California to have it resolved. They said there were no problems and returned the car. With in a week the door locks started to malfunction. The door locks work only 50% of the time. The drivers side door lock stopped working completely. The windshield wipers regularly malfunction. I have specifically taken this car to Bob Smith Mini for the door locks and the windshield wipers on three occasions. They have replaced sensors and relays but the problems remain. I have had the entire radiator replaced when it started leaking and was unsafe to drive, which required a weeks stay at the dealership. At 100,000 miles, the day my extended warranty ended, the heater and air conditioner went out. The most recent problem was the pump on my power steering reservoir malfunctioned, causing the battery to drain. When people stop and ask me how I like my cooper I tell them the truth. It is the biggest piece of @#@#$ and I wished I bought the something else instead.

Kim of Springfield VA (04/29/08)
I have 40,000 on my 2003 mini cooper and there were problems I kept taking it in for when it was under warranty. It is now out of warranty and I need a new transmission. This repair is around $8,500.00. Mini would not help me while in warranty and refuse to cut me any kind of break now, even with the low miles. I believe this has been a problem all along but it was never notice until it got very bad. I just paid it off last week.

Brendan of Snoqualmie WA (03/24/08)
I own a 2003 MINI Cooper with 75,000 miles on it and just had to replace the transmission. I have never heard of a transmission lasting only 75K miles. What's more, the repair cost $7400! MINI used a new technology in the early automatic models called CVT transmission. Interestingly, they have stopped using this technology and now use the standard automatic transmission. This seems to me to be an admission on their part that the CVT technology is not viable over the long term. Even though they have acknowledged that the CVT technology isn't viable, they still make their customers spend upwards of $7000 to replace it when it goes bad. I feel like a lab rat!

Heather of Decatur IL (02/11/08)
My 2002 Mini Cooper Coupe's driver seat caught fire today. I have had other problems with the locks not opening, the airbag light staying on and possibly a transmission problem (i am currently @ 53,000 miles). I am a teacher and bought my car used in 2006. I am horrified and shocked at the quality. I am still paying on my car for two more years and have no idea what will happen if this car is in such poor shape. Is there anything we can do to hold the company responsible.

Helene of Vancouver WA (02/10/08)
I bought a 2003 Mini Cooper with CVT transmission with 79,00 mi on it. The car is in great physical shape and ran perfectly,, until last week with 82,000 mi on it, it lost power and I had it towed to my mechanic. He reports that the car needs a new transmission with cost estimate 7,800 dollars (incl tax), which was almost 1,000 less than the mini cooper dealer in Portland OR. This just sucks because I owe 12,000 on my credit union loan for this car. I don't think the car is worth 19,800 dollars to me. So for now, it sits in my garage until I figure this out.

Adam of Colton CA (02/02/08)
I bought an '02 Mini Cooper S with 25,000 miles on it from a high end dealer in the Bay Area about a year ago (11/06). I have to say that I love this car. Love it! I have never enjoyed driving another vehicle more including some loaded BMW's. Having said that I have to say for a lightly used car made by BMW I have been very dissapointed with it's reliability. Shortly after purchasing the car I did some minor tune up work myself with the help of a race car mechanic. Yep, a race car mechanic. I installed a set of high end Bosh plugs in the car and troqued them down to factory specifications. Sweet. The car ran like a champ for 10,000 miles. Well on the way to work one day there was a sudden drop in power and I limed it off the freeway to my work site sounding for all the world like a gaint sewing machine. I popped the hood and low and behold the spark plug from my # 2 cylinder had popped out and was sitting on the engine. I was able to put it back in a torque it down with no noticable problems, that is to say there was no evidence that the plug or the head were stripped. It just popped out! So I was able to drive it to my local dealer to have it checked out. Well they found a hoste of small problems (leaky gaskets, recall air back wiring, control arm bushings, broken door handle, software updates, $2,700) almost all of which were covered under my extended warranty. Thank Heaven. And I was told that there was no problem with the plugs or the head, it was just a freak thing that happened. I've read on the web that some after market plugs do come loose and pop out. What? Why dosen't Mini recommend that you use factory plugs to avoid this problem. It's just too bad that they're $20 each!

Kim of Seattle WA (01/26/08)
Purchased a 2004 mini cooper with under 52,000 miles on it. With under 57,000 miles on it it starts running rough. I take it in and find out the transmission is going out. Call the mini dealership and find out its $5600 for a rebuilt transmission plus several hours of work. aprox $8000 total. The blue book for the car is only 16,400. And the car only has 56,000 miles on a automatic transmisson. After doing some research online I find out theres thousands of people who's transmisson has gone out at under 60,000 miles. Theses cars are lemons and there needs to be a recall.

Greg of Claremont CA (01/19/08)
Purchased a 2007 BMW Mini Cooper on 5/26/07 and paid a premium of thousands of dollars over the vehicle's sticker price due to high demand for this car. On 5/30/07, while driving the vehicle under normal conditions, the vehicle's Check Engine Light became illuminated. Fortunately, I was close to home (within 1/2 mile) so I pulled into my driveway and immediately called the dealership where I had purchased the car.

I wanted to report the problem and receive professional advice as to how I should get the vehicle back to Crevier for evaluation (i.e. was it safe to drive it back or should I call a tow vehicle). I was instructed by Kyle Anderson my service advisor that it was okay to drive it in as this was a known problem. When I returned the vehicle I was told that BMW of North America was aware of the problem and that a software fix was 'under development'. After a few days I received the car back awaiting development of the software fix. I was ultimately provided with a Beta version of the new software which appeared to resolve the issue with the check engine light.

Over the course of the next several months I have encountered several problems which can be described generally as 'computer system related flaws'. The most recent and persistent of these is a problem that causes the vehicle's engine to rev inappropriately high upon startup and then begin a cyclical rev sequence between 2000 and 4000 rpms which normally resolves with 2 or 3 restarts of the vehicle. I brought the car in for service on this problem in October of 2007 and they kept my vehicle for testing for approximately 30 days! The ultimate solution according to my service advisor was to replace the vehicle's computer. Though I was skeptical I accepted my vehicle and drove it without incident for approximately 2 months until the problem began recurring.

On Monday, January 14, 2008 upon starting the vehicle I noticed that the inappropriately high rev (5000 rpms) occurred and did not resolve with the normal 2 - 3 restarts; it required up to 5 restart attempts. On Wednesday, January 16, the problem recurred and when the inappropriate revving finally did resolve and I was able to start the vehicle and shift the gears to move, it began going into the rev cycle described above, making the vehicle unsafe to drive in my estimation. I immediately called the dealership to schedule maintenance.

I emptied the car of all of my belongings and delivered it to Crevier for service on Thursday, January 17th and placed a call to Peter, the sales manager of Crevier Mini describing my problem and asking him what my recourse was given the protracted nature of this problem and Crevier's seeming inability to resolve it permanently. To date I have not heard back from Peter nor have I gotten an update from my service advisor regarding the status of my vehicle. My 2007 Mini Cooper has approximately 11,000 miles on it and has been out of service for a cumulative total of 45 - 60 days since I bought it in May of last 2007 a mere 8 months ago.

I would like to know what I need to do to protect myself and exercise my rights under the Lemon Law. Please advise.

Dennis of Pittsburg CA (01/14/08)
I bought a 2003 Mini Cooper new. I managed to get by with a few repairs that were covered by warranty, the most serious was replacing the transmission because it wouldn't go into reverse a lot of the time without some difficulty. At just over 44,000 miles and just past warranty my check engine light comes on and the car runs a little rough for about 20 seconds and then runs smoothly, but the check engine light stays on.

Jaime of Houston TX (12/28/07)
i bought a brand new mini in 2006. A month after, I was driving the car will not move at highway speed and there was transmission fault into it. This was just one of series of problem I've got. The last one was a check engine light and after bringing it to a dealer in houston texas, they told me all these kinds of problems such as cracked strut core support, charcoal filter cracked etc. and they are charging me $2700 plus. The car has a very few mileage (15000 miles). It was never used for long driving. It seems to me the car can only drive in a smooth road because if you hit a little bump it will caused some parts to cracked. What kind of workmanship is this car and the parts they used. Can I consider this as alemon car???

Damian of Raleigh NC (12/11/07)
I have all you people beat, I bought a used 02 Mini Cooper S in February of 07. The car had low miles, one owner, and factory certified. The first month I had the car it was in the shop for two days to fix a number of small issues, two weeks later I took it back to Flow Mini(in Winston-Salem, N.C.) because of a brake issue. This dealership is 100 miles away and the closest that can look on my car. Anyways they did a brake job and changed the window regulators and some other small things that totaled up to $1,300. Three weeks later, my car was back in the shop, I had to get my whole brake system replace, plus another $4,300 worth of stuff.

Lets just put it this way, I have had my car for 10 months, its been in the shop for 3 of those months. My transmission locked up in 2nd gear 600 miles after they changed my clutch and pressure plate when I was pulling out into traffic. My airbag light has come on three times even after they keep saying they fixed it. My car has serious electrical problems, 3 months in the shop, 2 transmissions, and over $20,000 dollars in repairs, yes $20,000 (an has to go back to the shop cause of several problems) later my car still has problems. If I hadn't already put over $5,000 in upgrades to my vehicle i would have gotten rid of it a long time.

Elizabeth of San Jose CA (12/04/07)
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper. From the first week I have had the car I have had various issues with it! Within a week I had a defective switch that said my hood or my hatch door was open (it wasn't) So I go to the dealership and they tell me it is a defective switch and replaced it. When it was time to have my first oil change done I dropped off my car in the morning to have it done.

They told me to come back later that afternoon and pick it up. So I leave work on my lunch hour to pick up my car. They notify me that my car had a defective seal over and oil was leaking into my transmission! Pete Smee who is my service adviser (very rude might I mention)didn't even call to notify me that my car would take about a week to fix! I have only had the car for less than a year! So under warranty they fixed this issue. The next oil service I had There were various issues with it as well and they took 5 days to repair all the issues (Keep in mind that I have had the car for about 2 yrs at this point) I have owned the car for about 4 years now and it has undergone 9 repairs.

To top that all off my door locks intermittently work. (The driver side door power locks do not work 70% of the time, but on good days it does) My power steering intermittently works. As well as the passenger power windows. (These issues are just the tip of the iceberg) But here is the icing on the cake: In April this year I had an inspection done, which I paid the over priced amount of about $1300. They hook my car up to their system/software and everything checks out fine. They said my car does not have any problems.

Tell me why it is now December and my car won't even start!! A Mini cooper is supposed to be an affordable car, but the costs of repairing it is ridiculously over priced!! I go into the dealership yesterday to get a record of all the repairs that have been done on my car to see what legal action I can take. Pete said my car is in very bad condition because when I brought it in it had a ding on the side and a cracked windshield So I sarcastically replied Oh, so having a ding on the side and a cracked windshield on my car would be the reason why my car won't start, my power locks, windows, and steering intermittently work?

Last time I checked a ding on the car and a cracked windshield was a COSMETIC issue, NOT a MECHANICAL or ELECTRICAL issue! Reading the other comments about the Mini Cooper, I see that I am not the only person experiencing the same issues with my car (and here I thought I was crazy!) I am surprised however, that a recall has not been done seeing that these issues are a common problem with the earlier models of Mini Coopers. I have not even listed all the problems! For those of you who are looking to buy a mini cooper DON'T they look cute but looks can be deceiving! Purchase a reliable car, not something that will be as good as a hunk of metal after 2-3 yrs.

John of West Hollywood CA (11/18/07)
My CVT automatic transmission went on my 2002 Mini Cooper with only 64K miles. After doing research, I see that there are tons of people with the same issue. Mini refuses to do anything about the issue (like a recall), and doesn't want to help in an other financial ways either. An expensive (BMW made car) shouldn't be having these issues at such low miles.

Kelley of San Francisco CA (11/15/07)
I bought a 2002 Mini Cooper after having a BMW 325ci. I was moving back to San Francisco and this seemed like the perfect city car. After owning the car a few weeks small things started failing. the power locks stopped working. The windows stopped locking up into the door when shut. the car began to be difficult to get into reverse. Then the engine started to make some interesting sounds and the car began driving more rough. Within 9 months the car was in the shop exhibiting to me what seemed like transmission issues. I had an extended warranty so I wasn't too concerned when I took it into Mini SF.

They tore apart the car and determined that at 53,000 miles the car needed a new transmission. After driving manual for over 10 years, I was confident this wasn't my doing. The warranty company refused to work with the dealership, so the car was towed to AAMCO. They took further look at the car and determined not only did it need a new transmission, but also a new clutch kit and fly wheel. After 9 months of ownership my car needed a complete overhaul. Without the warranty the bill would have come to over $10,000. With it I was still out $2,000. It took 4 weeks for the warranty company to authorize the fix.

Then I was told that the differential carrier was on back order due to unprecedented demand. 5 weeks turned into 7, then 12 and at 15 weeks my car was finally repaired. 15 weeks?! I smell recall and I don't appreciate being help responsible for BMW shitty design and mechanical downfalls. I have now owned the car for a year and 3.5 months of that it has been parked in AAMCO. Upon pickup I am driving straight to the dealership, depositing it on their door and demanding a deal. I want out from under this pile of despair before it needs another transmission or clutch or ________. Thanks Mini. Here's to a lifetime of singing your disgrace.

Dawniell of Pleasant Hill CA (10/04/07)
I purchased a brand-new 2006 Mini Cooper S Convertible in February of 2007. I live in the hilly Bay Area, and the other day I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic going uphill. I started to notice an odd burning smell but didn't attribute it to my car until later that evening when I noticed the smell again when driving home. I had it towed to Mini the next morning. Lately I've only been driving my car 3 days a week for about 10 miles each way. Well, the car only has 8200 miles on it and guess what? It needs a NEW CLUTCH!

I can assure you that of the 16 years I've been driving, 11 of them were manual transmissions, so I know how to drive a stick shift. I don't stall my car, ride the clutch, or grind the gears. In fact, I had a Ford Mustang for over 5 years and put over 120K miles on it and never had to replace the clutch. The service department at Concord BMW/Mini said that the clutch is covered under the warranty, unless they can attribute the problem to driver error. What???

I haven't heard yet whether they're going to try to stick me with the repairs, but either way, it is completely ridiculous that a clutch would burn out on a new car before it even needed its first oil change! I definitely don't intend to go down without a fight... If they try to say this is my fault, I will tell everyone I know just how poorly Mini makes its cars and treats its customers.

Blanca of Bellflower CA (10/01/07)
I bought a used 2002 Mini Cooper in May 2006. The car kept stalling on me. I took it in to the Mini Dealer in Long Beach for an inspection, but nothing was wrong. In August of 2006, (80,000 miles) my transmission went out! The new transmission would cost about $7000. I bought a used one for about half of that. Now, I am just waiting for the transmission to give out again. The worst part, was that it was only a few days before my wedding :(

Ramona of Oakland CA (09/27/07)
We purchased our 2002 Mini on 10/10/06, w/55,059 miles on it. 9 days later the clutch went out, not covered by extended warranty that we purchased. We towed it back to Mini San Francisco service dept who insisted that we wore out the clutch and it was our problem, wear and tear, etc. after 9 days! Unbelievable! They offered to pay half, but we felt this was completely unfair.

We then had to battle with the service dept, the manager of the pre-owned sales dept and they eventually called Mini USA who agreed to pay the other half to replace the clutch. A few months later we had to pay for the Inspection 2 ($390) on 2/6/07, with no notable problems. Then on 9/14/07, at 67,829 miles, the clutch went out again! Twice in under one year! We have driven manual transmission vehicles for over 15 years and never had to replace a clutch, let alone twice in one year! Of course it is not covered by warranty and the dealership is insisting that it is our fault that we burnt out the clutch, which is absurd.

We would have to literally grind the gears every time we shift in order to burn out a brand new clutch within one year. Mini USA is taking the word of the service manager and will not help us. We are not sure if this is related to the recall (MANUAL TRANSMISSION:FLOOR SHIFT ASSEMBLY), however, the dealership/service dept denies that such a recall exists. When we Googled 2002 Mini Clutch? we found many others having the same or very similar complaints. Each time the dealership blames the driver and denies that this is a common problem with this vehicle.

At this point, we just want to get it repaired and sell it, however, we are being told that we must pay for these repairs ($2,400) that we do not have and will have to withdraw from our retirement account. As well, I feel bad selling this car to anyone, since it clearly has mechanical defects that are not being addressed. We do not feel this is fair and we believe that the dealership should stand behind their product as this is clearly either a mechanical defect or faulty workmanship.

Ron of Tacoma,Wa 98406 WA (09/27/07)
I have a Mini Cooper which I bought in March of '04. Since then, I've had a few problems with the car's electrical system and now, I've found out that the engine is losing compression in one of the cylinders. I first noticed that the door windows would not close properly and that the rear hatch idiot light would come on for no reason. These were just minor irritants at the time.

But later, while driving along I-5 in torrential rain, the windshield wipers failed. I was nearly in a serious accident as I had to reach out the window and wipe the glass by hand, all while traveling at highway speeds. Luckily, there was little traffic and I was able to safely get off the highway. I took the car into the shop and they replaced the entire wiper motor after saying that they couldn't find anything wrong. My next bad experience happened at about 9k miles. The dealership told me at the time of purchase that the engine - which BTW is the same engine in Dodge Neon - uses synthetic oils and that I won't need another oil change until after 10k miles. This seemed very odd to me, especially as it was a brand new car, but they insisted it was true.

One day, after about 9k miles, I checked the dipstick and saw that it was well below the 'MINIMUM' hash mark and the oil was as black as tar! I immediately brought it in and had them change the oil, which BTW, costs about $70 because it uses synthetic oil. The dealership also told me to use ONLY premium gasoline, which faithfully I have done every time I've filled up. What's annoying about all this is that the cost of ownership negates any savings you may have had from the decent mileage. Finally, after taking my car to the Dealership for its 60k mile servicing, I was informed that the #4 cylinder is losing compression (it's down to about 165psi).

The guy at the Dealership said that I must be using cheap gasoline and that I've got carbon build up (at 60k miles!!) on the valves. This seems rather incredulous to me as the car has been well looked after and most of the miles have been from highway driving. I hope after using the carbon cleaner the dealership sold me the problem will be fixed; unfortunately, something tells me that this is going to cost a couple grand if they have to take apart the heads. I am very disappointed in this car. If I had any idea that I would be where I am today, I would never have gone near the dealership. BMW likes to brag that it's the ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. Yeah, right! I think this car is a well marketed hunk of you-know-what.

Sabrina of Covina CA (09/02/07)
I thought buying my 2004 Mini Cooper S would be my greatest purchase ever. Well, it turned out to be a bad decision. I like others, have had my battery die on me more than once at around 36,000 miles. The dealer said that my radiator fan was staying on a draining my battery. They replaced the fan, battery, clutch plate and disc, a heat damaged flywheel, a rear main seal that was leaking, and a defective oil pan gasket. I only took it in for the dead battery. Little did I know that the car was about to fall apart. I thought I had just had a slew of bad luck and that thank God the car was still under warranty. Now, at 78,000 miles new problems have arised. My entire exhaust manifold, motor mount, master cylinder, and brakes had to be replaced. My power windows had to be replaced as well. After paying over 1700.00 dollars in repairs I realized that this car is going to cost me more than what is worth. It is pretty to look at and fun to drive but not worth the trouble. I need to trade this car in before the transmission takes a dump. This was the advise to me from a BMW repair shop who stated that he has repaired over 5 transmissions on Minis in the last month. All of which, had lower miles on it than my car. So, if you are looking to buy a Mini - don't. Stare at it from a far on the highway while the other sucker is stuck with the repair bills.

Lola of Tampa FL (07/23/07)
We have a 2004 Mini Cooper S. It has been in the shop for unschedualed service 10 times now. The last time takes the cake. I was on my way to the dealer for an unrelated problem (The seats keep getting stuck in the reclined position) when the air conditioning stopped blowing cold. Of course they only had time to fix the seats and I had to make another appointment for the air. We live about 45 minutes from the dealer. So after bringing the car in for the 11th time we were told the electric fan on the radiator for the air conditioner died, causing the air conditioning to overheat and blow out the radiator, the evaporator the compressor and every other air conditioning part ever made to blow up. They wanted over $4000 to repair the air. After raising hell they agreed to fix it for about $1200. The car only has 42,000 miles on it. They told me that is how they are designed. They are not designed to tell you the fan died. (How about a warning light or auto shut of the air contitioning) they just let you keep driving until the air blows up. I feel this is a huge design fault that BMW over looked or maybe that was done on purpose to make money on repairs. This car is cute and fun but is built worse than any car I have ever owned . And I used to own a Pinto. Don't buy a Mini unless you have another car and you like going in for service a lot and often.

Diane of Seattle WA (06/13/07)
I have a 2003 MINI Cooper S with about 68,000 miles. At 57,000 I had valve problems with 2 of my valves. Now, I have to replace my fuel pump and sensor. Needless to say, I am not happy.

The valves cost roughly $2000, and the new sensor & fuel pump will be over $1000.

Winnie of Milpitas CA (05/31/07)
I bought my Mini Cooper with a CVT back in 2002. Since then, I have had the car stall on me multiple times. Each time I took it into the dealership, they just updated my software, until the last time when it happened in the middle of a busy highway with my grandfather in it with me. They dicovered that my DME (the CPU of the Mini) was faulty and was sending constant ground signals to one of th coils until it exploded. They replace the DME and everything was fine for a little while, although I did replace my battery at around 20K. Last week, I was driving to my 2nd grade class, and my car just flat out died in the middle of the road after driving for about 1/2 a mile. I had it towed to my mechanic, and it was discovered that my transmission is completely broken. It's a $6500 fix with my mechanic and an $8000 fix with the dealership. My warranty just ran out last June and there is pretty much nothing Mini Cooper could do for me (big surprise). I only have 55K miles on it, and a transmission replacement should not happen at this stage! Although I have fond memories with this car, it had been quite a nightmare to maintain. My grandfather and I could have been killed in the middle of the freeway that day, but BMW/Mini just doesn't really care despite their ultra friendly facade. I am extremely disappointed.

Bobbie of Olive Branch MS (05/18/07)
Compared to other complaints, mine seems minor, very minor. But I learned a lesson about trust and a dealers intergrity before I got burned too much. As of yesterday, we owned a 2004 mini that had been a good car, we put about 43,000 miles on it. After an encounter with a gravel truck, we ended up with a crack in our windshield.

Since the mini dealer is about 45 minutes from our home, through Memphis traffic, I took it to a glass company about five minutes from my home, that we have had good service from in the past. We stayed while the windshield was replaced,talking with the man while the work was being done, inspected it afterwards, and followed their instructions to leave the tape on for about 3 days. Days later, when we did drive the car again, we turned off our street onto the main highway and the black clear plastic cover (strip) that runs alone the outside of the windshield, ripped off. We found the inner rubbery piece and most of the outside plastic piece on the road.

I called the BMW dealer and the parts guy said they do stock them, because they do sometimes fly off. With tax it would be about $62, so I drove through the Memphis traffic and bought it. When I took it to the glass company, they showed me how the new replacement strip was manufactured differently from the original that came on the car, and it was much better, sturdier and would secure to the windshield much better. Long story short (too late) when I called the parts guy back, he turned me over to the service department. Bryan informed me that probably the guy broke it when he took it off, our guys do the same thing because it's easy to break those. I told him we knew it was not broken by the glass company, because we were there, and had inspected it prior to leaving, and after we took off the tape.

He said to bring the car out there and he would look at it. Well again, I drove back out to the dealer, and was so insulted that it made me sell the car the very next day. He said it didn't matter that we saw the guy fix it and inspected it, it didn't matter that the manufacturer had improved the new replacement pieces, I didn't matter that only one cover blew off, it didn't matter that his own certified mechanics break them when they try to remove them when repairing a windshield, none of it mattered, because I had jeopardized the warranty by letting someone else replace the windshield. If they had broken it, they would replace it. So I asked him if it had not been in warranty, and I called and got a quote, would the quote include replacing both of the covers, assuming his certified mechanics would break them while removing them. No he did not answer.

So the lesson I learned was, I can not trust this dealer, and unfortunately he was the only Mini dealer in the city. I told him that it was not the money I paid for the cover, it was not that obviously the manufacturer had improved the replacement cover due to continued complaints about these covers blowing off, what mattered was that his attitude and insulting way of treating me over something so minor, told me I do not want to deal with him or his service department ever again. What was really so bad, was my husband had already talked to someone about trading this Mini in, on a convertible one.

So yesterday, I traded it in for a new Toyota, that we absolutely love. I'm thankful that I didn't have to deal with paying this company for some real work, but when a car manufacturer sees that something wasn't right on the cars they made, shouldn't the replacement parts be free, even if they don't announce the dreaded words 'RECALL'.

Ashley of Drexel Hill PA (05/06/07)
I got my 2005 mini cooper used from a guy in New York who kept it in really great shape. He didn't want to give it up, but his little girl kept hitting her head when she got out. I was so excited to get my mini. Not long after I started driving it, the check engine light would come on for no reason. Then for absolutely no reason, my horn started blaring outside my house and I couldn't stop it. Angry neighbors came outside and the police were called. Luckily someone came with a flashlight and disconnected the horn.

Then the driver's side door-lock stopped working... then the passenger side door lock stopped working. My happiness over having my mini was quickly fading. One day I put something in my back seat so i pushed the lever on the driver's seat to make it recline forward and when i went to set the seat back in the upright position it would not stay upright. It would only lock in the FULLY reclined position.

This happened right before Christmas so I drive around for a month with my seat like this before I could get to a dealer. Three months later after having my state inspection, my passenger side lock had died and my brakes were worn down to nothing.

Early one morning I was driving down to the Jersey shore and the whole car just died for absolutely no reason. Maybe it was just because I was driving in Jersey. There's a little dent in my back bumper that I wanted to fix but the dealer said it would be 700 dollars to replace. I had to tap into my student loan for all the repairs and the multiple flat tires I've had (3 in 3 months).

I thought I good deal on my mini, but I should have just gotten a Honda Civic.

Candace of Clio MI (05/04/07)
Along with many others, I have also had a lot of problems with my fairly new Mini Cooper. Sure enough after my warranty expires the power steering pump just quits, and its $700-$800 to have fixed. My car has 50,000 miles, I have had the passanger lock replaced, front and back brakes, and the battery. I am a student and work retail...I basically work just to own the car without much left over for anything else, let alone $800 for power steering!

Kim of Springfield VA (05/04/07)
I bought my Mini Cooper new in April of 2003. The first week I had it the Service Engine Soon light came on and I brought it back to a MINI dealership to repair it. I drove it home and the next time I started the car the light came back on. I brought it back to another dealership who assured me it was fixed but the next time I started the car that light came on.

I have taken it to 3 different MINI certified dealerships on 6 occasions and the problem persists. Because of this light, my car will not pass emissions and the car is not legal to drive. I have been on the phone with MINI USA for a week, several times a day and with several people and they are apathetic to my problem but assure me this time we'll fix it. Just make another appointment.

I know that it won't be fixed and I'll have to take another day off work to deal with the issue. Now my car has been out of warranty for 2 weeks and the brakes have gone as well and when I asked MINI if they would cover it, considering all I've gone through with this car they said no, it's out of warranty.

Brad of Milner GA (05/02/07)
I bought two mini coopers in 2003.one cooper S and a cooper. The cooper S has been serviced several times to fix the battery which sometimes dies for no reason.The wind shield wipers stop working after about 5 minutes . Every time the service department says nothing is wrong and all is fine. Well, today I found out that the cooper which has 86,000 miles needs a new transmission.

Paul of Philadelphia PA (04/25/07)
I have a 2002 Mini Cooper, and for the most part love the car, and I take great care of it. After the four year warranty ended the troubles began, the passenger side window motor wouln't work, then thank god finally did. After a northeast winter storm the wiper blade motor died, that's right died, $400 for that one. Two weeks later the power steering dies, works again after restarting the car but periodically happens again.

I call the dealership and of course they say they steering pum needs to be replaced $800 for that. When the job was completed I asked the dealership what actually went wrong with it, not that it just broke type of answer. Their response was, It just wore out, they do that.

My response was that the car has only 50,000 miles on it and every mechanic that I talked to said that shouldn't have happened. They said it did and basically that in 50,000 miles from now expect to be buying another one. The best part is that I still have the original tires, brakes and spark plugs in the car.

Maral of West Hollywood CA (04/14/07)
I bought my 2002 Mini Cooper brand new andhave a multitude of problems starting with a faulty airbag sensor that has been replaced 6 times now. I replaced the battery at 20,000 miles. But I have always been the Mini's biggest fan. until now.

On my way home one night my car just wouldn't go into gear. I had it towed to Torrance BMW for a diagnostic check. Something in the transmission broke loose and nowits going to costme a brand new transmission - $7000. I have 65,000 miles on the car. How is this possible - in doing research i have found that a few other instances of the CVT system that is implemented on my car is causing serious issues like mine.

David of Palos Heights IL (03/15/07)
I bought my 03 mini cooper (non S) from a Mitsubishi dealership on December 23, 2006. When I purchased it there was no person working so they were unable to give me a check up but they told me that If I find any problems over the weekend bring it back in Monday morning. So over the weekend, I found that the heater did not work, it took 14 days to fix it. I had it for one night and the Battery drained, I was able to jump it and drive it home.

The next morning the car would not start I called my dealership and they told me to put some lemon on the batter ports (hahahahhahahaha) they actually said that. I brought it in and it turns out that the power steering pump fan stayed on so and it drained the battery, they had the car for 6 days. In the first month I had my Mini I drove it 3 days approx. It worked fine for a few weeks then I stopped in to have my drivers side door lock looked at, it did not unlock or lock with the button on the key.

They pretended to order me a key, that evening I went to start my car and the battery was dead once again, In 1 foot of snow the next morning I jumped my car and took it in, The problem once again was the power steering pump fan...the same one that took 6 days to fix. This time my dealership refused to accept the problem and told me that I needed to go to the actual mini dealer over 50 miles away.

The dealer fixed my Power steering pump by replacing it. I had no problems for almost 2 weeks until today when I was driving my Mini and I stopped at a stop sign and I could not put my car into gear. The clutch seamed to be working, and the engine was running just fine. The date today is March 15, 2007. I bought my dream car on December 23, 2006. I have had this 2003 Mini for 3 months and have put less than 3000 on it. The car has approx 58,880 miles

I have spent only 200 so far but I am sure that this transmission problem will really up the anti

Judy of Walnut Creek CA (02/07/07)
After deciding to purchase a mini cooper. I went to my local BMW dealership, to work out a trade in, with my 1996 Avalon. The salesrep, persuaded me into a lease program and insisted that I was ineligible for a purchase with a loan. With pressure, after some time, I felt, that, was my only option. I was verbally quoted a few things, such as...my lease would allow me 10,000 miles a year with a four year lease.

Milage over the total 40,000 would be ten cents per mile. However my actual lease states, twenty cents per mile. I acknowledge my own naivety. But let me say, as for the mini, this was the beginning of a multitude of problems. First the steering wheel began to peel. We ordered a new one. I had purchased my mini in 2003. After milage of 25001 I was replacing my special, run flat tires. I complained that my car had a lot of problems. Sometimes it did not start right away, it would take several atempts.

The car also was cutting out, while driving, even if it for a few seconds. Everytime I mentioned the problem, there was what seemed like a reasonable response, it was cold, it was too hot.

At approximately 26,000 miles I had to replace my battery . I brought the car in soon after the battery had been replaced indicating that the coolant light was blinking and that it was not blowing cool air when the ac was on. the 5amp fuse was blown. At 26000 miles there was a clunking sound in the steering colum when I turned the wheels. This had to be replaced.

Then there were problems with the blade of the auxillary fan not turning properly and causing overheating. This resulted in my car being towed twice. At 30,000 miles, windows would not roll up and down. At 33,000 miles my door was not locking nor unlocking. At 34,000 there were numerous problems with the doorhandles. Apparently there was a defect in the handle bracket, this was replaced. Then, I began to notice a hairpin fracture starting at the very base of the windsheild, with no apparent mark, suggesting that anything had hit the windsheild.

They would not replace it. At 38,000 miles there were problems with the side windows not closing all the way, leaking and whistling, adjustments with molding and glass was needed, on three different occasions. There were also problems with the passenger seat not reclining and sticking at a certain level. At this time the steering wheel was also making a grinding noise, when driving at reduced speeds. 44,000 miles engine light continuing to go on.

Now for the best. My daughter was in an accident very little damage to other car, the mini, over 6,000. in damages and the best part, I waited six weeks for the foreign part from Germany. I am not a happy mini owner.

Mini Cooper of Miniville NY (01/27/07)
My girlfriend's 2003 Mini has experienced a multitude of problems all stemming from electrical issues surrounding power steering failure. The power steering pump had to be replaced due to it burning out in the driveway of our home. Luckily, there was no fire or other damage to the car. Prior to this, noticably more whine could be heard from the power steering pump when turning the steering wheel.

The power steering failed completely several times on the road, unexpectedly making the car difficult to steer while driving. The initial failures seemed to correct themselves after turning the vehicle off and then restarting. After which the garage, upon inspection simply unplugged the power steering pump's lead and reconnected it, seemingly resolving the problem.

The same night the power steering burned out and drained the battery. She then purchased a new battery and brought the car to a certified mini dealer who replaced the entire power steering pump-under manufacturer warranty. Since then, we have detected a burning smell eminating from under the bonnet as well as through the vents. The car has also failed to start occasionally. Fearing that the car now had a faulty starter the car was again brought in to be diagnosed.

The service technician stated that the battery once again needed to be replaced and the smell was caused by the alternator being overworked supplying power to keep the vehicle running. We could still smell something burning and have even heard crackling sounds on occasion. In addition, the windows often do not respond when opening/closing the doors.

Hopefully the car doesn't have to catch fire in order for anyone to admit there was a problem with it. So now, it's on its way back for another inspection. Mini needs to not only recall the power steering pump, but also make an effort to pinpoint the source of all the electrical problems stemming from its failure.

Bebe of Pasadena CA (12/21/06)
Three months ago a piece of black plastic trim next to the windshield on my 2003 Mini Cooper unexpectedly flew off. I took the car in to the closest dealer (since it is still under warranty) to have it replaced. A repair technician told me he has noticed this problem before with other Minis, so i thought they would quickly get to the bottom of it. Boy was I wrong! The dealer kept the car overnight saying the glue had to dry. I later found out that there is no glue involved. The car seemed OK, but the very next day the trim cracked again. I took the car back in and was told that the problem was that I had installed an after-market windshield on the vehicle and this was causing the trim to break.

The dealer said they would replace it one more time as a courtesy but after that, they could not be responsible. Needless to say, the trim broke again within a week. I later took the car to a body shop and had both the windshield and trim replaced at my own expense. When I got the car back, the shop told me the old windshield was identical to the one Mini uses and had NOTHING to do with the broken trim.

The Mini dealer had simply installed it wrong!! The body shop also mentioned they have seen this identical problem in other Minis. My question: is there anyone else who has experienced this problem? My car will go out of warranty in 4 months, and I don't want this to happen again.

I had to pay the body shop $350 to replace the trim and the windshield, even though the after market windshield I had installed previously did not contribute to the problem.

Christina of Seattle, WA (10/18/06)
My boyfriend has an '03 Mini Cooper, and has has the power steering replaced twice. The second time it fried the wiring, which led to over $2,500 in repairs.

Three months later, the wiring seems to be going out again, as the door lock and windows are not working. Seems to be a theme here...

Cyndi of Mchenry IL (08/14/06)
My car burned up in my driveway Tuesday night, Aug. 8. It was an '03 Cooper S, and I loved it. Was driving it Tuesday night and smelled a wire burning smell, and when I parked in my driveway, I saw flames shooting out from under the right front wheel well. The car is totaled, and I owe $12,090 on it.

Jeff of Long Beach CA (08/09/06)
A few nights ago I was accelerating onto the freeway when something in my transmission snapped in my 2003 Mini Cooper, (69,000 miles). I had to have it towed to Crevier and they quoted me $7400 for a new transmission. The mechanic said they do not open up Mini transmissions therefore I need a new one. The transmission itself can be bought for $5800 through a non-dealer type. The unit price is roughly 1/3 the value of the car.

I will most likely have to piece out the car since its not worth buying a new transmission for it.

Susan of Annandale VA (08/09/06)
I only slightly under 30,000 miles on my 2003 Mini-Cooper and was told I had to pay for a battery replacement because I had not driven the car enough. Even though I drive my car daily to work - I have to pay over $200 for a new battery because I did not use the car enough - this is so ridiculous. Talked to several Mini representative and all say the same - Mini Policy and yet it is not in the Policy Book provided upon purchase.

Sharnell of Bakersfield CA (07/04/06)
I purchased a 2003 Mini Cooper 1 year ago. I loved driving it until a belt broke in the sealed transmission. The Mini dealership said they can only replace the entire transmission,$7000, not the part that broke. I was referred to the company who makes the transmission out of Germany. They do not want to sell the part, only a new transmission. I have called several transmission shops; none of them are able to purchase the belt needed to fix the tranny!

Jenn of San Diego CA (06/01/06)
I had a small engine bay fire due to a faulty power steering pump shorting out. This has happened to at least 3 other MINI Coopers in the U.S. and a few more in the UK. MINI needs to have a recall on the part. Thankfully no one has been seriously hurt or killed, nor has there been severe property damage, YET. All of the cars that spontaneously caught fire were parked.

My insurance company paid for all except the replacement power steering pump itself. Although I caught the fire early and put it out, there was still over $4,000 worth of damage. I feel that the fault is due to a design flaw and MINI needs to acknowledge the problem.

Claudio of Brooklyn NY (6/4/03):
I bought my Mini 3 months ago (March 2003). I was extremly happy with it until last week; one day (May 21st, 2003) when I tried to start it, it didn't start. Totally confused, I called customer service, they sent a towing truck and they took my car to the BMW-Mini of Manhattan, where the car was purchased.

After the car was checked, they called me back saying that the starter engine was broken and that they needed one day to replace it; two days later, customer service called me back and surprised me by saying that the engine was damaged due to water entering it and causing the piston to break. Their quote to fix the engine, is $5,500 and the warranty does not cover the damage, because according to customer service the problem is all my fault.

They say that I drove my car into a swamp, and water went into the engine causing a total seizure; Needless to say that I never drove into a swamp ,and by the way, has anyone ever seen a swamp in NYC? I really cannot understand. The end of the story is that Mini is now asking me for $5,500 for a new engine.

I also called the customer service North America of MINICOOPER, and their answer was that my car insurance has to pay for the engine. My insurance's answer is that the situation is RIDICULOUS and that my car is under warranty and that is a factory problem (or defect from the factory). My question now is: How is it possible, that a brand new Mini cooper from the BMW engine (2,000 miles) can break so easily?

Claudio should retain an experienced Lemon Law attorney right away.

Anne of Dunn Loring VA (7/9/03):
My new '03 CVT Mini Cooper stalls while driving. The first time, I was struck from behind but received no damage. One week later, the car died and wouldn't restart. The same day I picked it up from service, the car died 3 times in 2 hours!

My car also gets abysmal city gas mileage -17/18 mpg. The dealer has been highly unhelpful, stating they couldn't reproduce the problem and expressing no remorse or concern over our safety. Six of the seven complaints on the NHTSA website deal with the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. In these reports, dealers state they cannot reproduce the problem. However, consumers continue to experience these problems therefore, the dealerships are not satisfactorily repairing them.

As of today, the dealer again told me that they brought a specialist in and still find no problems with it. This car has died on me 6 times in the 27 days I've actually driven it. I don't feel safe driving any Mini. I requested a refund for my lease after the second repair attempt. The Operations Manager first stated BMWs weren't subject to lemon laws! After the numerous stalls while driving, I am afraid to risk my life and my child's by driving my Mini to meet the third VA lemon law requirement. I would prefer a refund while I'm still alive.

I am paying over $400 per month on a car that has been in Service for 21 days as of 7/9/03. I leased the car on 5/14/03. I am paying for a car I cannot drive.

Helena of San Leandro CA (5/7/03):
On Apr. 23 03, I entered an Oral Contract (seller agrees to sell and buyer agrees to buy) with Roger Campell (repersenting Desert BMW of Las Vegas) to purchase a Silk Green Mini Cooper for $23,332.75, and he credited my credit card $5,000 for deposit on the car on the same day. On Apr. 25, I received paperwork he sent me and I signed all the contracts and sent them back to him. On Monday, I mailed him a check for the remaining balance of $18,332.75 and on Tuesday, Apr 29, I informed him that the check is on the way. I called him on Thursday to see if he got the check yet, he told me that he is off work that day and has no idea. On Friday, May 2, I called him again, he told me that he has got the check, but they had sold the car to someone else on Thursday.

I am very disappointed with their business ethics, since this is a breach of contract (both oral contract and paper contract), I have paid the depost, sign all paperworks and sent the check to purchase the car. Also, Roger had been very impolite, very unexpectable attutude and threats me over the phone. And also, this is a one of a kind car, the color had been discontinued, and there is not another car like this one in the whole nation (and properly around the whole world).

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