MINI of Las Vegas - Service Center

In late March 2011 I took my 2003 Mini Cooper to Desert Mini of Las Vegas for a check engine light and inoperative A/C. I live in a state where smog inspections are necessary and I was getting close to the Mini of Las Vegas for a check engine light and inoperative A/C. I live in a state where smog inspections are necessary and I was getting close to the registration deadline and needed something quick. I figured that the dealership would be expensive, but at least the job would be done right. I got the first part right. They kept my car for two days, charging me over $700 for diagnostics. They identified the problem as a defective battery, which they replaced for about $190 and returned the car to me. This is where the fun begins. Within 48 hours the check engine light returned. I also developed several problems I did not have when I took the car in. It began stalling frequently at idle, my fuel gauge stopped working and I began getting “check filler cap” warnings (the filler cap was fine). About a week later the A/C quit again. I took the car back. The service advisor, who had been very friendly before, was far less so when I told him I wasn’t spending any more money on the car. He made it plain that anything that wasn’t on the original bill would be extra cost. Since they had done such a poor job before I decided to stick to the original list. The dealership attempted to blame all my problems on the A/C compressor (the same one they told me was fine after two days of pricey diagnostics). I asked how the compressor could be responsible when the car stalls with the climate control turned off. The adviser repeated “We believe it’s the compressor”, which they wanted to replace for the princely sum of $1,500. Disgusted, I left. If I ever needed evidence that the Better Business Bureau is a useless body that exists only to protect paying members, I soon got it. I filed a complaint with the Southern Nevada BBB. The dealership’s response failed to address the original problems with my car at all, and made a lame attempt to justify charging me a lot of money for not fixing my car. They alluded to the mileage on my vehicle (which is justification alone for charging for nothing, I’m sure) and the fact that they had provided a rental car (which is totally irrelevant to the complaint). BBB administratively dismissed the complaint, saying the dealership had made “a good faith effort” to resolve the complaint. In fact they made as much effort to resolve the complaint as they did to fix my car – which is to say, nothing. The only thing they did was try to justify taking my money and leaving me with a broken vehicle. Mini of North America was no help, either. A similar complaint filed with them got me a form e-mail apologizing for my problem and thanking me for my “input”. If you have read this far you are obviously concerned about the reputation of this dealership – and you should be. They have done work for me before, and my experience has been this: If your vehicle is under warranty, you are treated well. Once the warranty expires, they are happy as long as you don’t ask questions and keep handing them large quantities of cash as their technicians bumble through the process of fixing your car. There is always another essential repair far more expensive than the one you just got that “has” to be done, and odds are less than 50 percent that it will solve your problem. I suggest that you find a good independent mechanic to fix your Mini, and leave these money-grabbers alone. I suggest Kensington Motor Cars, who correctly diagnosed my problems in two hours – a task Desert Mini got wrong twice in two and a half days. More

So this is gonna be one of the saddest stories you'll hear. Around October of 2009 I was getting close to theend of the warranty on my 2006 MINI Cooper S. I had some work in Las Vegas and thought that I hear. Around October of 2009 I was getting close to theend of the warranty on my 2006 MINI Cooper S. I had some work in Las Vegas and thought that I would get a few things attended to under warranty while I had the time. One of the items that needed attention was a whistle sound from the sun roof. Keep on mind that I was building the car for show so the majority of the interior wasn't in the car. They replaced the items that were a concern including the sunroof gasket. Jump ahead a month for the show that I was peeping for and for some reasoning have no brake lights. I figure I must have pinched a wire somewhere. After the show and two trips to a local dealer I'm sitting in my car during one of So. Cals few rains and an idea pops into my head...I wonder if it could be water intrusion. I take it back to the local dealer and express my new concern. Sadly, they confirm my suspicions and say that all four drains aren't connected. Hmm…who touched the sunroof gasket and drains? Desert mini. So the dealer calls them and the refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. After three calls to them, I contacted MINI USA for some action and the best they could say was that the damage was not caused by a warranty issue so they couldn't do anything either. So, being very frustrated, I call my insurance company to pay the $14k bill to repair and they decide to total the car. Fortunately, I have really good insurance and they paid a fair price but I had to remove three years of mods in three days and lost a grand on bushings and another grand on dynamat. Just so sad that a dealer can't accept that nobody is perfect, including their shop foreman that worked on the car. I recently went by their new location on a Saturday for parts. I asked where parts were and one of the ten sales staff standing outside walked in with me to the parts counter andlow and behold, the closed at noon. He couldn't just say hey were closed. Dolt! More