ComplaintsforSeattle MINI

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I bought my new Mini JCW Clubman **** from Seattle Mini on October 20 2023.In beginning of January I got an engine sign on my dashboard. Seattle Mini capped my car for two days and took a test drive for 28 miles then said that they found the problem and fixed it. After I got my car back on the second day the engine sign appeared again.Now Seattle Mini told me that there is another problem and the needed part they found was only in *******. They capped my car for almost a month and took another test drive for over a 100 miles. I started having a feeling that I bought a new car not for myself to enjoy it but for Seattle Mini to test drive it. During this time I met a service manager and he was trying to convince me that as more they will test drivemy car as less Ill have problems. He gave me his personal number but somehow when I was calling him couple of times wondering what is going on with my car and why it takes almost a month to fix a new car he never answered my call nor my massages.

  Customer response

  02/03/2024

  Finally after waiting for 22 day on Friday 02/2
  I was able to get my car back. Unfortunately 
  nobody from a service department could not explain 
  me why I had this problem with a brand new car.
  I still wondering why for all this time of waiting 
  nobody from service department even tried to 
  contact me with an update or just tell me that 
  they still trying to do their BEST to solve this issue?!!
  After two weeks of waiting I still had no idea what 
  was  going on with my car and  I texted service department and had no response so I called them myself.
  Overall I had a very long and unpleasant 22 days of 
  my life dealing with Seattle Mini management.I wish in the nearest future they will be LESS arrogant and MORE customer friendly !!!
  

  

  Business response

  02/10/2024

  ***************************** **** MINI
  VIN # *****************
  RO NUMBER 266042
  
  
  Mr. ******* vehicle arrived at our service department on the Thursday 11th of January with a check engine light. Because this is a new vehicle with very low miles and there was no technical service information regarding the specific codes that were stored, our policy is to open a technical assistance case with MINI *** engineers. With the assistance of technical support, we found that a vent valve built into the valve cover was failing sporadically. This is not a readily available part and was coming directly from *******. We ordered it priority under vehicle down status to minimize down time.
  
  Part arrived end of day Friday the 26th and was installed Monday the 30th because of the sporadic nature of this concern, MINI *** technical assistance required us to do multiple test drives to make sure the system is operating correctly. After each test, we send MINI *** our data and they approve the results. MINI *** cleared the vehicle for release. This process is mandatory, if we do not follow these instructions, we are at risk of not getting reimbursed for the repairs by the manufacturer.
  
  ************************* (our **** manager) had been in contact with ******************. I show that the customer received a call from the advisor (***) on the 29th with an update explaining we were in the ** process and were waiting for the all clear from MINI *** technical support. I have reviewed the call and do see that it was clear the customer was concerned about the length of repairs and didnt understand why we needed to wait for technical assistance from MINI *** to approve repairs. *** did his best to explain the process and why this step was important. The last call was made to Mr. ******* on the 1st of February from *********;Stanford once repairs were complete and the vehicle was ready to pick up. ****************** came in at his earliest convenience to return his loaner vehicle and pick up his car on the ******************************* is now in his vehicle and it has been fixed and cleared by MINI ***.  

  Customer response

  02/10/2024

  On January 29 I was the one who called ****************** of Seattle Mini after I didnt get any response on my text that a send earlier.

  Thats right my car is fine now but my complaint was not about the car it was about very poor customer service towards me as a customer from **********************. The problem with Seattle Mini that they ignored the Golden Rule of the real genuine customer service- CUSTOMER IS

  ALWAYS RIGHT!!! As I said before I really wish Seattle Mini management will have less arrogance and more care for their customers and then for their cars!!!

  Customer response

  02/10/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  My only wish for Seattle Mini Management please remember the rule Customers are always right treat them with respect and warmth and then take care of their cars.
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a used Mini ****** ********** from Seattle Mini on April 9th, 2022 (****** miles). I had the car for less than a few months (Semptember 14th, 2022) when I noticed oil on the top of the engine and leaking from the bottom (****** miles). I took it to a local mechanic and they told me there were a bunch of things wrong with the engine involving oil leaking, head gaskett, the turbo, fuel pump, etc. I called Seattle Mini, explained the situation, and they were very willing to help. I was told that the vehicle I purchased was not inspected at the Seattle dealership, they were very sorry, and told me to bring my car to the dealership to get fixed. I dropped my car off at the dealership on October 29th, 2022 and picked it back up on December 3rd, 2022 (****** miles). I was without my car longer than anticipated, but they did provide me a rental car. I was told that their best tech was on the job and everything that was wrong with my engine had been fixed on their dime. Upon having my vehicle for a few weeks, I still noticed oil leaking from the bottom of my engine. Flash forward to February 2023 (****** miles), my check engine light comes on. Yet again, I take it to a local mechanic and they tell me I have issues with oil leaking and a solenoid controlled by the oil. I reached out again to Seattle Mini to ask about the warranty on the work they had just completed, and was told (By ***** Ter-****) I would be contacted by the general manager (***************************). He never contacted me after I emailed and called repeatedly through May of 2023. I still have an engine oil leak and believe that Seattle Mini made false claims about repairing my oil leak. When purchasing the vehicle, I also asked if it had been inspected and was told yes. That claim was later proved to be false, so I am struggling with this establishment's honesty. I trusted that they fixed the oil leak among other things, and that is clearly not the case.

  

  Business response

  12/27/2023

  To Whom It May ********************************** purchased her car from ** on April 9th, 2022. She contacted us on September 22nd, 2022, in regard to an issue with oil leaking after 5 months and ***** miles. Seattle Mini offers a 3-month, ***** miles powertrain warranty on all our used vehicles (see attached Buyers Guide signed and dated by customer).  Her car was currently at a Mechanic Shop in *******. We offered and paid the shop bill in ******* to make sure the car was safe to bring back to Seattle Mini (See attached paid Invoice from Mechanics ********** and Auto). Once the car was in Seattle, we put her into a service loaner while we took care of the oil leaks as well as a faulty fuel pump that was not a safety issue nor covered under a warranty. All this work was done at no cost to ************* even though we were outside of our warranty or any other implied warranties (see attachment of work completed at no cost). Before repairing the car, I offered ************* the option of trading her out of her current car and into a different one or take care of fixing her current vehicle. She opted to fix her current vehicle. We then also offered her an extended warranty to cover her current car at our cost. They declined to purchase the warranty. Seattle Mini has gone above and beyond in helping ************* with this car. We received an email from ***************** father thanking us for going above and beyond (see attached email). We are still more than happy to help her trade out of this vehicle, or we will help her with servicing the vehicle.

  Customer response

  12/27/2023

  To Whom it May ********************* appreciate the response and your cooperation in resolving this situation. I am absolutely so grateful (from the bottom of my heart) for all of the repairs that Seattle Mini made on their dime. I too have had to invest thousands of dollars worth of repairs on my vehicle this year (exhaust solenoid, A/C blower, etc.), none of which I have asked Seattle Mini to fix with the exception of the oil leak that has continued leaking since I picked it up from the dealership in December of 2022. My frustration is that I tried to contact the dealership about my continuing oil leak upwards of 20 times earlier this year via email, text, and phone call and never got a response. I am also frustrated that my vehicle still leaks oil even though all the oil leaks claim to have been fixed. The oil pan gasket is the cause of the continuing leak and this was not repaired at the dealership (per the repair report I received). 
  
  
  This situation has caused so much frustration, stress, and devastation that has severely impacted my life and wellbeing. I have loved Mini Coopers for upwards of 16 years and have, unfortunately, developed a sour taste in my mouth after this experience. I dont expect anything else from Seattle Mini other than to express my great disappointment, anger, and sadness towards my experience with your dealership and your brand. I hope that Seattle Mini can make some improvements to ensure nothing like this ever happens again because I, truly, would not wish this upon anyone. To say this experience has been horrific would be an understatement.
  
  
  Thank you for your time.
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I wanted some -30' hub carriers for my car. Seattle mini has the only online parts lookup I know of for my car.Great! I can look up parts and order straight from the page. I resisted the temptation to use their part numbers at a cheaper supplier.Unfortunately, the parts it said were -30' are not for my car. They are actually the standard parts on my car. Apparently, this is all my fault as I didn't check with a dealer access only database. They are labelled as -30' as they are -30' on other models. Silly me, I should have known that. Seattle mini claims that my car has the -30' hubs as it has non standard geometry. My measurements indicate that I have -30' camber each side. That is the spec for the other F56 models.I now have two expensive paperweights.This is not cool. While it did take me a while to realise the error, when I started taking my car apart and found the same part numbers, this was not my error and I should have been offered an exchange to the correct parts.I ordered both sides.I would like to return these for a full refund. I have already ordered the correct parts elsewhere as Seattle has refused to do anything about this.My total was $ ******

  

  Business response

  04/20/2023

  To whom it may concern,

  This part was ordered 11/20/2022 online by the consumer (we have included a copy of the order confirmation showing dates and times. The part shipped on the 11/29/2022 (we have included a copy of the Fed-Ex invoice showing the pick-up date and delivery date), the part arrived at the customer's provided address on 12/6/2022.  We have a 14-day return policy at Seattle Mini starting at the delivery of shipment to the customer. We have included a copy of this return policy for review on this compliant. The same return policy disclosure attached to this email, is also sent with the package and the invoice for the end consumer's instructions on our policies. Our order and return policies are also on our website under "policies, terms and conditions", here is a link to this disclosure ************************************************** .

  Our first communication with the consumer after delivery of parts was 2/14/2023 well outside of our 14-day return window. We have included a copy of the email showing the customer questions and our response for the records of this compliant. 

  When the customer placed their order online, they did not provide a VIN number for verification of parts ordered. The consumer has to acknowledge they want to order the part without a VIN number before they can complete the online order. This is a failsafe designed to make sure the correct part is ordered for the car. It also states in our return policy (attached to this email and sent to the customer with parts) ********************** is not responsible for errors on orders placed without providing a vin number. We have included a copy of the order confirmation showing no VIN number at time of ordering. 

  We would have been happy to help with a return on this order. Unfortunately, the part was ordered online by the customer without a VIN number. We did not hear about an issue until two months later, well outside of our return policy window.

   

  Customer response

  04/24/2023

   
  Complaint: 19528222
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Telling me tough luck that I ordered incorrect correct parts due to the combination of your terms, conditions and incorrect information in your website is not a 'solution'.

  These ARE correct parts for my car, but they are the wrong correct parts. The information given on the website indicated that they are ****
   camber correction. The parts ordered are actually the standard parts that were already on the car.

  My VIN number would not have changed this, as they are 'correct' parts. The same ones fitted at the factory, which is the problem.

  *****************

  Look, they do fit my car!

  However, they are not ****, as the website states.

  The error was entirely due to incorrect information on the website, not because I ordered the wrong parts and did not send my VIN

  Worming out of your website error with T&Cs tells me you are dishonest and do not care about your customers, just getting their money.

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have brought our 2019 Mini ****** into the Seattle Mini dealer via Mini *********** since our brakes sounded like metal on metal and made an extremely loud screeching sound. We received a call on Tuesday, 11/29/22 stating that our Mini screeching sounds were confirmed due to corrosion of the rotors and that they could not assist in replacing the rotors or the brakes because we had after market parts installed. Our car since the date of purchase, has only been repaired at the same Seattle Mini dealer with no parts or work done by any other company. We told them that and were told they would investigate and contact us back with an update. We received an update that they were able to confirm the issue, but since the brake pads and rotors were not out of spec, we would need to either take possession of the car which is making severely loud sounds while driving, or pay to repair the brakes out of our own pocket. Not only is this car still under the manufacturers warranty, but we purchased an extended warranty that covers the cost to perform maintenance and fix issues on the car once out of warranty. We were told that it could not be covered under either since the car is in spec, yet no mini coopers on the dealer lot, would screech, especially while not actively applying the brakes. This dealership and brand refuses to take ownership of an issue and repair under warranty, while actively bullying their customers into saying we were repairing this car with after market parts, and then switch to not in scope for repairs. Its the constant changing of the story and not wanting to help their owners repair their brakes when the car falls under several warranties purchased at their own dealer. It makes me lose confidence that the next repair wont be covered for a new set of reasons the next time is needs repair. This dealership fails to maintain consistency in why they wont help someone who purchased their brand.

  

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  The customer brought his 2019 MINI ****** Hardtop in on November 21, 2022 for a loud screeching noise coming from the brakes. The technician was able to verify the customers concern. The technician inspected the front brakes and found that the calipers were not seized and the pads were not metal to metal. The pads measured at 9mm on the inside and outside on both sides, which is well-above spec. The screeching noise was due to the surface rust and corrosion that we found on the front rotors, which is typically caused by moisture, and can be aggravated if the vehicle is not being driven regularly. The customer did verify with their advisor that the vehicle only gets driven on the weekends, which explains the surface rust. The advisor did let the customer know that surface rust and corrosion is not a safety issue and should go away once the vehicle is driven more, but that their pre-paid maintenance package would not cover the brakes since they were still within spec. In order to promote customer loyalty, we agreed to take care of the replacement of the front pads  and rotors though our goodwill policy,which was communicated to the customer on November 30, 2022. The customer also communicated to the advisor that they were happy with the decision and had no qualms from thereon out. This was decided and communicated before the customers partner sent in this complaint.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩