It is possible to have both at that level. A Civic Si will keep up with a Mini easily, and run circles around it in the reliability department.
OP, I know it sucks when someone tells you your car isn’t very good but unfortunately @Mustangman is right. Minis are made, cheaply, by BMW, which is also known for being… Shall we say maintenance intensive. They’re very cool looking and fun to drive, but they are not reliable as you have discovered yourself.
The number of significant problems you have experienced in a 2 year old Mini is more than the number of problems I had in my Acura which was 14 years old when I replaced it, and the Acura will give its new owner years of low maintenance service, I have no doubt. If you keep the car, you need to be prepared for more repairs ahead. If you’re OK with that, great! Enjoy the Mini.
How far up “the ladder,” above the Service Department, have you climbed with this problem?
Dealer service departments can get help from a roving Manufacturer’s Service Zone Representative specialist who’d ordinarily schedule an appointment to meet you and your car at the dealership to sort things out. I’d ask for that.
I’d get my salesman involved and her/his sales manager, Service manger/director, and then the Dealership Owner/Principal(s). I’d request an appointment for a meeting with them. Let them know what’s been going on and that you could be killed because of lack of service. Have them take an interest in making you a happy, live customer and have a “go to” person if you need more help.
I’d press for a loaner car (they can make that happen), if needed, to leave the car until it has been properly diagnosed and remediated.
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Be kind and polite (as I’m sure you are) and be a good listener and as patient as possible, but be consistent, persistent, and insistent. CSA
I’ll agree with this answer (common_sense_answer). Get the higher ups involved. Also, get a lawyer to go with you when you meet them. You will be swindled by their mumbo jumbo if you go alone.
As for the engine stalling, sounds to me like a clutch issue (i could be wrong). If the clutch is not getting released properly, especially at low rpms or when you are not applying the gas, the engine stalls.
Have either an independent shop or the dealership check the clutch and adjust it or, in the worst scenario, replace it. Adjusting the clutch is an easy job, but replacing parts of the clutch is expensive.
I have no idea about the legal part of this. Like many comments mentioned, they will try their best to falsify service logs to disprove you. I understand how you feel about being left with a rotting “lemon”, only an experienced lawyer can help you here. Many lawyers offer free first consultation. Talk to a few and see if this issue is worth pursuing the legal way or getting it repaired.
Don’t feel bad about your choice of buying this vehicle. At any given time and circumstances, everyone makes the most optimum choice based on their financial situation, the reputation of the manufacturer and their understanding of what the quality of the vehicle should be. No one goes out and buys a “cheap” car by choice. All of us assume that every car must comply with at least the minimum requirements of the US law. You bought the vehicle to drive it and here you are unable to do it. Does every car in this model have this problem? Maybe not. Which means that you made the best choice with the facts available to you at that time. Even the cheapest car out there must satisfy that criterion for the minimum allowed time period (warranty period).
I’ll disagree with this part, for now. If you walk in with a lawyer, you’re definitely, to paraphrase @common_sense_answer, trying to catch flies with vinegar. In fact at many companies, once they know a lawyer is involved, you won’t be able to talk to anyone but the legal department. Everyone else will refuse to deal with you.
I’d instead advise walking in by yourself, being nice but firm, and don’t agree to anything right away. Unless, of course, they just tell you that they’ll replace the car no strings attached - definitely agree to that!
Okay, Katelyn, here’s a dumb question. Do you believe that when the motor dies, that it really is the auto-stop/start and not some other electrical problem? How do you know?
I have only had one experience with auto-stop/start, a rented car in Israel. (I don’t even remember what brand it was, Peugeot maybe.) But that car had a switch on the dash to disable auto-stop/start. Does yours? If it does, why not simply flip the switch and disable the function? Even a 24-year-old grad student can afford the extra $5/year in gas.
Because it’s an electrical problem in a car made by BMW, which means that, as usual, the electricals are garbage. Fix it or it might get worse – or better yet, lemon law it if possible and get a car that doesn’t try to live up to the lofty standards of Lucas Industries.
