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This saddens me greatly to make this post, to the point where I nearly feel like I have lost a wonderful friend.  

In opening, I would like to say how wonderful Mini USA has been to me over the past 3 seasons with their support at Mini USA with contingency through their Motor Sports division as well as the wonderful service at Baron Mini here in the KC area.  If it had not been for the support by Mini USA through their Motor Sports contingency division, I would not have been able to travel across the country competing at National Tours and Prosolo's in my 2004, 2005 and 2006 Mini Cooper S's as well as numerous other competitors 2005 and 2006 Mini Cooper S's.  During these three seasons, I have had great success competing in Mini's with 15 National Tour/Prosolo wins, something like 25 podium finishes at NT's and Prosolo's with one National Championship and a 2nd place at Nationals in 2007.  

So, for 2007, I decided I would purchase a new 2007 Turbo Mini Cooper S.  I actually signed the paperwork on the purchase at the end of September thinking I would probably keep this one for quite a while since I enjoyed the R56 so much.  

Anyway, when I took my Mini in for the oil change a couple weeks ago to Baron Mini, I mentioned to them that I had a very annoying squeak in the clutch mechanism when the cabin was warm from the heater.   To my horror, when Baron called me to let me know that my car was finished, here was the basic scope of the message that my service advisor had left for me......

Hi Craig, this is XXXXX from Baron, your car is all set to go here with its service, we replaced the oil, the micro filter and the other first scheduled service....    ....."But, on the other item with the clutch, we can't do any work on that item, (the list says)not warrantable due to racing, not warrantable due to racing, warranty voided by Jeff White, its on the vehicle history, the dealer communication History, saying vehicle used at racing competition events, repairs or defects not covered by BMW warranty, date posted 11/7/07"

Amazed that this is now January and I had never been notified that my warranty was cancelled, I hopped on the phone for a quick call to the dealer, but, I was thinking to myself that surely there is a mis-conception to what I have been doing over the past several seasons, I remember thinking, "these guys think that I have raced my Mini on a track or something".  I was concerned, but, figured with one phone call we could get things worked out.  So, I decided to just call the dealership and talk to the service manager about it thinking we could get things cleared up easily enough.  This was on a Friday afternoon, and, the service manager said he would call this Jeff White and see if he could get this cleared up, but, that this was something initiated by Mini USA, not the dealership, but, anything non-mechanical would still be covered(so, when I say warranty voided, I am referring to engine, tranny, suspension, anything moving).  I decided to also call the head of the Mini USA Motorsports guy, Vincent K, and speak to him about this since the previous Mini USA Motorsports guy Jeff S said my warranty would never be canceled due to autocrossing since I had expressed my concern over this during one of our  conversations that we had last year.  I was delighted to find that Vincent fully supported me and actually knew my name from the several contingency submissions I had made throughout the past season in various Mini's that I had competed in, none of which were my own besides the National Championship where I placed 2nd this season in GS.  He actually seemed very upset that this Jeff White was messing with me.  He also said that there was noone who had access to my contingency submissions, so, it wasn't something that came from the contingency submissions, it must have came from somewhere else.  So, I called the dealer back and requested that they let me know why they thought I had "raced" my car, since first off, I didn't consider autocross racing.  The dealer didn't know where Jeff White got the idea that I raced, but, there was one note that indicated that the proof was from Nationals Results.  I still was convinced that they were thinking I was racing my Mini on a track.  I received a call back from Vincent and he mentioned to me that he was going to speak with Jeff Whites boss on the following Monday to see if he could get this sorted out and he also mentioned that this started at the dealership level and it didn't come from Mini USA, he promised to get back to me the following day though.  Unfortunately, thats the last time I have spoken with Vincent and I still have yet to hear from Jeff White and it has been nearly 2 weeks.  This is what takes the cake though, my dealer calls me today and starts reading off contingency submissions emailed to him from Vincent K from Mini USA Motorsports division as proof that I raced my vehicle which they are now using to void my warranty on anything other than non-mechanical items.  He also received an email from the Jeff White guy that initially got this thing rolling, he said they stood by their stance.  I was able to convince my dealer to replace the clutch mechanism last week luckily though since he believed the fact that an autocross event wasn't the cause of the pedal to squeak, but, he is worried that he possibly won't get paid for the repair and probably won't since Mini USA has taken this aggressive stance to void my warranty on my brand new Mini.

Bottom line is, I have gone out there across the country and have supported MiniUSA in a partnership to the best of my ability and I feel I have been stabbed in the back.  Why would they void my warranty on a brand new Mini with someone who has promoted Mini USA by doing what they advertise you can do when you purchase a Mini?  I autocrossed one event, Nationals, since I signed the paperwork.  And, they are using this as grounds to void my warranty on anything other than non-mechanical items?  This is just flat WRONG!!!

All I can say is, Mini owners BEWARE!  Think twice before buying a Mini, and, if you autocross it, make sure you don't submit contingency on it if you want to keep your warranty!  I never thought I would ever be in this position with Mini.  I love their product but am now being forced to hate their aggressive, careless actions towards me with voiding my warranty on my BRAND NEW MINI!  I have refrained from making this public until now, I have simply exhausted all avenues of communication with Mini USA representatives since they only care to communicate now through my dealer than directly with me for unknown reasons.  And, I am told that one of the top guys at Mini supports voiding my warranty.  The dealer now says maybe it was initiated by them due to it being their responsibility, regardless, I am sickened by the actions of Baron as well as MiniUSA regardless. Wow is all I can say...

Once again, nothing saddens me more than making this post, I have had a wonderful past 3 seasons running Mini's, I almost shed a tear that they decided to burn the bridge with me for unknown reasons.  Why would Mini jack with me of all people?  Heck, there were Mini USA representatives at Nationals to help support us, why now burn the bridge?  Mini loaned us 5 different Mini's at various autocross events this season including Nats.  Why void my warranty over one event in my new Mini?  Mini took pics of the winning Mini, used my name in various publications, why void my warranty on my brand new Mini?  We instructed several BMW club members at our local autocross school this past summer, including SEVERAL Baron BMW employee's, why void my warranty on my BRAND FREAKIN NEW MINI?

I now shed a tear with the ended relationship with Mini USA, I feel stabbed in the back by MINIUSA as well as Baron Mini and still confused as to why I was attacked by MiniUSA and not backed a bit more by BARON with a pretty much voided warranty.....

Craig Wilcox

2007 Mini Cooper S (on the way to Carmax as soon as possible)
2008 Mazda Mini MSR package? on the way in... ;-)

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2006 GS National Champion
2007 GS National Champion....Runner up lol
2008 GS National Champion
2009 BSP National Champion....Runner up, lol again, although, not so funny lol

Your post has generated the wrath of The Mad Blogger! See what TheMadBlogger had to say! TheMadBlogger is simply a customer service notification website. TMB takes pride in reviewing both good and bad customer service and the organizations providing said service.

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Project 350z
Nissan Leaf

Chris Hammond:

Your post has generated the wrath of The Mad Blogger! Baron Mini Sucks! Mini USA Sucks! Let's see how quickly google picks that one up :)

 

Oh no!  You are going to get me sued!  Oh well, I guess if I get sued for speaking the truth of what happened, well, then, sue me biatches!  ;-)  I'll file bankruptcy or go on the run in my new Miata. lol

 

Seriously though, I am really saddened by this, I really feel like this is an error by only a very small number of individuals at MiniUSA and the rest of MiniUSA is actually ethical.  Maybe they will see the error of their ways some day, I feel like I am in a very bad dream here. :-(  The really bad part is that they are SO supportive and SO dedicated towards motorsports and then at the flip of a switch, they stab me in the back for no apparent reason.  Its like corner working with Lehman!  One minute, he is calling in cones, the next, he is filling your water bottle with his urine(j/k of course, I actually can appreciate Lehman's humor now)!  Why would they do this?  It makes no sense to me.

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2006 GS National Champion
2007 GS National Champion....Runner up lol
2008 GS National Champion
2009 BSP National Champion....Runner up, lol again, although, not so funny lol

So can we move all the Minis up a class now?

That's F-ed up Craig. I have seen you, Jeff Jacobs and Chiles as 3 of the biggest mini drivers over the last few years. So despite the $$$ from mini will others now bail on the car? Seems pretty twisted that they would treat you like this.

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Come join up F125....there isn't any contingency there so no worries LOL :)  
 

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David Hedderick
Pearland (Houston), TX
08 Mazda 3s (comfy car)
02 Mazda Protege (the beater)
92 Miata SE - Fun D-Prepared / track car Project

Is it possible there is a new individual in some supervisory or upper management role that is trying to "make a name" for themselves within Mini USA? I've seen many very poor business decisions made because of a "new sheriff in town" type of mentality of a new hire at companies I've followed...and this would have to qualify as a poor business decision. Even in a microcosm, the number of Mini's sold in the autocross community, based in large part on the success of you and a number of others, would provide more than sufficient revenue to cover any type of potential warranty item...and in a more macro sense, who can estimate the value to the brand from the visibility of autocross competition and accpetance by the enthusiast community?

Talk about not being able to see the forest for the trees...totally sux, dude. :-(

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In slow, out fast.
In fast, out backwards.

That's a real shame.  Over the years so many of us have been taking home contingency payouts and now they want to start voiding warranties?  The contingency program is even well promoted on their website with pictures of Chiles, interview and results from Nationals and Pro Solo.

One good story from MINI, I had a bad tranny and they replaced it for free under warranty with no hassles.  My car even goes into the shop with the decals and harness.  I actually got a new clutch and pressure plate as well just because they were in there and went ahead and freshened up everything just in case.  Even the service writer recognized my car and has had past experience doing Solo.  Knauz has had a lot of support for the MINI club folks too.

I think someone at MINI must have been hired from Mitsubishi.

Jim

Howdy,

Does the warranty say it will cover autocross competition?  I expect it says that "any timed event" or something like that isn't covered... Right?

If so, sounds like you're the one stabbing someone in the back, not the Mini folks.

Look folks, its pretty easy.  If the warranty says it won't cover something and you do it anyway, the only person to get pissed at when they, you know, actually don't cover something, is you.
 

If you don't like that, autocross a different vehicle.


Mark

First I feel bad for the bad customer service you are receiving... You might be inclined to contact someone at GRM and maybe send them a write up... Not sure it will go anywhere...

 

I will say, you have profited pretty nicely from Mini through contingency and if they warranty specifically excludes timed events then you really have no complaint.  Mini has treated you more then nicely in the past, and now they are just being fair (following rules)...

Now if there is no exclusion in the warranty to types of events you can run in then I'm with you 100%.

 

Regardless... the Customer Service aspect of this is nothing less then being stuck in a port-a-potty with Lehman.

 

 

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Rick Cone
Atlanta Region Secretary

STS2 #98
1991 Mazda Miata - Aqua

Wow, sorry to hear.  Does this mean we can move the Mini to DS now?

 

Hopefully someone will see this and do the right thing. 

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2006 Subaru WRX STi
Sponsored by AgileAuto.com
D.C./Philly Region - 3 STU

marka:

Howdy,

Does the warranty say it will cover autocross competition?  I expect it says that "any timed event" or something like that isn't covered... Right?

If so, sounds like you're the one stabbing someone in the back, not the Mini folks.

Look folks, its pretty easy.  If the warranty says it won't cover something and you do it anyway, the only person to get pissed at when they, you know, actually don't cover something, is you.
 

If you don't like that, autocross a different vehicle.


Mark

 

MiniUSA has a pretty long track record of supporting the autocross community not only by their contingency program, but their history of consistently standing behind their product regardless of what the fine print may or may not say.  This is the first example that I know of where a warranty has been voided for a Mini.  To me, by voiding the warranty of one of the most well known and, certainly in recent history, the most successful Mini driver in the autocross community, they are sending a strong and clear message that this is the direction they are headed, and current and potential owners will certainly be taking note of this.

It is always a sad day when another car manufacturer that was once very supportive of our hobby takes a direction like this.  When I first heard about this, I thought what Mike did, that someone in MiniUSA was trying to make a name for themselves, but it sounds like there is enough support within MiniUSA that this is a company stance they are taking.  Hopefully someone within Mini reads this and they rethink their position and how this will affect their image and sales.

 

Jake 

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08 Subaru STi - 87 AS
06 Evo IX - 98 SM

marka:

Does the warranty say it will cover autocross competition?  I expect it says that "any timed event" or something like that isn't covered... Right?

If so, sounds like you're the one stabbing someone in the back, not the Mini folks.

Look folks, its pretty easy.  If the warranty says it won't cover something and you do it anyway, the only person to get pissed at when they, you know, actually don't cover something, is you.
 

If you don't like that, autocross a different vehicle.

Mark, if the car is marketed as a competition car -- and we've all seen pictures of Jeff Jacobs's car in Mini ads online, not to mention a lot of the auto mag ads with cut-out cones, etc. -- then it's irresponsible (and possibly illegal) of the company to deny warranty because of something they market the car of being capable of handling.

Of course, I've noticed that with the exception of Mitsubishi, a lot of these denial-of-warranty claims come from companies that offer significant contingencies and market their cars aggressively as "race car in street trim." I think Mazda is an exception in the opposite (good) direction.

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion | 2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion | 2009 SCCA ESPL National Champion
2010 SCCA NEDiv ESP Champion

Lotus says right in their manual that to best appreciate the car's attributes, it should be driven on a track.  Yet they voided my warranty on a synchro issue for autoxing.  f*ckers. 

 I think if you buy a car and decide to autox, you are on your own for drivetrain issues.  I know I basically don't have one, and that is that.  But it pisses me off when they encourage you to participate in any form of motorsports and then f*ck you over when you do.  The fact that Mini has a motorsports division is encouragement to participate.  How many f*cking Minis do you think you've sold for them?  Probably quite a few. 

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Jer

2005 Lotus Elise (retired)
2002 diesel Ford Excursion 4X4 tow vehicle
1993 Miata LeMons car
1984 Citation LeMons car

Howdy,

CamaroFS34:

Mark, if the car is marketed as a competition car -- and we've all seen pictures of Jeff Jacobs's car in Mini ads online, not to mention a lot of the auto mag ads with cut-out cones, etc. -- then it's irresponsible (and possibly illegal) of the company to deny warranty because of something they market the car of being capable of handling.

Of course, I've noticed that with the exception of Mitsubishi, a lot of these denial-of-warranty claims come from companies that offer significant contingencies and market their cars aggressively as "race car in street trim." I think Mazda is an exception in the opposite (good) direction.

Bullcrap.  Take the motorcycle industry as the canonical example here.  Every sportbike made is marketed in large part by factory racing efforts & privateer contingency programs.  But if you try and make a warranty claim on your racebike, they'll laugh you out of the shop and rightfully so.

I'm pretty sure Toyota wouldn't provide coverage on your Tundra if you were out in the desert driving it across railroad track bridges or avoiding large swinging I beams either.

Marketing is marketing.  What the warranty says is what the warranty says.  I suppose you could sue Mini and claim that the advertising for the car overrided what they explicitly say in the warranty, but I'll bet $100 you'll also lose.

This also isn't a case of "joe public" hitting a couple autocrosses... This is someone competing with the car on a national level and getting support from Mini directly to do so.  There's a paperwork trail WITHIN MINI USA that documents the warranty invalidation.

Don't get me wrong... I'd think it would be good for Mini to support autocrossers by continuing to honor the warranty.  But to claim they're "stabbing you in the back" when all they're doing is following what they've officially said they'll do is more than a little over the top to me.

Mark
 

But, autocross is explicitly NOT RACING...where do you draw the line? I think it is safe to say that some people abuse their cars much more on the street than an autocrosser does in competition...

Regardless, Mini USA had established precedent with Craig, through their treatment of him while acknowledging what the car was being used for, and then pulled the rug out from under him with no warning...that's hard to defend.

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In slow, out fast.
In fast, out backwards.

marka:

But to claim they're "stabbing you in the back" when all they're doing is following what they've officially said they'll do is more than a little over the top to me.

Mark
 

I think you missed the part where he explained that the head of the motorsports division previously told him that Mini would honor his warranty despite the fact that he used the car for autocross, and then some time later they voided his warranty.

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08 Subaru STi - 87 AS
06 Evo IX - 98 SM