BMW mini door seal

watsimijig

Hi ,

so my daughter bought a second hand 2016 mini as her first car last October from a car trader ( she is now thd second owner )

We noticed a mark on each door pillar whereby the paint has rubbed off to the metal ( probably 7-8 cm long by aprox 1cm width . Upon further investigation , through mini forums it transpires that a good number of models , and still to this day ,mostly have the same problem. The issue apparently is that the  rubber seal is to firm and as such rubs the paint away when closing the door 

According to what I’ve read a good number of people have taken there cars to the dealership body shops , who in turn photo the problem and then seek consent from customer services who in turn assess what’s what and authorise the door seal replacement and the pillars to be re sprayed .

I followed this process just under a year ago ,however as of few months ago hadn’t heard anything only that they were still awaiting a verdict .As we are now nearly a year on I called the body shop  yesterday to be unfortunately advised that we  should of been notified some time ago that minis customer service had declined to complete the repair citing that the car was out of it’s warranty period ( 5 years - 12 for paintwork).

My concern was firstly if the dealership knew that there's was a 5 year period then why photo the car and process the request . 

Secondly ,I’m unsure as to where we stand and would welcome any advice as to wether we've any recourse under the paint warranty , as after all if it wasn’t for the badly designed seal we would unlikely have the problem.All we are looking for bmw to do is correct the fault . Any guidance or advice on the matter would be gratefully received 

Thanks 

Mark 

watsimijig

Body work problem

MattMattMattUK

Does this actually create a problem in any way?

Wonka_2

Having had this issue on a previous car of mine it’ll depend on your local dealer and to an extent the previous history of the car. I bought mine as an ‘Approved Used’ and had the work done as a condition of purchase but if you’ve bought outside the network and your chosen dealer has no previous history of the car you’re less likely to get a positive response. 

As you’ll see from the online forums/FB groups there is a sticker based solution which will avoid further damage but there’s no guaranteed way to get Mini to fix it 

TadleyBaggie

BMW (as in the manufacturer) have no responsibility at all here, any remedy would need to come from the retailer (who may be a BMW authorised dealer but probably have no direct connection to BMW).

watsimijig

Hi , not as such . The door opens and closes as it should . Due to the issue , at this stage the matter is more visual ie a long dark line of exposed bodywork. The only issue that will occur in due course is rusting to the  affected area and beyond .

cannugec5

This brought a nostalgic trip back to my first car. 

I recall difficulties in identifying the car colour due to the substantial rust! 

Of course back then MOT was to a very different standard. 

I had it ( a banana yellow Ford Cortina ) for two whole years before it went to be scrapped. 

watsimijig

The car was purchased through garage that sells just minis, but wasn’t a dealership or part of any approved scheme. 

I appreciate that with most purchases , first base is the retailer then presumably they then seek recourse from the manufacturer. 

I wasn’t sure whether there were any consumer grounds due to mini being fully aware that this is a manufacturing problem ie ‘ fit for purpose ‘ ,and as such would normally be dealt with under a kind of recall issue  as without the faulty seal you wouldn’t get the bodywork problem.

Presumably, judging by how common the problem appears to be there ought to be some ownership of the issue and an approved bmw to dealership to consumer pathway !

born_again

watsimijig said:

The car was purchased through garage that sells just minis, but wasn’t a dealership or part of any approved scheme. 

I appreciate that with most purchases , first base is the retailer then presumably they then seek recourse from the manufacturer. 

I wasn’t sure whether there were any consumer grounds due to mini being fully aware that this is a manufacturing problem ie ‘ fit for purpose ‘ ,and as such would normally be dealt with under a kind of recall issue  as without the faulty seal you wouldn’t get the bodywork problem.

Presumably, judging by how common the problem appears to be there ought to be some ownership of the issue and an approved bmw to dealership to consumer pathway !

Official recalls are for safety problems. Which, this clearly isn't.

Was it not noticed at time of purchase, so could have been raise with selling dealer to fix before purchase?

Given door will be rubbing over it on a regular basis, rust will not be a issue.