Mini countryman instrument failure

miniproblem

Hi all I have a 2020 mini countryman hybrid. The instrument cluster is intermittent at best and goes blank after 10 miles or so. Mini have looked at said it is faulty and needs replacing but have quoted £750!

I do not think that this has lasted a reasonable length of time and have complained to mini/bmw but have not heard. Do people think I have grounds to complain via citizens advice. Surely I should expect it to last longer than nearly 5 years/20000 miles

any help much appreciated as I can’t afford this adiurional cost

Alderbank

miniproblem said:

Hi all I have a 2020 mini countryman hybrid. The instrument cluster is intermittent at best and goes blank after 10 miles or so. Mini have looked at said it is faulty and needs replacing but have quoted £750!

I do not think that this has lasted a reasonable length of time and have complained to mini/bmw but have not heard. Do people think I have grounds to complain via citizens advice. Surely I should expect it to last longer than nearly 5 years/20000 miles

any help much appreciated as I can’t afford this adiurional cost

Welcome to the forum.

You have complained to the manufacturer BMW and they have ignored you. To answer your question whether you can complain to BMW via Citizens Advice - yes of course you can but BMW have no statutory obligation to reply to either you or CAB and will probably continue to ignore.

You might have some consumer rights against whoever you bought the car from. To be successful you need to show that the root cause of the fault was present when you bought the car even though it appeared to be OK at the time.

Who did you buy the car from and was it a private sale, small garage, mini dealership, etc.?

When you had it looked at by 'Mini', did they say what the cause of the fault was?

Is the car safe and legal to drive when the cluster goes blank? By that I mean can you still see your speed and operate all the controls safely?

miniproblem

Thanks for your reply. No I can’t see the speed when driving so it is obviously dangerous to drive and unfortunately it was a private purchase about 2 years ago. I think martins reasonable length of time test should apply here ? 

knightstyle

It could be just a poor connection, there are specialist companies who will repair ir for much less than the price you got. Have a look for one in your area.

miniproblem

Thanks. I would assume having been diagnosed by mini/bmw that it needs a replacement cluster that they have ruled that out. 

miniproblem

I guess it boils down to who rules what a reasonable test of time is. My feeling is that on £30k+ new car the console should last longer than 5 years. Anyone know I find out who rules? Additionally what the implications are of taking them to the small claims court? Thanks in advance 

MyRealNameToo

miniproblem said:

unfortunately it was a private purchase about 2 years ago. I think martins reasonable length of time test should apply here ? 

It doesnt because it was a private purchase so consumer rights act doesnt apply. You pay less on a private purchase than from a business because they dont have to cost in your statutory rights.  You have no statutory rights against the manufacturer, in the UK its all with the retailer. 

That said, some manufactures will go beyond what they have to do but you can't force a gesture of goodwill per sey. 

miniproblem said:

Thanks. I would assume having been diagnosed by mini/bmw that it needs a replacement cluster that they have ruled that out. 

Not necessarily... some firms will jump to the easy solution which is to replace the whole thing. Others will look at other solutions like trying to fix a sub component rather than replace the whole thing. 

Alderbank

Since it was a private sale you don't have many legal rights against the seller beyond what they actually said when the advertised it or when you went to test it and buy it.

Was there any mention by either you or them about the digital display?

In your place, I would ask the seller for a chat then calmly explain what has happened and the situation you are in.
Most people are decent and not out to cheat you. They might offer to help in some way.

Also, if they are still have a car or two for sale then it might not have been a private sale and you could have consumer rights.

The fix from a BMW/Mini dealership will be a brand new unit fitted at a premium labour rate. The actual fault might be trivial such as a blown electrolytic capacitor, quite feasible at 5 years old.

Are there any auto mechanics near you who your neighbours recommend? eBay lists lots of refurbished instrument clusters for 2020 Mini

Grumpy_chap

Find a local independent garage that will fit a replacement instrument cluster acquired from a scrap dealer.

Green_hopeful

I found Mini super expensive and a local mini specialist was also super expensive when I had my old mini. I found a local garage that could do what i needed at loads less than the mini garage. I also found the local garage much more pragmatic. I was told my brakes needed replacing by the mini specialist garage. The local garage said I probably had 5000 miles left and in fact 2 years later the brakes were still good because i commuted on the motorway so very little braking required. 

I have also found mini unsupportive. Our satnav stopped working after 4 years on my new mini and mini said they could not update it even if we paid because they didn’t support my 4 year old mini. I managed to find someone on eBay that could sell me a 2022 update but that is the last update i could get.