Replacing New Mini Cooper S with A2...

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Just wanted to delurk and say hi to all. This is a great forum and has been really usefull source of information for me. My wife and I have just ordered a nice new A2 1.6 FSI SE which we will be picking up next Friday :). We needed a quick replacement as we have just rejected a new Mini Cooper S which we had owned for just 2 weeks. The build quality on the Mini was really bad (lots of faults), and the service from BMW was unbelievably terrible too. So we rejected the car and have jumped ship to Audi well and truely ordering an A4 and an A2 :D. The Audi dealer service so far has been amasingly great (they are lending us a TT for the weekend so I can try out the Xenons !!!) and hopefully the build quality is going to be far far better than BMW/Mini.

If people are interested I'll post a comparison of the A2 v the Mini Cooper S afer our A2 arrives...

- Alex
 
Alex,

A2 versus Cooper S, that will make for some interesting comparisons, and I look forward to your future story. Anyway what sort of nasty problems did you have with your Mini in order to reject it ?

Regards
John Disdale
 
I hate being doom and gloom but just remember that some of us have rejected A2's. I had to reject two.

Just make sure you check it out totally before leaving the dealer!
 
The problems we had with our Mini were as follows :

On delivery : scratch on bonnet, chip on fuel filler surround and very loud squeak from engine. Also car did not have number plates on and was not valeted when we arrived ! Number plates then supplied were scratched and heavily marked. Had to leave car with dealer for 2 days to fix squeak - needed new auxilary belt + pulley !

After 2 weeks : DSC and Tyre Pressure system warning lights lit showing system problem. Car refused to unlock a couple of times, and then alarm went off. Numerous very annoying squeaks and rattles. Water in rear light cluster and Xenons set to illuminate less than 2 metres in front of the car.

Basically I think the car suffers from bad build quality (ex-Rover plant dont forget) combined with poor design (squeaks etc). However the car is superb fun and goes like a rocket. Its just I needed and expected a reliable car from BMW for that money. Have a look at the Mini forum (www.mini2.com) and look at the faults and fixes forum and see the extent of problems.

I think the basic Cooper and One are better bets as they have been in production longer and if you are looking for a good fun car it certainly is that.

So we are hoping that our A2 and A4 will be much better. I fully expect new cars to have one or two niggles that need fixing, but I dont want to be visiting my dealer 5 times in the first 2 weeks like we did with the Mini.

- Alex
 
Alex,

I am not purposefully putting myself out to sound negative, but don’t fall for my trick in believing that the purchase of an A2 buys you recognised Audi reputation by default, because I and numerous others on this forum are proof that it does not. If you want true dependability and a trouble free life then consider an Audi A4.

It’s a terrible state of affairs but it does appear as though countless car manufacturers are incapable of producing consistent and sound goods, and the only ones that appear to break this mould are the Japanese via Suburu, Toyota & Honda. Not many years ago many of us might have laughed at such makes, but those days have long gone, when if the Germans are not very careful they will be seen as the jokers in the pack.

Regards
John Disdale
 
Reading The Sun today, I happened upon a paragraph in their motoring section which was about dealers being unhappy with the service/backup they get from the manufacturer. Apparently, of all the maufacturers, Audi came out top. Read into that what you want.

JD, I don't mean to belittle the problems you've had in the past but there are a great number of people driving around in trouble free A2's. I know of 3 cases on this forum where A2's have been rejected or got rid of due to problems with the car or dealer. Perhaps Whitehouse are pretty crap when it came to after sales service (I'll be able to let you know soon enough) and perhaps your car was built on a Friday afternoon, resulting in the faults you experienced.

I agree people need to be aware of any common issues with the car/manufacturer but I'm sure a visit to any car forum will throw up similar tales of woe, ineptness and cars being thrown back at the dealer

Just be thankful you didn't buy a Fiat.

1.4SE petrol in Merlot Red, Biege interior, 16" 5 spoke alloys, DIS, Open Sky, Elec rear windows.
 
Alex

Replacing your Mini with an A2 AND an A4 - that is what I call a belt and braces fix!

I love the A2 and I think the mechanical reliability has improved leaps and bounds - it was very poor intitially. Build quality (body panels and interior) absolutley brilliant.

As for the A4, my favourite car of all I've owned. Had to replace it with A6 because my kids became oversize. I was actually picking the new A2 up while a bloke was putting an offer in on the A4 I had part-exchanged for the A6. It was heart-rending and the missus had to restrain me from entering into a bidding war!

You have made a marvellous choice and have my unreserved congratulations!

Jon
 
quote:Originally posted by Rob Earl

Reading The Sun today, I happened upon a paragraph in their motoring section which was about dealers being unhappy with the service/backup they get from the manufacturer. Apparently, of all the maufacturers, Audi came out top. Read into that what you want.

JD, I don't mean to belittle the problems you've had in the past but there are a great number of people driving around in trouble free A2's. I know of 3 cases on this forum where A2's have been rejected or got rid of due to problems with the car or dealer. Perhaps Whitehouse are pretty crap when it came to after sales service (I'll be able to let you know soon enough) and perhaps your car was built on a Friday afternoon, resulting in the faults you experienced.

I agree people need to be aware of any common issues with the car/manufacturer but I'm sure a visit to any car forum will throw up similar tales of woe, ineptness and cars being thrown back at the dealer

Just be thankful you didn't buy a Fiat.

1.4SE petrol in Merlot Red, Biege interior, 16" 5 spoke alloys, DIS, Open Sky, Elec rear windows.
Click to expand...


There have been 3 rejections on these forums alone (4 if you account that I rejected two). That's a pretty poor average for the number of members. A large number of members have had the same problems.

I owned 2 Fiat Bravo's and neither developed a fault. The dealer service was impeccable. Interestingly Fiat generally beat both BMW and Audi in the annual warranty claim survey.

I don't trust surveys anymore. There is always bound to be some sort of "defensive owner system," in operation which tends to distort opinion. Remember also that my poor service was due to both the dealer and Audi UK.
 
quote:
I don't trust surveys anymore. There is always bound to be some sort of "defensive owner system," in operation which tends to distort opinion. Remember also that my poor service was due to both the dealer and Audi UK.
Click to expand...


I agree with you that surveys aren't as objective as they should be. IMHO this isn't only bound to some sort of "defensive owner system" as you name it, but also to some sort of "negative (= disappointed?) ex-owner system".

Reading this forum is an example of this. It has been mentioned before: when any owner has problems with his car, he asks other members about their experiences. Others are so very enthusiastic about their car they want everyone to know how great it is.
The silent majority though only reads the forum because they're interested in the car. That's why, I think, a forum like this has so many negative news about the A2, and so few positive.

Having owned some problem-cars that I rejected, I can imagine the people's feelings of disappointment and frustration. But these feelings do influence the surveys as well, I think.

JanF

2001 1.4 Petrol Exclusive
Cobalt Blue Metallic
 
I think you also tend to hear about and remember the problems, people happy with their cars tend not to let you know.

MartinW - Dolphin Grey 1.4SE
 
All I was trying to say was that Audi & the A2 get a bit of a slating from time to time on here - with good reason - but looking at the big picture, are Audi & the A2 really worse than most of the others.

My experiences of Fiat differ greatly with those of Chris Humphreys. Warranty issues were never resolved satisfactorily, Wrong parts have been ordered, leading to prolonged waits and now after 2 years and only 24000 miles both front seats are falling apart - which Fiat refuse to help out with, costing me in the region of £700 for new seats.



1.4SE petrol in Merlot Red, Biege interior, 16" 5 spoke alloys, DIS, Open Sky, Elec rear windows.
 
I agree with JD-my A2 experience hasn't been 100% fault free. OK, two problems were dealer originated (as well as general poor service post sales from the dealer), but the rest of my problems were down to just poor quality on Audi's part.

Now my second A2 is going in on Wednesday to have a few 'Audi quality' items to be looked at:

Noise from offside door pillar between front and rear doors

Noise from dash centre console

Poor fitting rear nearside door or window, causing rattling and outside noise to come through

Whining sound (no, not me going on about my A2!!!) From 30mph to 60mph, sounding like an old Morris Minor

And today I kept being told by the dash warning that the hatch was open, then shut, then open again (faulty sensor I presume)

Just hope they are all fixed first time on Wednesday, then I'll be happy.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
This is a great active forum - nice to see such debate. I have owned enough cars to know that no car is ever going to be perfect even when brand new (my Rover MGF engine committed suicide after 5000 miles!!!). The most reliable car I have had so car is a Peugeot 406, but I dont happen to think that Peugeot are a particularly reliable brand overall. In terms of problems on the A2, the sort of faults listed on here seem to be minor compared to those on the Mini forum, but maybe I am currently viewing things with rose tinted glasses. I'll let you know what I think about the A2 when we pick it up on Friday :D.

One thing I seem to perceive that both Audi and BMW are good at is handling people rejecting their cars and not putting too many barriers in the way.

The loan TT we had this weekend was great fun, and we were sorely tempted to get that instead of the A4, but I drive alot in my job and just felt the A4 was going to be more refined.

- Alex
 
I think Steve (runboy) should be awarded the patience and understanding trophy. You have had so many probs with your A2 yet you take them well and give the A2 another chance. I must admit I was close to giving the A2 another chance instead of changing to a Seat Leon from my A3 but I just couldn't do it. I had to stand my ground!!

If I had got a reasonable settle fee for my A2 in the first place I would have got a mini but by the look of it that could have been even more stressfull.

The moral I have learned from this is don't buy a new design of car in it's first year or 2, especially a brand new model or range. Very true of a lot of things I suppose.

Anyway I'm on my 4th car this year so I have to take an oath of not reading car magazines and not looking longingly at any other cars (unless they are well out my price range).

Cheers,

Jamie.
 
Jamie

I think you've hit the nail on the head - very few manufacturers can be trusted with entirely new models. However, I would imagine, as usual, that the Japanese are probably the best for quality control on new cars. This also seems to be the standard message coming through the JD Power Surveys - with the worst Japanese cars usually still making the top 30.
 
Would that be the John Disdale Power Survey??

1.4SE petrol in Merlot Red, Biege interior, 16" 5 spoke alloys, DIS, Open Sky, Elec rear windows.
 
John Disdale doing a Customer Satisfaction Survey - I don't think so.
 
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