Brian Harris Mini

I bought a Cooper S here in 2007 and had it serviced here through most of the warranty period. Overall the salesman I worked with when placing the order for the car was inattentive and, frankly, a bit rude, but I attributed this to typical BMW-​dealer snobbery (all my previous dealings with VW, Honda and Ford dealers have been more pleasant). Especially since I walked in for the first time and sat down to order a car with no dickering, I had assumed walking in off the street to pay list price for a car would be easier and more pleasant.
The car arrived with the wrong wheels. Initially I was told I had ordered the wrong wheels, but they checked the paperwork, and no, their mistake. I was told I could wait several weeks for the correct wheels to arrive — or just live with them; they refused to swap with a car on the lot, and pretty much just said like it or lump it. As I need the car at that point, I just accepted them. I understand mistakes happen, but looking back to when the salesman made so clear that my business was not a priority makes this wheel mistake stick in my craw.
The service department is another thing altogether. The various people I have dealt with in the service department have been universally pleasant and helpful. Even in cases where the service went terribly awry, I felt the service technicians were trying, and they were unfailingly friendly when unspoken to them. But … the quality of service was just generally not good. After driving the 120 miles home after the first oil service, I discovered the oil had been badly overfilled. A persistent rattle from the engine on cold start was met with a «they all do that» and never addressed at this dealer; but just before the warranty expired another dealer near Boston — on his own initiative — heard the rattle during a routine service, checked and was horrified that another dealer would have ignored the defective timing chain tensioner, which at that point was self-​destructing and shedding metal chunks.
On another routine service visit the engine computer firmware was to be updated. The service was supposed to take a day, but I wasn’t surprised when it took two. I was, however, surprised when the car remained at the dealer for two weeks to fix the problem (which, I was told, resulted from a problem with the dealer’s equipment downloading new software from the manufacturer). It was not the delay that bugged me, as I must in fairness say that they unfailingly provided me a loaner car; and as a result I was able to sample virtually every model of Mini. It’s just that it seemed that nearly every service turned into an extended episode. And the engine rattle experience convinced me that, for all the good intentions and likable service people, the quality of service for Minis at Brian Harris is just lacking.
Now that the Mini is out of warranty, I have bought the Bentley service manual and try to do as much of my own service as possible. My car now spends a lot of time all over the East Coast, and I’ve found that Mini seems to have a lot of bad service dealers. But I have found a few good ones — Mini of Peabody in Massachusetts in particular; and I am about to try Mini of Pensacola the next time I need service on the Gulf Coast.
I’m not sorry I bought my Mini — the car has been generally flawless with a couple of common issues that were eventually addressed. But I will be avoiding Brian Harris Mini/​BMW except as a last resort.

A Mini Odyssey
DO NOT buy a Mini Cooper!
If you make a mistake and do, DO NOT have it serviced at Brian Harris!
If you make that mistake as well, you WILL be terribly disappointed!
My wife and I have a 2010 Mini Cooper S. During a torrential downpour in New Orleans (Is there any other kind?), the sunroof unexpectedly began to leak. About a half an inch of water found its way into our car. My wife removed the water with towels and then drove it to our mechanic. Along the way, the car stalled. It was the beginning of our Mini Odyssey.
Our mechanic recommended that we have it towed to the dealership in Baton Rouge, which we did. Brian Harris acknowledged receiving the car and told us they would call us back as soon as they had a diagnosis. After two weeks, we still hadn’t heard from Mini. So, we called them. To our horror, they couldn’t find our car. They had left it on the lot without doing any paperwork. Needless to say, they hadn’t looked at it either.
They apologized (for the first of many times) and told us they would get back to us as soon as possible. We had filed an insurance claim, but Mini assured us that the repairs would be minor.
After another two weeks, we still hadn’t heard back from Brian Harris. When we called them, they told us what we would hear again and again and again: «I’m sorry Mr. Dunbar, but we’re still diagnosing the problem. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible…» Which, of course, they never did.
After over two months of commuting to the West Bank of New Orleans on my bicycle, I finally threatened to complain to Mini National. It was only then that Brian Harris offered to give us a loaner. A few days later, they dropped off an ugly blue Countryman with a broken windshield and a missing gas cap. They didn’t have us fill out any paperwork nor exchange insurance information. We were not surprised.
Every week we called Mini for an update and every week they told us the same thing: «We’re still trying to diagnose the problem.» They also apologized and told us repeatedly, «Because of the extreme inconvenience, we will only charge you a small portion of the repairs.» This gave us at least some reassurance — reassurance that would not last…
During the 5^th month of our Mini Odyssey, I actually drove up to Baton Rouge to check on our car. The service manager said, «I apologize Mr. Dunbar. I want you to know that there’s a new sheriff in town. I’m gonna personally take over this case and reunite you with your car as quickly as possible.»
Two weeks later I went back up to Baton Rouge. The new service manager obviously didn’t recognize me and said, «I apologize Mr. Dunbar. I want you to know that there’s a new sheriff in town. I’m gonna personally take over this case and reunite you with your car as quickly as possible.»
Frustrated beyond belief, we called the national organization and lodged a formal complaint. I was hoping that Mini USA would at least be a bit more competent (Brian Harris set the bar pretty low), and would hopefully try make things right. I was wrong on both counts. Like the Baton Rouge dealership, they didn’t return phone calls and, when they finally did, they made excuses.
We then heard from Brian Harris. (Wow!) They told us that they had tested the sunroof and it had failed. (Keep in mind, we told them that the sunroof was broken when we sent it to them.) They told us there had been a «major malfunction» and that it needed to be replaced at a cost of more than $ 3,000. We were then told that the full cost of the repairs would be in excess of $ 13,000. (Beaten up by the streets of New Orleans — another reason not to buy a Mini — the car is not worth that much!) This was the first time we had ever received an estimate for repairs. And, we had never approved any work.
We resubmitted an insurance claim, but the company told us it was the manufacturer’s fault. We called the manufacturer and they advised us to file an insurance claim. Can you say, «catch-​22»?
When we then threatened to bring in a lawyer, Brian Harris grudgingly took off the service fees and had Mini USA kick in a grand. Our hellacious Mini Odyssey would only cost $ 5,000!

Finally, after more than SIX MONTHS, we got a call informing us that our car would be ready after the weekend. They were excited to «reunite us with our Cooper.» When I called on Monday to make arrangements, no one answered, so I left messages for the manager and mechanic to call us back. Another two weeks passed before I got that call. Our Mini was finally, actually ready!
When I picked up the car (No, they didn’t offer to bring it to us.) they didn’t have the paperwork, and they had lost the tow hole cover.
After only three weeks back, the engine light came on. After over a month, we still hadn’t received the tow hole cover! Imagine that?!
This was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the worst customer services experience of our lives! Period.
Again, DO NOT buy a Mini!

I have a mini countryman that has been in service for a month (4 Weeks). This is not for major repair. It was a resister in the ac unity The service at Brian Harris Mini in Baton Rouge is simply the worst customer service I have ever received. I have had the car for two years and every time it is in the shop it is at least a couple weeks. There is no communication, they simply don’t care. I am actually selling my car and will never get a mini because of this experience. I purchased a service agreement that I will never use. The more I write the more angry I become, so i am going to quite now. Somebody should do something with this company. They are giving mini a bad name.
They have been through multiple service people. I have spoke to the service manager and he has been there for 2 years and admits that it hasn’t gotten any better.

Bought a mini of the 4 door type and have had issues with the AC now twice in under 8000 miles.
Latest service on the vehicle saw my car in the shop for 32 consecutive days while I drove a loaner.
Being the only dealer in the state causes logjams unlike any other I have encountered.
While communication did improve dramatically this time around, the time it takes to get the total job done is still well north of where it needs to be and they are aware of it.
Time will tell and the hope is that for their sake and Mini fans in the area they do continue to improve in this area.

My Mini Clubman has been at Brian Harris Mini for 6 weeks and 2 days, and I haven’t heard from anyone since last week when they left me a message. They are the only Mini service in Louisiana and you have nowhere to go, so calling and complaining do you no good. Oh yes, they gave me a loaner to use, but where is my car?

Great Customer Service from Brian in the Service Department. He was honest about the wait times and was able to find me a loaner car even though I didn’t reserve one. That was super awesome because I had tons of errands to run since it was Thanksgiving weekend! The only reason I’m giving them 4 stars is because they didn’t have the part in stock to fix my car so I have to take it back to the shop once I get home. Other than that, it was a great experience!

From sales to service, this place sucks. Love my MiNI, but would never purchase one again. If I could give no stars, I would.

Took my 08 cooper s in for basic oil change found out I needed a new timing chain and another valve cover replacement ! Just had valve cover replaced 4months ago! Scott Spencer was my service advisor. What a relief that he warranted the second valve cover and helped tremendously with timing chain replacement price at less than Half of what another dealer wanted! Very pleased at the professionalism that was given to me. Very good job, in fact maid me have confidence in a dealer again.

Towed my 2010 MINI in after check engine light came on because it was under a 100,000 mile warranty. After four days (FOUR) and numerous phone calls with little help, they called to tell me it was the spark plugs. Then, the service manager said it would be over $ 200! For spark plugs?!

I bought a vehicle from this dealership because I wanted to give Louisiana the business/​tax revenue, etc. What a MISTAKE. I have to take my vehicle to Texas to get service. Their service department is UNDERSTAFFED and offer POOR customer service. I had to call multiple times to get a return call from Brian Harris; Mini of the Woodlands answered the phone and always calls me right back with necessary information to get the vehicle services. Will not be buying a vehicle from Brian Harris dealership again.

MINI makes a great little car, Brian Harris does not make a great little dealership. My wife has a Cooper and we both love it to death, drives great, lots of fun. Brian Harris was great too, while we were buying the car. Since the purchase (5 years ago) dealing with their service department has been a nightmare.
For starters they rarely have any of the parts needed for basic maintenance. i. e tires. How do you not have the one or two (at most) varieties of tire needed for this little car? Ever. They’re basically little black rubber bands. I could change them with one hand if only they existed in the nebulus void that is Brian Harris’s parts department.
Let’s pretend they do have something I need in stock, like oil for one of the free oil changes they offer. A really complicated oil change, say for the space shuttle, should take 30 minutes on a busy day. ETA at Brian Harris, 2 ½ hours. No Joke. With an appointment. And afterwards they put the drain plug on with an air wrench so tight that I had to have another shop put it on the lift so they could remove it, which stripped it out so I had to buy another one. And guess what Brian Harris didn’t have in stock?
The song has remained the same for five years. That’s half a decade. The entire lifespan of a guinea pig wasted dealing with a service department run by the Marx Brothers.
I wish I could say I was just ranting because they recently screwed me over but they haven’t. This review is the end result of service that has been mediocre at best. The car itself is wonderful. In fact my father purchased a MINI S after taking my wife’s for a test drive.
He loved it, which is why it broke his heart to give it back to Brian Harris after less than a year of dealing with their service department. He opted for a Toyota Tacoma from Price LeBlanc which he loves, they even gave him sausage.
I was prompted to write this after a recent visit to Brain Harris where I saw the new MINI coupes. They’re fantastic, and my heart instantly sank because I knew on the spot I’d never buy one simply because there is only one place in Baton Rouge I could get it serviced regularly.