So I finally got sick of hearing the rattling coming from under the Mini-E all the way to and from work every day and decided to bring the car over to Morristown Mini for a checkup. They said I would have to leave the car because any problem with any of the Mini-E cars requires a registration of he issue with Mini and the dispatch of one of their techs to review any issues. I told them I was convinced that this was non-"E" related, but they said their hands were tied. When I asked about a loaner, they said that the problem would have to be diagnosed before they could assign a loaner. I asked "so I am going to be without a car for a few days", "yes". I guess this is why in the questionnaire to get in the program they asked if we could be without the car for a few days. I believe it was something like "would you have other transportation".... To me this is an example of the fact that Mini does not know have the pedigree for an $850/month customer. That would not fly at an of my other dealerships. But I digress....
Upon arrival the mechanics said they would go for a test drive to see what I was hearing. We didn't make it out of the parking lot before hitting a drainage grate, "that is the noise", said. "I know what it is, you can back up". He proceeded to tell me that he had a car in for this same thing (a non-E) that rather than some kind of locking bolt at the end of the sway bar, Mini opted for a tapered bolt that upon tightening is meant to provide enough tension t hold the assembly together. Apparently not. I'm sure the extra 500+ pound of batteries we are all carrying isn't making the load on it any easier.
But to my surprise, the tech said he would take it i the back, jack it up, tightening it and if there was nothing else he would send me on my way now. I could not have been happier. I also only had about 35% charge as I was not expecting to get the car back, so they said they would throw it on heir 50A charger for a while as well to juice me up. and thy did all of that. I was having a pleasant conversation with one of the salesman who had come to pick me up from the train station in his Shelby Mustang on the day that I picked up my Mini-E, so I let the car sit for 30 mins on the charger. I had seen another Mini-E in the back (didn't catch the #), he said they were in "a lot". They called my name, said it was ready.
They said it was about 50% charged now. Not what I thought but might get me to NYC and back home, maybe. I figured I was going to be asking my parking garage for a top off while I was at work. I got about 10 miles from the dealership on the highway and the charge was down to 22%. Not sure what was happening exactly, but I made the decision that I was working from home and would charge on my power. No problems since, and I thank Morristown Mini for sending me on my way so easily.
Listen for that noise though.....
