44 replies to this topic

[tiger99]

If the seller was a trader posing as a private individual, which is very common, Trading Standards are likely to be interested, as that trick is used by many crooks to avoid the legal liability that being known as a trader would confer. If he sells more than a handful of cars a year, he is a trader.

But I think this is just an unfortunate Mini problem. £380 for a gasket change is real ripoff, as a skilled mechanic should be able to do it in well under 2 hours, but apart from that it is probably just the sort of thing that happens to older cars.

I would advise having the head skimmed, minimum metal removal, just to make it flat, and fit a new gasket, torquing up carefully. Retorque after the first heat cycle, and again after a week or so. You should then not have any more problems.

[minidaves]

1)interesting post, i guess we will start 1250quid for a car is a cheap car!
2) private people cannot sell a lump of junk, nor is there such thing as a trade sale, the 2nd hand car market is quite tided up these days, which is why dealers are asking so much money for old recks on the forecourt. I think it should be whats considered fair and reasonable, but you should have given the guy the chance to fix the problem, but 150-140 140-150 does not indicate a blown head gasket to be fair. also £380 to change a head gasket on a mini to put that in context, at worse 200 labour, 20 head gasket, 20 antifreeze, 30 quid oil, and 50 head skim. =320

[mini-luke]

£50 for some anitfreeze and oil? I think that's a little over-exaggerated.

[Ethel]

The difference between trade and private is a private seller has a legitimate reason to sell a car they no longer need, and it's considered that they need not have the expertise to know about its condition - that's why you should always ask direct questions and get some sort of recorded statement of their response. A trader is selling cars, implying that they are fit for purpose and should have appropriate expertise. You don't have to return the vehicle for them to fix, but you do have to take the least expensive reasonable course of action to resolve the problem, and your case would be much stronger if you keep them informed, so they have the opportunity to suggest a better solution before any costs occur. If you are paying a retail price then make sure it's actually for something, make sure any warranty is underwritten by a third party 'n not just a vague promise that will evaporate with the trader's business.

[racingbob]

paying 1250 for a mini taking a big chance to me driving 200 mile home

surley you wont get much for 1250

[minidaves]

i was saying at worse, halfords classic oil is 18quid and 3 quid for a filter, and antifreeze is 15quid for 5 ltrs retail?

[bmcecosse]

What's the new problem?? The original head gasket wasn't 'blown' - although it may have been loose and weeping water..... What are the comp readings now?

[Shifty]

i don't think you have a hope in hell of getting any money back. If you speak to consumer direct they will tell you that the car would have to be 'as described', thats the key thing.

An old car that only cost £1250 is likely to have faults, if it performed ok on the test drive and you accepted it then I don't see it going anywhere.

[Cooperman]

A car for that price is likely to have been sold "As seen, tried & approved" which obviates the responsibility of a private vendor.
then the garage charged a lot for a head gasket change, or was it to diagnose & repair the car? The garage may say that if you return it they will fix it (again) under their warranty.
A Mini at that price is not going to be a totally reliable and mint-condition car. In fact it could be expected that it will need work, maybe quite a lot of work.

[BVY]

I wasn't under any illusion, I always knew there was going to be a lot of work to do because it's a 34 year old car. I did think that for 1250 it would at least be in basic working order. And the test drive was only a short drive on slow roads. it was as soon as I got on the motorway and went about 60mph that it immediately broke down. Yes, i knew I was taking a big gamble driving a car i knew nothing about such a long way, but unfortunately I am stupid

I haven't had any time to do a comp test. But as I said before, the engine wasn't running properly and and wasn't starting on all cylinders. The 2 and 3 cylinders had rusty spark plugs because water was leaking into the cylinders. The comp readings were not the only reason i thought the HG had gone they were part of the process. As well as people on here all suggesting the HG may have gone too. What else would you guys think in that situation?
But also, the engine ran so much better after I put it back together...

As for the seller, I have pretty much accepted that he will never answer his phone, and I know I have probably got no cnahce of getting anything from anyone. I love my mini, but this has really taken the shine off!
I've definitely learned a lesson here though! In fact several.
I really should've paid £175 to get the car towed to my house and fixed it my self.

Oh well, spilled milk and all that...

[BVY]

What's the new problem?? The original head gasket wasn't 'blown' - although it may have been loose and weeping water..... What are the comp readings now?

Not really sure about the new problem.

I was driving on the motorway at about 60 - 70mph and the engine was getting hot. Then I got stuck in traffic. The guage wasn't in the red, but about half way between normal and red. The orange warning light on the dash was flickering on as the engine revs started dying out. i had to keep giving a little bit of throttle to keep the engine going so i could get off the road and stop.
I let the engine cool enough to check the water level which was really low. Prob took nearly 1L. And the oil was low, which i have found to be the rocker cover leaking. Hopefully that's the only reason!
So when I re-started the engine it would idle normally for about 30 secs and then the revs would try to die out at which point the float chamber would overflow. So what i did was adjust the idle screw to keep the revs a bit higher to prevent the fuel leak.
After driving about 4 or 5 miles the engine seemed to be running ok. I accelerated fairly hard to get across a busy junction and then about 150 yards later the engine died out.
When I tried to start it again it would tick over, but if I tried give any throttle it would die. The same as when you start the engie from cold and try to rev without choke. I couldn't even slowly build the revs so I tried to pull the choke out a bit and was able to drive away. I had no oil in the dash pot needle so i topped that up too.
Since that day the engine starts and runs ok, but I can feel there's something not quite right. it's not as eager to go now and doesn't sound as smooth when driving. Like ther's too much noise for the speed i'm going. (sorry, hope that makes sense)
I am going to check the velve clearences again when I get a chance. What else should I have a look at/for?

Also, I'm not sure if it's related but yesterday I was parked on a fairly steep driveway, facing down hill, with the engine running for a couple of mins while I tied my ladder on and put my tools on the boot. Just before I got in to drive away I could smell burning oil. When I reversed up the driveway I got a big puff of blue smoke. More like a cloud actually. That's pretty much the only time i've noticed any smoke though. Any ideas? Is this just a rings/valve wear?

I haven't really had any time to investigate any of the above problems yet. Hopefully I can get some good suggestion...

Sorry for being a pain in the arse!!! Hope my post makes sense!!!

Thanks for you answers everyone

[tiger99]

That is worrying. I assume the orange light is oil pressure. Hopefully is was just due to low oil level, and no serious damage has been done, but if I were you I would be budgeting for a full engine overhaul fairly soon, but first fit an oil pressure gauge and see what pressure you are getting. 15psi at idle, 60 to 70 psi at high revs, maybe falling to 50 or even 40 when really hot, is ok, but any less is bad news. The other problem, smoky start, is almost certainly valve stem seals and/or worn guides.

If it all has to come apart for a rebuild, I would recommend a very light skim of both head and block to eliminate any more worries in that area, as a new gasket, correctly fitted, should be ok for about 100k miles.

[Guess-Works.com]

I really should've paid £175 to get the car towed to my house and fixed it my self.

Or have some form of roadside assistance and recovery... I can think of one or two companies which do this service for an annual subscription which is considerably less than £175.

[sprag]

If the oil light was only flickering as the engine was stumbling at a very very low idle with hot oil I wouldn't worry too much as this is quite common in older slightly worn engines at low revs especially if the oil grade is too thin.

Fuel leak from the float chamber might have been the cause of the poor idling and points to dirt on the needle valve- pull the cover off the float remove float & needle and blow out the valve ( if you hold a clean rag/kitchen roll on the outlet you will see if any dirt comes out)

The smoke on the driveway - depending on how steep it was, would be caused by the top of the valve guides being bathed in oil due to the slope.
If it dosent happen on the level if it sits there idling for the same period of time - dont worry too much.

You need to address the possible overheating for reliability though - where was the water level when you topped it up with 1L? was it below the fins in the radiator core or did you top it up to the top of the filler neck?
If your car has no expansion tank (looks like a small bore from the pics) then rad level when cold would normally be around 10-20mm above the core not to the base of the filler neck as it will just get blown out as the water heats up.

2nd guessworks suggestion of breakdown cover it is a mini after all .

[BVY]

Grrrrr! I replied to all your posts yesterday and then the site crashed and they are all gone