45 replies to this topic

[SolarB]

My car had been on the road for 16 months now after a full nut and bolt restoration. The re-build took a few years and every single part was carefully stripped down and repaired, serviced or replaced. I've bought nothing new from dodgy dealers at shows, only second hand parts like brackets and hinges. Everything new came from one of the largest Mini parts suppliers and 16 months and 10,000 miles after putting the car back on the road I am pretty amazed at the poor quality of some of the parts.

The Mini lives outside and is my every day car. It's used throughout the year and isn't tucked away in a garage for the winter months so obviously some parts will age faster under these conditions. However, this is the way I've always treated cars and the Audis and Fords I've owned over the years have been happy to live outside with the very minimum of maintenance.

To list the more obvious faults that I have had with new parts:
The water pump started squealing after 12 months and needs a few drops of oil once a fortnight.
The super dooper two core radiator sprung a leak last month and needed replacing.
The radiator cap wouldn't hold it's stated pressure.
The gaskets between the lenses and the chromed bodies of the rear lights are too small and it's impossible to stop them leaking.
The stainless steel front indicator surrounds are badly rusting
The kevlar lined top and bottom radiator hoses are cracking and will need replacing soon.
Both gaiters that were supplied pre-fitted to the new quick rack rotted out within 9 months.
The windscreen rubber is beginning to crack.
Both CV boots are beginning to show cracks.
Two front tie rod rubbers collapsed within a year.

In addition to the faults that have become apparent over time I was supplied with two sets of front hub swivel joints that were so badly finished they were just plain dangerous. The small dome hadn't been ground down, but more importantly the domed nut would lock solid on the upper dome when the two were put together on the bench.



Now I might not be the best or fastest mechanic in the world but I do know how to repair and fix most things on a Mini, and having worked on all the cars I've had for the last 30 years I know how long parts should, or rather, can last. All the modern cars I've owned have been 10-15 years old and I've tended to keep them for a number of years. CV boots, rack gators and window rubbers are pretty much a fit and forget item for modern cars. I've never had to replace a rack gator or CV boot on any car I've owned apart from my Minis, but it looks like this is now going to be an annual occurrence. The bad water pump and failed radiator I can put down to bad luck, but the poor quality of the rubber components for Minis is simply cost cutting.

I know original Leyland and Rover rubber parts are supposed to be better quality and I have a pair of Unipart boxed CV boots in the loft that are at least 15 years old. I'll be fitting these next spring if the currently fitted new boots last that long. If retailers find it difficult to source reasonable quality components can't they at least give us an indication of quality, particularly for rubber parts? I don't expect to see a description to include the statement "This quality of this part is b****y awful and it won't last a year" but perhaps a "budget" tag would give us an indication of the quality.

Even better than a "budget" tag, if a supplier could give us a choice between cheap 'n cheerful or OEM quality rubber parts I'd be very happy. This shouldn't be impossible, after all, the materials exist that allow a CV boot to last 15 years. As far as I can see it only requires the the component manufacturer buy the correct rubber, presumably at an increased cost, and make the long life component. Given the choice of a rack gator that will last a year (if I'm lucky), or a German OEM quality gator that lasts 10-15 years and 200,000 miles I know which I would buy, even at 3 or 4 times the price.

It was all better in the past when things were properly made and the summers were warm and beer was cheep etc. etc. etc...........

Whinge over.

[Noah]

Do you mind me asking which suppliers as I'm doing the same as you and the car will live outside.

[Cooperman]

The problem for the parts suppliers is one of volume. In relative terms there are very few Mini on the road now, so the volume of parts made is very low in production engineering terms.
This is compounded by many owners always going for the cheapest part rather than the quality part and the few really major suppleies are in competition with little 'supplier loyalty' existing amongst the buyer-base.
The inevitable consequence is that products are engineered 'down to a price' rather than 'up to a high quality'.
Since most Minis are treated as classic cars and are used for maybe only 1500 to 3000 miles a year this is not too much of an issue. Those who do higher mileages or who use their cars for competition do suffer with quality and all that can be done is, strangely, to look for higher quality and more expensive components.
The other issue is the failure of the parts manufacturers to manufacture to the specifications issued by the buyers, i.e. the Mini shops around the country. I had a convreswation with Keith Dodd from Nini Spares a while back and he said that quality control is a problem since if he specifies, say, a certain level of case hardening, it would be expensive to have one in every 50 supplied tested as it would add significantly to the 'over the counter' price.
From your post you have listed a lot of non-original designstuff, like a quick-rack and 2-core rad. These I will never use as they are not really necessary and the standard original items are still good quality (unless you go for cheapie ones).
It is a problem, but it seems that all classic cars have this issue, not just Minis. One might suspect that even an E-Type or an MGB will have quality issues with replica components.

[mab01uk]

Which is why I do not have the patience to run my Mini as an everyday car anymore, reliability of most parts was not too bad when you could still choose to go to your local BL/Rover spares department for genuine items but for reasons as stated above by Cooperman many parts are no longer of the same quality or fit.

[Youngowner93]

The quality of automotive components is not limited to us Mini owners it's right across the automotive industry. Me and others around me are noticing the quality of parts at work now. Parts used to last ages before wearing out. Now people will not pay the price for decent quality parts and what cheap, which is exactly what they get. For example a rear bearing on a Mk3 Mondeo a cheap one is £40 + vat trade price a decent quality one such as SKF or QH is £70 + vat and people just will not pay the price for something that will last a long time compared to something i expect to see back in a few weeks because the bearing collapsed or the ABS light will not extinguish.

The amount of faulty wheel bearings, ball joints, T/rod ends and drop links that we receive back from people for warranty claims is unbelievable, surprisingly they all come from the same place but are put in different suppliers boxes.

[ace01]

Unfortunately the above is too true. I work in the industry and am constantly amazed by some of the quality. Even some of the more well known brands are suffering quality issues. I supplied a Mondeo bearing as mentioned above to a customer who simply would not pay for a QH or other brand, the result was inevitable. After just a year or so he was back for another one.

[Cooperman]

We see it on here where, for example, someone asks whether he should get the Timken or the 'cheapie' taper roller front wheel bearings. The answer is obvious really, but if the car only does about 1000 miles a year the cheap ones might last for 3 years or so.
To be brutally, the Mini must now be considered a true classic car and for it to be a daily driver the owner needs to be a good mechanic and willing to spend a lot of hours servicing and repairing. The same really applies to other cars like the VW Beetle, MGB, Morris Minor, and other cars which were produced in huge numbers but which are now much fewer in number.
To think I used to drive over 25000 miles each year, first in an 850 Mini and later in a 998 Cooper and a 1275 'S'. Certainly wouldn't want to do that now.

[mab01uk]

Seen on AROnline:

Cheap parts drive you spare!
"the latest bear pit in the automotive world relates to aftermarket parts. Once upon a time you entrusted big names such as Quinton Hazel – Unipart – AP Products et al to supply your clunker with spares or service items, but in a world ravaged by contracting profit margins and dog eat dog competition – suppliers are looking overseas to keep those margins sensible.
Many of these inferior parts are made in the Far East and sold on the web simply because there is little face to face comeback when it goes wrong, as it so often does. Your local factor will not stock such rubbish as a rule, owing to the fall out caused by warranty returns but it also extends to other parts too. I know of one person who purchased some Chinese imported brake pads for his Vauxhall Omega that cost a quarter of what his local factor could have supplied a set of decent Ferodo items. Every week his alloys were as black as the cobs of hell and after just 7000 miles, they were worn down to the limit – was the saving worth it?
My take on this caper is a simple one, if you are tempting fate on such poor quality cut price components with the above examples providing proof that its foolish to think something comes for nothing, can you actually afford to run a motor car or afford to do the job twice?"

The full story here:
http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/ar-cars/technicians-update-cheap-components-can-drive-you-spare/

[cliche]

We see it on here where, for example, someone asks whether he should get the Timken or the 'cheapie' taper roller front wheel bearings. The answer is obvious really, but if the car only does about 1000 miles a year the cheap ones might last for 3 years or so.
To be brutally, the Mini must now be considered a true classic car and for it to be a daily driver the owner needs to be a good mechanic and willing to spend a lot of hours servicing and repairing. The same really applies to other cars like the VW Beetle, MGB, Morris Minor, and other cars which were produced in huge numbers but which are now much fewer in number.
To think I used to drive over 25000 miles each year, first in an 850 Mini and later in a 998 Cooper and a 1275 'S'. Certainly wouldn't want to do that now.

Yup, besides the fuel cost, my old Daimler V12 started becoming unfeasible as I spent most weekends nurturing her. Interesting posts regarding the parts situation generally in the automotive industry

[firefox]

Years ago i use to trade in second hand, and antique tools, and also cheap imports, on the wall of the shop they were in 2 banks

second hand, moor and cartwright , elora , britool, record , elu, sorby , the list goes on, because they were old some people would rather buy

a chinees import because it was nice and shiney, sometimes costing the same stupid not to know that the import would last 10 min

the same goes for car parts, people do not understand what quality and OEM means

[Cooperman]

The bulk of Mini owners would still go for the cheapest parts, even if someone was offering top quality spares.
You see it all the time on here as in: "where can I get the cheapest such-and-such a part". It is understandable if you are on a tight budget with your classic car, but then be prepared for early failure.

[Benji5857]

I work in the motor trade and spent a good few years as a parts man for a couple of manufacturers and factors and I will only buy genuine for my mini. I've seen and sold enough crappy pattern parts in my time to stay away.

[JonnyBMX]

as people are all saying, many people on here will go for the non genuine parts which are cheaper.. but they really arnt of the same quality, i always try to buy the genuine parts as i find them to last longer

[Rosslin Racing]

its a ******* and getting worse! thats all i am going to say!

[SolarB]

as people are all saying, many people on here will go for the non genuine parts which are cheaper.. but they really arnt of the same quality, i always try to buy the genuine parts as i find them to last longer

But how do you buy genuine rear light gaskets, windscreen rubbers, radiator caps, water pumps....?