18 replies to this topic

[jak89]

Hi All.

 

I need some advice please.

 

I bought a MINI COOPER S in Jan 2012- (08 plate)

 

1 month after buying it had an engine problem- I took it back to the Mini garage and they fixed it under warranty. (Would have cost over 1k.)

 

12 Months in. The Clutch goes.-(out of warranty)- They had to fit a new clutch and fly wheel.- Cost me £1000.

 

18 months in- Sep 2013- My Mini engine light comes on.-

 

I took the car to the Mini garage who have said that it has Misfire, after hooking it up to the machine they have said that it has a

 

Dropped Valve- Will cost betweek £1000-£5000 to fix!?!?!?

 

I paid £12,000 on finance for the car- I’m so angry!!! The Mini is an 08 plate with 45k on the clock.

 

What can I do? I cannot afford to pay for the repairs. I don’t feel like i should have to pay for the repairs! How can the engine be that badly damaged?

 

The Mini garage said that it’s because I use ‘Cheap’ Tesco/Morrison’s petrol?

 

I’ve only had the car 18months and has so many faults.

 

Should I complain to Mini Uk?

Can I give the car back to the Finance company as it is not road worthy?

What can I do, I cannot afford to pay for the work and don’t feel like I should??

 

 

[charie t]

Unfortunately cars do have faults And it's the hazards of the second hand car market. Some cars do like to break more than others, My neighbour has one of them

How many miles has the car done?

Edited by charie t, 21 September 2013 - 03:37 PM.

[Yoda]

Hi All.

 

I need some advice please.

 

I bought a MINI COOPER S in Jan 2012- (08 plate)

 

1 month after buying it had an engine problem- I took it back to the Mini garage and they fixed it under warranty. (Would have cost over 1k.)

 

12 Months in. The Clutch goes.-(out of warranty)- They had to fit a new clutch and fly wheel.- Cost me £1000.

 

18 months in- Sep 2013- My Mini engine light comes on.-

 

I took the car to the Mini garage who have said that it has Misfire, after hooking it up to the machine they have said that it has a

 

Dropped Valve- Will cost betweek £1000-£5000 to fix!?!?!?

 

I paid £12,000 on finance for the car- I’m so angry!!! The Mini is an 08 plate with 45k on the clock.

 

What can I do? I cannot afford to pay for the repairs. I don’t feel like i should have to pay for the repairs! How can the engine be that badly damaged?

 

The Mini garage said that it’s because I use ‘Cheap’ Tesco/Morrison’s petrol?

 

I’ve only had the car 18months and has so many faults.

 

Should I complain to Mini Uk?

Can I give the car back to the Finance company as it is not road worthy?

What can I do, I cannot afford to pay for the work and don’t feel like I should??

 

 

[jak89]

The car has done 45k. - Its a 2008 Reg- I have owned it for 18 months....... Just seems like a young car to have had so many problems with.. Do you think Mini UK would do anything to contribute?

[SecretSugar]

If you are not happy, I would suggest maybe getting a second opinion to double check but it is 5 years old and it is going to start needing work and its one of the pitfalls of second hand cars because you don't know if the previous owners have ragged the bones off it or driven it hard etc. If you go to www.mini2.com there is a lot of members of there who has binis (BMW minis) who may have experienced the same problems who may be able to help you and offer advice. Usually when you buy second hand cars, I would get them to put it through an MOT to see if there is any problems or advisories but being a second hand car, it is to be expected that it will have its fair share of wear and tear and start needing. 

Edited by SecretSugar, 21 September 2013 - 03:54 PM.

[minidaves]

1 cars cost money to run, proper oil for modern cars can be expensive and putting the wrong oil in can destroy an engine, days of cheap motoring unless you know what your doing and know what cars are more reliable than others is going to cost you around 2000 a year to run plus insurance and tax. if cheaper than that your doing well

[charie t]

sorry, I meant how many have you done in the car

mini are quite good for helping out customers so may well be worth a call on this issue. The other issues wont be

[jak89]

iv done 15k since iv had this car.- Had an MOT in Jan + Service and now in SEP its un-drivable... Im going to call Mini on Monday to see if they will help. The Mini Garage chagred me £100 just to look at the car!. Did not realise at the time, how much money i would need to put into the car

[Tamworthbay]

iv done 15k since iv had this car.- Had an MOT in Jan + Service and now in SEP its un-drivable... Im going to call Mini on Monday to see if they will help. The Mini Garage chagred me £100 just to look at the car!. Did not realise at the time, how much money i would need to put into the car

Could have got a decent original cooper for that cash, and it wouldn't be £5k for a dropped valve.

A load of posts on here about how unreliable binis are. Very poor for a modern car.

[jak89]

How much would you say a dropped valve would cost? 2k?

[Tamworthbay]

How much would you say a dropped valve would cost? 2k?

This forum is aimed at classic minis. You would have a better chance of an accurate answer on one of the dedicated new mini forums. A dropped valve on a classic mini would be approx £50-£150 for a running 998 and an afternoon to fit it.

[minidaves]

a droped valve in a classic mini if it has properly droped aint £150 to fix

[Tamworthbay]

a droped valve in a classic mini if it has properly droped aint £150 to fix

that's a worst case scenario where its rattled around and trashed the piston. You would have to be very lucky to drop a valve and not do any damage apart from the head. Even if it wasn't a trashed engine then by the time you price a valve and gasket set plus new oil you are around the £50 bottom end I quoted. So £50-£150 as stated previously. 998s are so cheap its rarely worth doing much work on one. A full gasket set and fluids would be the same price as a complete used engine.

[olds_kool_lews]

I hate our BINI, its crap, still got a year and a bit on finance to pay, forever having things go wrong with it, hate hate hate it! Lol

[seancv1]

Most cars are generally good if they're serviced with a bit more regularity than the service schedule and properly looked after in my opinion and if you know someone with a code reader fixing them needn't be much harder than an older vehicle.