Hey All,

Well the time has come, a lot sooner than I was expecting. I just bought my 2010 clubman S a few months ago with just over 50k miles. I did a lot of research on recalls and issues with these models before buying the car. I really was hoping to catch any timing chain issue before buying the car, I even took it to a mini dealer to get it completely gone through before purchase from a non-mini dealer. I asked them to let the car cool down first and listen for any rattling. I had also asked if they could measure the timing chain slack, but they said it was a lot more involved than the standard checkup and it would cost a lot more and I didn't have the time for them to measure the slack. Looking back I shouldn't have bought the car unless I had the slack measured!! I guess that mini dealership didn't diagnose the timing chain issue correctly. They said they heard a slight rattle but it was normal and the tensioner was a newer version and my car wasn't on any service bulletins. They could tell the tensioner was good by the part number and it had some punched divot on it. Anyway, fast forward a few months, I was getting an oil change at an independent mechanic shop that just works on european cars, they said my timing chain is rattling and it's probably going to fail. I took it to a different mini dealership and asked them to measure the slack, well they did and it was out of spec and some of the plastic guides have broken. They quoted $1900 to fix it. I asked them if they could do a good will fix since my car is just over 50k miles and this shouldn't be happening especially since mini states this is a maintenance free part until about 120k miles. He said he would "take it up the ladder" to corporate to see if it would be covered, but he said it wouldn't be free. Probably a partial payment. Should i try to fight this and get them to do the whole repair for free or do I not have a case here? I feel like they could just say screw off since my car is just over 50k so no warranty and it's not on a recall/service bulletin. But it does show the same issues that many have complained about.

 

Well, just got word back from the dealership that Mini USA will be covering 70% of the repair costs. That sounds great but the SA also told me they have to recalculate some numbers and get back to me, which doesn't sound so good. I doubt the recalculation will work in my favor, maybe I'm just being pessimistic. I feel like they'll say, since Mini is paying 70% the job really costs X amount now and you still owe us 30% which is still $1900.00, haha.

 

Mini replaced the timing chain on my car at 100% with similar mileage to you. It's disgusting that they are treating like it's some sort of anomaly on some cars and not others. It's a POS design, and they should extend the warranty on them, but I know they never will. I will never buy another BMW/Mini product again and hope to be lucky enough to nurse 100k miles out of mine before selling it for scrap. That's the best you can hope for since the value of these cars is at rock bottom from all the serious issues.

 

Well, looks like my cost will be $350, I'm not thrilled with paying anything, but It's the best deal I'll get. I don't have all the maintenance records since I'm the 3rd owner, I have no warranty and it's just over 50k, so I feel they could use all that against me. Another side note, I asked them to check out an A/C whining noise while they were in there. I found out that it's another known issue and there's a bulletin for it. The dampener part costs $300, but the SA said I would have to pay for the part. So it's a known issue, there's a bulletin and they won't repair it for free? Doesn't make sense. I'm skipping that since it's nothing harmful, just annoying.

 

Where are you located? My mini dealer has never given me that much hassle and mine was purchased used.

 

Austin TX

 

Service Bulletins are not recalls. Manufacturer's are obligated to repair items associated with a recall, which are typically safety or emissions related. Service Bulletins are just information provided to a dealer that identifies one of many different things, such as common problems and their solutions. If you are out of warranty a dealer doesn't have to comp something just because there is a Service Bulletin on the subject.

 

Just realized this shortly after posting. I ended up just buying the part and will install myself.

 

I took mine in right after I bought it, with 32k on it, because the AC compressor sounded like a supercharger instead of being quiet like I thought a MINI/BMW should. I even mentioned the bulletin about the part, but they said it was low on Freon and charged it for free.
Sounds worse than before but I gave up on them.


After working in the industry for 26 years, I know that it's pointless anymore.