Good news and bad news....
Yesterday I reached the end of my 1200 mile break in period .

Then, on the way in to work this morning, had a dog run right in front of me
while on the interstate... (70 mph... the dog didn't make it., needless to say).

End result, my 1217 mile MINI is now a yard ornament, pending repair.
At first I thought there was just going to be cosmetic damage, but when I
got out to look at it, that's when I saw fluids leaking out.

May just have been windshield wiper fluid, but I do have an engine warning
light showing, and the bent in radiator is not a good sign <g>.

Here's a pic of the damage. My dealership does not have a body shop, but
due to the mechanical damage, I'll probably have it towed to them Monday,
and let there local shop due the repair.

If your out driving this weekend, put a few extra miles on your Mini for me <g>...
I'll be falling back to the RX7 for a little while.....

 

Let's try this again...

 

the fluid could be from the A/C system as well. Good luck on the repair...

Matt

 

Sorry to hear about the damage to your MINI - hope the repairs go fast and are done well. Folks need to keep their dogs in their houses and yards.

 

I'm so sorry!! Mini roadside assistance will tow in to Cincinnati for free and there is a local body shop there - I can't remember the name now - that deals with Cincinnati Mini and does all their body repairs. Mine sadly couldn't be repaired but the people at the body shop were really nice and helpful - they even cleaned out my car for me and boxed it up, dropping it off at Cincinnati Mini so I could pick it up when I got the new Mini.

But, wow, that sucks! Good luck getting everything fixed!

BTW, this is Alison/Mini Esq! Sorry - I didn't realize my boyfriend's account was logged in!

 

Is when I signed up with Liberty Mutual 9 days ago, I had them adjust my
Comp coverage to a zero dollar deductible <g>.

Figured I'd end up needing to replace a windshield sometime, didn't bargain
on this accident though....

 

Ouch.. Hope they can get to it and fix it up quickly.

 

Zero deductible... what was it before ? How much increase in rates did you see ?

A lot of companies won't even offer 0 deductible as it relieves the insured of any responsibility in a loss. If they do, they usually make the increase not worth it.

Financially speaking, the $100 deductible is usually the best as it balances the right amt of premium with the right amt of coverage. But hey... $0 is a lot better than $500 which is what most people carry on their comp coverage.

Good luck on your repair process. Doesn't appear to be too bad.

 

I had read a lot about the tendancy of MINI's to need windshields replaced
due to rock damage. I can't remember the exact dollar difference to get that
low of a deductible, but seem to remember if I needed 1 windshield replacement
it would pay for itself.

Seems like I made the right choice <g>.

The thing that worries me the most is the radiator being bent in, and the
piece directly below it. (Not sure if it's the intercooler, or what...)

It's damaged as well.. and I think that's going to cause the cost of the
repair to go up quite a bit....

It mainly looks cosmetic in the picture... but did a bit more than that....

 

I had an incident with my MINI in which a tail-gater hit me in the rear. I had Rides Restored, on Rt. 34 near the Teays Valley exit, do my body work. They have a MINI of their own and seemed to have a very good knowledge of the car. I don't know how much mechanical experience with MINIs they have, but they are SCCA racers. That may mean they have some mechanical experience.
Sorry about your problem. It'll be just another story for your bio later.

 

Just wondering...how is/was the dog?

 

He said the dog didn't make it. I'm no Einstein but I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about the dog's attempt to get across the street.

 

Not to be too graphic, but best way to describe the accident is it reminded
me of when a dog is chasing a rabbit. It came directly out into the road at
a dead sprint. In the split second from when I saw it to the impact, it almost
seemed to "leap" trying to avoid the impact. Unfortunately, I hit it solid.

Looking in my rear drivers side mirror I saw the dog "barrel roll" into the median.
I was not too far from the next exit, and wasn't able to get off to go back
to check on the dog. (99 % sure it wasn't going to be a pretty sight.)

I drove back in the wrecker when it took my MINI back to my house. We
tried to see the dog, but didn't have any luck. I've got a feeling the state
trooper had someone come and pick up the remains during the hour and a
half I waited on the wrecker to show up....

As best I could tell in the short time I saw it, it appeared to be something
about the size of a shephard or a retriever mix.... Pretty large dog.

 

The situation is horrible ...but this comment cracked me up!

 

that sux... for you and the dog..
hey

look on the bright side..

it could have been a deer.. ?

 

Could have been a gerbil.

 

Thats not the Bright side, lol.


sorry bout your luck Postal... sad to have something so new need repaired already.

 

If the bright side is a dog instead of a deer, wouldn't a gerbil been even brighter yet ?

Yeah... the point is, it wasn't a deer or a gerbil. It was a dog and there is no bright side.

 

Sorry about your car, mine was backed into 5 months after I got it. Mike's Mirror Finish fixed it for me, I thought they did a good job. The brace holding the radiator was bent as well. You might want to check with him.

 

WOW that really sucks. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I know how long you planned for then waited for your Mini to be built. Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time for both you and the dog. Even though there seems to be no bright side there is. First that was remarkably good thinking with respect to the zero deductible. Second, the folks at Cincinnati Mini are good people so I'm sure they'll try to get you up and running as quickly as possible. On the other hand the poor dog will never again be up and running. People really do need to do a better job of containing their pets. I hit a cat once on my Harley. I flew into a huge bush the bike went into a ditch and only broke off a mirror and bent the handle bars but the kitty is in heaven now. Stop by on your rounds and we'll talk about what happened. Not much you can do when you at 65-70mph on the interstate.

 

Sorry to hear about the dog as well as the car. Does this mean there is another long raod trip coming up ?

 

Consider your MINI lucky that we don't have the Autobahn here.....

 

Called the body shop Friday. Estimate came in at just under $3,000.
Decided against the JCW aero package upgrade. (Did go ahead and
have the body shop put the mud flaps on the front and rear though <g>)

They said should take about a week and a half.

Hopefully I'll have it back for my vacation middle of May.....

 

That's a lot of damage from a medium sized dog.

Hope the repair work is well done... I'm confident it will be.

 

Good Luck!