So at 38,000 miles the turbo fails due to oil coking and gunking up the oil feed line to the turbo. MINI USA would not acknowledge fault due to excessive heat nor give me any break as the car was just out of warranty. I feel this was do to the fact that I was the second owner despite purchasing the car from a MINI dealership. Bill was over $4000.

So at 47,000 miles I bring the car in and tell them the car is stumbling on cold starts and I am getting a over heating indicator. So the car needs a new water pump, thermostat, intake valves cleaned with powdered walnut shells, timing checked and reprogrammed. Overheating caused by excessive heat melting the damn plastic thermostat. Deposit on valves due to poor PCV allowing oil to deposit on the valves which remain dry because it is a direct injected car. Oh and they have a service advisory for an additional heat shield on the oil feed line to the turbo. I ask any recourse now for the turbo since that is what killed the first one. NO! Bill was over $3000

So now at 56,000 miles the clutch fails. Did not take it back to MINI dealership now using local performance shop in Fairfield. Bill is over $3000. Wonder what MINI would have charged me for. Plus the dual mass flywheel is not a servicable item. It cannot be resurfaced.

That is over $10,000 in 18,000 miles. What that is - is a complete P.O.S.

The ironic thing is that I took the car over to Carmax on Saturday. Got what I thought was a low bid. Now with the clutch job it would have been a wash and I should have let them have it.

So now I after I get it home I hope it spontaneously combusts. I will never own anything from BMW or MINI again and will absolutely tell whoever asks to stay the !@# away.

 

Get the clutch fixed at an independent shop, BMW/MINI charges way too much. Once you do that, do yourself a favor and get rid of it.

 

And it is a dealer issue....know things are $$$$ in that part of CT, but still....they should have used some lube before reaming you out....
Sure...some bad luck with the car...but with those prices!! Ouch!!

 

Damn. That is a mess!!

 

Ouch bad luck, but is a Peugeot not a bmw.

 

Exact reasons why I will never get near an R56.:(

 

had my fair share of maintenance stuff on my 06 r53 but it runs like a champ probably better then new and pushing 120k...my buddy has a r56 and nothing has had nothing but issues ive heard so many horror stories on r56 especially the 07-09 models.
Anyway sell it and get a r53 ;-)

 

I haven't had any problems with my R55 S. One of the first things I did when I got it was to wrap the turbo with an insulating blanket and remove the phony hood scoop grill to improve air flow under the hood and lower engine bay temperatures.

Dave

 

Do you still have the car?

 

That's too bad. My '07 MCS didn't cost me a penny until the clutch went at about 100k (plus front rotors and pads). The four repairs it had were under warranty. Maybe you have the kinks worked out now.

 

Mark,

How long have you owned it for?

 

I had it from November '09 until two weeks ago when I traded it on a '13 JCW.

 

Sad to hear. Reminds me when I had my MINI certified 07 S. Engine went bad twice but second time around MINI didn't want to cover under warranty. Won my case with the car being a lemon. Wife didn't want me to get into another MINI but I did anyways.

 

I thought you said you would never own another?

 

my fjcw 2013 r56 n18, first/only owner. 32k miles. i killed my clutch at 20k, but i very much abused it, and this is my first manual trasmission. ive had no overheating, oil in turbo, or other issues.

however my mini is quite modded. being catless greatly lessens any oil finding its way to the turbo, and the much larger Forge intercooler does a great job of keeping things cool. my engine is running fine at 23psi (stock is 18psi). although i do plan on tuning soon.

 

I think that was the OP that said that, not Mark. Sounds like his JCW was fine.

 

This is an example where an extended warranty would have paid for it'self.

 

Perhaps...
But insurance companies need to make money....and they do quite well...
For every person saved by a policy, SEVERAL must loose $$.

 

Sometimes I think I should get rid of the R53 and get another type of fun car that's more reliable.

I put over $7K in repairs last year. Ouch.

 

I would wonder, do those selling extended warranties distinguish between those models that might be more prone to failure as to those models that aren't?
Would they discriminate from warranting those models more plagued by failures as opposed to those less prone?
In other words would a similar priced and equipped/model year Honda extended warranty cost be similar to that of a similar Mini Cooper?
If this later were the general practice of those selling extended warranties, than I would say that those purchasing warranties on the more reliable models would in effect be helping underwrite those less reliable models.
Given this I would say that the loser's $$ in this case would be the more reliable Honda owners who opted for the extended warranty.
At any rate it is a calculated risk vs benefit decision each must make on their own.
There certainly is no doubt, however, that in DomesticMuscle's or Minibeagle's case there is no "perhaps" about it. An extended warrant would have saved them thousands of $$$.

 

Some extended warrenty companies have MINI'S listed with exotic brands, such as Lamborghini, and will not sell policies.....so choices are a bit limited....
Remember, about 30% of what you pay is a commission to the dealer/seller....
Yes...everybody must decide...to sell the risk or shoulder the burden...I agree there.

 

Odd, the parts should have come to appx $2,000 including turbo, feed line gaskets, banjo bolts, gasket for turbo ect. Then if you add another 6-8hrs labor should have bumped it up to appx $3K ? But you said over $4K, what else did you have done ? I would have also pressed for a "Good Will" repair. I see this done all the time except for folks who utilize independent shops for repairs never frequenting the MINI Shop.

Thermostat being plastic are not the cause for this, usually it's low coolant levels due to leaks at the gaskets...


Seems you have low mileage. These Prince Turbo engines are designed to be driven. If it's just a lot of short trips IMO deposits will build up sooner / faster. It is however unfortunate they have a dual PCV system built into the $250 dollar valve cover. PCV valves should be replaced ever 30K miles or so and it's somewhat cost prohibitive to do this on these engines....

The amount of mileage one can get on a clutch/flywheel is really dependent on the driver....

What did MINIUSA say regarding all these repairs / costs. IMO they would have helped, but can only do so if made aware.

GL, but whatever brand you end up with will never have the sort of cooperation to the degree of that which is received by BMW clients...you should have made a few phone calls / sent a letter to BMW, they bend over backwards to help but have to be informed to do so.

 

I too rather hate my MINI, it has has nothing but problems. We bought an extended warranty from the dealer. We were told it would cover everything in the drivetrain, "anything happens under the hood it is covered". NOPE it literally covers almost nothing. They have all sorts of little loop holes to make almost everything not covered. It is ridiculous

 

You're right--this kind of thing happens too often where someone will promise something, but if it's not in the writing of the contract, you have no recourse and shouldn't trust it.

 

I for one think extended warranties are a rip-off but if you're going to buy one, for gods sake read the contract before you put your money down.