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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
Pride makes this hard to admit. I had a momentary lack of driving ability and I took on a curb with my '11 JCW hardtop. The curb won. The wheel is most likely ruined and the tire is for sure. I have not taken anything apart but it's clear the lower control arm is bent. The brake warning light is on and so is the traction control light. I was able to limp the car home since I was close.
I'm pretty good mechanically but my history is with Ford. So my questions are to you guys... What should I be concerned with besides the obvious? Are there any delicate electronics in that area?
My deductible is $250 and at a minimum my premium will go up by $60 per year, most likely a little bit more depending on final cost. Or I eat the whole cost and fix it myself.
I would fix it myself, but I have a well equipped shop and the time to do it.
The first thing you should do, if you decide to fix it yourself, is to buy a Bentley repair manual for your car. Don't even think of trying the repair without the Bentley manual.
Or just get it fixed and pay out of pocket if your insurance company doesn't have accident forgiveness as part of your policy.
My biggest issue is the time. I'm pretty sure I have all the tools I need and I already have the Bentley repair manual on order. When I bought the car I cleared out the garage so I have the space to work on it as well (this is a new concept to me!)
I talked to the insurance company and she couldn't give me a estimate of the premium change. 'd loose my good driving discount and if its over $750 then they will adjust premium based on what they pay out for the repair.
You guys have me thinking I should do it myself. I'm just scared that I'll pull it apart and find additional problems. Like should I be concern with the steering rack? Any potential to trans damage (it shifted fine on the way home)?
Thankfully I have my backup vehicle while I figure this out but I sure do miss the Mini already.
if you bent the lower control arm there is probably more damage
I've done similar twice (many years 'tween and one was snow related)
My last one ended up with control arm, strut, hub (bearing), steering knuckle, wheel, tire and and and to the tune of well over $2000
IMO this is what insurance is for ... but my last 'incident' was my first in 30 years so your performance may vary
***************
or in other words
if you DIY from what you see and when done the car drives like s**t, where are you? With insurance it is called a 'supplemental claim' and once you paid the deductible ....
[QUOTE=Capt_bj;4235466]the damage you list is what you can see .....
I'll bet a chocolate donut there is more ....
if you bent the lower control arm there is probably more damage
/QUOTE]
Tossing down a chocolate donut is pretty serious business, LOL!
That said, any car that takes a hit serious enough to tweek the LCA should be looked at for other damage as Capt_bj has indicated. Once it has been inspected and a proper quote is on the table, you will be able to make an informed decision on doing the work yourself.
Hi newman4333,
I would not be afraid to take on this task. If you have the room, some tools, including air impact , pickle fork (for removing tie rod ends) and a good bunch of metric wrenches and sockets. Also a couple high jack stands, Minis are not that had to work on in general (save the electronics that BMW always over does)
The brake control and traction light is due to the abs sensor on that wheel (most likely). I am guessing the disk may also be bent, if the rim touched it. The new brake sensor is cheap on Amazon and what others say about using them, has not been a problem for me and I have change them on several of my Minis thus far. (about $9 for front and back sensors per pair).
You may want to change the A arm bushings on both sides while you have it apart.
Make sure to inspect the rack for bends in the tie rods and make sure the wheel turns without having any rough spots in the rack. there is potential for rack damage, when you punch a curb.
This is potentially an expensive fix, but paying for the next five years on insurance premium, can be even more costly, as all insurance companies suck!
Another point is: having others repair your car is not often a good idea, as they cut corners and use cheapo replacement parts, where you need good OEM parts.
These little cars are built robustly and if you have mechanical abilities, go for your own fix. (then you will know what you have and can trust)
best of luck, whichever way you go!
Itsme Wayne
I wouldn't make the decision based on insurance premium effect.
Either do the work yourself to learn, and possibly enjoy/appreciate your effort.
Or if you are too anxious about it, just file the claim.
On another car, we ripped the lower front end off over a ramp speed bump at <10mph!. It ended up needing a radiator, hoses, AC lines, front fascia, etc. That ended up being $2200. I could have fixed it myself for maybe half that....and many hours. Not worth my time though...had other things to do. Paid $500 deductible. No ins premium increase either.
I'd still have had it done for something like a $100/yr increase. That's a lot of years to cost recover....and time to drop the incident off your record.
Were this my car I would file a claim; too much potential for less-than-obvious damage. That said, a DIY does not create an accident entry on a Carfax report, if that is of concern to you.
I would check to make sure nothing else is bent , you dont know to you put it on an alignment machine and try to get it into spec. Been there and it would not get to spec even though it looked straight.
I worked at a large insurance companies some years back. Don't be surprised if you admitted an incident to them that it effects your next premium renewal regardless of having it repaired by them or not. Short answer, file the claim...
The reason we have insurance is to protect ourselves so if we eat the loss why have the coverage in the first place ? If they jack your premium I would start to talk to their competition. Watch the TV and see how many of these sleazballs are clamoring to get your $$$. If they jack you make their competitor an offer that is hard to refuse like maybe switching your home owner's policy.
The reason we have insurance is to protect ourselves so if we eat the loss why have the coverage in the first place ?
ISAMIN
well, we have insurance to protect against *big* looses.
One thing to be aware, if you go ahead and buy a wheel tire, do the lca, *then* decide its much worse and need to file a claim, you will have a hard time getting reimbursed for the stuff you bought out of pocket.
All good input. I was out of town for the weekend and prepping for the trip last week so I haven't done anything with the car yet besides miss it.
As far as it getting listed on my history by just asking questions I am confident that my local agent won't report it based on me asking those questions. If she did then I will find a different carrier. I currently use State Farm and haven't claimed anything on my auto, except a windshield, since 2000.
There is a local indy shop that comes highly recommended so I think I'm going to pull the wheel off, do the visual inspection and then drop if off for an estimate. Based on what they say I will make the decision.
I ended up taking it to a shop. Mainly because I was scared of hidden damage and because I just don't have the time to do it myself. They called and said it was done. $480 for the LCA, whatever to fix warning lights and fresh alignment. Now I'm down to replace the wheel or see if it can be fixed. Shop said it wasn't bent, just ugly from the rash.
ECS, is this wheel the same as that would come on the '11 JCW? Mine are the 17' like the one I posted but I don't think they have silver on the inside behind the "face" of the wheel.
"Direct from the limited edition JCW WC50" makes me think there is a difference even though from the pic they look the same. Thoughts?
You link does not work for me , but this is it. And yes they are the black R112. Same across the board. I have them on my R58 , they are not white on the barrel, they are black , what happens when you shoot on white , you get a reflective white on the gloss paint and it looks white on the barrel . When on there backs you can see the black barrels.
Shooting the photo on white makes sense. Thanks for the reply. Its good to know for sure you're ordering the right thing! You'll be hearing from me if the local place says they can't make it perfect again.
Picked the car up last night and drove it work this morning. Not 100% positive but think the wheel bearing is bad. There is a small vibration that doesn't feel like a tire but I'm going to take care of it first before I take it back to the shop. I am not hearing any noise so hopefully it's just the tire.
Not much to look at but here is the visiable damange.
Shooting the photo on white makes sense. Thanks for the reply. Its good to know for sure you're ordering the right thing! You'll be hearing from me if the local place says they can't make it perfect again.
Welcome,
Yes we have them in stock right now also, i have the same wheels on my R58 and really like them. On 15mm ECS wheel spacers also to clear the GP2 BBK front brakes
Ok. The issues are totally resolved now. The car is finally back to 100% relative to this incident.
LCA & Alignment $480
Wheel repair & repaint $80
Tire installation (new tire under road hazard) $20
Wheel bearing $??? (My dad picked up the car while I was at work and told me not to worry about it since he needs me to do some maintenance at his house. I told him I would've done it anyway.)
So all in all a damned expensive trip to the store for $2.50 worth of bolts to fix my truck but I'm happy the car is fixed. Now it just needs a bath...
