(my MCS silly - not my ***). I now have a nice dinner plate sized dent in my hood between the air intake and the drivers side headlamp and the LH fog lamp (of 4) is askew.

The guy was very apologetic (his offending SUV bumper wasn't even scratched). Kept mubbling something about 'it's a beautiful car, I'm really sorry'. He even called me at home and left a message saying he was sorry (again) and that he had notified his insurance company so I can't be too mad at him.

I insisted to the appraiser that I get a new hood rather than have them fix the dent. Amazingly the hood is only $336 whereas the Xenon headlamp assembly is a whopping $650 (cracked bezel and scratched lens. All told a bill for $2168 and that doesn't inlcude a rental.

Does anyone know if the lamp assembly comes complete with bulb and transformer (they do have a transformer right)? I would have thought that a scratched lens would entail just replacing the housing with the bits and bobs being transferred from the old unit. If so I will ask for the old one back as the bulb and other xenon stuff may come in handy in the future.

Ah well - "Nationwide is on his side".

 

Stuff happens. At least you saw who did it and it's getting taken care of. Think of how PO'd you would be if it was a hit and run.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. But you are lucky.

This has happened to me before, luckily that was my Honda.

 

Yes, you are lucky it was decent person (though not-so-careful!)

 

Ouch....sorry! But it just goes to show you, that there are still some honest and good people around....hope it gets fixed soon...:smile:

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven)
05' Cool Blue MCSC

 

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I do not know if MINI offers the lens and housing separately, but I suspect not. If this is the case, then the replacement part is most likely a complete assembly with ballast, washer nozzle, and levelling motor assembly.

Definitely try to get the old headlamp assembly back if you can, but be aware that the insurance carrier technically has a legal right to any replaced damaged components as salvage. That said, they are not likely to exercise that right, unless they want to use the materials for training purposes. If the shop is reluctant to hand over the old part, it's most likely becuase some vulture at the shop wants it to sell it, or to use the bulb and ballast in an "upgrade" project!

Like halogen bulbs, the color temperature of HID bulbs changes slightly as they accumulate hours of use- the light produced by older bulbs looks "whiter." If the HID bulb in the old lamp is still intact, you may want to swap it out for the new one in order to keep both lamps exactly matched when they're turned on. Save the new bulb for when one of the old ones fails. If you do swap the bulbs, be sure to follow proper handling precautions, and don't touch the glass portion of the bulb with your bare hands. Also, HID bulbs contain mercury, and cannot be legally disposed of with normal household trash. Check with your local government to see if they sponsor a residential hazardous waste collection program, as this is usually the easiest way to properly dispose of bad HID bulbs.

Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for your MINI!

 

yea, mistakes happen. If only everyone took care of stuff they messed up...sorry to hear about the temporary inconvenience but still happy for the positive side of the story.

 

Oh no, those offensive SUV's. When you get your new hood, make sure you get the hood mounted SUV heat seeking missle accessory

 

yep, that sucks big time! a week ago yesterday, my 04 MCS got hit by a 91 volvo driven by a 75 year old women! i was pissed. she only hit me going like 20 miles an hour...but she hit me directly on my driver side front wheel! i didnt think to much of it, not much cosmetic and the wheel seemed a little bent. well i just got the estimate from Herb Chambers Mini, Boston....guess how much...$8254.26!!!! the entire suspension, control arm, struts, sway bars, and pretty much all the steering components need to be replaced. on top of that a new front bumper, bonnet, headlight xeon headlight / washer, fog light...so yea im still MINI-less should be back in a week! man i miss that car. you dont realize how much you love motoring in a mini till you got to borrow your wifes car, which is a 2002 sentra :P blahhh so not fun... hope your mini gets fixed soon! wish mine luck as well

Pete Seybold
Cape Cod, Ma

 

Welcome aboard.
There are about a half
dozen MINI's on cape now.
Al.

 

Sorry to hear about your MCS...
if you have to change your hood, they do have a carbon fiber hood... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6755 (a matter of preference as far as appearance, but just thought i'd mention it)

ps- rent a really nice car

 

OUCHHHHH. That's 1/2 the cost of a new car. When I worked at Austin-Morris back in the 60's someone figured the cost of a Mini built from parts and it was something like 150,000 pounds (a new Mini back then was around 700 pounds). The parts division was the only division making money. Now you see why.
Good job you weren't hit on both sides.

 

Thanks INDYGOMINI will keep that in mind.

 

I saw a similar news article in print sometime back in the 1990's, when the Ford Taurus was on top of the passenger sedan market. The margin wasn't as bad as for the BL Mini, though- it only cost about 3x the price tag of a fully-assembled Taurus to buy the parts to build one yourself.