Hey all! I just picked up a 03 mini coop s this morning and it seems like the engine has a possible broken valve. Does anyone know someone or a place that can possibly take a look at the car and see what needs fixing? Id greatly appreciate the help. God Bless!

 

Suggest you tell us how you diagnosed the problem and where you are located.

 

From forum title, Milwaukee. Honestly, Original Sin, if you're concerned about that, I would strongly suggest you take it to the local MINI dealership (one with the best reputation) for a full inspection by MINI experts for confirmation. Once they identify what the issue really is and give you their recommendations, you can make a decision if you want the dealership to resolve the problem, take it to a less expensive shop, or DIY.

 

gramps- i bought the car from a friend and he had the car at his friends used lot where the mechanic took a look at the car. He said he did some tests and found out 1 of the cylinders were not working right and assumed that maybe one of the valves were possibly blown out. Said it might be kind of costly to fix and that is why my friend sold me the car at a price i couldnt refuse. I'm located here right in milwaukee.

Cary-The only mini dealership i know of is international and the orig. owner told me not to go there unless i have tons of money to spend; which i dont. Ive always been a japanese car owner and i have no idea where other bmw/european specialist are here in milwaukee. i have searched the forum and found a few listed by the people here in southeast WI but its the weekend.

 

a mechanic diagnosed the problem and said 1 cylinder was not working and assumed it was a blown valve, im from milwaukee

 

cary-the only mini dealership here in milw. is internatiional and i dont wanna pay an arm and a leg for them to just look at it. I dont know any mini experts here in milwaukee. I'm just throwing this out to see if someone locally could possibly help me out.

 

No worries - just a suggestion; although i'm in DC Metro area, it's still good advice for any new owner of a used vehicle regardless where you live, if for nothing else than peace of mind you know what all potential issues are. I would't necessarily take the advice of the former owner. What if they don't want you to discover other problems, or the mechanic missed something because they're not as familiar with the MINI? If it was a good friend you purchased the car from, that's another story if you know the cars history - but keep in mind we all want to present a car in it's best possible light when selling to maximize the price we can get out of it. The cost for an inpection should be minimal (I assume you checked?)... Some won't charge for it at all, especially if you just bring it in for an oil change - I pay about $200 here (minor oil/fluid service) if I ask for service between my general maintenance when the MINI service light comes on. Just a recommendation, take it or leave it. I hope you find what you're looking for, and happy motoring!

 

thanks, the car is currently being checked out and it seems the previous owner did not take care of the engine very well; bad/loose spark plugs. Should know if its a bad head or just a bad valve by tomorrow

 

Any news with your new treasure? How did the inspection go?

 

so one of the valves was pretty banged up, getting the head machined at the moment and should be done soon. Will be replacing alot of old parts on the engine. Cant wait

 

what place did you end up taking your car to? I'm having a bunch of work done at Kummrow Automotive in Glendale and they seem pretty good so far

 

Yeah i also went to kummrow, was that your blue mini? They were great, took a longer then they expected but i cant complain. Total job was pretty expensive but i trust they did a good job. What are you getting done to yours?

 

yeah mine was the indi blue with white roof, were you in the silver one on Monday? My steering rack took a dump so that's getting replaced and I had them just check it out since I got the car two weeks ago and they're installing new balljoints and replacing a CV boot. So if I hadn't have gotten such a good deal on the car I would be very very sad right now.

 

i just got mine 2 weeks ago too, if i didnt get such a good deal on it, i would of been sad too! Nice rims btw Mine was the Red one, prob was still in the garage at the time but i think the silver one is pats(owner/mechanic)

 

haha, thanks! Yours must have been still in the garage because I didn't see it when I pulled up. You're not the person who was at GS Design last week with the red justa were you?

 

dont think so, the guy who sold me the car was the owner of a design company? not sure if that's what you were referring to?

 

ahh, nevermind. it must have been some random other person. You would know it if you were at GS for sure