In october '07 i became the (then) happy owner of a MINI One '02 soft top with a JCW kit

I love the way i looks, I love the way it feels and drives, I hate the rest.

Since then it's been a giant Pain in the *** and has cost me so far in ecxess of $9,000 in repairs
This has been repaired/replaced:

- Electric distributor thingy (cant be more specific sry)
- Servo pump
- Radiator fan
- Thermostat
- All the wiring for the airbags + one airbag
- Driver side door lock
- Electric window motor driver side
- Rear windshield wiper motor
- Windshield wiper motor front

And to top it all of it seems that now the gearbox is done too. (6-7000$ since i live in Norway and everything is expensive)

And it has only done about 120k KM (75k miles)

After each repair i considered selling it but nooo, had to keep it because "Lightning doesn't strike twice etc etc"

F this sh*t im going for an IQ

I think it pretty rare to have downpaid your car while still paying for repairs....

 

sell it

 

Yes if it is causing you that much trouble get rid of it. End of story. Then buy a Honda or Toyota since they never die.

 

$9,000.00US for just those repairs ?

I think your first step would be to find a good honest mechanic, find out what cars he can repair then move onto what make/model car your in the market for.....because no matter what you get, if you stick with this mechanic, well....need I say more.

 

Yes, it does seem quite expensive for the things you had repaired.

 

Can you get this one over there?

 

Ouch... that's a lot of $. Norway's standard of living is very high... so expensive.

I would NEVER buy a first year car from any manufacturer, especially Europeans. IMO, you should sell the car and buy something reliable for a few years. If you still like the Mini, you can always go back... but remember to do some research first.

 

thanks for the advice AFAIK the newer MINIs are much more reliable (or maybe just too new to break)

About the prices for the repairs, in Norway the common hourly charge to have your car in the shop are around $150 - $200 an hour and due to taxes the carparts are expensive too.

Just a regular service costs about $1000 - $1200+

 

Sorry you hate your car. Good luck with the repair/trade/replacement or whatever you decide to do. Those prices are crazy-high....

 

the cars are ridiculously expensive too...

A new entry level iQ 68bhp version is about; 25,000$
But a brand new Cooper S with a little bit of extra stash would be around 75,000$

The prize for newer american muscle-cars are even worse, an '05 Ford Mustang GT V-8 is for sale for 115,000$

I will probably get around 17,000$ for my car now when i sell it

That's what happens if you let enviromentalist take over control

 

That being the case, then it would really not matter what make model car you drove. Toyota is not all it is cracked up to be, parts are expensive too. Honda parts are least expensive of them all. But in the end, it would be a trade off. Cheaper car to get parts for, and yet not quite as fun to drive as the MINI.......

I hear we are getting a VAT tax.....so we shall soon not be far behind ye lad.....

Good luck.

 

Holy hell, I hope you get paid more than a lot of people here in the US do. Otherwise I'd ride a bicycle everywhere. Even in a snowstorm. Better yet, dogsled .


And Gray, a VAT tax, Really? Thats what a country in an economical crapstorm needs, more crap.

 

Yep, import duties and taxes will eat you up on foreign autos... Could be worse, you could live in Singapore... Talk about bend over and grab your ankles on auto purchases...

I priced a new JCW in Bangkok earlier this year... $115,000 USD and that was IF they felt like ordering it... And then they have no qualified mechanics unless you consider Somchai on his motocy to be an 'expert' on Minis...

Sometimes it's just better to switch than fight the battles...

 

Should have waited a few years and got an 2006. All the bugs were worked out by then. Or so it seems to me, 55k and zero problems so far.

 

I hope you're right, I just bought one!

 

Oh yeah lucky me!!

I need:
- Gearbox
- Clutch
- Flywheel

The authorized BMW-mechanic wants 6500$ (4750$ before tax) (f*** no) so i'll have to look around the web for a new gearbox, and probably buy a new clutch an flywheel.

And btw. my dads car which i've been using since I need a car to get to work would'nt start today, so 2 down 1 to go

I feel like i deserve some luck soon.

Thankfully my salary is OK-ish (20$/hr until 2:00PM, 30$/hr after 2:00PM and on saturdays) for a job with no other qualifications than a car and physcial strenght

 

this makes no sense 115K for a GT stang?

step1 buy a US car 28K
step2 ship it to where you want it to go 2-5K

overall cost NOT 115K

I am thinking this is not exactly correct sorry but I call the BS card

 

I can't speak from personal experience, but I understand from travel guides, etc, that in Norway and Denmark, there are HUGE costs to insure and register a vehicle, often doubling the purchase price when all is said and done. Although 115k sounds high, I imagine it could end up costing you $60k+ which is still absurd. Maybe there are also huge import levys or taxes. Hopefully someone can clarify the specifics or correct me.

 

I am sure but that is not the cost of the car that is the cost of owning a car. To me these are different costs as one can own a car and not insure or register it.

The import tax I agree is part of the car's cost but if that import tax is greater then the cost of the vehicle who would buy any car in such a climate?

 

Wealthy Norwegians with no way around it, I suppose!

 

You are leaving out a bunch of numbers.

1. Customs fees
2. VAT (some places this is higher than 19%)
3. Registration Fees
4. Most likely grey market fees as well.
5. Safety conversion fees if the vehicle does not meet the local standard.

It is a lot harder to import a vehicle to other countries. You don't realize how nice we really have it here until you try it. Also, most of these fees are higher for a car that is imported so they could be considered part of the total cost of the car.

 

Agreed; however who goes into such a venture without understanding this?

regardless the repair costs involved are equally ridiculous. Given Denmark has to import 99% of its cars do you really think that these costs are going to more then double MSRP? Ford is sold in europe its not like its a make/brand not offered there. Do you think a fiesta is going to run you 80K? I think not.

 

How do you know you need these things? The mechanic told you?

why not start by telling us what specific problems you are having with your car. For example is it shifting poorly? what has been done to try to fix the problem? New transaxil fluid....?

I have manual cars with well over 100K that are on the original clutch for your transmission/clutch and flywheel to go bad at the same time seems unlikely. Moreover unless the mechanic had your engine out and was looking at the parts how in the world could they tell all of that by driving the car?

you are getting ripped off.

 

What happend was:

I starting up and when i changed from first to second gear there was a godawful crunching sound as soon as I got into second and hit the gas pedal, I could no longer get it out of gear and before I could hit the brake pedal the front wheels locked and the car scidded to a halt and the engine stalled(was going like 15mph), I could no longer get it out of gear nor could i move it by using the starter.

I could turn the car on OK, but as soon as I tried to lift the clutch the engine stalled agian and the car only bounced alittle but didnt budge.

 

OK that sounds bad. what has been done so far?

I would start by draining the transaxil fluid and inspecting it for metal and other solids. How much fluid do you recover (is it low due to a leak?)

if you do not see any metal bits and the volume is obviously low I would refill with a good oil like redline MT90 and see if that sorts the issue.

if you are not leaking and the fluid "looks" fine then it could be clutch, gearbox or both

questions

with the car OFF can you move the stick into various gears with and with out the clutch?

does the clutch pedal feel normal or is it stiff or loose?

if you can get the car into first and you have fresh fluid try to start it and drive from 1-2 if the same thing happens or you hear horrible sounds in first then your gears and or syncros are toast. Try reverse that should work and you can see if your clutch is ok or not based on how that feels.