Today I woke up and was soooo happy. For the first time in a week I will drive my car! The monday before last I was involved in a minor fender bender with a parked car. Luckily it was my dads and luckily it didn't do much damage, and yes IT WAS MY FAULT. I took it down to my dealership and since it was going to a body shop in the area I had them install the JCW Sport Suspension. More on that later. Then it was taken to Harveys collision for 3 days to get repaired and they did a heck of a job. I couldn't make it down there all this week mainly do to the fact that I work 82 hours per two weeks (alot IMO for a kid who is supposed to be on "break"), and that it didn't get done until yesterday. So I wake up early this morning and was taken down there (Indy) by my mom. We got there and the first thing I did was go over and hug my car. It looked good as new, and then I looked at the suspension it looked awesome. We signed the release forms and I hopped in my MINI only to find that Dryer hadn't put the old suspension in the back like they were supposed to. So I had to go down to Indy (20 miles away) to get it. Okay, no problem. As I followed my mom down the newly paved section of US 31, I was four car lengths behind and out of no where comes a pebble. It was one of those moments where you see it and its like its in slow motion. NOOOOOO. It hits my windshield and leaves a quarter size bust in my windshield, what I said after that can't be repeated! So I radioed my mom told her and we continued to Indy. Got my parts and asked about the windshield repair. It is only ~$300 for the windshield but $900 with install. So we phoned my father, told him and he started working on it. Thankfully I have great parents who will do anything for me and my mom and I continued on to Ruby Tuesdays in Kokomo. On my way there I got flipped off, and met a cool guy by the name of Way (WayMotorWorks), and he said he knew it was me! That was about the only highlight of my day. We ate as my dad shopped around and told my mom to go and get the windshield from Dryer, and we were getting it installed up at the BMW dealership a few miles from my house. Thank you MOM! But my ordeal was not over. I made my way home and I enjoyed my JCW Suspension, It is fantastic! I got home back my car in the driveway put it in neutral and set the parking brake. Opened the hatch and put my old parts in my garage. I went in fed my dog, Divot, and played with her for 2 minutes. I then had to go to work I come out smoke is billowing from my hood and there is blue liquid running down my driveway. Luckily my cylinders hadn't blown and I shut off my car, something is wrong with my cooling system. I phoned my dad. Who said get a ride from someone and he'll take care of it. So now my car won't run without overheating and is being flat bedded to Indy on Sunday. I just don't know how I can get such bad luck.

Thanks for letting me vent my frustration!
Mikey

 

Oh, hon.....I am SO sorry!!! Your parents sound awesome and I know we all are pulling for you here on NAM. Best wishes for a quick repair! $900 is RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Clover

 

Sounds to me like you have great parents.........I'm sure they know it is only a car.....sorry for your frustration....I hope all of your bad days are of this variety.......visit the cancer ward for children for some healthy perspective

 

If I crashed my car into my dad's car and got my car fixed and a JCW suspension out of it, I'd be thrilled.

I bet you can get the whole JCW kit out of this latest disaster. .

$900 for the windshield install is so far beyond ridiculous I don't know what to say! My replacement windshield cost $236 including installation and OEM trim parts!

IT sure is frustrating to have one thing after another go wrong though. . . Your parents sound awesome! Are they willing to adopt?

 

Yea the Bimmer dealer near my house said it will only be $148 to install it.
My hat's not only off to my parents but Dryer's new MINI service manager that told me, Mike If I were you I wouldn't do it here it would be too much of a hassle for you. I said thanks Rob!

My Dad jinksed me this morning after the winshield ordeal and said "be carefull on your way home a these things happen in threes!" DAMN HIM! I just hope I have it back before school starts it would look kinda bad having your dad take you on a date with your girlfriend!
I did hear something funny though my neighbor who gave me a ride said he's never seen so much coolant in a car! Or for I guess out of one for that matter!
The funny thing is my car was fine temp wise all the way home, (2 Hours plus), and was fine for 5 min when I was outside of it it the driveway cleaning the interior and taking out the package. Everyone I talked to thinks it's a hose. I sure hope it is! Thank god it's under warranty!

I just hope it did no damage to my engine.

Mike

 

Well now that I work so many hours they thought I should pay for the accident, and I already had saved for the JCW Suspension so it was just a matter of when I was getting it installed.

Mike

SpiderX:
My first bad day/week was when my dog who I knew all my life died, and the next day I watched my grandma being given her last rights and flatline in front of me, she was pronounced dead 30 seconds later from complications from cancer, what bugged me is that I never got to see her alot during my life and as she died I just stood there in shock as all the nurses rushed by me. I still remember my last words to her, and plan on never forgetting them. This day is by no means anywhere close to that but it is worse than just any other day besides that.

Mikey

 

I really don't know If I can sleep tonight, just looking back and remembering today and reliving the worst day of my life really makes me awake and not trust anything.
Mikey

 

You'll be ok, man. . .. :smile:

 

I feel for ya buddy!! I know sometimes you think things just CAN'T get any worse... Sorry to hear about all this...things WILL get better...

At least your MINI is fixable...yes it sucks....but we all know as owners, how much we truly LOVE our motoring machines...:smile: I'll never forget the night we came home and saw Scooter burnt to a crisp in my parents driveway.....
Your parents sound like great people...

Donna

 

for someone elses screw up, I've learned that things that can be bought are just that. Things that can be bought. They are nice, sometimes even special, but they are just the trivial trappings around a life that can be lived well or not. As you get older (I'm older and greyer for sure, my folks stopped fixing all my car screw ups decades ago), you'll find that the real gems of life are much more ethereal, fleeting, and deep.

But with all that said, stuff like that still sucks. But little letter sucks. Big letter SUCKS is in a whole different league, one that we should all hope to never play in!

Good luck with the ordeal...... But it's better than time in a wheel chair! (and yes, I know, it could have been much worse!)

Matt

 

PPG...less than 200 bucks installed.

 

My apologies Mike.........You sound like a great guy with great parents and a lot of heart....I wish you all the best

Bob

 

it will be fine..it's prolly just the thermostate went out cause the car over heated and was left running there after...lets hope

as for the windshield...is the insurance yours? if so...find out about glass coverage...in AZ you MUST have it...cause well some people get 5 + a year..it's sandy and rocky out here...there's nothing you can do...it's anywhere from 2 to 10 dollars extra...it would have just paid for it's self...and full glass means any window...not matter what...no questions asked...


sorry for your troubles...reading your story I was afraid the ebrake was gunnah release or something and you Mini got wrecked...happened to a friend of mine....not totaled but still...it sucked

 

Just think, your young and have your whole life ahead of you.

Cars can be fixed, People can't

be glad you didnt get hurt. ... there will be many more days ahead, some worse, some MUCH better

 

dang. sorry to hear about it mikey. Im sure you get your car back real
soon. :smile:

 

Ouch!! Sorry Mikey. What is it w/ these flying boulders out on the road? It always freaks me out when a truck nudges onto the gravely shoulder for some reason and all kinds of crap starts flying about. Nothing good comes of it.

 

god any companie charging 900 for a windsheild reapir on a mini should have the book thrown at them, basically the dealers have a companie come in and they fix it on the lot, if you find out who the companie is it could save some big dollers, after i got the companies name they drove to my house fixed it in my driveway and it was onley 80 dollers for install, dame dealers charge you 50 to 60 for the phone call

man im in the wrong buisness
hehe

 

None needed bud.
Harmon just got picked up by the flatbedding company and is heading to Indy, Dryer already knows about it and has an idea about what caused it. They say I should have it back by tuesday! Then I get the windshield installed then I get my tires rebalanced at Tire Rack, (my wheel shudders above a certain mph), then the Ultimate Grill that I was hoping to install tonight before all this happened I will install and then by that time I should have my JCW Strut Brace I got off ebay!

About the rock chips:
I really get tired of people that expect there MINI's windshield to stand up to nuclear warhead tipped pebbles, and then blame MINI for not having a "safe" windshield. The truth is, is if you have a car that is low to the ground like the MINI and don't expect to get hit with rocks you shouldn't own one. Then they say well this doesn't happen to my SUV! Exactly, unless you are right on top of a truck that's spitting them they really aren't going to be bouncing 5+ feet in the air! So I'm really not mad at MINI, just at the circumstances of that day!

Thanks for your support!
Mike

 

I above all just want my buddy back as good as new and I hope I have gotten rid of in one foul swoop all the problems that would eventually happen for the rest of my car's life!

Someone please reassure me that I didn't do any damage! I was in my house 5min MAX, and when I came out saw my car and to my supprise (looking back) acted quickly and shut it off. So do you think I did any damage, I mean it's a given it did, but I mean substantial, performance limiting, damage? My boss (who looks like super mario (that's his nick name)), said it was probably just the coolant flipping up on the engine and really wasn't my engine blowing up. Is he right? The only thing that worrys me is there was an odd smell in the air.

Thanks Again You Guys!
Mikey

 

The odd smell & smoke was from the antifreeze hitting the exhaust just below the overflow tank. I doubt the thermostat was the culprit because once the engine warms up its open untill you shut off the engine. Cooling fan relays can & do crap out. I would suggest changing the oil. Don't bother with the filter. Organic oil definitily replace. Synthetic may not be an issue.

 

okey dokey

 

Update:
Mechanics said that nothing is wrong with the engine!
Got it fixed and it is now at the BMW dealership in South Bend, where they are going to install the new windshield. The problem was a faulty fan, the motor in it fried, and thus this was not cooling the car, then the radiator overflowed.

Thanks Again!
Hopefully by this time tommorow my buddy will be back with me and I will be installing the M7 Grill.

Mikey

 

Wow that's great!! Right on!!