During the past month when I was without my car I thought about this; selling my MINI to someone or trading it in for another car. Now the thought is very much present in my mind and is a very serious consideration. I got my car back Saturday, from what my friends like to call "Operation Bambi" , which I posted about in another thread of mine. On the way back I noticed that they installed the dash incorrectly. Okay fine, that can get fixed at no charge whenever. So Saturday night was fun, me and my friend who is another MINI owner and a few of our friends took the town in our MINIs. Raising all sorts of hell and funny grins. That was cool. Sunday I came down with strep throat. Yesterday while home from school I decided to take it upon myself to install my middle and upper black M7 Ultimate Grills. That was fun and fairly easy to install, directions prolly would have been helpful though. Okay so I have my front bumper off on the garage floor having the spot behind the middle grill painted so it looks stunning, and my mom comes barreling in the garage and literally flattens it. Okay I can pop it out and get a new bumper cover, that she'll pay for, okay I'm very mad, but okay it can be fixed. So I put it back on, it looks like absolute *****, but it will be fixed. This morning im on my way to school and it's snowing, unexpectedly so I didn't have time to put on my all seasons. I understeer into a curb and trash $1000 worth of wheels. That made me very mad. Then I get to school and while pulling into my parking space I notice my temp dial says my car is overheating, and is flashing red. Okay that was the last straw. It seems absolutely nothing with this car can go right, it's been in Indy more in the past 5 months than I have been able to drive it. This twist of bad luck has happened before, and it all started with a rock. This fortune started with a deer. This just keeps on getting worse, now I'm even more sick. My car looks like crap, it says it's overheating when it's like 25* outside, and no fluid was leaking. I'm really tired of not being able to drive it, but I'm even more tired of whenever I drive it seems nothing but bad stuff constantly happens. I've had the car back for less than 72 hours and it already has to go back in to be fixed. I'm considering a different car, which one I haven't decided on yet, but it's not a bluff and very present in my mind. My friends and I were joking this morning about having a Priest perform an Exorcism on it followed by a blessing. I'm sorry but I may go, I'm really frustrated and don't know what to do.

Mikey

 

Sorry to hear man. Sounds like you have hit a big series of bad luck. but I've been there and done it and it happens.

 

A lot of bad luck and a little bit of carelessness.

Bad Dash Install
Strep Throat
Mom Runs Over Bumper
Understeering Into A Curb
Hitting a Deer (?)
Gauge Indicates Overheating

Okay, you may have overheating or a faulty gauge, but other than that, which one of these bad turns of fortune can actually be tied to the MINI ?

Get a different car if you want, of course. Just don't regret later a decision made on poor reasoning.

 

Good luck with whatever decision you make. If you do get a new car, I hope you like it.

-Cody

 

My husband has owned cars manufactured by the General, Ford, Chrysler, Subaru, Audi, and Honda. A black cloud of bad luck (similar to yours) has followed him thru each ownership. Sorry, I think you may have to look deep inside yourself to solve this string of events.

 

That's tough. I know exactly how you feel. When I got my Cooper back from Harvey's I spent almost a month going over all of the the little things they missed that needed to be fixed. After the car being in and out of the shop for almost 4+ months, I didn't want to drive it either. I really thought about selling it. My MINI had become a "car."

Now luckily I didn't have the other grief you face now. It's a tough choice. But figure if you are going to sell it, you will need to fix it anyway. So get her all back together, then take it for a nice long drive, or even do what I did, and sleep in the car a bit. If the fervor really has died, you won't feel that connection to your MINI anymore. In which case it might then be time to send her down the road. Just don't try to replace your MINI for something else. That's definetly not going to work. Good luck...

 

1) You could keep it....what else can happen (don't answer that)

2) get it fixed sell it in good conscience and then start over with a new one....

3) when your sick , all perspective gets distorted...... wait until you feel better to make a decision....

4) let it roll off a cliff

 

Was this the result of that Black Op?



Ouchies! What was the damage? Just bonnet or engine?

I feel your frustration, man - I've been there. But, look at it this way.... if you DO decide to try your luck with another brand of car, even with the damage you should be able to find a buyer for the car. I honestly think you're just hitting a spot of bad luck, plus the overheat thing seems like it could be related to something that wasn't fixed properly from the crash, given the photo (hence, to be repaired for free), but I agree that when a possession starts to be more frustration than fun, it's likely time to move on.

If you decide to sell let me know - I've been looking for a used hard top and I'm not afraid to have to do a little work on a car. That said, OF COURSE I hope you stick with "the family" until you get past this rough spot. Easy for ME to say, I know (I'm not paying your bills after all).

 

I hope you never regret getting rid of your MCS for another car.


Art

 

this is great advice!

 

Ok this is my take on the situation. You cant blame your luck or a material possesion. Lets look at the list given above from Red & White:

• Bad Dash Install - Probably the result of the shop rushing the install to get it back to you, no matter what car this was it probably still would have happened, not because its a MINI.
• Strep Throat - By selling and getting another care cures you how?
• 
  Mom Runs Over Bumper - Once again, even if you had the bumper off your "newly purchased escalade" the bumper was on the ground and your mom ran it over. Her fault for rushing into where I am assuming was the garage or driveway without looking. (By chance was she driving an SUV?)
• Understeering Into A Curb - Any car without the propper tires in poor conditions will do this. If the clutch in your MINI stuck and then suddenly released making the car jump into the curb then ya, I would blame the car, but summer tires in snow = expensive repairs.
• Hitting a Deer (?) - Act of god, insurance doesn't go up. Be thankful you were in a safe car, look at the MINI and look how messed up it got, just imagine what it would look like if you were in an unsafe car.
• Gauge Indicates Overheating - Needs to go back to the shop it was at for diagnosis, could something that they missed or was not done correctly, hopefully it wasn't the curbs fault... either way they will probably try and blame it on the curb to get out of having to fix it so a second shops oppinion might be needed

All in all I think you are having some bad luck and no matter what car you have, you are going to bring it along for the ride (no pun intended). I hope your luck improves soon, its happened to me to and did get better after a while thank god.

BEATNUT

 

That would be my choice.....

 

Get a car that:

• Can't have the dash replaced with other than ugly OEM
• Has all seasons on them
• Has few after market crap
• States that you are a lemming and that you are an average joe and that you want to blend in with the crowd instead of standing out

This is part of life and honestly that is what you get for living in a place that gets cold and snows during the Winter, which it is, and you didn't switch wheels yet. I live in MD and have had Winter tires on since Thanksgiving and so does most of us here. Chalk it up to a life lesson and go forward.

 

Well, I certainly can't IMAGINE why the poor guy would want to go with any other car "family" than MINI after some of the replies in this thread guys... Sheesh!

Honestly... why not cut the guy some slack? He's frustrated at his car and posted in a "safe" forum populated by fellow enthusiasts about it. He's not dissing anyone personally, or even MINIs in general, really. Go easy with the baseball bats, mmmkay?

 

All I am saying is that I can understand the need to rant, but some of the things could have been avoided easily. That is why I said chalk it up to a life lesson and go forward. mmmkay?

 

Sure, sure, man. Whatever you say... (( backs away slowly ))...

 

There is only one thing being reiterated here (some are just not wording it as nicely as others) and its the question of how changing to a different car is going to improve his luck or minimize his car accidents. Nothing of which he mentioned is a mechanical fault of the car for what it has been subjected to the last few months. We are also not blaming him for what has happened, simply that life is tougher at some points than others and you need to tough it out and get through it.

A quote I picked up that sums up life very well I think:

"***** happens, don't step in it."

BEATNUT

 

The MINI is one of those few cars where people say "it's worth all of the problems just to own such a fun, unique car."

On the surface that sounds like BS, but I've come to believe it too

Here's my opinion FWIW. It is probably going to end up costing at least a few grand out of pocket to buy another car unless you downgrade. So either buy the new car, or invest that money into getting your MINI all taken care of at a dealership with certified techs and buy some snow tires.

 

Honestly... why not cut the guy some slack? He's frustrated at his car and posted in a "safe" forum populated by fellow enthusiasts about it. He's not dissing anyone personally, or even MINIs in general, really. Go easy with the baseball bats, mmmkay? [/quote]

Many of us have been there. Sometimes a string of bad automitive Karma can really bring you down, and sometimes, the only way to get rid of it is to get a different car. I once owned a Saab 900 turbo. Loved the car, but it got hit so many times, my friends started calling it the "accident magnet". After the first frontal crash (I got hit from behind while stopped and crashed into the guy in front of me) , the electrics started going. Then a fan belt broke and left me stranded 400 miles from home. Then someone spilled a soda in the ignition (remember, it's a Saab), and I had to change out the tumbler and get a new set of keys. Even with the new ignition, it would sometimes refuse to start- no rhyme or reason, it just wouldn't start. Come back 5 minutes later, and it would turn over. I endured this for 3 years before saying "enough". My next car was a BMW 3 series. Never had a problem. No accidents to speak of, and no gremlins. Drove it for 10 years, and I still regret letting her go, even if it was in trade for my MINI.

 

My point was that he said:

"I'm really tired of not being able to drive it, but I'm even more tired of whenever I drive it seems nothing but bad stuff constantly happens. I've had the car back for less than 72 hours and it already has to go back in to be fixed. I'm considering a different car, which one I haven't decided on yet, but it's not a bluff and very present in my mind. My friends and I were joking this morning about having a Priest perform an Exorcism on it followed by a blessing. I'm sorry but I may go, I'm really frustrated and don't know what to do. "

And he's getting replies like:

''You're a lemming.."
"You're too stupid to figure out when to put your All-Season tires on..."
"Suck it up..."

... and my all-time favorite:

"***** happens".

I love that answer. I really do. Be sure to put me on your email distro so I can be sure to send back this little gem when you get in an accident, your dog dies, your wife leaves with the UPS guy, etc. It really does fit all situations! How marvellously efficient!

Sure, others have been nice about it, and I'd argue that THAT'S THE POINT of forums like this - it's not just a nice bonus.

Ah, I don't know why I'm wasting my time... I guess that some days I'm just a bit more sensitive to... I was going to say "rudeness", but it's really not that. A general hard-heartedness? Simple apathy? I mean, really... What ever happened to "If you can't say something nice, then please, to Holy God, keep yer pie hole shut"? Was it just MY mom that said that?

OK, rant over.

 

ImagoX:

You really read my post entirely in the wrong way, I was not saying "***** happens" like deal with it... but that things like this happen to everyone and its part of life and you have to make the best of what you have. I am stating that I dont see how most any of this pertains to the MINI in general. How did the MINI give him strep throat? Would driving a Toyota Carolla make the deer not jump out in front of him? Would a Carolla not had oversteered into the curb if it had summer tires on it driving in the snow? Granted these are all unfortunate events, and if getting a new car will make him feel better, by all means. I could see if the MINI was causing financial distress downgrading to more of an ecconomy car would make sense. The day that the insurance company tells me my premiums are going up because driving a MINI increases my risk of hitting large animals is the day I would consider a new car myself.

I don't post on NAM often due to the fact there is always someone out there looking to twist what another member says into an arguement. No offense to anyone here but it seems like all major threads have it in there somewhere. I do not consider NAM a "safe" forum by any means.

I agree more so with JustJay, some of these things could have been easily avoided with a little better judgement, granting by the time some of these are realized the timing doesnt allow for the "right" descision to be made.

I dont agree with everyone harassing him for thinking about getting another car however. I am not superstisions (sp?) at all and dont believe in bad omens. However, I do believe in karma and things come in full cirlce to everyone in some way, shape or form.

BEATNUT

 

Just an answer to all of the questions here...
my S-Lites and all season tires are currently being replaced because they were curbed while a Dodge Durango forced me off the road because she "didn't see your measly little car". I can only try and make other people work so fast. Especially insurance companies. That's why they are not on the car. If they were in my possession they would have been, and yes probably since before Thanksgiving. My MINI has had a string of bad luck. I'll bring up what happened one day about a year ago when after my dad took out the front bumper in his SUV I had it fixed. I was driving down to my dealer to pick up some parts and a rock goes completely through my windshield and lands in the passenger seat. Then I pick up the new windshield down there and transport it back 3 hours take it out of my car put it in the garage and come out to see smoke billowing out of the engine and coolant all over my driveway. That happened that process took about a week but the rock through overheating issue happened in a span of 5 hours. Then every time I would get a SES light I would have to drive all the way (3+ Hours) down to Indianapolis to get it serviced, and checked out. If it needed to be kept for a couple of days I would have to make a 6 hour round trip down to pick it up and take it back. No joke in the past 5 months it has been at the dealer for probably a conservative guess of 7-10 times. I'm just getting very tired of it. Then you guys with absolutely no respect at all break everything down like it's my fault. Yeah I coulda, woulda, shoulda... but I didn't. Accidents happen I know but this car is taking up a lot of my life and money and I barely get to see it.

Then everyone's response on this forum. It reminds me again why I don't post here much anymore. It's very sad, I post something that bothers me and I feel bad about and the thread immediately turns on me and scrutinizes my actions and my intelligence. I thought I might miss the community, but it seems something that was once so great and I enjoyed so much has also turned for the worse, and makes me consider leaving it even more. NAM used to be about comradery, and the enjoyment of our fun little cars, but lately it's been invaded by armchair perfectionists who never, have never, and will never make a mistake and are so full of themselves they like to smell their own farts (See Southpark as reference). It's garbage, it used to be great, maybe it will again someday, but I dunno if I will be around it to see that someday especially with the turn it has taken.

Thanks (see sndwave for the meaning of this smiley)

Mikey

 

Sorry to hear about it, but even if you do sell the car you don't have to leave NAM. Mini's are still fun to talk about.

 

The car didn't give me strep throat but the thought of the situation makes me sick to my stomach.:impatient It was at the dealer to get a problem fixed, if it wouldn't have been in Indy to get that serviced I wouldn't have hit the deer on the way back. I just want it to end.:impatient

Mike

 

I definately see your frusturations and how a lot of this looks like it turns back to situations that your MINI has put you in now. Especially being 3 hours one way from the MINI dealership. The airbag deploying is certainly a major concern I would have as it deals with safety. Is your car an earlier build MINI and are you the original owner? Things like that make me wonder if there are underlying issues with the car that nobody can really see or pinpoint. In the end do whatever makes you happy as that is the most important thing. This is my last post in this thread also.

BEATNUT