I'm so glad my car started to catch on fire...
 

Okay, for those that have been out of the loop, here's the deal.

Just shy of a month ago, I drove my car to the mall.... came back and parked it.

Went back in the garage 8 hours later and the garage was SO filled with smoke, I couldn't even make out the model of car that stood there.

Turns out the power steering pump fudged up (kept running when shut off???) and destroyed itself and melted a $3000.00 wiring harness.

Dealership discovered they were able to buy a harness repair kit but had problems finding exactly which part they needed.

When it arrived, they installed it and told me that they did not install the ECM update for the EPS(electronic power steering) which helped remove torque steer.

Since with Jan's tune, I seem to really have a ton of torque steer, I said go ahead and install it.

When I picked up the car, there was 1 1/2" of water under my back seat. I said they left the sunroof open in the downpour we had, they said the drain hose for the sunroof was not hooked up to the wheelwell so it could drain outside of the car.

They gutted the interior and dried everything out and returned the car to me in perfect condition.

I went to reinstall my tune from Jan but it wouldn't take since the dealership did the update. After a few attempts and resetting of the tune tool, Jan email me my tune last night and ALL IS WELL!!!

So now my car is completely clean on the inside. Though I wasn't happy with the dealership, they did step up and take car of it. They were great about it.

Jan's new tune is PHENOMONAL... smooth and fast...


and the best part is the dealership's ECM update REALLY removed some of the torque steer.

I drove my car into work and it's like it's the first time I've driven a mini. I'm ready for some cruisin' time.

All I have to do is swap my 18's out for my 17's (ride comfort) and he's done.


Bottom line, I'm glad it did catch fire, the new power steering pump feels so much better (perhaps it was damaged when I totalled the car?) and my software is updated making the car feel new again.

I'm completely stoked!


Mark

Finally some good news from you! :lol: :thumbsup:

Was it all warranty work or did you have to pay out of pocket since you pulled the engine?

Thats quite a story, im glad you got it back to where you want it, i would like some info on that Jan program.....

Glad to see you found the good in the bad. Life is great, sometimes, huh?
I DO love your MINI :grin:.
Annette

I turned it into my insurance and they don't cover the actual part that caused the damage. They only cover any damages done by the defective part.

Point is, I ended up paying the whole thing.



Thank you... much appreciated.



Mark

so glad to hear that happy ending!

Stoked is good, glad things turned out OK.:thumbsup: .

Mark, although I've not met you, I feel akin as I've followed this "saga" from your initial post on the race track crash.

I'm truly happy that everything seems to have resolved itself for you and that you NOW have a car that you're completely satisfied with.

I love Happy Endings!


:D



Finally... yes, it's exactly where I want it now. Not sure what I'm going to do with my time. Oh yeah, that's right, I bought another UTV, I can spend my money there...lol.



Me too, sometimes it's a PIA but I guess it always turns out okay in the end.



Mark

Well, it is about time for some GOOD news about your MINI!

I was going to suggest you fly back to Florida and rent a mini van or barrow your Mom's MINI for awhile... :lol:

Glad everything worked out well, not the out of pocket expense mind you, yeah fun factor! Your MINI is allowing you to "drive it like you stole it"!

Cheers,

damn that sucks how much did you end up paying?

The bill was about 1300 bucks with my bodyshop discount. The amount wasn’t that great but the way it worked out, the insurance doesn’t pay... here’s why.

Fire is covered under comprehensive. If a part (such as the power steering pump) catches fire, they consider that a mechanical failure much like a waterpump for instance.

They will not cover THAT item... what they will cover is the damage resulted from whatever caught on fire.

So here’s the bill roughly.

600 bucks for powersteering pump.
600 labor to install. (which I could have done at my shop)

The wiring harness was 3000.00 and the labor was 3300.00 bucks. (30 hours of labor at 110 bucks per hour) THIS would have been covered by the insurance company.

My bill would have been over 7K so I turned it into my insurance. When the insurance company got to the dealership, they found out they can buy a replacement end for the part of the harness they needed.

So now the bill is 1200 for pump and labor and a couple hundred more for misc. crap.

Since the insurance company only pays for damage above and beyond the pump, they would have only paid 200 bucks.... and since my deductible on comprehensive is 250, the insurance pays nothing.

I got a little off going through my bodyshop but ultimately I ended up paying the entire bill of 1300 bucks.

Like I said, not a large amount but it sucked that the part the insurance company doesn’t pay for was 99% of the damage...lol.

Oh well, at least it’s back on the road and the whole thing was worth it because I would have never known there was an update for the ECM for the power steering to help with the torque steer.


Mark

so when are we gonna see a video of this beauty

I have to fix one weeee paint issue and the car will literally be perfect. When I get it done, I’m going to post pics at the very least.


Mark

So moral of the story is...don't go to the mall. I knew the lesson was hidden in this message.

Great news! Just in time for some awesome springtime motoring!

Spridget

I want to see a video too... and hi res pics!!

I can't even imagine the total amount of $$$$ you've put into this car. :grin:

:thumbsup:

I'll pay heed to this message.

Annette

Very hidden....


:lol: