My 07, with 129k has started to leak oil pretty badly. Took it to the dealer on Friday. Got the estimate today - $3800 to fix oil leaks and $3800 to fix the sunroof I've maintained the car religiously, carbon cleanings, TB replacement etc. After I picked myself off the floor I asked for details. The Sunroof needs a brand new assembly- $2500 plus labor. For the engine, they said Oil is leaking from pretty much everywhere (I don't have the breakdown yet).

The Sunroof IMO should be warrantied. All you have to do is search and you can see the number of issues the R56's have had with the panoramic roof. My bigger issue however is with the oil leaks. The service tech made it seem like - "Oh yea this is normal". Normal? $3800? Now, even if I discount the ridiculous estimate of which 85% is labor, I ask is it normal for a car to have this many oil leaks? I had a Subaru Turbo with 150k miles, full stage 2+ and had zero issues, other than basic maintenance. I have 2 Audis (2.0T) both over 150k miles and no leaks.

I'm taking the car to a mechanic I trust to see what he thinks and to get another estimate. I've used the dealer and was hoping for some kind of good will since all my service has been there. The Mini dealer of course said they wouldn't bother to fix it, and that I could trade it in. Well of course I could trade it in but honestly if the F56's have the same reliability I'm not sure I'd want to. My wife loves this car, and I love to drive it, but I also like to keep my cars for a long time. I don't consider 130k miles a lot, the car hasn't been beaten or modified and has been maintained properly. Yes I know it's a Turbo and maintenance is higher but the sunroof and other items I've had fixed have nothing to do with the motor, and are all quality issues IMO.

 

Not sure where you are located but dealer prices are outrageously stupid (for the most part). I personally live in Houston and take my car to two mechanics.

When the dealer quoted 2k for a clutch including parts I got it for 700 bucks with parts at my local mechanic.

They quoted $500 for a clutch pedal replacement and got it for $175 at another local mechanic.

If you live in Houston let me know and I will give you their addresses.

 

Get the break down of the oil leaks and if you're DIY inclined you can tackle the jobs yourself to save a lot of money. Are they saying you need a whole new sunroof frame and motor? An indy mechanic will most likely be less than what the dealer would charge so that is a good move as well.

 

One big difference - generally speaking - between dealerships and independents is this: Dealerships tend to just throw new parts at problems and hope that was it. Independents are more like problem solvers. They'll take the time to find the root problem and attack that. The oil leak(s) could just be coming from various places on an exhausted pan or head gasket rather than multiple places on the engine like what your dealer seems to be implying. Best advice is to locate a reliable independent. Your local MINI folk/club can surely point you in the right direction.

 

Don't get hosed by the dealer, I bet the reason they told you oil is leaking everywhere is because they don't know exactly where it's leaking from as Fly'n Brick mentioned. Since they don't where the oil is leaking from they instead say it's leaking everywhere which non-sense. They were unable to give a breakdown because they don't know from where the oil is leaking, many times one oil leak can make it seem like oil is leaking elsewhere when it's not. Example, another member had an oil leak at the valve cover gasket, dealer said oil was leaking from the vacuum pump, oil filter housing, it was just the valve cover gasket that was leaking onto the other areas. They wanted over $3000 for a valve cover gasket leak!

I swear every dealer needs a BAR representative reviewing every service writer's work order so consumers stop getting hosed for needless repairs and thousands of dollars per owner, their no better than those responsible for the 2007 housing market crash! It's criminal what dealers are getting away with and continue to get away with that bothers me, if I were President...

 

You can find a good independent shop and if you are a somewhat a DIY 'r you can find help here on the forums. If you can do some of the smaller jobs yourself you will save big. Find the leaks , post pics and most people and of course myself will help you out and show you the hints and tricks.

 

I have just 65K on my mini, and got my first oil leak(very minor), which was easily remedied with a new $315 valve cover from ECS. And a one hour replace in my garage. I would really have to see where all this oil is leaking from?

Is there a pool under it on the floor! You need pictures and dealer estimate list we can look at.

And I agree with the other people, I would do the sunroof myself for sure. Or go local independent.

 

NJ? Come see us about those leaks, we'll be waaaaaay less.

 

Helix I'm away this weekend but I will definitely hit you up next week. I agree with all the posts here. I only took it to the dealer because they did my TB service, and I was hoping it was related to that. The sunroof they are saying I need the entire assembly. The motor still works but something is jamming it.

Helix is that something you can look at as well?

 

We can look at it, but no guarantees: There are replacement parts available for some of the assembly, but many parts are not listed separately, meaning you have to buy the whole shebang to fix a $1 part.

 

Ok...
To say it is a 2007 with 129k and say it should be fixed under warranty means you need a reality check...
Next...taking that same 8 year old car that has about 75% of it useful life (most folks consider 150k to be the edge of a daily driver before it is a "hoopty") to the dealer....ouch...
Dealers fix cars to " like new condition".....and the fact the price they give you is nearly the cost of a new car...no surprise!! Think they want to sell you a new car?!
Now for my advise....
Fix the important things that impact the reliability or the further use of the car as a car...
So the oil leaks need to be looked at...might be able to fix 90% of them...then get a estimate to get the sunroof fixed from a shop like helix that KNOWS MINI 's...
Might be able to swap the cassette out with a salvage unit, or if the $$ is too high, yank the fuse, locking it in place...or you can fix it too 100%, but understand that spending $1000 in fixing a non-essential item is purely for fun...not a reliability issue...the car could be totaled tomorrow or the motor could go, and that $$ is gone. At some point in a cars life, some items are allowed to "slide" to save up $$ for the next car...a malfunctioning sunroof IMO might be one of those items...
Dealers service new cars under warrenty at about TWO TIMES THE GOING LABOR RATE...
Think...why ever go back unless they have special skills or knowledge?! Think they get paid a fraction of what they bill MINI USA for repairs...I bet...same as a doctors office...so when you pay cash/self pay, you are getting hosed...you can save about 50% of the labor costs by going to a good Indy shop...
But remember....its not a new car, come to terms with that.

 

Why does the sunroof need a new assembly, does it not operate properly? It seems until you took it to the dealer all of a sudden there was a problem with the sunroof, never any mention of issues before you took it in.

 

If you can't identify where the oil leak is coming from because there's oil everywhere, have your engine steam cleaned top and bottom. That will cost about $50. Then drive for a day and the source(s) of the oil will be obvious.

 

^Or buy yourself a $4 can of brake parts cleaner and squirt the oily parts down. If you have access to compressed air with nozzle, it'll make drying the oil that much easier.

 

Yep, cleaner and dry it up. Takes some pics of the leak and post it up.

 

After the engine is cleaned and dry drive it long enough to develop the start of leaks.
Then dust the engine with talcum powder and gently air blow the loose dust off and the origins of the leak/ leaks will become apparent.

 

I also have a 2007 Mini Cooper S and I had a very very similar issue arise last spring after buying this car used a little while back. I knew I had a small leak initially, but it suddenly got much worse. I took it to International Autos and they quoted me a very similar amount to what you're now looking at. But they also told me my perfect brake pads needed replacing when all I really had was a bad sensor, and because they had recently been replaced and I knew it, when I took off the tires myself to check, I realized they had only quoted me that service because they had only read my key fob and not actually looked at the pads. So great job there.

Anyway, a mechanic friend of mine took a look and we determined I had a leak around my turbo and the oil was indeed everywhere, including in a very small amount where it shouldn't be inside of the turbo. A pretty expensive fix, and it was hard not to panic. Our best bet was to find a small shop in the area that deals with exotics because not just anywhere will want to touch a turbo, but that would have still been very expensive because the nature of the job is just not cheap. We ended up getting really lucky and stumbled across a company called Detroit Tuned, who really helped us figure out what was going on and what we'd need. I really really recommend them and have used them for other things since. We ended up getting a kit from them, and some other supplies for only a couple hundred bucks and then my mechanic friend (with a lot of forum help, he's a Honda guy, not a MINI guy) was able to replace my oil lines around my turbo with a LOT of elbow grease. A LOT. I helped out, and it really was a pain for him, so I understand a bit more why labor is so expensive-- it really is TIGHT around that turbo. But yeah, in all the research we did to fix this issue, it seems like oil leakage is sadly a normal issue for this car.