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First, thank you as these forums led me to my beloved 2011 Mini S. I have owned it for about two years and have loved every second of it.
Two Fridays ago I was cruising down the highway and all of a sudden it started to overheat. I started to lose power as I pulled off the side of the road. Got to the intersection and it died and would not start back up. I opened the hood and saw the coolant was empty. This was odd as I had filled it about 2.5 weeks earlier. Filled coolant and it then would barely turnover. So I got a new battery and then it started to turn but wouldn't catch. At that point I checked the oil just out of curiosity as I had had an oil change maybe less than a year ago and probably have not driven 1500 miles and it was bone dry. Put oil in and it still would not turnover.
Obviously, I had some issues I was not aware of.
Got it towed to a local import specialist (no Mini dealer within 100 miles) and they gave me the following assessment:
Their quote for a new used motor and installation:
Couple of questions for this group:
1. Does the assessment seem correct? Depending on what the group here thinks I have been leaning towards getting another estimate but would require towing so not jumping to it.
2. What about the price to swap out the motor + the quote price of the used motor? Are these fair?
Any other feedback on the repair process?
Only paid $10k for the vehicle so hard to justify spending $8k on it.
I'd do a bit more inspection before investing another $8K, but I'm a DIY'r. If you're relying on a shop for labor, it's probably not worth repairing. Check book value and decide for yourself. Also, if you have storage space, consider parting it out, lotsa people need misc parts. Check with a local Mini club for advice / help?
More labor to evaluate damage ---
Driving without coolant and oil may have burned out the cam journals --- they don't have replaceable bearings. That destroys head and both cams. Easy enough to check --- just inspect one cam cap and journal at a time. Reinstall and torque it before inspecting another one. Note that cam caps are NOT interchangeable between heads and should not be installed backwards, cam journals are line-bored so caps are an integral part of the head.
High probability crank and rod bearings are shot, and cylinder walls scored. Labor to inspect will be close to engine replacement costs.
Then you gotta find and replace the coolant leak part --- more labor.
$4k for a 75,000 mile engine is a little high. The shop that I worked at up until a few months ago probably would have been able to buy it for around $3k. Check out www.car-part.com The 20 housrs of labor looks about right for a book rate, an experienced tech would be able to do it in less time....I assume the misc parts are for water pump, thermostat, etc. Intake valves should be cleaned. There are guys out there that work on MINI's out of their garages that could do it for less. MiniToBe in PA comes to mind as an example. If you could find one through this forum, CL, or a local club you could probably save quite a bit..... Best of luck - I feel for you.
First, thank you as these forums led me to my beloved 2011 Mini S. I have owned it for about two years and have loved every second of it.
Couple of questions for this group:
1. Does the assessment seem correct? Depending on what the group here thinks I have been leaning towards getting another estimate but would require towing so not jumping to it.
2. What about the price to swap out the motor + the quote price of the used motor? Are these fair?
Any other feedback on the repair process?
Only paid $10k for the vehicle so hard to justify spending $8k on it.
Thanks in advance!
How much do you love it? How many miles on it?
You're around 100% or more of the value of the car to get a new motor put in. I think their $4700 for a 75k motor is quite high and at that price there are going to be many unsold used engines around and a lot of junked MINIs. A quick internet search shows N18 engines (often without turbo) for $2500-3500.
For around $8k you should be able to buy another '11-13 Cooper S with 60-80k miles on it. Eg;
I spent a lot of time on the forum researching these cars and decided I needed to learn to do my own maintenance (or risk the local vocational high school shop!) and be willing to dump it if things get too out of hand. Otherwise the cost of parts, shop labor and the complexity of these vehicles can make for a costly ownership experience.
