Greetings All,

My first post, but have been Loving my '02 dark silver/black top CooperS for about 3yrs now. Have never had more FUN navigating the highways and byways of LosAngeles before. Makes even commuting fun. Well, when you can DRIVE the car, that is. Nigel(my MINI), has been languishing for 15 WEEKS!!! now @Universal MINI in UniversalCity. He overheated and they replaced the headgasket and cooling fan, saying the suspected damaged heads were perfect. $4800 later ($3800 labor) I pick up the car with the reassurance that everything was 'perfect,' heads 'perfect.' I didn't even have to come back for the next scheduled engine check because everything was so 'Perfect'. I drove Nigel home glancing furtively @the temp gauge the whole time doing some errands along the way ('bout 40 miles total). Just about the time I started to relax and stop looking @the temp, Nigel overheated again! This time what came spewing forth from the coolant tank was honey mustard, not water and coolant like the first time. A thick sticky mixture of oil and coolant. So I tow Nigel back yet once again. They take off the heads and send 'em out to be 'inspected.' They come back perfect, no damage. Now they are telling me the damage must be in the block. Ok, so to my way of thinking, when it overheated originally it was leaking coolant. 2nd overheat, leaking oil. All the oil is getting sucked into the coolant tank so there's now a leak somewhere where there wasn't a leak before. They must have damaged the block either in the headgasketry surgery or in running cold water in the engine during testing for overheating. The block was not damaged before they "repaired" the car. Now they say it will cost ME another 6k to repair the block. Any expert opinions? They have 5k of my money already and the car is not fixed... HElp!

In the past 15 weeks I have contacted the Bureau of Automotive Repair, Arnie's (Governator) Boyz and after careful analysis, my officialGovt. inspector recommended UNIV give me my original 5k back since they charged me for services unrendered. They refuse. Instead they are willing to 'work' with me on the cost of block surgery to see if that is possibly the problem. They have no idea how to fix this car. BAR cannot make them repay me, they are only a mediator. I may have to sue in small claims to see my money again. But now they have a major Consumer Affairs complaint filed against them. They have also refused to supply a loaner to me in the meantime. This is insanity! Do yourself a HUGE favour and avoid this dealership @all costs! Go here for more reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mini-of-univ...:Mini%20Cooper

Ps: a little bkgd. Prior to the overheatings, the power steering pump overheated and caught fire one night just after I had turned off the ignition. The flame was only about 3" wide by 6" high but it was rather unnerving! I was able to put it out with a nearby hose. Fortunately I wasn't on the freeway! Anyway, they replaced all that stuff and then only about a month later all these other things started to happen... I have since discovered that '02 and '03 MINIs should now be equipped with fire extinguishers!

Thanx for the support and valuable 411 here @NAM. I Love you guys! I tell other MINI owners about you all the time! I really Love Nigel. But I may have to sell him (if I can) Are the new MINIs any more reliable? Or should I get a Toyota instead. Interestingly enuff, the head UnivMINI service guy drives a Matrix. And told me 'everyone' should have a Toyota. Oh, and Univ owner doesn't drive a MINI either...

 

No offense, but I would have traded that sucker in. Or at least bought a beater daily driver while your MINI can be slowly worked on.

Key with happily owning a MINI is warranty, warranty, warranty.

 

No offense taken. I understand now after owning one and reading other horror stories that a warranty is oh so necessary. I bought mine from a non~MIni used car dealer with over 50k. It was already beyond the warranty period and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It ran fine for the first 3 years...

They're trying to get me to trade it in now. I think they need to make good on the repair and then I will sell pp. This dealer marks up their cars 5k over sticker as I understand it. Am not too optimistic that I will get a deal... I think they just don't want to pay anymore labor to try and fix the problem. I may need a lawyer soon.

 

Sounds like BS about the block being bad! Sounds to me like yourself the head or the gasket job is what went bad. They should cover this as a warranty. Point blank period- The only way the block is bad is if it warpped but they should of found that before they put everything back together.

 

They keep saying the heads are fine. There was a question about that originally that they could have warped. So, you're saying the new headgasket may be bad? They waited til the head prognosis came back before they would move on to considering the block. They don't move very quickly over there. Don't have to. The place is crawling with Minis to be serviced. I've never seen so many in one place...

 

They aren't responsible for the overheating problem. They are responsible for failing to fix it. The difference in just blowing coolant and emulsified oil point to a potential different root cause.

My recommendations:
1. Ask for your money back for their failed attempt to repair the first time. You did not pay them to try and fix the car. You paid them to fix the car. 2. Find a reputable independent repair shop.
3. Be prepared to drop some money. A quick google shows a non-supercharged long-block at $6k. The "damage" may be a little as the replacement head gasket failing. But you aren't going to know until and unless the block is stripped.

Good luck

 

They are arrogantly suggesting I now hand them about 6k to troubleshoot/repair the block. I agree, they need to make good on the original repair and if they can't, I should get my money back. Lot's easier said than done. I appreciated your technical input, thanx, it helps. ~J

 

you're saying the new headgasket may be bad?

Not that the gasket is bad but how they put it on is the question. At this point don't go off on them- play stupid for now and don't get mad. Say things like how could this happen and how come now they think the block is the problem and work it like that. They should cover all of this and if they don't and you do the trade in go after the labor charges.

 

OWG,
I did find a good recommended independent shop yesterday that is surprisingly a lot closer to me than the dealer. But if MiniUniversal damaged the block when they put everything back together, they should have to repair it. Not me @another shop. When I picked the car up after the first overheat they said it was fixed, engine was perfect. That means to me that the block was perfect too.

 

They like me. I'm a nice and patient sort. But am losing my patience after 3 weeks of them wasting my time and not having my Mini to drive. Right now I'm just trying to figure out next best course of action. If I were to do the trade, how much are they going to be willing to give me on a car that can't be driven?

 

Oh, I don't disagree - it a question of a) how likely is that to occur, and b) do you have confidence that they can get it right. Only you can make those calls.

 

Oh, very good point! No, I have no confidence in them @this point. Maybe I can sue them for my 5k and spend it somewhere else on a new block.

 

jelaine,

I think you've been more than patient with those guys. Three weeks to replace a head gasket? Only if it was a special part that had to be imported (and it isn't). The yellow mustard is definitely oil and water btw. Now, as part of the head gasket replacement, both before and after they should run a leakdown test. This is where they pump pressure into the cooling system to see if it holds pressure. If you car overheated only 40 miles after the pickup from the dealer, I would be ten times more suspicious of a faulty headgasket installation than a cracked block. A cracked block would not hold pressure on a leakdown test and then fail 40 miles later, not unless it was raced or stressed in some other way. I would definitely get another mechanic's opinion and a lawyer involved at this point, seems to me they're playing guessing games with your car's problems.

Another possibility is that your water pump has failed. I haven't looked at the water pump arrangement on these engines, but on others (chain driven like the MINI) if the water seal or bearing fails, then coolant can flow into the oil pan causing all kinds of havoc, including overheating.

I strongly suggest getting someone knowledgeable about cars that can argue with those tech people.

 

Good luck- hope all works out and you get your Mini back faster, stronger, better!

 

Wow... I can't believe they're pulling that. I wish you wouldn't have paid them and taken it to another dealer like I did. Universal City MINI is hands down the worst and shadiest dealer period. They tried to blame my defective head on me and wanted me to pay upwards of 3k just to DIAGNOSE a car UNDER WARRANTY. This was after I had brought the car to them previously and they couldn't find the problem (until the motor finally failed) you might want to get an attorney.

 

Well, they replaced the gasket and said it wasn't overheating anymore but it the oil was still disappearing. Says on the ticket both the power steering pump fan and the radiator fan were shorted out. Replace the gasket and charged me for new bolts, by the way. New thermostat, 'fan with protecting,' and 'fan housing with FA' (whatever that is). They got me for $36 in antifreeze alone. Oh brother...

 

The two threads on the same subject have been merged, duplicate posts have been removed.

 

Unfortunately, they don't release cars if you don't pay... Anyway, maybe my VISA co. can help me out. I found an independent shop in Eaglerock yesterday which is close to me. Have you heard of http://www.themshop.com/ ? Somebody else disgruntled with Univ highly recommended it on Yelp.

 

Meanwhile, back@the ranch, my Mini is still sitting in their service dept. and is not fixed and I'm now out 5k AND my beautiful MiniCooperS.

 

About newer MINI's being more reliable- I'd have to say yes, as many issues were ironed out on the way to the '06 models. Among the standard MINI issues of the model year in question: leaking coolant tanks.

 

Is that true? Leaking coolant tanks was an issue with the '02???? Any technical bulletins or recalls or secret warranties to that effect?

 

It's a little surprising to me. You're in Los Angeles, and have access to some of the best MINI mechanics around--i.e. Danny at MiniCorsa or Steve at Steve's Auto Clinic--both in the Van Nuys area. Both of these guys have saved me tons of money and heartache, though admittedly, ever since I started taking my car to Danny since Dec 07, I haven't gone anywhere else.

I'd get the car out of the dealers hands ASAP and take it to these guys. You're out of warranty anyways, and their labor rates will be less than the dealer, and as MINI owners themselves, they will take care of you properly.

Danny is at www.minicorsa.com

Richard

 

Sorry I should have been a bit clearer. I didnt mean for him to take his car after the work had been done, I just wish he would have found out how bad Universal $hitty is and taken his car somewhere else before he had to spend any money.

 

Thanx, Richard,
Unfortunately these indy shops don't advertise all that well. I'm almost next door to VanNuys so this is invaluable to know. I would like to keep my Mini but am wondering if it will just continue to go downhill from here. It's got only 70k mi. New pSteering pump and a new set of tires! Maybe good selling features for some poor unsuspecting buyer? I would hate to do that to somebody...

 

Do a coolant tank search to see previous threads about the coolant tank problem. Re: specific bulletins, recalls, etc.- not sure, since my first Cooper was '03 and I didn't have the issue. It's worth a check, but at this point, I doubt it would help much on an out-of-warranty MINI.