I have a 18 month old Copper S which has been running fine so far and I have about 35K on it.

I'm on a road trip and after about 300 miles, I lose throttle. So, I move the car to the side of the road but now it won't start though it does crank.

The dealership took and day and a half to figure out what went wrong. I'm waiting to get the details but I guess some bolt came lose and now it NEEDS A NEW ENGINE!!!

The dealership said they have never had to replace an engine in these new Minis unless it was an insurance/accident case.

I wanted to find out if anyone here has experienced anything like this?

Is the dealership equipped enough to do an engine replacement?

Do I need to worry about performance issues, rattles, etc.?

Should I talk to Mini about giving me a new car instead of replacing the engine or would that be pushing it?

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles.I'm curious to know what bolt came loose(rocker arm maybe).Regardless the dealer is more than equipped to replace your MINI's engine.As far as pushing for a new MINI that's your call but a new engine(newer build than your last early '07 build)should suit just fine.Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I think they should give you a new car...

 

I think the engine replacement is a fair deal, you should fall under the warranty easily!!

 

I had a engine replacement on my crossfire, the heatshield was rattling all the time, but the engine was awesome.

 

PS its noted on carfax, I losy money when i went to sell the car:(

 

No way will you get a new car.

They have 3 chances to get your engine right before you have any legal recourse (via lemon laws). When the early E46 M3s had engines failing, BMW did not replace any of the cars. They ultimately had two campaigns to fix (major repair) the engines affected with a design problem, but they did include a 100K drivetrain warranty.

 

A Cybergypsy mentioned, it lowers the resale value of the car. There should be some recourse if they won't give me a new car, no?

 

Not seeing the lower value thing? --- Driving the car lowers the value, hitting other cars lowers the value, filing an insurance claim for hail damage lowers the value, putting aftermarket performance parts on -- lowers the value. How much could replacing the engine effect the value?

If it really bothers you that much, trade it in on a new one, they will probably give you a fair deal.

But really 35K and a new engine, heck that is a good deal, you get to break it in, and start fresh. I know people that change their oil with less frequency.

 

If you trade it in to the dealer that fixes it, under warranty, it shouldn't hurt you as far as value (even though it probably will, because most dealers suck)

 

Not sure I would agree with that value reduction.

Might be valid if engine had to be replaced due to neglect or abuse, especially at low mileage, but in your case (loose bolt, trashed engine, warranty replacement), you should gain value.

If I were offered two identical 18 month old autos, one with original 35K engine and one with a dealer installed new engine, I would pay a premium for the new engine.

Keep records to document engine replacement and this should be just as true for selling a three year old 70k car with a 35k engine as well.

Would be worthwhile to ask for a MINI-USA extension on your engine warranty though, in case of another loose bolt.

 

I guess carfax has its own formulas to calculate re-sale value which doesn't always match conventional wisdom.

On a slightly different note, when I get a new engine, will Mini reset the speedometer or will it still say 35K?

 

It will stay at 35k.

 

Make sure it is a BRAND NEW engine and not a REMANUFACTURED one, as im sure that they will send your old engine in to be remanufactured somewhere.

 

Well if the crank pulley bolt came loose..... That would throw off the timing and ultimately end up bending some of the valve train, when hitting the pistons head. . Resulting in a new engine.

 

Well, well... I have been down that road. My 07 MC engine was replaced at 5k miles. 14k transmission was replaced TWICE along with various other parts. My opinion is (some) dealers are unable to replace an engine and have it last as if it came from the factory. You probabally won't get a replacement vehicle but I would certinally ask. I asked but it was not until after the 2nd transmission that Mini agreed to a assisted trade. Your vehicle WILL NOT gain value. Mine didn't, it became a LEMON. Anyone doing a carfax WILL see the enging replacement. First time for the engine replacement may not reduce the value much but it WILL NOT increase the value or sell-ability. Two identical cars on the lot, I'll definitly pass on the one with the engine replacement. You willl most likely get a remanufactured engine. You won't get a choice. The replies here amaze me. Engine repacement at the dealer is subject to human error. The factory assembly line has MUCH better quailty control, quality control may be non-existant at the dealer. My opinion is the dealer can perform minor repairs just fine. Forget about a engine or transmission....

Has anyone else had a MINI engine replaced at the dealer? Let keep it to experience with MINI's. I'm sure some dealers may be better than others...

Check you local Lemon laws... in the event you keep the car and there's another failure. Here in Texas it's two safety related failures within a year, 30 days in the shop in a year, or 3 times for the same failure. Any of those 3 qualify the Lemon law.

 

I'm sorry but as a fellow MINI owner (6years now) and working on MINIs for 4yrs, this is the biggest pile I've seen on here. I love the MINI and do my best day in and out to do my best. I can't count the number of engines and Trans. that I have replaced during my short stint but I'm sorry you have poor service at your dealership. I just replaced an engine today in an R56 and would put anyone into that MINI knowing that I did everything right and every bolt is where it belongs and tight.
If the assembly line is so MUCH better why do we have to inspect the vehicles when they come to the dealerships?? They should be ready to go with no problems right? WRONG.
I really hope to hear from someone that has had their engine or trans replaced without faults or issues after the fact.

 

I have got my engine replaced after hydro-locking. Yes, I got a remanufactured engine, but I find absolutely no difference in the new engine and the one which was replaced (~21,000 miles).

I agree that YMMV based on the dealer, but I have had no issues after the replacement.

To the OP, as long as the dealership follows the laid-down procedures, I do not foresee any issues in having the engine replaced.

 

What do you inspect for at the dealership and what are the findings?

So what type of torque wrench do you use? Is there a final inspection or check that the work is correct?

To those have had no problems... how many miles do you have on the new engine?

Perhaps I'm the only one with multiple failures. But from the replies I'm not the only one with an engine/transmission replacement.

Hmmm can't count then number of engines and transmissions....

Maybe you can tell me how many things CAN go wrong with this type of repair and why we should be confident it can be done correctly. And mayby what the results of under/overtightned bolts are. When I visited the shop I didn't see anyone with a torque wrench in their hand. Maybe it's not typical or maybe it is... just know what happened to me.

 

+1 Every professions has their bad apples, people who don't care, but to generalize is highly unfair. There are going to be some errors made in any manufacturing process, sometimes at the factory, sometimes at VDC, and sometimes at the dealer. Meet the people at the dealership including the people who will work on your MINI and if you don't like the service department request to take it to another!

 

Like I said, sorry YOU had a poor experience at YOUR dealership but please dont put all the apples in one basket. You don't keep bad apples with the good ones do you? no.
We are supposed to inspect the intire vehicle, yes not every nut and bolt but from time to time. yes, you may find something loose or not working or not even plugged in from the factory, but its our job to find it befor it hits the showroom or delivery.
As for torque wrenches, I have 2, one is in lbs/ft. and the other is nm. not seeing why I have to answer this.
And as for the number of trans and engines I've done that I can't count.... seriously??? No one keeps talley of what they have done at the dealership, but if you like, I can keep you posted and let you know everything that I do, yeah don't count on that.
Maybe you should fine a technician that YOU can talk to and YOU are confident in. Then you would have even more reason to be confident in the repairs performed on your MINI.

Happy motoring!!!
I'm done

 

The engine replacement was fine great engine BUT when you go to sell it most dealers dont want it at all Carfax has it listed as a replaced engine..... I myself would not buy a car with a reolaced engine due to noise and rattles, Mine was loaded with them when i got her back and was 45 days without a car....

 

and yes the do keep a tally of what is done at a dealership, and it gos on recored

 

Picking on the qualifications of professionals in any field won't get you too many friends in that field. Just a thought here, you could always trade your MINI for another MINI at the dealership that sold you the car. They should have no problem accepting it, since they stand behind their work. Then sell the new MINI anywhere you want and be done with it!

 

Great suggestion. Just wish I knew I was going to get poor service BEFORE it happened. I'm not putting the bad apples in the same basket. I had a MUCH better experience (purchase) at another dealer. Needless to say my car will never return to the dealer in question for service again.

If you can't count the transmission replacements doesn't this say something about reliability? Let's see... I had two replaced. At least I'm happy to see that they are now assembled in a different factory (France). Not sure if that better but at least there may be hope.
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MINI is definetly a very fun but so far unreliable vehicle... at least my first one. Honestly I like it so much I now have another on the hope the first was a fluke and I'm not one who puts faith into hope.