@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Hi everyone,

Two years ago I bought a second-hand Mini Cooper S, 2006 model. It had ~24000 miles on it, and six months left on the 4-year, 50,000 mile warranty.

As luck would have it, two months after the warranty expired, I had to get a leaky oil pan gasket replaced. I did this at Prestige MINI, and it cost me ~$850.

That repair was done in June 2010. From August onwards I drove the car infrequently, till November, when it started snowing heavily where I live (upstate New York). Around that time, I saw the "check engine light" go on. I called MINI and asked them what they thought it might be, given that they had recently looked my whole car over.

They told me that it was likely that my second oxygen sensor had broken (in June the first oxygen sensor broke and triggered my visit to prestige MINI, where they told me about the oil pan gasket problem).

So I didn't think much about it, and continued to drive the car very infrequently, say at most once a week (because of the heavy snow in the area). Last weekend, all of a sudden, I noticed that the temperature sensor had gone to red. Immediately I found a safe placed and parked. The engine made a heavy whirring sound, like a fan was working overtime, when I turned the car off.

I checked under the hood and found there was no coolant, so I replaced it. Yesterday I took my car to a local mechanic. They told me that I had a blown head gasket, and that they could not fix it. I would like to ask you all for some advice:

1. Given that I live over two hours away from the nearest MINI dealer (my zip is 14850), what are my best options for getting the car where it needs to go to get repaired?

2. Is it common for a 2006 MINI Cooper S with less than 35,000 miles to be having so many problems in the first five years?

3. Should I buy an extended warranty at this point, or should I try to sell the car? How concerned should I be that major repairs will be needed every 6-8 months?

4. If I do sell, how should I price the car?

Thank you.

-Ali

 

Rainwala. lots of questions! If you have a blown head gasket you should have oil and coolant mixing so if you check your oil it should be choco milk shake looking stuff on your dip stick. I would think if all your coolant is gone you must be burning a combo of oil, coolant and gas so you should see black/blue smoke out the tailpipe. How to get it to the dealer - get it towed. Overeheating will destroy the engine, if it has not already done so, and the amount of coolant you are losing suggests a blown gasket, not a crack.

I'm not sure I would take it to a Mini dealer for the repair though unless I could not find a competent local shop. I too bought an 06 Mini used and took it to the dealer for an SES and they told me I have cylinder missfire in my #1 cylinder and my compression is low (even though it runs fine). They volunteered to open the head and diagnose the problem for only $1,800 (just to open and close the head) - resolving any issue found could be extra. Given that price I passed on the deal. I am looking for a local shop and a second opinion.

Regardless of where you go, you have to fix your problem, even if all you want to do is sell the car. Make sure whoever fixes the gasket lets you know how the rings, cylinders and valves are wearing. If they are in good shape, you may have every reason to keep the car. If they are not, you may want to repair whatever is wrong while you have the head off - and then, once again you may have no reason to get rid of the car.

As far as what to expect as the car ages - who knows! From what I have read 06 is one of the better years for reliability. Nothing I have read suggests Minis are worse than average in terms of repair frequency. They are, of course, higher than average in terms of cost of repair. Perhaps more importantly, Minis owners tend not be the most gentle drivers and that factor may be what has resulted in your problems to date rather than the unreliability of the car itself. We are driving performance cars that beg to be put through their paces. Such driving puts more wear and tear on a car than putt putting to church.

Good luck!

 

My '06 was fairly trouble free. In the 5+ years I had him I had 2 repairs under warranty. Something with the power steering the first year and a coolant issue last year. Oh, and they replaced the windshield for me under warranty.
I did DEs on occasion and participated in MINI club events, but wasn't particularly rough on the car.
Annette

 

Thank you for the comprehensive reply Edward! I really hope I can find something locally.

 

Your coolant loss was probally from one of two things.
Thermostat gasket
Cracked overflow tank

 

Edward, I had steam coming from my used 07 Mini S R56 nothing out the tail pipe. Steam smelled sweet mechanic said was coming out pretty good right along where gasket is but said was leaking out & not into motor & that is why oil/coolant not contaminated. Dike stopped the steam does that mean his diagnosis is correct? Or do I have thermostat seal checked? Help totally clueless

 

Thread is from 2011....
I'm sure he would have appricated the attempt at help!!