Timing Chain/Electronics
 

Fellow motorists:

First things first, my MINI Cooper is 2007 with 68,xxx miles and is no longer under warranty.

Over one month ago (March 11, to be exact) my Cooper stopped running. I was going up hill and barely had enough momentum to pull to the shoulder. That's how sudden and complete the failure was and there was no warning light.
I tried to jump-start it with no success, so I had it towed to the nearest MINI dealership (80 miles away, ouch). My logic was that a MINI dealership would have the best chance to fix it.
After the weekend they examined it and found that the timing chain was broken and that the engine "jumped timing", which they claim to have fixed. Estimate, $2300.
However, they STILL (April 13) have not gotten the car to start under its own power, claiming that there's an electronic or computer related problem. Yesterday they told they've given up on that avenue, and will have to check if the valves have been bent in the timing chain catastrophe and will need to remove the cylinder (or cylinder head, I forget these details). Estimate $1300 more.
Meanwhile they've been kind enough to have given me a loaner, which I've had for nearly three weeks.

Questions: Does my MINI Cooper (not S) have an interference engine?
If so, doesn't that assume that damage will be done with a timing chain break?
Why wait until more than one month away to examine that side of things?
Could they have been damaging it further with each attempt to start the car?
If it's not an interference engine, why bother looking?

I'm beginning to think legal help is necessary. Any advice?

I think every one of those questions is darned good, and quite reasonable.

If it is, looking at the head for damage is an obvious requirement.

If it isn't, what the heck are they talking about?

And I'd be curious regarding the parts/labor breakdown thus far, as I'm wondering how deep into the engine they got in the course of the first $2,300.

Could one spend that much just pulling the front covers and repairing the timing chain and related components? Seems a bit dear. Perhaps I'm just ignorant though as I've never commissioned that bit of work myself.

I'm either naive or an optimist depending on who you ask though, so I'd try as hard as possible to avoid having the situation become adversarial.

If the person you are dealing with is taking that much money, they should be able to show some patience and provide darned clear explanations of what has and has not been done. Are you getting that?

Fingers crossed, and my profound sympathy for the misery - I hope the loaner is tolerable.

Cheers,

Charlie

i dont think that they would have cause any more damage than what was already done with you driving it to a stop. if the timing jumped while you were driving and bent a valve then the major damage was done then and probably not hurt any more my them starting it.
what are you thinking about needing legal advice for?
Was there any signs of this going bad? ticking clunking rumbling? Im at 75k on my 07 MCS and if this "just happened" then it kind of worries me, even tho my car was almost completely rebuilt at 3k!
thanks Caleb