So I had the MINI inspected at MINI of Ft. Lauderdale prior to me going to pick it up on Saturday. The super charger is "ok" according to them. But the car needs a clutch, shocks, a power steering hose and some other misc items.

And then they said the alternator is failing and was the cause of the odd bearing noise. They quoted the repair at $2k , please... Then when's friend went to go pick the car up today it would not start for the dealership, they spent 45 minutes to get it started and eventually for it running but it died. He left if for them to sort out while he went off to go do things he had to do. He just went back at 6 to get the car and put in a new optima yellow top to get it home. Well he got a "click" while starting and then be noticed smoke coming from the starter area.

I'm a little bit pissed off at this dealership. It has taken them two days to perform the inspection and after quoting to replace something that was fine before it arrived it makes me think something fishy is going on. The car was a daily driver until it went into their garage.

Has anyone ran into this type of issue? I really find the timing for the alternator to "die" and the starter to die to be very suspect. I can't go down and pick up the car on Saturday and I'm out $35 for my bus ticket which isn't that bad but I wanted to get te car this weekend.


Any help is appreciated.

 

Your post is unclear. Is this a car you have owned? If so why was the dealer 'inspecting' it? On the other hand, is this a car you were thinking of buying? If so, based on that 'inspection' why would you ever consider buying it?

 

It was a car I was going to buy. I knew of the clutch and shocks that needed to be done but ow this is just ridiculous. I'm probably not going to buy it

 

Don't just walk, run away from this, and not just the car but the dealer too.

 

I hate to say it...but I would also run away from this one... what year is this and how many miles are on it ?

 

it's an '04 with 163k problem free miles.

 

+1

 

Says who? The dealership? How can you prove that (unless there are meticulous service records)?

Two days to perform an inspection on a 9 year old car with 163K miles probably isn't too bad. After all, they have other cars to work on there too. A car that old, with that many miles is going to need parts replaced. If they haven't already been replaced once before, I'm surprised that the starter and alternator lasted that long. I've replaced them in cars with 65-75K miles. If the clutch, water pump, etc. are "OK", you have to expect that, given the mileage, they will need to eventually be replaced (unless they already have).

That being said, I probable would pass on the car, due to its age and mileage, but that's just me. For what it's worth, Lauderdale is a reputable dealership, and I don't know of anyone who has had a problem with them. I didn't get any of my MINIs from them, but I know of several people who did and they were treated very fairly.

 

Well for $3k what else can go wrong. I have a low mile SC and a water pump on the way which I was planning to do along with a clutch. If the seller fixes these items I might go for it still since the MINI will be a car to play with.

 

You have now provided much more information than your initial post. You're not looking for a daily driver; you're looking for a project car. Completely different set of priorities.

 

A project that I can get sorted out and the. Make a daily driver since sorted out, hopefully

 

Burn it withe fire!

 

Suggest you get a really big jug of Fast Orange hand cleaner (I prefer w/o pummice)...You're gonna need it!

 

I've worked on and driven diesels for the last 10 years of my life.. so I am prepared for dirty hands.

 

So we swapped the starter out and it wouldn't turn over so I had the idea of removing the belt. Sure enought it cranked and ran. Alternator seized and I guess these tiny starters do not have it in them to spin the belt. So tomorrow morning the nose comes off!

The dealership did beat the crap out of the original starter, last I checked that is neve an approved method of trouble shooting.