hello all, I recently purchased a 2007 Mini Cooper S. Beautiful car with low mileage, I hit a deer and had most of the front end rebuilt (superficial structure mostly). It ran decent for a while then began to burn oil and release excessive smoke from the exhaust when accelerating, the last day I drove it, it consumed nearly 3qts of oil in a day and blew a seal of some sort in the engine bay because there is oil on either side of the engine in the bay. I described these issues to a mechanic and was told to trash the engine or the whole car for that matter. I understand the seriousness of the issue but I would rather not buy a new engine or trash it I love my Mini Cooper . I’m looking for guidance on where to start and maybe a list of things it could be. I’m somewhat mechanically savvy but I’ve never touched a foreign car like this. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Given the extent of potential damage, might be best left to a professional. Could be quite a few things to point to from seals (unlikely given the extent of oil and your description) to needing a full rebuild.

Let us know the general area where you’re located and someone may be able to point to a indie mechanic that is well versed with MINIs. Also, there are a few engine blocks up for sale in the market place that might assist if you had to go the rebuild route.