| Common Problems...
I know this could be argued to be in the wrong forum... and is most likely gonna cause a debate or two!
I often read on this forum (and I only ever use the 1st Gen Faults and Fixes forum on MINI2) people complaining about various problems or faults appearing on their MINIs, who go on to claim that their particular fault is a "Common complaint" as if this should automatically drop the blame/liability at the manufacturers (in this case BMWs) door. Yokohama tires generally wear out after 8,000 - 10,000 of reasonably hard driving, but I dont hear anyone saying Yokohama should accept they have a problem and pay for the labour to have them replaced.
I was just wondering when the users of this forum see the line between "common fault" and general wear and tear???
I mean I have read of people complaining about the power steering fault claiming the car has "only" done 70,000 miles, I would class that as getting on for half way through a MINIs usefull life, and I dont think 2 pumps in a life time is extreme, I dont even think a pump every 4-5 years or so is excessive in my opinion (not when you stack it against, say Peugeot HDi fuel pumps that seem to pack up at about the same rate or worse, and cost twice the price to fix properly!)
Surely we all can agree that a MINI wont last forever without needing a single component, I just wondered what everyones opinion was.
How long do you think a PAS pump SHOULD last, how short a service life would you accept?
What about the gearbox, should it be expected to last as long as the engine... even though its oil is not changed anywhere near as often as the engines oil is?
For how long should BMW be held accountable to, so called common faults, and when we should just take it on the chin and put it down to component failure caused by wear and tear... cause they just dont make em like they used to!
How "common" must a fault be before it is classed as a "common fault"?
Not looking to cause trouble, or argue any points here, just genuinely interested in others view on this matter.
"Allow me to explain... Understeer is when you hit the armco going forwards, Oversteer is when you hit it going backwards!" | 
