[Tonyt3]

My wifes Cooper 'S' failed for the first time last week. The power steering stopped working. No real problem there, as obviously BMW are doing the repair under warranty. However, while at the garage, I asked them to look into the fact that the car is also losing a small amount of coolant. It drips from the car when the engine is cold, but is only a very small leak.

First of all they diagnosed the well known 'header tank split' issue, so stripped this out and replaced it. However, I myself could have told them that it wasn't the header tank, as the water was not coming from that part of the engine. They rang up on Friday morning to say that they now believe that the water pump needs replacing. So, to get at this component, seems they have to remove a large number of parts. Like the Intercooler, Supercharger, and lots of other parts. So the car is now in the garage for almost a week. Still, no problem, warranty, courtesy car etc to make things better.

However, here's the big worry. What happens if the water pump goes after the warrenty period expires? My concern is the labour charges. If they have to strip half the engine out to get at the part, then labour charges would be huge. I know they cram an awful lot into the very tight space under the bonnet, but if a simple part like this is going to take 20+ hours of labour to get at and replace, who will pick up the bill? After warranty, it will be us, the owners. This could have a serious effect on the long term resale value of the car. I wonder how many other parts are buried away in inaccessable places? I believe ancillary parts on performance engines are often a weak point in later life, due to their high work load. When you have an all inclusive warranty, its easy to ignore this as an issue. What happens when the warranty runs out?????

[bkwalker]

Hi,

I had a very similar problem with my cooper s... i had a leak in my power steering rack... this leak also lead to further problems which the dealer had to address and ALSO i had a leak in my coolant! just like you...
the car was in the shop for a few days and it would have been very expensive!

To add to this i have found another problem with my cooper s... they fitted the side skirt on the drivers side (right side in aussie) with the standard cooper part... the left side has the flaired cooper S side skirt but the right skirt goes straight down like the standard cooper

i am getting that fixed next week!
im just not looking forward to any other problems i discover when the warranty no longer applies!!!

[Tonyt3]

Quote:

Originally posted by bkwalker
Hi,


To add to this i have found another problem with my cooper s... they fitted the side skirt on the drivers side (right side in aussie) with the standard cooper part... the left side has the flaired cooper S side skirt but the right skirt goes straight down like the standard cooper

i am getting that fixed next week!
im just not looking forward to any other problems i discover when the warranty no longer applies!!!

Ha! Wrong skirts, classic. How long did it take you to notice?

Glad to see you have the same misgivings.

A quick question for you off topic. I have been considering emigrating to Aus for a while now. You drive right hand drive cars on the 'correct' side of the road, just like us 'Pommes' - Correct??. Would I have any problems importing my Coopers should we want to go ahead with the big move? I know its a long shot asking you this, but would you have any idea?

Thanks#
Tony

[bkwalker]

hi tony,

yeah i dont think you would have a problem come the think of it, i say this because a few blocks from me i have noticed that an english family have moved... and they brought there cars out here also... with the euro plates on them... they have a carrera and some E-class benz... and yeah they can have them here... so why not you!

[Cape Cod MINI]

I'm amazed that you have to book your car in for a week to have the water pump o-ring issue fixed. Mine was done in one day , along with the 10k service, a new drivers side window arm assembly, boot hatch fix, new coolant bottle, and new rear light lenses. I hung out in the shop and watched while they did the water pump o-ring and it was about a 3.5-4 hour job. All the above servicing took 7.5 hours. I know because I hung around the entire day.

[bkwalker]

alright i lie!

i put the car in for service while i was on holiday for a week!
haha
thats the truth, i dont know how long it took them but i picked it up when i got back

[Tonyt3]

Quote:

Originally posted by Cape Cod MINI
I'm amazed that you have to book your car in for a week to have the water pump o-ring issue fixed. Mine was done in one day , along with the 10k service, a new drivers side window arm assembly, boot hatch fix, new coolant bottle, and new rear light lenses. I hung out in the shop and watched while they did the water pump o-ring and it was about a 3.5-4 hour job. All the above servicing took 7.5 hours. I know because I hung around the entire day.

The only difference that I can see as to why it might have taken them this amount of time is that don't forget, your car was scheduled to have work done on it where as my wifes was recovered in. It wasn't booked into their schedule and the dealership has a lead time of 1 month for booking. 'Emergency' warranty work has to be fitted into this. Perhaps the 'planning' of scheduled servicing/additional warranty work as opposed to this adhoc approach would have made a diference? I don't know. either way, 4 hours to replace a 'minor' ancillary component is in my opinion rather a lot. Also, would the part have been available? They had to get the power steering part on next day delivery, so thta wasn't available.

Even still, a bit worrying on a car that has only done 7000 miles......

[Martin L]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tony*t3
When you have an all inclusive warranty, its easy to ignore this as an issue. What happens when the warranty runs out?????

Good point. What I hope that will happen, as does with all BMWs, is that come the end of the normal warranty you will be offered to extend the warranty for a small price.
I can't recall how much it costs but I know for sure it's not too much and will give you piece of mind for a few extra years

Maybe somebody could clarify this with MINI/BMW HQ if this is going to be offered to MINI owners????