[corkmini]

Hi mini_coop_her!

I feel your pain! My first Mini (2002) model had to be replaced because of this (and 26 other documented problems )

What year is your car?

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23097

This thread is the one which contains all the problems I had including the left pull. Basically, in September of 2002, Mini changed the design of the suspension in the front of the car, and most left-pull issues seem to have been solved after that. I know certainly that my (eventual) replacement car (built Jan 03) was an absolute dream to drive in comparison, and certainly had no pull.

Also check this thread:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8092&highlight=suspension+problems

As I say, it was a well documented problem on the pre 2003 cars. Someone even posted photographs of the pre and post-fix suspension. I'll have a root around to see if I can find them. They're somewhere in a forum...

Hope this helps in the meantime,

John

 

[corkmini]

Mini_coop_her,

this first thread contains photos of the new 2003 suspension struts/ fix - the struts are recessed

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthre...&highlight=photographic evidence&pagenumber=2

Apial's personal gallery also has good shots of the changes:
http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/gallery_86.html


More info here - back up when confronting your dealer!! These are all different threads although they appear to be the same link

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8178&highlight=suspension+struts

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16039&highlight=suspension+struts

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14581&highlight=suspension+struts


So check the struts and see what you've got!

John

 

[corkmini]

Doh - problem with writing after a long day at work is you don't always read everything properly -

re,. what age is your car, if it's a year and a half old, it's still possible it was assembled in 2002.

Anyway, enough rambling out of me. Have a look under the bonnet and see what ya have!

 

[corkmini]

Problems with a BMW dealer? What a shock!!

'52' mean it's a 2002 car, doesn't it? I know in my case, at the end of my tether, I took a print off of these threads - including photos - to my solicitor who basically confronted the dealer and said, look, if there's no problem, why did BMW change the suspension design? That pretty much did the trick.

If your dealer is like the dealer I used to deal with, you'd have to drag them backwards through horse manure before they start to even recognise you have a problem. With a sheaf of paper from mini owners all around the globe claiming a similar problem, plus documented fixes listed here also, the very least the dealer would have to do is acknowledge that there is an issue here and you're not making it up (mine said, "it's in your head!!!"). It's always a rotten call - it's your will versus the dealer's but you are ABSOLUTELY not the first to have suffered this problem. At this stage I would also be doing a little research into your rights under the warranty to have what is essentially a known problem fixed.

Finally, some dealers are far more customer-focused than others. Depending on where you are, I know this site did a dealer survey a while back also. Perhaps you'd get a more sympathetic hearing from another dealer who might smell the sweet lucre of a trade in somewhere down the line?

Keep me posted - but certainly start printing off some of these threads and kicking some dealer-ass!!!

Hope this helps a little

John