2005 Mini Cooper S R53 - 10 miles from dealer - break down

[ArsE92]

I had a call from my wife earlier, pretty upset. She's been to pick up her new (to us) car - a 2005 Mini Cooper S with 26k miles on the clock. Externally immaculate, the colour we wanted, perfect. From a dealership 60 miles away from where we live.

10 miles into the journey home (with her friend who'd taken the day off to go with her) the run-flat warning light comes on. Not too much of a problem, thankfully she knows that mine comes on a lot because I seem to have a problem with one of my tyres/wheels (E92), so she pulls over to ring the dealership. As she is sat there talking to them, steam starts to come from the bonnet. She lifts the bonnet, and the coolant is boiling.

So, the MINI is back with the dealer and they've given her a brand new hatchback from their range until they sort it out.

I'm gutted as I was looking forward to having a go tomorrow. Not a great start to new-car ownership.

[Defcon5]

Could be as simple as the coolant expansion tank gone pop, very common

[CBR JGWRR]

It'll be fine.

[ArsE92]

I've had a quick Google around and the expansion tank issue seems to be quite common.

Would have been nice if it had all just gone to plan though.

Oh well, at least my car is problem free. Oh I forgot, it's not.

[PaperCut]

Dare i say you should have stuck to your Alfas(!) Instead of these unreliable German cars.

[Bitzer]

When we bought our current B7 A4 from an Audi main dealer it broke down the next day! One of the coil packs was knackered - extremely common fault on VAG engines. At least they done a recall on them now.

We had to wait a week for my local Audi garage to work on it as the supplying dealership (100 mile away) were very slow inputting the car's details on theie database for warranty work. Bar a flat battery, it's been faultless over the past 2 1/2 years.

[ArsE92]

PaperCut said:

Dare i say you should have stuck to your Alfas(!) Instead of these unreliable German cars.

You're not wrong.

Just had word that the head gasket is gone. They're fixing it and suggest we can have it next week

I'm no mechanic unfortunately, so can anyone advise of anything I need to be wary of? Shall I insist on a compression test before accepting the car?

[Tophatron]

ArsE92 said:

You're not wrong.

Just had word that the head gasket is gone. They're fixing it and suggest we can have it next week

I'm no mechanic unfortunately, so can anyone advise of anything I need to be wary of? Shall I insist on a compression test before accepting the car?

If I was in your position I'd ask for my money back and look for another car...

[davepoth]

Tophatron said:

If I was in your position I'd ask for my money back and look for another car...

A sensible move perhaps - I wouldn't be surprised if it was blown when it left the forecourt.

[ArsE92]

Any other suggestions? After waiting two weeks for the cherished plate transfer it would be a shame to lose the car as other than this issue it's perfect.

Is it likely to have caused further damage?

[C. Grimsley]

If they are repairing it there will be no issues, (cost to you),run there new car and take delivery of the mini when repaired and you have at least saved yourself the cost of a head gasket issue should it of failed out of the warranty period.

Head gasket is not the end of the world.

Carl

[R1 Indy]

Out of interest, why did you buy a 6 year old car, with only 26K miles on the clock.

Either its been massively clocked, or barely driven (which is not as good as it sounds, and might explain why the HG has gone)

As that would only be just over 4K miles a year average.

[ArsE92]

R1 Indy said:

Out of interest, why did you buy a 6 year old car, with only 26K miles on the clock.

Either its been massively clocked, or barely driven (which is not as good as it sounds, and might explain why the HG has gone)

As that would only be just over 4K miles a year average.

It has fsh so I'm confident the mileage is genuine. We chose this car because it's in good condition and was the spec we wanted, primarily. Secondly, because the mileage is low.

Are you suggesting we should only buy cars with average or above mileage?

[s m]

ArsE92 said:

You're not wrong.

Just had word that the head gasket is gone. They're fixing it and suggest we can have it next week

I wonder if that's an after effect of a leaking coolant expansion tank or thermostat housing ( very common on Minis ). Simple to catch and cure but very few people P.O.W.E.R. these days in my experience so simple things escalate in cost

[ArsE92]

s m said:

ArsE92 said:

You're not wrong.

Just had word that the head gasket is gone. They're fixing it and suggest we can have it next week

I wonder if that's an after effect of a leaking coolant expansion tank or thermostat housing ( very common on Minis ). Simple to catch and cure but very few people P.O.W.E.R. these days in my experience so simple things escalate in cost

P.O.W.E.R. ?

[Defcon5]

Yeah, HGF is a often a symptom rather that a cause

[hyperblue]

ArsE92 said:

R1 Indy said:

Out of interest, why did you buy a 6 year old car, with only 26K miles on the clock.

Either its been massively clocked, or barely driven (which is not as good as it sounds, and might explain why the HG has gone)

As that would only be just over 4K miles a year average.

It has fsh so I'm confident the mileage is genuine. We chose this car because it's in good condition and was the spec we wanted, primarily. Secondly, because the mileage is low.

Are you suggesting we should only buy cars with average or above mileage?

It's quite common for MINIs to have done bugger all mileage for their age. HGF on them is very rare though!

[s m]

ArsE92 said:

s m said:

ArsE92 said:

You're not wrong.

Just had word that the head gasket is gone. They're fixing it and suggest we can have it next week

I wonder if that's an after effect of a leaking coolant expansion tank or thermostat housing ( very common on Minis ). Simple to catch and cure but very few people P.O.W.E.R. these days in my experience so simple things escalate in cost

P.O.W.E.R. ?

Check Petrol, Oil, Water, Electrics and Rubber on your car a couple of times per week and you'll often be able to nip problems in the bud.
I grew up with old cars and it's something that has stood me in good stead so it's a habit I've carried through to newer cars

[traffman]

That Mini seems a wee bit of a friday job , it will have certainly knocked my confidence.

Why hadn't they noticed that the headgasket had , or was going?

Are the heads alloy in the Mini? I know nothing about them , just the old A series jobs.

[Seek]

ArsE92 said:

so she pulls over to ring the dealership. As she is sat there talking to them, steam starts to come from the bonnet. She lifts the bonnet, and the coolant is boiling

Out of interest... just how long was this call?

If stationary for prelonged period with running engine then something as simple as a blown fuse for the ventilator could easily have caused the headgasket failure...