Good morning everyone! I recently picked up a 2008 Mini Cooper S and love it. Only problem is it is now in the shop and so far I have been given some bad news.

1) The mechanic said the car had no oil (Which is scary to hear)
2)front strut mount on the driver side is broken
3) He said I am only getting 11psi instead of the 20-25 I should be getting from the turbo and wants to test if my turbo is bad or if I have a leak.

Does anyone in the area have some tips or a further stretch able to give me tips on what I should do. I was planning on doing my coil over suspension upgrades first (once I raise the money or sell my motorcycle). But as far as the news with the turbo goes I may be looking at having to get a new turbo (or hopefully it's just the tubes leaking).

Aside from all the sadness of buying a Mini with issues it is great to be here and I hope to learn lots from everyone.

 

Our turbos only push 11-12psi. No MINI sees boost 20-25 if you have a MCS that is tuned. As far as the oil thing, boy that's messed up. Did you check the oil levels before you bought the car(my normal routine)? If so I'd check with the dealer you got it from OR check your timing chain too. I don't think I've ever heard a '07 MCS eat all the oil so if that was your case, you most likely have some bad news coming your way. As for the broken strut mount, not surprised cause we have a low car and takes a beating on terrible roads.

Good luck.

 

Where did you take it in the bay? Lots of folks like bay bridge motors in Oakland or Edge in Dublin.

 

I went to Conti Car Care in San Mateo. And I thought 20-25 sounded a bit high to me. I will call him back and get an answer on that.

 

I would take it to a mini expert if possible.

 

I'm also in the Bay Area, congrats on your mini purchase and welcome to the club and to NAM.

on #1 if you're new to the mini I'd mention there are a few known leaky spots for oil on the MCS's, but like RobMuntean said I haven't heard of ALL the oil leaking out in these situations, and I think you'd notice that much on the ground somewhere. maybe unrelated but for the new mini owner I'd mention I have an '09 and every time I get under it I look for signs of problems starting, as well as checking my oil level about every 4 gas fill ups, you should make this part of your new routine , as our motors/turbos do eat a little oil and really need to be full up to run properly. This thread helped me identify some spots to check (and how to fix it if I see the signs) well worth the read through (overview = turbo oil lines, oil filter housing and heat exchanger gasket, timing chain tensioner seal, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket. Most common, from my reading, are the Turbo oil feed line and Valve cover/gasket.)

#3 just scares me a little as it SOUNDS like your mechanic isn't too familiar with Minis, and that's not an insult to your mechanic, I have 2 mechanics in my family so I'm sure he's a good guy doing everything he can to help you out the right way. But I've found (and my mechanics agree) that sometimes it's best to bring your mini to an independent shop that specializes in minis (or BMWs or even just European cars) as there are just enough things different about them that can make simple problems turn into large ones or misdiagnosis's that can cost you/your mechanic time and money. BUT you're in luck as there seem to be a good number of well rated and vetted Mini shops in the Bay Area (searching here and google should turn up a list for you).

As a side note I'm not sure where you are in the Bay Area, but there's a few mini clubs in the area, I'm in the South Bay and personally I do a lot with the Silicon Valley Mini's club it's a good group of guys and girls of all ages that likes to get together and drive some twisty roads, find good food/fun things to do, or just hang out and chat minis over coffee, but there's lot of Mini friends in the bay area to do mini things with and ask questions/get advice!

Welcome and really I hope your mini is better soon! keep us updated.

 

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!

@red I picked this mechanic only because he worked with European cars BMW mostly so I thought he might know a bit more then some other mechanics. I also think he did mention something about the Turbo oil feed line so I will double check with him today (I was at work when he called me and I was super busy). I am located in the San Mateo area currently so the Silicon Valley Mini Club could work.

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/edge-motorworks-mountain-view

They might be your closest and best bet if your current mechanic isn't what you were looking for.

 

Turns out there was a leak in the drain plug and the turbo had a flap that was stuck open so it was always trying to boost and a bunch of hoses were detached. After giving it a full oil change, plugging all the hoses back in and getting the flap to operate as intended all warning lights are off and the car has some more umph to her. Though the front strut mount on the driver side is toast so I have to decide if I want to just fix that or do the coilover project I wanted to do sooner then expected.

 

Glad it's getting sorted out!

 

So an update on the matter. The car seems to be running much better and I found a mechanic to install Megan Racing Coilover's and Megan Racing Control Arms. :D