Well I went to Bob Smith Mini to actually see what was going on with Orlando and also find out how much blood they need to fix him. They gave me two offers both will only be offered if I remove all the after market parts.

1. Return Orlando to his original factory condition, pay for the replacement of the supercharger, and all parts needed to return him to factory condition and all previous work that they had already done. BMW will pay for the new block and labor to install it. My cost $5600.00

Or

2. Again return Orlando to his original condition and install the JCW kit, again BMW will take care of the block with labor. My cost for the JCW kit $7000.00.

It is kind of sad that they agreed to take care of the block, now I have no case to pursue. Oh well, this would make my warranty good again, which I is worth it. But I tell you to look at that block and see it warped (.002). How do you warp an engine block with only 32,000 miles on it? Not to mention the little hairline cracks around the head bolt holes on the block and head, you can see with the naked eye.

Amazing well at least I will get Orlando back.

 

Yes, having your pride and joy to motor in is always a good thing. :-)

 

get legal advice before you sign any waivers or agreements.

 

They are still claiming the 15% pulley did all this? That makes no sense since some dealers will actually install that pulley for you, and the JCW includes a pulley that is ~14%.

 

The fact that they will install it doesnt mean they will warrant its effects.

 

Agreed - it just seems strange that some dealers are very open to having a pulley on there and in this case they are claiming such widespread damage. Did you see those pics of the engine? Could a little extra boost really cause that?

 

I have no idea bout this car. Just stating what was obvious. We got several dealers that will add anything you want. Bring in the parts, the bolt them on.

Something breaks ... well, who knows. Some say they will warrant their work. Others don't All dealers are different.

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope everything gets fixed up nice and quick. I have The Works and I love it.

A side benefit of going this route is the 'relationship' you can actually have with your dealership. I really like being on a first-name basis with all the employees at Hendrick MINI here in Charlotte--manager, sales, and parts. I'm always fair with them and they always look out for me and take care of me and my car. I've heard many horror stories of great feuds and shouting matches between modded car owners and dealerships--it's nice not having to fight, threaten to sue, complain up the chain, and quote the Magnussen Act with these guys if I need help with anything. That relationship is an often overlooked benefit of going the factory route, regardless if you get your way in the end.

By the way, what make of aftermarket parts do you have? Some of the aftermarket companies claim to place their own warranty on your driveline. I haven't heard anyone actually putting an aftermarket company to the test on this though...

 

Not the boost caused the damage, the overheating caused it. Blew the motor, lots of damage in that scenario, and the car ran for over 25K w/o a problem, two months after the pulley it blew the head gasket. Makes me wonder if the pulley installer thought about whether a re-torque of the head might have been a wise move when adding performance parts. Why stop at the head? The intake and exhaust probably all should have been checked, a race shop would have gone thru the whole motor after modifying it and warranteed their work. I don't think he went that way. Who installed your pulley?

 

How come nobody is questioning the "oil cooler" that was installed on this car? Out of all the mods listed, that's about the only one that's not on the standard list of mods that most people have (well, maybe the multiple sparking system aka Plasma Booster ).


Sorry, not trying to make light of your situation in any way, I just like to say Plasma Booster once in a while and see what happens.

After reading your Update and Update II, where you talk about the cracks around the head bolts, it seems to me that you must have had some serious overheating goin on at one point. I wonder if there is a possibility that you had a couple problems, like a dead radiator fan AND a malfunctioning temp gauge/sensor, or somehow got some air in the waterjacket or ???

 

There were not many options so my neighbor, who owns his own race car, recommended a shop in town that does work on his race car at times. He also does work for a few of the other race car owners in town. He certainly appeared to know what he was doing. He initially had a problem removing the pulley. Did not use the recommended puller. Called some guy in Colorado it may have been Randy Web who told him how to get it off with out any obvious damage. If the pulley was installed wrong though the belt should have shown some kind of unusual wear and it doesn’t. What was the most interesting was how clean it was under the rocker arm cover. It looked like you could have eaten off it. I guess that synthetic oil really does work.

 

Cobalt Oil Cooler, K&N Air Filter, Cobalt 15% pulley, Alta Intercooler, Multiple sparking system, Magniflow Exhaust.

 

What are you trying to say about the plasma Booster? Was that my first mistake? I did not read of any problems with there part.

I asked about all those things and the dealer says he checked them all and they were ok. I beleive that the BMW rep ultimatly saw that there was a problem that may very well have been caused by a factory defect, this is why they are willing to replace the block and labor for free. It gets them off the hook and I can't take them to court because they have made an effort to help get me back on the road.

 

Sure you can. If you believe they should have fixed the car at no cost you have a right to try to recover whatever they charge you. (Unless you pay to do a JCW upgrade.)

BTW - Does anyone else find it ironic that they are saying a 15% pulley caused the problem but if he pays them for a JCW kit that's almost exactly what they will be putting on the car?

 

The Plasma Booster is a perennial NAM favorite. Search the archives for more than you ever wanted to know. There, I said it again!

The reason I was asking about the oil cooler is that on the MCS, the factory oil cooler is a heat exchanger between the coolant and the oil, i.e. the oil is water cooled. When installing the Cobalt oil cooler, you have to remove the factory oil cooler (heat exchanger), drain the coolant, and replace the heat exchanger with a plate that the oil cooler hoses connect to. You also have to somehow cap or tie off or connect together the coolant hoses that were connected to the factory setup. I'm not sure how this impacts the overall coolant flow throughout the system. I'm not saying that it is a problem, but at least we know that the coolant was drained at one time (during the oil cooler install), which at least raises the possibility that there was some issue after it was refilled.

The reason they want to replace your supercharger for $2K is that's the only supported way for them to get you back to a stock pulley. The pulley is not a separate part, and is only available from MINI on the stock SC. You might be better off to see if you could get a stock diameter pulley from ALTA or Helix and see if they would agree to let you put it back on your own SC - to take you back to stock.

 

BUMP for an update

 

I heard the dealer finally traced the source of the problem to an aftermarket cupholder.

 

I just received a call from Randy Webb of Webb Motor Sports, Littleton Colorado. He was very helpful, he agrees with the general opion that there is no way that my after market parts caused this problem. His recomendation is to get a lawyer and fight it. He has been involved with four other similar incidents and BMW has folded on all four cases when the attorneys got involved. Right now that is a cheaper approach than paying for all the additional work. Will keep you updated on my progress.

 

Oh boy! I hear a bugle blowing! Go get them!

 

Well sorry I about not posting anything sooner but I am currently on vacation. Contacted Bob Smith Mini today to get a update on when I can expcect the new block they promised me. I was informned by the parts department that the block came in today, but it was damged by FED Ex and it can not be used. So they will need to get another one and it will be another 10 to 14 days.

Well I have had just about enough of this game. I can not believe all the BS I have had to put up with. When are they going to get my car fixed and get it back to me enough is a enough. It has now been 31 days and still no idea of when I will have it back. I am going to contact Bob Smith tomorrow and ask them that same question, will keep you all informned.

 

I swear I've heard this story before.

Good luck faustk...

miniman_a, the guy I referred to before, is out of country at the moment. When he gets back in, I'll get him to jump in here and tell you his experiences......I have to say, they sound sort of similar. Except that he has a 100% JCW with no other power mods except different sparkplug leads...

His car was off the road for about the same amount of time with about the same amount of lying....

 

Well I still don't have Orlando back and it has now been 7 weeks. I talked with Randy Webb at Webb Motor Sports just before I went on my vacation and he informed me to take them to court. He said that there were 4 other cases that he has come across where Mini voided the warranties. One case had to do with the car electrical system; they voided this warranty due to the aftermarket exhaust system he had installed. He needed his wiring harness replaced. All four cases were won after the owners got lawyers.

So I sent my letters to Bob Smith Mini and BMW NA, they received them last week and by Tuesday no one was talking to me and I could not even get my car back.

BMW NA contacted my attorney on Friday and they want to talk to me, I am supposed to hear from them today. They wish to discuss my options, all of which as of right now will cost me money.

I will let you all know what happens wish me luck.

 

Best of luck to you!

Fingers crossed!

 

goodluck!! its going to work out..