Ignorant Dealer - Repair Caution
 

Got my 09 JCW Clubman earlier this year as a project car - what a project it's been. The Turbo came apart & dealer installed a replacement. 6 months later the turbo bearings came apart & trashed the turbo. Got the warranty replacement & the dealer neglected to reinstall install 5 bolts into the u-assembly that holds the front end in place - had my own bolts, so all is shiney new. Meanwhile, the dealer 'road test' neglected to see brake sensor fail warning, even though it popped up at every ignition start. I had just replaced the front brakes & a $7 replacement sensor cable (would have been about $40 from the dealer) fixed the problem.

Today I got a call from my mechanic who originally looked at the blown replacement turbo and pointed it to the dealer. He's since gotten several more Mini's in with that very same turbo fail - 2 with replacement turbos failed, which the dealer said was "rare". After the first warranty replacement, the dealer got kinda pi$$y. He checked with a local turbo shop & was told that little car turbos were guaranteed to fail if the crankcase breather hose assembly, turbo supply line and the Catalytic Converter weren't changed. Even though the BMW & Mini cat will test as OK flow, at high speeds they apparently are plugged enough to shorten the Turbo life. Cat can be cut open and the core burned out or boiled out, then rewelded, or a new one is available on-line for under $300.

Apparently this is turbo shop knowledge & not something the dealer knows or cares about. I've had other issues with my local dealer where I was misled, overcharged, or more than once plain & simply lied to.

I love my Mini, but when it comes down to another someday, it would have to come from somewhere other than my less than trustworthy dealer.