The Mini doing what it does best: Breaking

"sony1492" (sony1492) 06/15/2019 at 17:22 • Filed to: I'm dead inside at this point

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Kinja wont let me write in the article body right now so let me explain here. The fender flare flew off on the highway, the tires are brand new but there isn’t any wear on the fender liner to indicate that they touched or have clearance issues. Might have to do with the seemingly incompetent tire shop that rode the clutch like crazy, or it’s just a new mini quirk.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:28

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So when are you getting a 1994 Camry LE sedan?

Brickman > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:28

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Active weight savings :D

sony1492 > Brickman 06/15/2019 at 17:31

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-racecar-

sony1492 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/15/2019 at 17:32

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Il l have to submit soon to pull the head and change the valve stem seals

CB > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:32

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Simplify and add lightness.

But on a more serious note, that fucking sucks.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:33

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Are you close to $15 k in on this car now?

sony1492 > CB 06/15/2019 at 17:35

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Just powerpurchased another flare but it wont be showing up till the end of the month.(not to mention the sunfading probably wont match )

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:37

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When my Passat starts looking reliable next to a car , you know things are bad.

sony1492 > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 06/15/2019 at 17:41

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The mini is how old topgear talks about Alfa Romeo, shit vehicle   but you should experience at least one.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:45

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Any of the tabs broken? They usually are stuck in the holes in the body.

I had mine fly off when I broke a tab while working on it and did not notice that.

sony1492 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/15/2019 at 17:48

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I havnt fixed the majority of the issues I bring up because of money. Its financed so I’ve paid $5 000-ish so far if you include the down payment and repairs/maintenance, only $6500 to go.

C urrent necessary repairs bring would be about $1600 if I do all the work myself.

sony1492 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/15/2019 at 17:50

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Al tabs are broken, it also ripped out the market light

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 17:57

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Weird....

Im sad that your Mini is so much of a pita :(

sony1492 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/15/2019 at 18:13

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My running guess is the tire shop smacked the flare with the rim when they were putting everything back on, the tires were 5 minutes old when the flare flew off.

The way the car drives has already won me over, no amount of fuckery will change that. On the other hand I hope it gets rear ended while I’m at work so the insurance can take it away

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 18:29

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It was hard trading in my Mini . Like really hard. Drove awesome. It was also an immense relief the next day when I didn’t have to worry about it breaking next.

Cash Rewards > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 18:42

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I had a dead reliable r53, and missed it up until I bought a Miata. Owned a mkvi GTI in between, did nothing for me after the mini

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 18:53

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Thank the Lord you're mechanically inclined

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Cash Rewards 06/15/2019 at 18:58

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The R53's engine is such a gem tho. Thats the only reason why I’ve kept it over a NA/NB miata. Thats was my original plan, to own the Mini for a year and then get a Miata...

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 18:59

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Stupid shop arrrggghhh

My Mini  is pretty much staying with me forever :) Such an amazing little car!

Cash Rewards > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/15/2019 at 19:59

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It really is. Perfect balance of engine note and supercharger whine. The exhaust I bought for the Miata I got largely because they said they kept the r53 mini exhaust in mind when they designed it, to have the same pops and crackles. 

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Cash Rewards 06/15/2019 at 20:03

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The non resonated Milltek on mine is perfect, one bang while upshifting if im using the boost and 2-3 crackles everytime I time I get off the throttle while its boosting!

Cash Rewards > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/15/2019 at 20:18

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I was between the milltek and the alta when I had one. Good choice!

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > sony1492 06/15/2019 at 20:52

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#BMW

sony1492 > Cash Rewards 06/15/2019 at 22:20

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The mk6 Golf r is much faster but doesn't feel alive, or particularly sharp in comparison 

MINILover > Cash Rewards 06/16/2019 at 09:23

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Yeah, shouldn't ave bought the 2nd gen model of he wanted reliability. My 2005 R53 has 201k miles on it. Sure, I’ve done a ton of work on it over the years, but I’ve only ever had it on a tow truck twice. Once for a failed crank pulley and the other for a broken axle. My original clutch lasted 172k miles, and I’m still using the original supercharger, transmission and engine and she still is running strong. The key is preventative maintenance with these cars.

nomad1721 > sony1492 06/16/2019 at 18:30

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I loved our R55, the way that car felt and handled was amazing. I loved the way it looked. I loved driving it. Just looking at it made me smile, and that 6speed Getrag was glorious. Unfortunately it just hated being driven. I have never had a car that I tried to rationalize so hard and so often. Or that I gave so many chances. Paid $4k last year, put over $3k in parts (& my own labor) including timing chain/guides/tensioner, all exhaust lifters/rollers and valves, head gasket, head bolts, water pump, thermostat (twice), MAF, alternator, belt tensioner, fuel pump, vacuum pump, PCV kit- then valve cover, coil packs, spark plugs, battery, plus maintenance items like fluid changes and brakes. All that and the car still left me stranded on the side of the road 3 times. Not even my Corrado has ever done that.

Pretty sure I had a mild case of PTSD from the Check-Engine Light. It’s unfortunate that the fuel light and outside temp all make the same warning chime. Every time one went off I would jump through the roof.

Couldn’t bring myself to pass such a pile onto another human, so we donated it to the auto program at a local tech college. Good riddance. Yet I still miss it.

sony1492 > nomad1721 06/17/2019 at 00:57

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Damn that is a truly astonishing amount of work, yet none of it is surprising.

With an inch thick service history from th e previous owner Im needing a new turbo, just put in another valve cover(the cars 3rd in 100k), lca bushings are shot, rear shocks are blown, timing chain is getting rattly(it was replaced at 89k, I’m sitting at 108), both sun visor mirror covers fell apart in my hands, center mirror is getting loose, valve stem seals are shot so it blows smoke everywhere, oil consumption is expensive at this point, hpfp is getting iffy, alternator will lock up if you put to much demand on it(headlights, ac, and defrost for example), airbag light is also a new addition, and the passenger seat is coming apart.

Every time I hear the chime I think the cars just gone Into limp mode for boost deviation.

Not looking forward to pulling the head when I do the valve stem seals and replacing basically everything while I’m in there(chain , guides, waterpump, alternator, belts, tensioner, thermostat, turbo)