My F**king MINI!!!!!!

I had the MINI sold. Was going to take it to the guy tomorrow and get the cash. Driving to work this morning backing out of the driveway the steering was stiff. Uh oh. Drove to work, lots of effort in the wheel. E36 M3. Power steering pump. MINI knows about this and extended the warranty. But I'm over 200K km on the clock, so unless the dealer is feeling generous, I'm screwed.

Looks like a E36 M3 job, but I know what I'll be doing in the next few weeks. Will I cause any damage driving it for the next few weeks? Probably will be next month before I can do the work.

I love/hate this berkeleying car. It's a hoot to drive, even just to work. But it's such a royal pain waiting for things to break. Maybe it's time to trade it in and walk away. Sorry about the language, but I'm frustrated.

I love mine ,too,but I fear it.

You need a 3rd generation RX7. It will break less, and is actually easy to work on.

JamesMcD wrote: You need a 3rd generation RX7. It will break less, and is actually easy to work on.

And the interior quality is much nicer.

Knurled wrote: And the interior quality is much nicer.

LOL.

In no particular order; Waiting for the windows to stop working for good (they've stuck a few times, the whack just below the small door speaker has worked both times) especially when open and it starts to pour. Waiting for the transmission and/or clutch to grenade (it would be it's third set). Waiting for the climate system to conk out for good (it did not work for a whole day, then started working again the next). It's enough to make one drink (bourbon, thank you).

Yes, the interior is rough. But not as ugly as the two e36 BMW's I looked at yesterday. I should buy an Accord to daily drive and an NSX for fun. And a non running Audi to stare at when I start thinking I need something from Europe. Who's got $40K they can donate?

My Mini does not have power steering, so at least that's one thing I don't have to worry about breaking.

Maybe the guy will still buy it if you knock of the price of the repair. That way he can get the car sooner. If a MINI dealer does the work maybe he will think that everything else must've checked out ok.

shoves a small canoe into the stream

I got some mini wheels sittin round.

The power steering pump isn't that hard to change. I'd do it by dropping the subframe, but a friend (geowit here) replaced his with everything in place.

Well, some good news. The company that re-builds power steering pumps, BBA Reman, has an office in Toronto just up the street from where I work. This might be a little less painful than I thought.

Jeff wrote: ...I love/hate this berkeleying car. It's a hoot to drive, even just to work. But it's such a royal pain waiting for things to break...

You're describing my Datsun 2000 roadster... the only time I really lost my temper and threw car parts across the yard. A beautiful car, fun to drive, and hellish to work on or get parts for. Still don't miss it.

I vote for fixing it (since it kills the sale value more than the cost of the work) and unloading it at a good price. Walk away and save your sanity.

This thread reminds me of why I got rid of my 10 year old Audi with 150k miles on it.

Good luck with the repair!