Winter Service

[Smitty]

Put my MINI in for a service yesterday - had a few niggling squeaks and creaks and wanted them to look at as well as change the oil.

So £320 quid later I'm not happy..... :argh::argh:

I specifically told them to phone me should any parts need replaced. Instead, they replaced all four brake pads with crappy generic pads. I had a feeling the brakes might need replaced, but since my car is going into hibernation for up to 8 months I was going to be saving a little bit extra cash and installing EBC Green Stuff pads. Now I've got non-BMW, non-Performance brakes which I'm not best pleased about. Hopefully they bed in well, as I put my foot on the pedal this morning and kept on going. :frown:

They did fix a problem I had with squeky front suspension - just required a grease up of the bushes so happy with that.

Question for all R50 owners (or even S owners with the Crysler block) - does your engine tick over quite loudly when cold? Mine has just recently started doing it, as has my Mums and my mechanic said he has dealt with a few MINI's and it's just a common problem when they are cold.

Anyone been to BMW about this issue?

[Gismo]

I wouldn't pay for the brake pads :frown:

[Crombers]

Question for all R50 owners (or even S owners with the Crysler block) - does your engine tick over quite loudly when cold? Mine has just recently started doing it, as has my Mums and my mechanic said he has dealt with a few MINI's and it's just a common problem when they are cold.

Anyone been to BMW about this issue?

Mine can do sometimes. I tend to switch the ignition on & leave it for 30 secs or so (let it do all it's techno stuff) & then fire her up. seems to work for me, but then again what the heck doI know about mechanical things :rolleyes: :Whistle:

[Smitty]

I wouldn't pay for the brake pads :frown:

Too late - had to pay when I picked the car up :frown:

They feel a bit firmer now they are bedded in but still annoyed - really wanted to upgrade the pads. Still going to do it, guess I'll just have a fairly new pair of rubbish pads spare!

[Smitty]

Mine can do sometimes. I tend to switch the ignition on & leave it for 30 secs or so (let it do all it's techno stuff) & then fire her up. seems to work for me, but then again what the heck doI know about mechanical things :rolleyes: :Whistle:

Hmmm - mine still ticks over, even after heating up a wee bit.

Any body else have or had similar symptoms ?

[Gismo]

Too late - had to pay when I picked the car up :frown:The fact you had said that you wanted to be called if any parts were to be put on your car i would not have paid, of course you'd have to ask them to put the old ones back on

[S7JGW]

My S sometimes makes a ticking noise when newly started cold (quite loud at times too).
Sometimes turning the key and leaving for a while like Crombers works, but sometimes i fire it up and leave it runnin for a 20 secs or so then switch it off then back on, seems to clear its self.
Jim

[N12 JLK]

Our R56 S used to make a OHH ARR IVE GOT A TRACTOR AND A PLOUGHMANS LUNCH IN THE BOOT noise just because it was an early one with faults, luckily our new car is fine.

[C.Noble]

Does it sound like a tappet rattle, or is it louder?

I dont want to scaremonger here, but I have changed a few timing chain tensioners last year for this kind of fault... cant remember how much it costs, but it can be fitted in under an hour.

FYI, you did not have to pay for the brake work, us in the motor trade MUST get authorisation either prior to starting work on the vehicle, or contact the customer once we find something wrong, before we can fit any parts/carry out additional work.

Without this authorisation, we havent a leg to stand on if you refuse to pay!

Unfortunately this practice of fitting parts without authorisation is becoming quite common (especially in dealers) as work is getting more scarce as there is less money around (or perceived to be).

Dont let anyone of us in the trade fool you, you have final say on the work done to your car, if you think a part or labour of additional work is too much and refuse to authorise any work to be carried out, there is nothing we can do about it!

[Smitty]

Thanks for the advice on the mechanics and their dodgy tactics - I'll be keeping an eye on them in future.

As for the rattle - it does sound very much like the tappets, which is why I raised the query with the garage in the first place. But apparently this is just a common fault with the Chrysler block as it gets older and in the cold weather. And sure enough...my Mum's makes the same noise.

Anything to be concerned about?