Fix or chop

[MrGrumpy]

The lads Mini has the death rattle (R56) model . Not sure if to get rid or fix up. I feel guilty about chopping in a car with a fault. However garage also said even if the timing chain and pulleys are all replaced , it might still be rattling. Lesson learned don’t buy a mini folks a pile of sh…..te.
Better cutting our losses I think ? Only 8yrs old .

 

[Oldhippy]

Sad that such new vehicles are scrap at 8 years old.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

The lads Mini has the death rattle (R56) model . Not sure if to get rid or fix up. I feel guilty about chopping in a car with a fault. However garage also said even if the timing chain and pulleys are all replaced , it might still be rattling. Lesson learned don’t buy a mini folks a pile of sh…..te.
Better cutting our losses I think ? Only 8yrs old .

How many miles has it done?

 

[Chris S]

Sad that such new vehicles are scrap at 8 years old.

It's a huge improvement on the original Minis, most needed welding for their first MOTs. You would be lucky to get 80,000 miles out of most cars then.

 

[KneesUp]

The lads Mini has the death rattle (R56) model . Not sure if to get rid or fix up. I feel guilty about chopping in a car with a fault. However garage also said even if the timing chain and pulleys are all replaced , it might still be rattling. Lesson learned don’t buy a mini folks a pile of sh…..te.
Better cutting our losses I think ? Only 8yrs old .

I'd maybe ask another garage. If it's not intergalactic mileage surely it can be fixed? I've just paid c.£500 for the first ever clutch replacement on one of my cars. It's just shy of 150k but everything else works fine so although it's a decent chunk to spend on a car that is 10+ years old, I think it's decent value.

 

[Cycleops]

It's a huge improvement on the original Minis, most needed welding for their first MOTs. You would be lucky to get 80,000 miles out of most cars then.

That was a long time ago and most cars now last much longer mechanically than then . Minis were also very cheap, I think it was Ford who tore one down and costed it to find out BMC made a loss on every one they sold.

 

[battered]

I understand it's only a timing chain tensioner (kit) replacement, it costs ~£600. Yes, it may not fix it but I'd say this was unlikely. Any car can hand you a bill, this one is for 12 tanks of petrol. Are you that bothered if you can keep it for another couple of years/20k miles? I'd get it done if I wanted to keep the car for more than a year.

 

[battered]

Comparisons with a 1970s Mini are irrelevant. They share a brand, that's all. Nothing else.

 

[midlife]

I thought it was a pulley thing on the Cooper S and easily sorted ?

edit, beaten to it lol

 

[Drago]

Its an easy decision.

Find the cost of of sourcing and fitting a good used motor.

Then work out the monthly cost of buying another car.

Odds are itll cost 6 months or less of repayments against a new car, so financially the decision is almost always to fix. However, some folk would rather saddle themselves with repayments for 3 to 5 years than make a - moderately steep - one off payment and be done with it.

 

[gbb]

But then there are many aspects to the decision.
Reliability ?. I used to take the fleet cars to the garage for servicing MOT etc. It didnt take long to realise things like starter motors, alternators etc started going at 60 to 80k miles. A friend of mine has a Merc Vito van with over 300k on it. Last year he did the clutch, then the injectors went, then the fuel pump, then the water pump. Every time he told himself...well, that's the last major thing that'll go wrong . He spent over 2k repairing a 12 year old van but it was good in every other way so he didnt mind.
Boredom ? I tend to get itchy feet at 4 or 5 years, want something new, different.
Peace of mind ? My Astra was almost flawless for 70k miles, i'd had my money out of it, time to start again and hopefully get that reliability again.

All these things are reason enough, if it suits you. You pay of course, that's inevitable.

Or spend and repair and hope for the best. Each one has its pros and cons.

 

[MrGrumpy]

It might well fix it but on the other hand might not bit of a gamble. Sleeping on it. You need to buy the tools to change the chain over with. The chain kit comes with all the chain and pulleys.

Not my car , long term I’m of the opinion that get shot of it. Can just see a more money being thrown at it .

 

[Profpointy]

Sad that such new vehicles are scrap at 8 years old.

My current car was 10 years old when I got it and I've done 100,000
more miles in it 10 years on. Admittedly there was an "in life upgrade" (engine rebuild) which cost what I payed for it originally.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

It might well fix it but on the other hand might not bit of a gamble. Sleeping on it. You need to buy the tools to change the chain over with. The chain kit comes with all the chain and pulleys.

Not my car , long term I’m of the opinion that get shot of it. Can just see a more money being thrown at it .

I'll PM you details of a decent Mini Specialist

 

[fossyant]

Well my lad's just changed a whole engine himself - he's no mechanic. Went well apart from the mess (very messy worker) and a broken engine and 3 boxes of 'bits' in my garage.

It's a known weakness, so just get it fixed. An independent will be much cheaper. Skoda quoted £500 for a cam belt change, local garage did it for under £250.