1975_mini

Thanks for representing Michael

Congrats, glad MOS was able to take care of you. Warranties do not cover pre-existing issues, after about 3 months of having your policy it is pretty difficult for them to prove something was pre-existing. Not many cover things like clutches, brakes, bushings. These are ware parts and are often identified by name as not covered. There are likely plans that cover these, but would charge more as these are guaranteed to need replacing. Bushings are pretty easy to do, the clutch sucks as you have to undo one side of the subframe.

Hopefully they come back and say it is the voltage regulator, from your description the alternator is powering the car when running and the issue is related to charging the battery. The regulator controls the volts back to the charging system, fingers crossed as that is only a $45 part and very little labor to replace.

wow, that's right up there with my $1100 qoute to replace a $25 gasket. I would recommend you looking into an extended warranty, I have one through USAA that has been great. I know Ali is happy with the one she has maybe she can weighin on who she uses. In general if you do one claim you have made your money back, without one very rarely can you get out of the dealer under $1000 when you need a repair. Best of luck

I have only delt with PMoA, but they have been great with working with my extended warranty company to install OEM over third party parts at no additional cost to me. I have not had to deal with the big MINI mothership though. I do agree with Dan that just doing it yourself may be a good option, if you a sure it is the alternator. If it ends up not being covered you are looking at the something like $85 diagnostic $250ish for the alternator (10% part discount for DCMM member):top: so 225ish $200 labor ballpark guess so somewhere around 500 if they don't cover it. Hopefully someone has had some experience with MINI USA and out of warranty and can tell you the likelyhood of them covering. If you need tools or an extra set of hands please dont hessitate to ask.

I am a little confused here, you jumped it and it ran. Did it cut off while you were driving or did you stop and it would not start again?

On gen2s you can turn the wheel to lock and you can reach the access panel that twists in the inner fender. Not sure if it is that easy on the gen1s

I believe you have to reprogram for the fogs and high beams to work at the same time?

Brandy said there is a fridge

Congrats, glad to hear it was a straight forward fix, and you did have to chase electrical gremlins. Nice plate choice.

With a little help from my lovely wife, we dropped the subframe out this afternoon. Sunday is supposed to get in the 50s so hope to get some work done.

Brandy and I will each bring a gift

rockauto has them for $255 after core. You may want to check some of the local pick-a-parts, I have seen some r53 on the yards now that they are ten years old.

The sensor is as simple as unplug the old one and plug in the new one, and the brakes are an hour taking your time. What are the other maintenance items. If you just want to drop it off, ptunning might be a better option than dealer if you are choosing non-oem replacements. Does anyone know the dealers policy on non-oem.

Watch out for the boot flying up at you now.

Were they able to find the problem?

Yes, it does, I spent today stripping all the goodies off of it to include all the glass. I was able to fill up my swap meet shelves. Fully stripped, except to the stuck steering column. Soaked it in penetrating oil and will try tomorrow evening. Just a few of the goodies. Should be able to remove the front subframe next weekend, and may split the body. Oh yeah, behind the dashboard I found an old inspection card, and some new zeland change.

I will definitely keep that in mind, next time i am looking. thanks.

All smooth sailing, and the rain and boucing got rid of all the loose rust. We will see how long it takes Nigel to spill into the open space. I agree:top:

Watson has a new roommate for a bit. I picked this beauty up as a donor for Watson's engine upgrade and manual conversion (using the subframe,clutch, and pedal box) Special thanks to Brian (unstable) for loaning me his trailer, perfect fit:top: The second project I am considering it converting the rear into a trailer to use with watson, would hopefully come out something like this. I am not sure of Ali's rules on whether donor's have to have names. I will wait for the ruling.

I hope every one had a great holidays and got everything they were hoping for. Santa and my sexy wife were good to Watson and I this year. Under the tree were all parts require to complete the rebuild of the 1098cc motor: Bearings, Gaskets, and a few other odds and ends. Todays project was replacing the valve guide I broke getting the stuck valve out. First a 6 ton arbor press is your friend, best investment I have made. Out with the old, no heat needed the press did all the work One broken valve out. New valve going in New valve in, please ignore the oxidation. The head has been sitting on the shelf for a bit. I will wipe down before final install. Only took about 15 minutes, and that was developing a plan of attack as I went. I only did the broken one, because I had heard it was a pain in the butt to replace the guides. I may replace them all now. As I used a straight edge to find the depth to press the guide to, I found that none of the guide were at the same height. Germans have precision engineering; the Brits have "that will work".

They look great, I like the yellow lettering

Any one going should jump on this. The photos Ali took of watson are amazing. It is my desktop and always get compliments, actually people have said the photo looks better than the car does in person.

Thanks, Brian. I will take you up on your offer.:top:

Before I rent one, I figure I would check and see if anyone has a utility trailer (12'x6') that I could borrow for a few hours on the Jan 4th. I would be willing to return with a case of your favorite beverage or something else of your choosing.