Power Steering Pump Failure

[steamboat]

Hi all - I'm a first time poster and the proud owner of a 04 Mini Cooper. This morning on the way to work the power steering went suddently while taking a bend - I nearly didn't make it! There was no warning light or any indication of a problem. Afer a bit of researh I found that it's likely to be a failed power steering pump, which is a *very* common problem with Minis around this build date. There is quite a bit of discussion around this on the Mini2 forum and it looks like Mini UK are offering to pay a substantial proportion of the replacement costs (parts and labour) as a goodwill gesture for cars that are out of warranty (on a case by case basis). I'm about to bring the mini to the dealers here in Galway - but I'm not sure if Mini Ireland are offering the same compensation, or even how to go about applying for this. Has anyone had a similar experience, or managed to get a portion of the costs paid by Mini? By all accoutns, it doesn't look like it's gonna be a cheap fix

[iwanagofast]

Hi Streamboat nice to see another Galway person on the site. I'm not sure about your steering pump but I had problems trying to get Barry's to change stuff for me (so much so that I drove up and back to Keary's in Cork to get it sorted) you might have more luck with Tom Hogans. We have some people here in the MINI trade so I'm sure they'll be along soon enough to clear things up.

Why not post up some pics of your car when you get the chance

[irlmin]

What mileage is on you MINI its a regular problem and We have fitted lots of pumps in the last few years , even if you do manage to get some discount and goodwill you will find with labour etc you will still face a considerable amount to sort your problem , there are other options which may be more cost effective , send Me a PM and I will see if I can help .
G

[steamboat]

Thanks guys. Well I brought the Mini to the dealers today and they confirmed the pump is dead. Quoted me 800 euro to fix but they did sent a claim into Mini to see if goodwill contribution will be made towards costs. The service lady in the dealers told me they actually had another 04 mini with the exact same problem in last week and Mini agreed to pay about 350 euro. That car had more mileage than mine (I've 64k miles on the clock irlmin), so I should be offered the same or better. Still a hell of a lot of money to pay for a repair that's due to a clearly defective part. I should have an answer from them tomorrow anyway, and have the option to haggle directly with Mini if I'm not happy.

iwanagofast - I went to Tom Hogan's seeing as Barry Motors have lost the Mini Franchise (although BM still service Minis). Haven't had any trouble with them so far - even though all they have done for me so far is a standard inspection 2 and a brake fluid change (and they sure know how to charge for that too!).

[steamboat]

Just picked up my repaired Mini from the dealers, and I didn't fair too badly I think. The bill came to about 770 euro, but the Mini claim covered 80% of the part costs, which was about 520 - so all I had to pay was 20% parts and 100% labour which came to 250 in total. Pretty happy with that considering the car will be 5 years old in a few months and 64k miles on the clock. I have the option to contact Mini myself to try and squeeze more out of them (pretty sure I could get 100% of the part covered if I tried judging by posts on Mini2), but overall I'm just glad I didn't have to foot the entire bill myself.

Can't fault Tom Hogan Motors - very professional and understanding, and didn't have any problem submitting the claim for me. To top it off they gave me a nice 08 Mini one to drive around for the day while mine was in the workshop Still glad to get my trusty cooper back though!

[irlmin]

That was a very good result , well done to Hogans they must really value the importance of good customer service , unlike some dealer staff that think they are spending their own money on warranty and destroying customer confidence and loyalty in the process .
G

[eas]

That is impressive, well done steamboat. Like they say, if you don't as you wont get. Although I wonder if the right thing for BMW to do is a recall.

Are you the original owner of the car? And did you buy it from Hogans?

[steamboat]

Ya I think a recall could be on the cards, judging on how many reports of this problem there are out there. I'd say that is why BMW have no problem offering goodwill contributions - much cheaper than having an all out recall. I bought the car used over a year ago from Reilly Motors in Sligo (1 previous owner). Tom Hogan has just recently taken the Mini Franchise, so I guess they expect to service/repair Mini's that they didn't sell themselves. The car does have a full Mini Service History though, which probably was a factor in the claim result.

[JulieH]

Hi, 3 weeks ago the power steering in my mini went, and not only that, but it went on fire, Mini say its not an issue they know of and wont cover it, the insurance co say its a technical fault and so is not covered by my fully comp insurance. The whole situation is a disaster, so now I have an undrivable mini sitting in the drive and no one taking responsibility for anything! It seems like its going to cost quite a bit to repair the damage, can anyone please give me some advise about what I should do. As I said I contacted Kearys mini in cork and they say its not a known problem, even though it seems to be all over the internet! I used to love my mini, its very sad...The whole experience scared the life out of me.

[irlmin]

Hi Julie , it IS a known problem and in fact we ( independent mini specialists ) have fitted 5 or 6 already this year , what damage has the fire done to your MINI is it confined to the PAS pump and loom or more substantial We can supply / fit a new and guaranteed pump for a fraction of the prices you will have been quoted .send me a PM or call me on 0868663828 if I can help in any way .
G

[iwanagofast]

As Ger said it is well known, have a look through the big forums, mini2, total mini etc.There are loads of threads there including mini offering the good will deal print them out and bring them in. You could also try morrisions in Tipp. Just because one dealer says no doesn't mran the others will. You can contact mini directly aswell, here's a link
http://www.mini.ie/ie/en/general/contact/index.jsp

Does you're insurance not cover fire?

[ONED]

As Ger said it is well known, have a look through the big forums, mini2, total mini etc.There are loads of threads there including mini offering the good will deal print them out and bring them in. You could also try morrisions in Tipp. Just because one dealer says no doesn't mran the others will. You can contact mini directly aswell, here's a link
http://www.mini.ie/ie/en/general/contact/index.jsp

Does you're insurance not cover fire?

Was gonna suggest checking Mini2 also!!
I have read about fires damaging the loom and pump
Check out the forums including the U.S sites. Print off all the cases and take back to your dealer and copy to MINI customer service, and insist it is a common problem, if someone else had identical problem then it certainly isn't a one off