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[Doctor Gollum]

The MOT failure creates a bit less of an adventure and a bit moreof a conundrum...

Immediately requires both front control arm bushes, cat back exhaust and headlight adjustment.

Advisories for three brake pipes and pads all round.

Nothing unreasonable for a 19 year old car with 145k miles under it. But...

The headlights are a non issue. Likewise the exhaust, that's a holed back box and a half decent exhaust is about £150. The minor advisories are again not a big deal... Pads are a service item and the pipes are sectioned from the factory and accessible.

The only big item is actually the control arm bushes. They can be pressed out/removed in situ and replaced with poly ones, (like the Omega fronts), but you have to disturb the 145k ball joints to get the arm out to have any access. The alternative is to drop the subframe. Which creates its own issues, but either way it's basically going to need both arms, inner and outer ball joints, the failed bushes, drop links and hardware. And that is working on the hopes and prayers that nothing snaps.


So the question is, is it worth putting the time and money, probably £5-600 and 2-3 days on the drive, into a car that cost £400 six months ago and might be worth a grand with a year's ticket?

Or do I instead put the car as is and the cash into another unknown car with a decent MoT

The parts list for the exhaust and control arm bushes is about £550 which is about half the cost of the TCM that the proper car needs.

The car owes me nothing, and has been surprisingly entertaining to drive, but it's not the easiest thing to get in and out of and is quite tiring to drive.

It an adventure alright 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Its in disposable territory. Get rid and get something similar with a years ticket. 

[JasonH]

Starting with the exhaust. A cheap one can make the car really noisy on the motorway. They're not quiet on the motorway at the best of times but a cheap exhaust makes a massive difference. There are loads of cars being broken so you can probably get a half decent secondhand one for £100.

Headlight adjustment could simply be a badly fitted bulb. If not there are two easily accessible screws to adjust the headlamp.

Control arm bushes...whatever shortcut you may have seen it's far far easier to drop the front subframe. The control arm bushes are torqued to something like 186Nm and will be rusted in far tighter than this. With the subframe out it's easy to get an impact on them, or a breaker bar. Also pressing out and putting in poly bushes is a nightmare unless you have the perfect size tool. I ended up half pressing and eventually sawing out the bushes. Next time I'd simply replace the whole assembly for £35 a side.

If you do do the control arms then replace the ARB bushes whilst you're in there, extra £10 for the bushes and 2 min job. If not the subframe needs to come out again to do them later.

Dropping the subframe, whilst a big job isn't that bad. All the parts, bolts, balljoints are of decent quality and do come apart. The engine will hang there on its top mounts. The struts stay in place. You just need to pop one lower balljoint each side, which with a balljoint splitter (not a fork) isn't too bad.

Brake lines are a fiddly and messy job but low cost. A roll of cunifer and some nuts, total cost about £35 plus brake fluid.

So total cost in parts:

£35 x 2 for control arm bushes
£10 front ARB bushes
£35 brake lines
£100 secondhand exhaust

Total £215

But it is a lot of labour. Having had the subframe off a few times it would still take me a whole day (a long day) to do the control bushes properly (and carefully, torquing and cleaning as I go). If you've not done it before or hit a snag it'll be a couple of days.

Alternatively a Mini without an MoT is worth about £300 to £400 so you could just offload the car.

If you buy another Mini it'll probably have the same faults!!!

[Nick W]

Heard at Mini service desks all over the country:


What's wrong with it?


The adventure was a bit too much for it.


BMW's first front wheel drive car 17 years after it was built on the cheap by employees who gleefully forgot everything Honda taught them about quality control, and resorted to Allegro specs because the car looks like one? What could possibly go wrong?

[countrywoman]

I always dropped the subframe, easy on a 2 post ramp with power tools!!!! a gearbox jack and someone to help. On axle stands at home not so great.

[Doctor Gollum]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

[STEMO]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

What will you do for work in the meantime?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

So £550 gives you another 12 months.

Not  too bad in the great scheme of things......also next year it may cost you less. Perhaps.

[STEMO]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

So £550 gives you another 12 months.

Not  too bad in the great scheme of things......also next year it may cost you less. Perhaps.

Less than the road tax on some cars.

[Doctor Gollum]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

What will you do for work in the meantime?

MoT doesn't run out until 27th, so the only rush would be to qualify for the free retest.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

So £550 gives you another 12 months.

Not  too bad in the great scheme of things......also next year it may cost you less. Perhaps.

Less than the road tax on some cars.

.....and you can f*uck right off.

£750 ish is a small price to pay to keep a classic car on the road.

[Sir Tigger KC]

My £550 includes:

The ball joints both sides, new lower arms and the rear bushes with all the hard ware £220.

Drop links £30.

Exhaust £150.

Fresh subframe £100... Whilst not strictly necessary, it does avoid any snapped bolts and allows the new parts to be fitted much more easily which can only save time/effort. But even then, I expect it to take a couple of days

I don't dislike it, and it's a known entity, whereas a different car would be a gamble. Would I rush out and buy another? Probably not but I'm not averse to the idea of fixing this one...

What will you do for work in the meantime?

This sounds like one of those jobs that is easy enough in a garage with a lift, but could be a nightmare doing it on the drive. 

If you need it for work, I'd get a quote from the garage who MOT'd it, especially if you're going to take time off to do it, as the labour charges might not be that frightening. 

Then again... 

[Doctor Gollum]

I have three days off next week and six clear days at the end of the month, so not so much of a time crunch for work.

Also, on theory, I can drive the proper car, although stuck in second, it wouldn't be on the A3/M25

It probably wouldn't take much longer either as traffic can be, er, shit around junction 10...

[Sir Tigger KC]

Well we know you like a challenge Al!   

Just a thought though....  You're a big chap. Can you fit under a Mini?        

[Doctor Gollum]

The garage that MoTd it are booked up for no MoT stuff until end of October, but had a labour quote from another garage of £550 to fit the bushes and ball joints and hang the exhaust.

Happy to fit customer supplied new parts. Not surprised at £80 an hour plus VAT

Parts ordered ready for my days off next week.