My Mini: an extreme event

A week ago this past Wednesday I had something occur with my Mini that I never thought I'd experience.

Previous to that day I was getting an indicator light that said the engine temperature was going up. There's no needle in a gauge here, just two progressive icons (orange and red) that show how hot things are getting. Obviously something was wrong and I needed to bring her in for service. Only the orange light was coming on sporadically and on rare occasions when I was in very slow traffic. After stopping at an independent garage in North Hollywood that I was a little concerned with (not the best neighborhood) I made an appointment with Bob Smith Mini for their first available slot; two days later on friday.

Exactly one half hour after phoning in my appointment, and as I was driving to work, the orange light came on followed by the red...and the red stayed on. I knew I needed to get her off the road as soon as possible but I was stuck in a right turn lane in heavy traffic. I made the turn slowly with everyone else, making my way from the left lane to the right, finally pulling the car over. At that moment the engine died. I tried to start her a few times and nothing. You could tell she was trying to turn over but just could not.

I called AAA who responded in ten minutes, driving me with my my wounded car on a flat bed out to Bob Smith Mini. I really appreciated the driver telling me that it'd be less expensive to go straight there. Having a local garage check things out and possibly have to get another tow from there to the dealership would be double. After arriving at Bob Smith, they brought her in for a full diagnostic. The final word twenty four hours later: the engine overheated to the extreme and she'd need a whole new engine.

Immediately I thought about my warranty which had just passed one of it's major milestones; 50,000 miles or four years which ever came first. My odometer read 53,000. Negotiating with the service desk that, with this major a breakdown and my only being 3,000 miles over, perhaps some type of helpful extension or assistance could be provided. She spoke with the Southern California rep. for BMW/Mini and came back that they'd be willing to cover the labor while I purchased the engine complete. This would mean I'd be paying for three quarters of the cost. That wasn't good enough for me so I asked to speak to the rep. myself. A further negotiation with him brought the cost to half and half. Better, but still needing more. I told him about how I really love Bob Smith Mini and intend to come back there after my current one is paid in full to buy the next Mini...even knowing what color scheme and configuration I want! He suggested I contact Mini Finance to help with my side of it.

Mini Finance was very helpful and I am expecting to close the deal with them the first part of this coming week. The new engine needed to be ordered and will probably take a week to come in with installation taking another week. This process began last friday. So in six days I'll have my Mini back on the road with a new two year warranty and the odometer back to zero. Crazy.

I really miss driving her, even though it's only been a week and a half. Over the past few days that's been accentuated by a bevy of Minis I've noticed on the road. Soon, all will be back to normal!