Classic pearl of the future narrowly avoids total economic loss
01/13/2020
Suddenly its "tone of voice" changed and then it stopped, the Mini Cooper Clubman. Just a few weeks ago, we were touting it as the classic pearl of the future - after all, this successful version with three side doors was only available during the second model series.
The results of the examinations in the Mini workshop did not bode well. Slide rails had to be replaced, along with the camshaft drive chain and a few other parts.
As a result, the Mini narrowly missed being a total economic loss. The repair cost over half the value of the used car. No goodwill could be expected from BMW/Mini, after all, the car was already over ten years old and had over 130,000 km on the clock, the service advisor at the workshop said. Thank goodness the used car warranty covered the damage.
But this example shows very impressively that not too much has to happen to a future classic and it becomes cheaper to throw it away. Many classic pearls of the future are caught on the home straight and then probably never reach classic car age.
Interestingly, the Mini's much-maligned electronics were not to blame for the breakdown, but it was a purely mechanical problem caused by wear and tear where there shouldn't actually be any wear and tear. After all, the chain-based camshaft drive is actually dimensioned for the life of a car. But there are obviously different views on how long such a life should last ...
