Why do people who know next to nothing about repair and maintainence of Minis consistantly reply to post giving out advice?
It would be good if they could leave it to the few who do actually know what they are talking about
I have been caught out on a number of occasions taking the advice of so called experts only to find that I have been led up the garden path!

What is the answer to this problem?

camp freddy

examples?

Camp Freddy , I have just looked through all of your 21 posts and can't see where you've asked for advice to have gotten the wrong information , or do you mean where someone has asked for info on their car and you've followed it as well ?

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I won't point the finger at anyone in particular but we all know it happens don't we?

Yes, information gathered from other posts and questions from others.

Different people notice different symptoms with their cars then explain them differently. This forum is not a workshop manual but rather a wealth of knowledge and experiance.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.

anyone who treats anything they read on the internet as 100% accurate deserves what they get.

do you want everyone to post with a disclaimer?

what if the person at fault *thinks* they are correct. Then how would they know not to post?

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tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'

this topic has come up a few times.

It all boils down to common sense. Maybe in future ask the question in Minichat, 99% of the time a "pro" will see it and you will get a 100% correct answer.

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Very good answer

I try not to post too much in the technical side of things because I dont know much about the mechanical bits , but you also have to remember that people on forums cant actually see your mini and may not be able to diagnose it as correctly as a mini mechanic could if you took it to a workshop.

I guess that if you are going to utilise advice given out on this site, it is up to you and your trusty mini workshop manual to decide which path to take, or you can take it to a mechanic near you for advice.

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Remember too that when person A asks what is wrong with their mini or how to fix it and then person B answers it knowing that person A know's what is wrong . If person C reads this and decides they have the identical problem with their mini and fixes it accordingly then there's a good chance they've fixed the problem , but there's also a good chance they have replaced/fixed something that didn't need fixing as the problem was something else . The beauty of a forum like this is that someone say's what their cars problem is and various people will give suggestions as to what to look for or how to diagnose it further . Taking someone elses mini's diagnosis and repair instructions is like going to the doctor and saying I've got the same as Bill has so give me these pills and leaving without a proper consultation , the pills might help you or they might not .

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I've probably just talked myself around in circles there but rather than follow advice given to someone else , you're best to ask yourself and explain what you're doing so you get the correct advice . Yes , sometimes people get it wrong , but a mechanic looking at a car in a workshop does that occasionally too and still charges you for it

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I have a blue mini , it doesn`t run,,, can you tell me what`s wrong???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Operator error ?

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Yep. If it's red it'll go faster.

Its waiting on a bimmer twinky transplant?