Thinking of buying a Mini
 

This one Used 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman 2dr Cpe S For Sale | St Louis Park MN

or if the the link doesn't load the vin is WMWMM3C58ATP75853

It's a manual, so fun. But what I want to know short of taking it up to 80mph and standing on the gas how do I tell if the clutch is good or not, or for how long?

If it doesn't slip under load, it's good. For how long? No one knows for sure. If you look at Mini forums you can probably find an average clutch life expectancy, but you never know how this one's been used.

Be careful and make sure you read up on all the engine issues. Notably, the build up of carbon around the valves causing poor runnability. Have to have a walnut shell blaster to clean it out good with minimum effort. Replace timing chain components every 150k miles. They have a unique way of setting the timing up that makes it infinitely adjustable.

Dear god, why?

Pay attention to what was said above about timing chain issues and carbon build up. 150k for the timing chain and components is very optimistic. We're seeing about half of that. Stay on top of the timing stuff, if it gets too bad or breaks, it's all over. Expect thermostat failures (leaks). The carbon build up is just something you have to deal with every 30k or so. Also, they use oil. Mini says 1 liter every 750-1000 miles is acceptable, but they let you go 15k between changes. The engine holds ~5 liters, do the math... So keep a very close eye on the oil level. And change it about twice (or three times) as often as Mini recommends. Turbocharge wastegate issues are not uncommon either...

But the power steering on the new ones is doing better than the older ones, so that's a plus.

MV

Based on anecdotal reports, I might hesitate to buy any BMW product that's out of warranty.

As someone who owns two BMWs (and has had several in the past), I'd say you're probably right.


Mini's are a hoot, but they do manage to fail in all sorts of spectacular ways.

Oh yea, I forgot about the oil consumption. The one I changed out the timing components had only seen highway mileage and oil/filter was changed at every 5000 miles so that may be why it made it to 150k and it was the non-turbo engine. She got to 160k miles with it and just recently traded it on a '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel.

mmmMMmMm...K. Nevermind then. :D

HAHAHA!

What I will tell you is anecdotal. One experience with a car is not conclusive or indicative of what will happen with others.

My wife bought a Mini CVT. I think it was an '06 model. Ordered it with the color she wanted and all that. I did all the maintenance myself except for the service on the stupid transmission, that the dealer soaked us on. I used Mobil One and changed the oil every ten thousand miles. It didn't use a drop between changes. She drives 35 miles one way to work and keeps the road hot between here and her twin sisters place 120 miles away.

My daughter wrecked and almost totaled it when it was pretty low mileage. She and her boyfriend were lucky to survive it. They rebuilt it and it was never the same, but my wife took it well over the 200,000 mile mark and IIRC it was much closer to 300,000. I never even knew that there were any timing chain issues. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

The car was absolutely dependable and reliable as well as fuel thrifty.

Maybe she was just lucky, or more likely she is living right.

Air & Road, the '06 Mini was an entirely different chassis, with an entirely different engine (actually engine options). If yours was a CVT, that means you didn't have the supercharger either, which meant overall, a much more reliable drivetrain. Oil use was still a concern, but nowhere near the newer engines, and all that was really needed there was checking it occasionally. Something I'm sure you and your family are familiar with, unlike so many of todays drivers. And the timing chain wasn't an issue at all. Without direct injection, intake carbon build up wasn't a factor either.

About the only thing known to be a big issue on a car like yours, was the CVT. Mileage like what you reported is pretty much unheard of on the CVT, you must live and drive in very favorable conditions for one. Congratulations on keeping one together for so long.

But I wouldn't expect, nor could I recommend, similar with a newer model.

MV

You did good Larry. My understanding is the CVT was not rebuildable but needed to be replaced with a factory unit. By the time that typically occurred (around 100K miles) the cost exceeded the value of the car. So all those cars went to the crusher at that point.

In situation s where the transmission isn't being tasked, like stop and go urban driving, pretty much any transmission is likely to live a long and healthy life, since it's loafing. However, I would wager that a slightly younger demographic, with higher numbers of urban driver, took it's toll on the Mini.

Rolling at 25 or 30mph put it in high gear, rev it up and drop the clutch. The clutch should bring the revs right down with minimal slippage.

Buy based on condition and not based on what you want the car to be.

I love small cars but if one of those lifted f350s hits you, too bad.

Yes the CVT took special oil and special equipment at service, at least that is what I read. It used ZERO amount of oil between 10,000 mile changes. My wife drives almost no stoplight to stoplight kind of driving. Probably 98% of her driving is on country roads or DFW freeways with the cruise control set. DFW freeways on the weekends usually don't involve stop and go.

We ultimately traded it off for two reasons, she was ready for something different and we had heard $8K to replace the CVT. That said, it was doing so well, we might have been money ahead to just have driven it to failure.