Hi there, new here. Apologies if this is a common subject. I did see a lot of great info on the R55, but not much specific to this topic. I would like to hear from owners of 80K+ mile Clubman S owners. Things that have failed or are failing, good and bad experiences with your cars, things you love and hate, etc. And, especially, things I should look for when buying one!

My story: I'm in the market for something fun yet practical. A driver's car that also gets 25+ MPG, and can haul around bikes, skis, band gear, etc. Priced under $15K. The Clubman S fits that perfectly! I drove an '08 with just over 100K last night and loved every bit of it. I am just so worried about all the horror stories regarding engine failures. This car is at a Volvo dealership and has no service history, aside from what was on the Carfax: it is a two-owner vehicle that's been in my state its entire life, and was serviced at the Mini dealership here all that time.

Lastly, random questions that I can't seem to find answers to:

- Given that this Clubman was serviced at a Mini dealership, will Mini tell me (or the Volvo dealership) if the timing chain was serviced?

- Is it common for stripes to fade and crack? How much to replace?

- Any specific problems with the '08 model year?

Thanks in advance and hope to be around here more often soon!

 

If you have the vin you can call a mini store and request the service history.

 

I have an 09 r55 S w/98K. I feel confident at this point that every "common" problem has been addressed at least once: water pump failure, complete timing chain assembly replaced, turbo oil feed line leak, thermostat housing cracked.

Uncommon problems include: valve cover has a very slow oil leak (and I'm yet to fix that. It's been that way for many 10K miles w/o change), and universal joint failure resulting in axle replacement.

I would NOT buy the car if it has the "death rattle" sound at cold start regardless of the timing chain assembly being replaced. MAKE SURE SERVICE WAS NOT 'ONLY' REPLACEMENT OF THE TENSIONER. If the sound is NOT present, I would INSIST on examining the valve train with the cover OFF to inspect the chain guides visually for breakage and pull on the chain to check if slack is present.

Know that the turbo may die soon. The cat is just below it, and if the car is parked after a spirited run without a "cool down" near the end of the drive, the heat from the cat can cook oil and gaskets in the turbo ALLEGEDLY. If the DP is catless, you don't necessarily have this issue...

INSIST on test driving the car for a week and compare the oil level at the BEGINNING and END of the week. Perhaps take a photo with your cell to compare? If you can see a difference on the dipstick, then RUN!

Not to rain on your parade, but I would never recommend anyone buying this car. I'm very DIY, and have learned a LOT from this car, but it's very expensive to maintain because mechanics want to charge you like you drive a BMW and the car is temperamental. That being said, I'm planning to keep this car and repair it along the way for a LONG time to come. If you are interested in buying tools, and learning, you are in the right place for DIY advice! =D

 

I have a 2009 Clubman S with 65,000 miles and have had the following done already:

Timing chain, tensioner and guides, under warranty (just before 50,000 miles). Loud rattling (death rattle) on cold starts. The valve cover gasket was replaced at the same time.
High pressure fuel pump, under the 10 year 120,000 mile emissions warranty. Was causing stalling/stumbling and misfires on cold starts.
Intake valve cleaning as part of the HPFP troubleshooting (the valves needed it badly).
Thermostat housing. Was leaking coolant, around 60,000 miles.
Replaced the battery around 55,000 miles. The clock/trip meter kept resetting and comfort access wouldn't work reliably.
The dual sunroofs sometimes wouldn't open or close reliably when the car was sitting in the hot sun for a while. The roof would open a couple inches then close, or close then pop back up a couple inches. Maybe something to do with pinch protection and resistance.

This has been the least reliable car I have ever owned (have owned a 1955 Chevy, 1985 Sentra, 1997 Neon, 2005 G35) but I really love the car and enjoy driving it tons. Get a full service history, make sure you can try starting it cold, get the car inspected, and get a warranty/extended warranty if possible.

 

Thanks everyone, all very helpful, keep it coming!

I'm a bit torn now. I enjoy DIYing and currently am a BMW owner (E53 X5). I do all my own work unless it requires special tools, or I feel I'll break something. However, owning the X5 has been quite expensive, and working on it often is not an easy task. I'm really wanting something less of a hassle, part of why I'm trading the X5...I have another car as a project / track toy. But I get the feeling nothing similar will compare to driving a Mini. Example, my other top choices are an MkV GTI or an Acura RSX Type-S, but neither of those feel like they fit me as well as the Clubman. On the other hand it really sounds like these cars will never be trouble-free daily drivers.

This particular car, I did cold start, and it doesn't have the death rattle. Being that it's at a dealership and somebody out there will surely buy it without doing their research, I highly doubt they'll let me examine the engine myself. But I would demand that it be inspected by a Mini specialist. Driving it for a week might be an option, too; if I really want this one I'll ask about it. I got the impression it was a well-serviced and well-cared for car. Next step, though, is definitely to call Mini and ask for a service history.

Few more questions...

- Cost of replacing turbo (if I do it myself)?

- Any chance of getting Mini to service timing chain, water pump, HPFP, etc. for free (recalls perhaps?)

- Do ALL "S" Minis have these many problems, or is it just N13-powered cars? I really want something the size of a Clubman, but I might consider an R53 if they're more reliable.

 

Someone posted a link to this recently:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...ty-survey.html

Mini is near the bottom for engine reliability. I've heard it's mostly the N14 "S" engines that have these problems, not the N18 "S" engines, but I cannot say for certain. Some of the R53 have transmission problems and get worn front control arm bushings but from what I've gathered they have less problems.

The HPFP will get replaced for free up to 10 years 120,000 miles. I doubt you'll get the timing chain, water pump, thermostat housing, or turbo replaced for free, and there are no recalls on them at this time.

If you've got a few thousand extra dollars for repairs, can get an awesome extended warranty, or don't mind working on the car yourself I'd say go for it. There's nothing quite like the Mini.

 

N18 in the 2011+ has almost no timing chain issues per my buddies who work at a MINI service center (I used to work there when it was BMW and MINI)

 

Sadly, 2011+ is just out of my price range :( The local Mini dealer that did the service on the Clubman I looked at would not give me any service records. Said they were permanently linked to the previous owner's information. I think that's a load of BS, but BMW dealers have told me the same thing many times with the BMWs I've owned.

Anyone have experience with extended warranty companies that will handle the common problems if / when they arise? That could be a good solution for me. I really don't see myself in an RSX or a GTI, but there's not much else out there that meets my needs. Closest thing would be an Mk1 Audi TT, which isn't all that close anyway

 

A MINI dealer should be able to provide a DCS report which shows warranty and service plan work. They cannot however provide any customer paid repair orders. Releasing those would require written permission from the previous owner.

 

The sales guy was persuasive and convinced the Mini dealer to just white out the customer names. They whited out a lot of details as well. But what I can see is that it has been repeatedly in for SES light on and oil leaks, most recently just a few months and 3000 miles ago. So...should I stay far away from this car, or is it pretty much par for the course and I should be glad all this has already happened?

Anyway, here's what I got. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can explain all this? If I'm reading it right...

- 9/11/14 Something was found at the most recent "world class inspection". It doesn't say what, or if it was fixed. That was about 3K miles ago.

- 3/26/14 Timing chain problems found at ~90K miles. Doesn't say if this was addressed, either, but I assume so or it would've died by now.

- 7/18/13 HPFP likely replaced

- 3/8/12 Auxiliary water pump replaced (is this the one that's problematic?)

- 1/9/12 Death rattle led to engine failure ~53K miles. Engine was probably replaced.

 

Run!

 

Don't walk. Run!

 

Alright, yeah, I'm staying away from that one. It sure sounds like the previous owners drove the wheels off it.

So, a couple more general questions. Is there a rule for how often the timing chain needs to be serviced?

Similar question about the water pump, does it fail regularly as well? If so, what's the typical service life?

Lastly, an '09 JCW just came up with ~80K miles. Love the look of it. Anything in particular I should look out for that's special to the JCW package?

 

Waterpump is guaranteed to fail; incredibly, it had a plastic housing! Replacement part FROM MINI has an aluminum housing, i.e., they know they screwed up.
Thermostat housing (also heater control valve housing) is yet another plastic part, yet another guaranteed failure - although in fairness, mine had simply not had all its bolts tightened....
Clutch on my '09 JCW has been babied; the car is just a daily driver by someone who was raised on manual transmissions, so it's been babied, yet at a mere 72K miles has gone belly-up.
Valve cover leaks a bit, and the oilpan leaked a lot until I tightened the screws... Until then, it was using a quart of oil every 500 miles! Now it's settled down to about a quart ever 2000 miles, perhaps in part because I'm using much higher than the recommended viscosity.

Summary: this is the perfect car for a masochist, or an engineer - which I am (the latter, that is). But I wouldn't wish this car on Joe Biden!
If you own one, make sure you also own something reliable...

 

Look for a 2011+ car with the n18 motor. I found a 2012 with 60k for under $15k with lounge leather interior. It has minor issues like needing new plugs, rear brakes and rattling end links. But nothing like the n14 engine issues.

Good luck! A good mini is a awesome car. Be patient.
Cheers, Kevin.