Hey folks,

This would be a private party purchase. Looking at it for my sons first car.

Am going to look up close and personal but the pics I've seen look impeccable, garage kept, well maintained, single owner, non-smoker, etc.

Anything I should really look for in particular? We have not owned a Mini prior.

Has ~45k miles on her, Premium Pkg, so Harmon Kardon, heated seats. That's about it for add-ons.

Assume the Bluetooth is hands-free phone only, not streaming audio?

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts on this.

 

Bluetooth won't stream audio, just for phone calls and voice to text.

I have an 11 S and only thing I've had to replace is the HPFP at around 30k miles. Oh and the brake pad wore really quick and were really dusty.

 

IF it has the BT option it is only for the phone. And I say IF because just because it has the buttons on the wheel does not mean it has BT option, ask how I know.

I believe so long as it has BT in the radio/head unit then you are good, it's a menu as in am fm sat etc where it shows up.

Mine has it but I never use it.

2011 should be N18 motor which has shown to be pretty reliable so far.
At 45K it could be needing brakes if not done so by now. Also that year probably has the insane maint schedule set for 16K between oil changes, so if that was followed it only has had 3 oil changes and probably has some wear, I would try and find out about maint history and who did the oil changes.

 

Ok, BT for phone only...that's what I figured.

Email from the seller says it definitely has BT but he never tried streaming.

Assume there's an iPod/iPhone hook-up...but will double-check when I see it in person.

Funny rckrzy1...thanks for sharing your first-hand experience on this

This car has no stripes and I'm pretty sure my son will want that done right off.

So any thoughts on a Horizon Blue exterior? And where to buy? I was thinking light grey racing. Not sure the union jack would go w/ that ext color.

Any good sites which show various stripes/decals on various color Minis?

 

There is no ipod hook up that works except for the old style , aka iphone 4 big connector, the lightning adapter does NOT work on MINI, it does on BMW only so forget trying, the only way to use a device that has new lighting connector is to use the aux and a stereo cable, so no play list etc. You can use a USB stick and get your play lists, that is what I do.

BTW we traded in an horizon blue r56 several months ago. We had white racing stripes and a GIANT MINI logo on roof.

 

rckrzy1, do you have any pics you can send me?

Also, would something like this work for streaming: http://www.viseeostore.com/products/...-wma3000b.html

 

doubt it, I think to get the MINI head unit to display the play list you have to use their special dongle which came with the car. Every other tested item played the audio but nothing showed on the HU . So you would not be the first to try something. The HU is not just a HU in MINI, hell I think you need it to even start the car, not Joking.

I got pics on my phone but I need you to send me your email to send them as they are not postable in full size.

 

I have the Mini Y cable for my iPhone 6 and it has full capability that my old iPhone 4s had. I Can still see the song playing on the screen and switch songs via the steering wheel.

 

If you want to know what came on that mini from the factory -

http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

 

Yeah I used that...have an '09 Z4 so was familiar. With the VIN decoder but not sure what this tells me exactly since I'm new to the Mini:

S645A BMW US Radio BMW US Radio
S653A High Definition Radio Radio Bavaria C Reverse II
S876A Funkfrequenz 315 MHz Radio frequency 315 MHz
S674A HiFi System Harman Kardon Hi-Fi System Harman Kardon
S6NDA Freisprecheinr. Bluetooth + USB/Audio

 

Basically saying you have HK radio (I have it as well). Your basic HD radio with extra speakers and an amp. Sounds pretty good, I like it. An you have BT (for hands free calling) and USB port (handy for plugging in a USB drive with a bunch of mp3's..

 

Things to look for: timing chain tensioner, high pressure fuel pump, coolant leaks, carbon build up on the intake (might not applicable to the post 11 if they got N18 engine)........................................... ......etc

 

Forget about stripes and BT. Think of mechanical issues and don't focus on the bling. As mentioned, get service records. See what was done, recall items all taken care of? Car is just out of warranty or close to it so if things need to be done it might not be too late.

I always recommend an inspection by a qualified mechanic, especially one who knows Mini/BMW cars. Also, first car for son, might not go Mini . . . I guess it depends on your financial tolerance for repairs/maintenance.

 

I don't think OP realizes what's around the corner especially at 45k, water pump, thermostat housing, timing chain replacement if an N14 engine. I purchased mine at 45k, month 2 timing chain started rattling ("Death Rattle"). Had it towed, $1600 dollars later. If you're lucky the Death Rattle doesn't cause pistons to collide with valves. Month 4 carbon cleaning $800 if N14 engine. Then 2000 miles later thermostat housing (made of plastic) started leaking coolant without warning, 2 weeks later valve cover (made of plastic) leaking oil onto coils.

Why is the owner selling such an immaculate, pristine Mini Cooper S with repetitively low mileage? If this were a Honda or Toyota it would be a real keeper wouldn't it? I'll tell you, because the owner knows that after 50,000 miles (just saying what everyone is thinking) his warranty is gone and the risk of something going wrong is more than likely. How many lawsuits does Mini/BMW need before people start to notice?



That's just my opinion and personal experience though.

 

All service records available and done by local MINI dealer. I'll look them over when I check out car. I've seen that the earlier OIC was 16k miles...yikes. So I suppose that's what these folks followed. Not great.

And yeah, I generally have traded in my cars when getting close to end of warranty. Understand that risk. I come from a long history of VW turbo vehicles and a Z4. My wife has a QX which also has a bit of history with death rattle. Will definitely give the engine a good listen when we start it up...with the hood open

Engine: N18B16M0 - 1,60l (135kW)

So not the N14....N18 is better?

 

The timing chain issue is much improved on the N18, maybe heard of a few that needed timing chains replaced but never have I heard of a timing chain ruining the day engine wise. Mini has learned from some of their mistakes, the water pumps are made from aluminum now. The thermostat housing had a revision but are still made of plastic, out of warranty you shouldn't be going to the dealer for repairs. You can save so much money taking it to an independent shop that specializes Mini's, also ECS Tuning sells tons of genuine Mini brand parts that the dealer sells at almost 80% percent mark up.

50,000 miles seems to be the average life expectancy for the original water pump and thermostat housing, haven't heard of N18 engines needing new valve covers. The N18 engine is what the N14 engine should have been, reliable. It doesn't burn any oil and intake valve cleaning isn't necessary maybe till 100,000 miles if at all. I have seen N18 intake valves at 60,000 miles that didn't even need a cleaning. Let's hope the seller can convince you that more oil changes have been done, transmission oil would be a plus as well. I change mine every 30,000 miles cause I drive it like I stole it.

The fact that it's an N18 is a huge plus in my book, I was mostly concerned if it were a N14 engine. I think I got lucky and purchased a 6-Year warranty based on what NAM was able to inform me about the N14 engine, on the 2 year anniversary of my timing chain replacement I took it into the dealer to have them check the timing chain slack, the results were a make or break decision to keep the car. It's safe to say it has plenty of mileage to go, not once in 2 years has it made so much as a single noise.

After 16,000 miles the oil is black and clings/burns to the turbo feed line and also burns onto the turbos main shaft. I perform my own oil changes every 5,000 - 6,500 miles, I'm so for it now.

 

Thanks, SL Good info.

As I've been "shopping", I've been looking at a lot of the carfax's that are available. I wish I had kept track/notes...seems very few actually list Oil/Filter changed at "x" mileage visit. More often, it's just a generic "recommended maintenance performed" kind of recap from the dealers.

Like this 2011 S: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...stingId=0&mmt=[MINI[COOPER[COOPER%257CS]][]]&listingId=403341460&Log=0

Looks like first oil change at 15,388 (yikes), then 31,918, something else at 38,493. Finally, at around 65k, they're nice enough to note specifically "oil and filter changed". Maybe that was the first one done...

So, less convenient, but I can hit a Mini Dealer and geta 2012 w/ half the mileage and CPO Warranty for $2k more than this private sale. That's the route we'll take if I don't get warm fuzzies from him around OIC. Bad enough I'm likely looking at brakes, tires, battery near term...but we'll see. If it looks as good in person as the pics and they were smart about OIC...and I can get him to knock a bit off his ask...

 

IMO I would not bother buying a used MINI without CPO. When I went with Son to buy a CM the CM he liked was not CPO, I said make it CPO and I'll but it, if not I'll go elsewhere, so for $1200 more they made it CPO, to me that warranty is well worth it in a MINI, far cheaper than any after market warranty and far better in terms of length and deduc. It adds 2 years and 50K miles to factory 4/50 .

And MINI won't CPO a car unless it has good main or atleast MIN maint done.

 

OMG that's horrible oil change intervals, I don't car how the Mini looks appearance wise it's worthless without a good engine! This 15,000 oil change intervals that Mini set came back to haunt them, especially with the oil drinking N14 engine, customers came in with 1-3 quarts of oil in their crankcase, damage already done. Then Mini quickly changed the oil change intervals to 10,000 miles which is still to long an interval. Oil gets diry and contaminated. You're supposed to change your oil at 1000 miles after the break-in procedure, now all that debris stayed in the oil for another 14,000 miles. I'm that's insane!

That oil got black and dirty, do you know what happened to the turbos oil feed line and the turbos main shaft after shutdown? That black, dirty oil burned itself to the inner diameter of the feed line and burned onto the main turbo shaft. Just these two things is what causes early turbo failure, we haven't even talked about the engine yet!

I don't see a long service life for that MCS and it's sad because the seller did exactly what Mini told him to do for oil change intervals, reminds me of the lifetime transmission oil interval. That extra $2000 sounds even more worth it, that's about the price of a new turbo.

New engine $12,000.
New turbo $3,000.

 

My wife's 2012 is on that stupid 16k oil cycle BUT I change oil at 8k in between taking to MINI for change so only half are on record. My 2013 is on 8K cycle which is perfect

 

My oil after 6500 miles is starting to look a little dark, I feel it's time to change even with adding half a quart every 1000 miles.

 

Color of oil has nothing to do with life left in it. But needing 1/2 qt every 1000 is just **** poor design, IMO.

I tested my oil at7k and black stone said I could go another 1k before I ran out of additives, which is the problem , no additives left means your oil is not cleaning any more. Also viscosity degrades with mileage and impurities go up .
I am 52 and owned many a hi perf cars over my life and NEVER had an internal failure . Back in the day before synthetics I changed every 3k .

I don't get why MINI won't change the interval on the older cars ? They should change it 8k on all these with 15-16k . I guess that would be admitting they were wrong and should liable for engine failures.

 

I agree it's a **** poor design, but half a quart of oil is much better than most N14 owner's pooring 1.5 - 2.0 quarts for the same mileage!

 

Document your own oil change, and include receipts.
There's your record.

 

The worse part is it's not like old days where oil was just past rings and valve guides and burning , this oil gets put onto back side of intake valves and gums them up to the point of not closing .