Accidental Mini Owner
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Accidental Mini Owner
I was driving my old 99 audi A4 and the motor let go right by the porsche/audi dealer. I coasted in and saw a used mini on the lot. Took the mini for a quick test drive and thought it was a fun car, so I bought it. It is a 2011 midnight black metallic with red leather/Carbon black cloth S with some JCW parts on it. It has a JCW exhaust, shift **** and a motor cover that says works. IT has after market wheels with snow, so some new wheels and tire will be required this spring. I don't know what other parts it has on it. It seems like it is well optioned, it has cold weather, premium, sport and bluetooth. I've looked at the owners manual, but the dash picture doesn't look like mine. There is a little instrument to the left of the tachometer that looks like a water temperature gauge marked in centigrade and to the right of the tachometer is an instrument that is a ??? (maybe a boost gauge) that doesn't appear to move. Also there is a rattle in the right rear that sounds like a broken sway bar link. If there is some common failure that might account for the noise I would appreciate suggestions. Here are some cell phone pictures.
To think I feel guilty when I decide to stop for a latte. 
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I was driving my old 99 audi A4 and the motor let go right by the porsche/audi dealer. I coasted in and saw a used mini on the lot. Took the mini for a quick test drive and thought it was a fun car, so I bought it. It is a 2011 midnight black metallic with red leather/Carbon black cloth S with some JCW parts on it. It has a JCW exhaust, shift **** and a motor cover that says works. IT has after market wheels with snow, so some new wheels and tire will be required this spring. I don't know what other parts it has on it. It seems like it is well optioned, it has cold weather, premium, sport and bluetooth. I've looked at the owners manual, but the dash picture doesn't look like mine. There is a little instrument to the left of the tachometer that looks like a water temperature gauge marked in centigrade and to the right of the tachometer is an instrument that is a ??? (maybe a boost gauge) that doesn't appear to move. Also there is a rattle in the right rear that sounds like a broken sway bar link. If there is some common failure that might account for the noise I would appreciate suggestions. Here are some cell phone pictures.
Does either of the 2 gauges move after driving for a while? If it's a water temperature gauge, the MINIs run hot(warmed up, it should stay around 200-210F). It -could- be a oil temperature gauge but I doubt it. Take a photo and we can identify what gauges they are. If the other gauge isn't moving, connection could be loose somewhere(and we can give some ideas once we've identified the gauge in question). A broken sway bar link isn't a common failure and since the MINI doesn't seem lowered, I doubt it has coilovers or springs that might have caused improper installation. The suspension on these MINIs are very simple to DIY. Pop off your rear wheels and check it out(a broken RSB link is obvious). If it's a 2011 though, you're probably still under warranty. Get the selling dealership to give you history of where the MINI was and track down the history.
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