Been on the hunt for a mini for over a year and finally pulled the trigger on a 2009 jcw hatchback. Totally enjoying the experience. I was wondering if there was a way to determine if any recall work has been done by the past owner. Namely the water pump issue I've been reading about. Also the timing chain tensioner issue. Didn't really hear any noise until I ran across the thread. I live in the north Bay Area and have several dealerships to choose from. Any knowledge of which one seems better than others?

 

Congrats on your JCW and welcome to NAM!

I haven't had to deal with any recall work myself, but I'll assume that any repairs of that ilk would be done by a dealer. You should be able to call a dealer with the last six digits of the VIN and retrieve a list of ALL work done on that vehicle by any MINI dealer.

From what I've read the experience varies from dealer to dealer: the first MINI dealer here in Tampa Bay was happy to get me the repair & maintenance history on my car before I bought it, but I've read accounts from other owners where their local MINI dealer balked or refused to do the same.

Hopefully you can find a friendly outfit who will willingly provide the desired info & history.