Hello. I test drove a used 2010 with 46k miles on it. I have been motorcycle only for a long time but believe this is the car for me.

I furiously googled everything I could about the car and found a lot of people who talk about astronomically expensive repairs - clutches wearing out early, timing chains, etc - and I am a bit concerned about maintenance. Having owned a saab 93 once makes me a little less eager to jump into this however I can't seem to resist the allure.

My questions are: is this model / year good for Mini? Is there anything that I can control aside from regular oil changes and maintenance that will limit my exposure to a catastrophic, valve-bending failure?

I know there are safer choices out there for me - however I can't seem to open my wallet for them. Any advice for me?

Thanks!

 

The N12 engine in the justa has proven to be pretty reliable. The turbo N14 engines not so much. I wouldn't worry about it. Use due diligence with your maintenance & you'll be good. Do not follow MINIs schedule it is crazy long on oil changes.

We have on 08 justa N12 engine, bought it with 32,000 on the clock. We are now at 55,000 & it has been very reliable.

 

+1

 

Watch the oil level; great mileage point to purchase that car so you should get at least 20k miles out of it before anything needs repair. Thermostat, water pump maybe, replace the timing belt by 60k. Great cars the Justa, 99% of the expensive woes on this forum are from the Turbo models.

Watch that oil level religiously!

 

I don't think we have a timing belt. It's the chain, the same one that rattles in the turbos, but ours take longer to go bad. Consider a new timing chain at 80 to 100k. My Cooper, with it's N12 has been good, save for the thermostat housing $450 snafu.

 

Oh, I thought it was a belt, anyway, a chain should be good to 90k miles then if the oil is always topped off properly and changed more often than the recommended. I guess I had the serpentine belt replaced then when I had my water pump done, no wonder it was so cheap.

 

Thanks for the responses! I took the car to an independent mechanic and he said it was great, no codes while running. Looks sound with the exception of a couple of things: the air conditioning compressor seemed noisy to him and there was a significant oil leak around the valve cover on the driver's side.

I am not too concerned about the noise from the AC - I am not even sure if this is normal for Mini Coopers or not. I am more concerned with suspension and drive train issues and asked for the leak to be fixed before I would buy.

Also - anyone know what the round structure is on the driver's side of the valve cover? The leak seemed to be coming from behind there.

Thanks again all!

 

That is the vacuum pump. The one on our R55 Justa has a bit of oily dirt on the bottom, but I wouldn't call it a leak. By all means have the leak fixed. Also listen to that pump it should not be noisy. It is driven by the exhaust cam & if it locks up it will take the valve train with it. It is not very common, but has happened to a few folks. The vacuum pump gives lots of warning.