Hello everyone!

I'm in the market to buy a car to hold me over about 2 years. I found what I initially considered to be a good deal on a 2011 Countryman S all4. $7500, 120,000 miles, manual, appears and sounds to be in great shape (before purchase I'd bring it in for an inspection). However, after reading a lot of the horror stories on this forum, I'm a bit less confident.

I have experience in "unreliable" cars. I had a 1993 RX-7 for almost a decade. But with proper maintenance and modifications, I avoided any potential issues a rotary could give me. I don't mind a vehicle that requires strict maintenance and replacing of parts, but I don't want a car that is going to decide to blow it's engine without prior warnings or symptoms.

So I guess my questions to you helpful folks are:
- for that year specifically, is that mileage just too much? Or if it's made it that far, is it safe to assume that it's one of the "good" ones?
- are the posts on this forum blown out of proportion? Reading the posts in a vacuum, it just seems like the 2011 countryman should be avoided at all costs (but I really like it, so I'm coming here for some objective advice)

I appreciate all your help and hope to be able to join and contribute to your community soon!

 

The 2011 should have the early iteration of the N18 engine, which is much more reliable than the N14 engines. It shares the high pressure fuel pump, but despite the cost its an easy replacement. If you pick it up, I would get current on all fluid changes, and become religious with maintenance. If you've lived with a 3rd gen RX7, the Mini will be simple.

 

It shares the high pressure fuel pump, but despite the cost its an easy replacement.

 

Good call on the inspection. That price seems low for the market rn. Saw a guy yesterday with a similar spec buy one with 140k for $13k. So $7,500 seems odly low.

I own a 2012 R60 (countryman's code) S, manual, fwd. A few issues I've experienced you should look out for are:

• Clutch failure.
This one's pretty common, they used the same gearbox and clutch system as the 2 door minis, so with the added weight they tend to go out anywhere from 20k to 90k if you are really lucky.
If it's been replaced with the OEM clutch you may be weary of that, especially if you're a spirited driver.

• Thermostat housing crack.
​​​​​​It seems they didn't construct the housing very well and it tends to break for some. Took awhile to diagnose but was cheap to fix. I needed mine replaced around 40k.

​​​​​• Struts going out.
They tend to get really squeaky and will eventually bottom out after some time. Had mine replaced twice, most recently at 87k. They are relatively cheap though so not a huge problem.

Seems like you understand maintenance which is immediately a good start. If the car has good service records and no major issues to highlight, I'd say go for it if you haven't already. They are great little cars, and when maintained you'll love it for many miles to come.

Happy cruising,
- Bowen C​​​​​​​