I have been looking to get into a Mini S since they first came out in the early 2000s, but sadly all I got was a toy model. Fast forward nearly a quarter century and now I have an opportunity to purchase an older used model.


Unfortunately my mechanic squashed that dream when he informed me that "minis are great, accept for the ones labeled with an S; I have replaced 3 turbos for my boss at the tune of 4500 a piece, the MAF gets some dust on it and you have to dig deep into the motor and replace the turbo, and that total does not even include 8 hours labor". Now, this mechanic has been good to me over the years so I shifted my sights onto the standard model.


I then googled it (with the extra HP eating at my soul) and now I can't decide if that is true so here I am. Can a used turbo model be had without the worry of a 4500 blunder? That is just not doable, especially since the cars I am looking at are often listed for less than that. this is worse than contemplating new hybrid batteries. input much appreciated. -Ryan