Hi everyone,
I've been an r53 owner for many years now and I'm looking at getting rid of it and my 2012 Sonata to trade for an r60 to take the place of my daily family hauler and my fun car.

Any thoughts or things specifically to look out for? Should I just keep my r53/sonata combo and forgetabouti?

 

We have an R60 2011 in the family. Would I buy another used one, no $)#$# way unless I was going to DIY repairs or had a trusty indy mechanic who wasn't into ripping us off.

 

 

LOL, I guess I would second that opinion at this point having bought a used 2014 and learning the hard ways.

 

That JCW is gorgeous, my first thought about the r60 was "I'm not going off road, might as well lower it"

 

Here is the car I'm looking at
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

 

My CM been treating my wife good...Here is the resurrection thread lol https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-edittion.html

I think you'll always two sides of the fence...some had no issues what so ever, while others were "mini" cursed...

just like any other car, you want to make sure the car was taken care of SPECIALLY with oil changes.

I just acquired another CM and once taken care of maintenance items, I will list it here...here is its story https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...aboo-game.html

 

I bought my 2012 used with a very well documented service history. It had most if not all of the known issues addressed. I also got an extended warranty, which has proven useful.

All I can say is that if you are ok with the quirks, this is a great car that is so fun to drive on a daily basis.

 

Get an extended, premium care warranty. Ours has eaten coil packs, plugs and the HPFP twice.

 

I bought mine used, but it only had 6k on it. Dude bought it, then about a year later, jeep released the renegade, so he traded.
It was not well taken care of for 6k. I believe he was military, and it sat for a while..... RIGHT off the bat... all wheel bearings bad.... 2 calipers locked up..... and all calipers rusted halfway up. I feel like it sat in water for a while.

After sorting out all the brake and bearing issues, it was good for about 10k. at about 16k or so, rear right spring shattered..... BOOM, missed another part affected by the rust. lol

Sorted that out with some new coilovers, and didn't have another issue for about 125k. At this point, the thermostat housing cracked. Fixed that...
Then the PCV went bad. Fixed that.... Factory coils didn't crap the bed until about 135k (quite impressed by this)

I do all my own work, unless I don't have the time or patience, so I have saved a ton of money. I had Mini do the front main seal, it was worth the $600 not to have to deal with that pain.

Overall, absolutely the most reliable mini I have owned thus far out of the 5.

Be super cautious when buying a pre-owned Countryman, and look it over thoroughly, and you should be good!
Hell..... be super cautious with ANY pre-owned mini.

 

So much this. I got the extended premium warranty with my 2012 R60 in 2017. Since then it's paid for itself twice; new air conditioner assembly, new water pump, new ignition coils probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. May have helped I bought it CPO from a Mini dealership so they had a warranty partner or whatever.

 

I'll 2nd this...and 3rd it a while. I had to get my timing chain and tensionor replaced, along with guide seals (2011 r60). All under warranty. I love the car though. Word of advice though on extended warranties. Read the fine print and retain every single receipt. Especially if you do oil changes on your own. I had to request autozone get all my receipts the past year so I could prove I was changing my oil.

 

Where would one get this aftermarket warranty from?