I am looking at a few '09 JCW that are almost out of factory warranty.

I read that there are some expensive repair bill if things starts to go wrong.

I wonder if I should worry about out of warranty JCW? Or extended warranty is MUCH prefered? Or is the risk too high to get into a JCW without warranty?

 

I just bought a 2009 in July that was within 2k of being out of warranty. I was worried about the mileage and to tell you the truth. I was even more worried after reading some of the things that have failed on the R56 (Clutch/timing chain). I called the local Mini dealer, who just happened to be the dealer that did all the dealer work on the car. They gave me a full rundown of the car's service history. I found out that the Clutch was replaced at 18k and the rear brakes were replaced in August of 2010 under warranty. The stories I read on these boards mostly seemed to be happy people after having these issues fixed. So I felt much much better. I'm not sure a dealer would have to be the dealer that did the service to get you this info.

If you go this route. I would find out if the Timing chain tensioner was replaced or not. My had not been replaced. I brought up my concerns about that. They said If I bought the car they would check the chain and replace if needed. which they did.

Just this week I had to have the oil feeder line for the turbo replaced. My car has just passed 50k and the dealer offered to cover half the cost since I was just out of warranty.

 

sounds like your dealer is very helpful. good to know.