Good luck on your Mini search. Be sure to post up pictures when you acquire it!

-Luccia

 

Cool !!!

 

Bought a one owner 2009 non-s Clubman w/46k miles 15 months ago for $13k from a Mercedes dealer. Clean. Carfax looked straight. Other routine maintainence I had a oil seal and coolant seal leak and barn door lock fail [DIY project]. I would caution you to pay close attention to learn how to read the dip stick and check your oil level often.

 

The sport button is standard on US-market MINIs, but in some other markets it is an option - I think Canada is one of those places, and the OP is from Canada.

 

Yup, an option for us.

D

 

Yea, think its was an option on the sport button for Canada, you can see no sport button on this one.

 

Hello all. I'm completely new to mini's. I'm going to start reading older threads but I came to this one first. My question is..."Why do the "S" models get such bad reviews? Is it just certain years? Thanks. Paul

 

Not all S, mostly the ones with the n14 engine. Which I think was '07 thru '10 or '11. Lots of reported problems with timing chain, valves, etc..

 

Short answer: Yes, certain years of the S have had some engine reliability issues.

Long anwer: The first generation S, aka R53 (2002-2006), have a belt-driven supercharger and are considered to be pretty good - lots of mentions here and elsewhere of R53s going well past 100k miles.

Longer answer: The second generation S is divided into cars with the N14 engine (2007-2010), and the later years with the N18 engine (2011-2015). Both of these engines use an exhaust-driven turbocharger. The N14s have had problems with their high pressure fuel pump (HPFP), timing chain and tensioner, turbo oil lines, intake valve deposits, oil consumption, and engine coolant thermostat. The non-S models have also had some issues with the thermostat, but to a lesser degree. MINI has had campaigns to deal with the fuel pump and timing chain/tensioner issues, and possibly the thermostats as well - the parts for all of these are improved now over what those cars left the factory with. The oil consumption issues are possibly partly due to the extremely long service intervals that MINI recommended during this time, as a lot of cars never had their oil levels checked except when the car went in for service - which in some cases was 14,000 miles between recommended oil changes.

The N18 is an improved version of the N14 engine, and has had much fewer issues so far. In particular, the fuel pump and timing issues seem to be largely resolved with these cars, and they eventually started coming with shorter recommended service intervals (9000 miles). Both the N14 and N18 have the same turbo oil line arrangement, so that weakness still exists - there are O-rings that gradually get baked by the heat of the turbo, leading to oil leaks. There are aftermarket fixes for that from Detroit Tuned (and probably others). The N18 is supposed to be less susceptible to the intake valve deposits, but reports are mixed.

Really long answer: Since you're new to the MINI world, let me explain that MINI has muddied the waters some with the model designations and years. The supercharged engine that is in the first generation S (R53) also was used in the Convertible (R52). However, all first-generation Convertibles are R52s, whether they are a Cooper or an S model. The last model year for the R53 was 2006, but the R52 continued on through the 2008 model year. What this means is that a 2007 or 2008 convertible (R52) will have a different engine than the same year model hardtop (R56) - regardless of whether it's an S or not.

The second generation cars are collectively known as the R56 family. In this generation, the model number is the same whether the car is a Cooper, an S, or a JCW. So you can have an R55, R56, R57, R58, or R59 that is a Cooper, an S, or a JCW. The R56 (2nd generation hardtop) went out of production in 2013, to be replaced by the F56 family (third generation). The F-series cars have a whole new engine line. However, while the hardtop R56 went out of production in 2013, the other models based on it (with the N18 engine for the S & JCW variants) have continued on for a while longer. The Clubman (R55) was phased out in 2014; the Coupe (R58) and Roadster (R59) just ended their runs a month ago, and the second-generation convertible (R57) soldiers on for a bit longer, we're told.

To muddy the waters just a bit more, the refreshed, aka LCI for "Life Cycle Impulse" cars (2011 and on) used the N18 in the S models, but kept the N14 engine in the JCWs for another two years. What this means is that a 2011 or 2012 S will have the N18, but a JCW from the same year will still have the N14. The JCWs finally got the N18 for the 2013 model year.

Just to cover all the bases, the Countryman (R60) and Paceman (R61) all use the N18 engine in their S and JCW versions; you won't see a Countryman or Paceman with the N14 engine.

Got all that? Welcome to the MINI world!

 

Just change the fluid & it will work for a long time. The shift points in sport make it fun to drive.