NAM,

I have an '09 R56 Cooper S that I love driving. I've picked it up at 104k miles. (should've bought something w/low miles, hindsight is a *****). The car now has 116k miles. In 15 months of ownership I had the following issues.

Coolant gasket leak -$600 (almost right away).
Death rattle - $1200. (at 107k miles,Although I *might* get re-imbursed partly due to the lawsuit).

Wearables:
Clutch - $1200 (at 110k miles)
Tires - $300. (at 112k miles)

Last thursday, I've noticed a huge puddle of oil under my car. Took it to the mechanic and he told me that it is an "oil housing" leak and a well known R56 issue. He quoted me $650 to fix it.

Now I need your collective wisdom about it. Do I fix it and hope nothing too terrible happens in the near future or trade it in and take a huge hit and pay for a new car? I love my MINI, but the N14 is a pile of poo.

 

I'd want to pencil out the known potential big items that have yet to happen and total that up before deciding. You've done some things already, what's left?

 

So long as your high-pressure fuel pump doesn't go out, it sounds like you've got all the common issues taken care of.
The real question you need to ask is, would it be cheaper to run with this car, or the new one? Consider the cost of the trade-in vs the benefit of the new car, the likelihood of other problems occuring, and what they'd cost. Since you've got it at the mechanic already, have them do a thorough inspection for other potential issues and you can get some insight.

 

What other potential issues should I be looking out for? If I can get atleast 20k trouble free miles, I call it a huge win, but that's what I kept saying after every repair.

 

Have you ever had it walnut blasted too?

Otherwise check the 2nd gen boards. Your 09 has a handful of standard issues (as mentioned some main ones you've taken care of already).

But, $700 to fix up and sell for.... $10k? That's some easy math for me. Otherwise you may have to knock an easy $2K off the selling price because of "buyer concerns"

Pick up a 2013 to replace it

 

Once I got the major down on my R56 2007 S it was fine, they all happened about the same time.


Coolant gasket leak -$600 (almost right away). Thermostat housing ? water Pump, expansion tank, and coolant pipe all at once.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...8-no-heat.html


Then did turbo oil lines and the oil filter housing at once also.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-oil-line.html




https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...acement-2.html


Clucth R56 S

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cw-clutch.html






If you have a mechanic or indy shop you will save a bunch, if you can diy it yourself you can save a bunch more. I done all these myself.

 

Not sure what you mean.

Thanks for the info. I have an indy mechanic but it is still quite a bit expensive. I'll talk to him about the other potential repairs.

 

Yea, show them the parts and the DIY;'s they barter the price.

 

To the OP - do a search for walnut blasting. It works same on turbo BMWs and on Minis. It cleans deposits off the valve heads and stems, renewing proper air flow. A BMW/Mini turbo engine is due at around 100K if not before.

And I agree with others - you've done the big ticket items listed in your first post. I think driving the Mini will be MUCH less expensive than trading cars. But it would be good to stay away from the dealer for parts and service.

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into the walnut blasting. I'm not going to the dealer for repairs but the indy mechanics aren't cheap either. Only a few mechanics work on MINIs and sure they like to charge BMW prices.

 

I have the Bavarian Tehnic scan/code tool for my 08 and 09 BMW 3-series cars, and it works just fine for Mini as well; in fact, the Mini is on the selection menu. The Mini is essentially BMW technology re-packaged.