I am currently looking at a 2015 Mini Countryman for my son as a first car. Cosmetically, it looks to be in awesome shape. It has almost 95k miles, though, and this gives me a little pause. I know the last owner had some work done by a local
shop which included replacing the oil filter housing. That owner later traded it to a big dealer who then sent it to auction (which I assumed and later confirmed was due to it not passing their inspection). I contacted the dealer and they said it failed due to a minor oil leak that was an expensive ~$2,000+ fix. A broker has it now and seems to have had that oil leak fixed, the timing chain and guides replaced, thermostat replaced, and crankshaft seal and valve cover gasket replaced.

I spoke to a Euro shop that I would use for future maintenance to price out things like the transmission flush even though that’s a supposed “lifetime” fluid. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing, so the tranny fluid would be among the first things I’d have done along with the coolant flush. But I’m wondering about the fuel filter. Mini seems to have called for replacement of the fuel filter up until 2014, at which point it, too, became a “lifetime” component. The shop owner advised that he wouldn’t bother with it as preventative maintenance. He said when it starts to go, you’ll smell it, and he wouldn’t mess with it until then.

So, I’d like to get some feedback on what I should be looking for when I go see it tomorrow. I’m also having it inspected by the closest Mini dealer if it passes my initial visual inspection. If they give it a clean bill of health, should I have any other concerns? What are your thoughts on the fuel filter advice I’ve been given? The quote from the Mini dealer for the fuel filter replacement, btw, was $1,022. The independent shop said he’d likely be less than half that cost, but he still didn’t advise doing it.

Also, I’m aware that some folks would say don’t do the tranny flush at that mileage. I’ve owned 33 cars over the last 27 years. Many have been higher mileage and all of them have gotten a transmission service shortly after purchase. Never had an issue. The idea about higher mileage transmission services causing problems really seems to stem
from people who wait until the transmission is already showing signs of problems. They change the fluid, it ultimately fails, and the service itself gets pointed to as the reason, by the owner or the service shop or both, when the service isn’t the real culprit; the long-term negligence itself actually is. As long as the transmission isn’t acting “funky” now, I expect no issues following completion of that service, regardless of mileage.