I am new to the forum, a past/current mini owner(have a 2016 S 4door). I am about to pull the trigger on a second vehicle, a 2012 JCW that is in absolutely immaculate condition. I wasn’t in the market for a second car until I stumbled upon this gem. I spoke with the previous owner and they assured me the car was mint. However I am nervous about running into timing chain issues with the car. It has 88k miles, it doesn’t have the obviously loud timing rattle however I did notice that after a good spirited drive the engine seems louder on idle, almost uneven sounding .. not so much a rattle but just more pronounced and more prominent in the cabin. On cold start the engine sounds totally normal so I am conflicted as to whether the engine is sound or not. Is the 2012 JCW prone to timing issues? Also not sure whether it is a factory JCW or a tuning kit car? It has the badges and exhaust.. and sure drives different than a regular S R56.. if it is just an S R56 with a tuning kit, would it be prone to chain issues?

 

Hi, it is a pretty good looking car! You would be better off to post this in the Gen 2 area, as you will find better info from the same type of owners!

 

That's not a fJCW, at most its a Cooper S with the JCW Tuning Kit.

 

I’ve been researching like crazy and I’ve come to realize this. I wasn’t aware at first that they made a tuning kit and it was different from an authentic JCW. Sorry about that.

 

Yes that is a tuning kit car as it doesn't have the brakes like the factory JCW would have.

It looks clean, but that is just a picture so I would have a mechanic put it on the lift and go over it as with 88k it likely needs something.