Hi,

I'm in the market for a 2007 MCS, and I've come across a certified pre-owned specimen at a Mini dealer, with about 35,000 mi. I drove the car and, compared to other Minis I've driven, the clutch felt pretty worn out and the engine seemed to run a bit rough on start up. I mentioned these issues to the dealer, and they said they'd replace the clutch and give the car a "tune up" if I were to buy it. The car would come with an additional 2-year Mini warranty as well, so that's comforting.

I'm a bit concerned that the clutch would need replacing after only 35,000 mi. Is this common on Minis? Does this indicate that the car was driven particularly hard? Is there anything else I should be looking at specifically that would indicate it hasn't been taken care of very well? The rest of the car (interior, body, etc) is in great shape.

Thanks everyone!

 

I just had a clutch replaced at 2K miles on my 2010 MCS. I don't know if it's that these cars have an issue with clutches or that the car you're looking at was just driven hard. In my case it was a bad flywheel that was warped from the outset. I'd see if you can have one of the forum members who works at a dealership run the VIN and see if they can tell you what the service log looks like...i.e. if the car has already had the clutch replaced before. I would still be skeptical though and see if you can get your hands on another '07 with similar mileage to compare it too.