So, I am looking at buying a Clubman. We went to check out one in the Detroit area this evening from a private seller, maybe?
We pulled up and it was sitting in front of a collision shop. The guy that is selling it said that he was selling it for his boss at his day job. He stated that he restores cars on the side. Claimed that it had never been crashed or anything on that order. Hmm.
Here are the details:
2008 Clubman S with around 19,000 miles, Step 6 Automatic. It has the black John Cooper 17" wheels. While looking at the rims I noticed large paint runs, like they had been repainted poorly. This was on at least two of the rims. I asked him if they were repainted and he said no. They come from MINI that way because they spray them from above.
The steering wheel did not have have any "buttons" like bluetooth, etc on it. It did have the paddles though. We haven't seen any 2008's without "buttons".
The doors them selves were all gray on the inside but the dash is Piano black. No black accents on them.
The seats were cloth/leather. The leather part was red but did not match the red of the car. The color on the seats was more of a deep red, not bright like the paint on the outside.
Then while driving it, when I turned to the left there was an almost rubbing, not quite grinding sound, only on the left side.

SO my question is:
Does anyone have "runs" in the paint on their John Cooper rims? Was told that he bought the tires at Bell Tire.
Do you think that this car has been redone? Like crashed & rebuilt. Carfax is clean but if he did it himself it wouldn't show right?

Thanks! I'm just not sure if it all adds up.

 

Sounds kind of shady to me. If you feel uneasy about it, keep looking

 

Adventure, It sounds like you are suspicious of this car's history. I can't picture myself buying a car if I had doubts about it, but if you are actually considering buying this car, then tell the seller you want to take it to the MINI dealer for inspection. If the car has been crashed and rebuilt, he will realize that his deception will be discovered.

I suggest you take the time to educate yourself by spending some time looking at more clubman. The best place to do this will probably be at the dealer. You don't have to buy from them and you will find that looking is free.

You are on target questioning the value of Carfax. They can only offer information in their database and there are instances where cars have had serious problems with no record showing in its history.

Keep Looking!

 

Run, don't walk away from this car. Yikes.

 

there are tons of used cars on the market ... pass!

 

I'd walk...

 

I'd run...

 

Thanks everyone! I just needed some confirmation that what I was seeing wasn't really right.
On our way home from Detroit we ran across another Clubman that we hope to check out on Monday. So fingers crossed this one looks better, but we haven't driven it yet.
I also stopped by our MINI dealer and talked to them. Yep, the rims a sham basically or for sure repainted according to them. Based on my description. The down side of stopping there was they sold "my" Clubman that I loved, but couldn't afford, quite yet. Someday, hopefully soon. Who knew it would be so tricky to find just the right one?!

 

Have you looked on eBay? I just bought a 2009 Clubman for my Daughter a few weeks ago and found it on eBay - through a private seller. The car is great and I have bought several cars on eBay over the past 6 or 7 years with very good luck.

eBay almost always has carfax like data on every car and generally a ton of pictures and data so you can locate a car that fits your specifications and emotional needs.

I found a car near NYC and I live in the Boston area so collecting it was easy. The seller communication was easy and overall the process is no more complicated than a normal dealer or private buyer experience.

The other advantage is you get a chance to scope out the market. In my case after a few weeks I felt I know the market for the Clubman so I when I finely bought a car I felt I had both a good car and a fair deal.

 

We had looked on Ebay but were reluctant to go that route. Now that I know someone had a good experience with it I may keep it in mind for the future.

However, we have agreed to purchase a 2010 Clubman PW/B roof as of 7pm today! A friend of ours found it outside a business & it ends up the company bought it when they sent to owner over seas to work on a project for 2 years. I should pick it up tomorrow after all of the paperwork clears the bank & we put insurance on it.
We are already planning on adding some stripes and other accessories! I will be taking it in to our dealer here in town sometime soon for service since it had been in storage for a while. Our MINI dealer was great on Saturday when we asked them to look up the history on the car. (Would of bought one from them but we saved a ton by going through a private sale). Fingers crossed by this time tomorrow I'll be a MINI owner!

 

congrats on your purchase, but just for prosperity...

The steering wheel did not have have any "buttons" like bluetooth, etc on it.
^ are you sure you weren't just looking at a JCW car, w the JCW non-MF steering wheel?

The seats were cloth/leather. The leather part was red but did not match the red of the car. The color on the seats was more of a deep red, not bright like the paint on the outside.

^ that's cuz Rooster Red != Chili Red

either way, you did the right thing -- if it doesn't feel right, move along. but at least I'm sure that the reds aren't supposed to match... since I have the rooster red color line myself

 

That's good to know. I did figure out that it was a "normal" steering wheel not replaced. I have a feeling this guy was trying to make his car be a JCW but it was not in real life. Ahhh, rooster red, that makes so much more sense. The guy selling it for his boss really didn't know any details about the car.

 

Pictures please