Hello all..
I am a current 2009 JCW clubbie owner, I really enjoy my clubbie but might be ready to move on to something bigger. The JCW CM mght be it but I really don't want to go throught the same pains i had\have with the clubman, ie water pumps, turbo oil line leaks, chain tensioners, window dip **** blah blah blah.. My clubbie has been good to me never left me on the side of ther road but i just want something i can totally trust.. Has the CM been more reliable? Will it last a long time, would love to get 150,000 easy miles out of it, do you think it's possible with good maintenance. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

From what I understand, most of the kinks were worked out in the '12 model. The only issue remaining was the clutch, and this really only applied to All4 models with the manual. I have had a 2012 non-S Countryman (automatic) for about the past mont, and it's been great so far.

 

YO - Welcome to the club or clubbie. I am waiting for my new 13 countryman to arrive (in production now). I have my fingers crossed my timing chain will make it on my 08 clubman, just put a new turbo on 2 months ago. I went manual on the CMS all4 since it sounds like the clutch on the 13 is vastly improved.

 

Well, my 2012 now has 21k miles and recently had an oil leak from the oil solenoid valve. While they were fixing that they noticed the coolant level was low and traced it to a problem with the water pump. I also have the crappy clutch that comes with the All4 and while I have had a lot of the symptoms others have experienced it has not failed yet. There were a couple of recalls performed around the 13k mile mark, one having to do with the thermostat (another cooling issue) and I can't recall what the other one was.
For what it's worth I am a long time BMW and MINI owner. I also currently have a 2002 330ci convertible, an 06 MINI Cooper S, and an 07 650i coupe. Since I've taken delivery, the CM has been in the shop more than all the other cars combined. On top of that I leave it at home when I know I will be going up steep San Francisco streets because the clutch can't handle those without a lot of revs and burnt smell.
Despite all this I like that car. It's fun to drive and people think it's cool, but honestly, I have never had this many problems with a new car and I would not recommend it to a friend.

 

I have a new 2013 CM JCW but I only have 1,200 miles on it. So far I LOVE it. We have another 2010 R57 with a JCW tune on it and I can tell you that it definitely does not feel as zippy as our other mini. I have had not problems with the clutch as of yet. It has a different feel to it tho.

 

We had a 2012 all 4 that had major problems with the electrical system. When we started a lemon law action, BMW agreed to replace the car. We now have a 2013. No problems at all in the first 7000 miles. I have noticed repeatedly that the build quality on the new car seems better than the first one. It makes me wonder if BMW finally realized that they had a quality control problem with the earlier cars and took steps to resolve it.

 

I have a '12 S, not all 4. 6k miles and no problems yet. Love the car. Have made several long trips and just finished Minis on the Dragon, completing a moderately agressive run on the Dragon. My CM performed amazingly well. I like this car so much that fingers and toes are crossed for continued good performance. I keep Premium in the tank...not sure if that helps, but it should.

 

Only had my 13 S automatic for 2 months but am loving it. No issues to talk about but I have been keeping a laser focus on the previous issues I have heard from other owners.
Also had a great first time checkup experience and walked away impressed with the maintenance guys. Lastly knowing that the car is under warranty 36K miles and I have opted for the extra warranty coverage I sleep better at night.
I would think that if u have solid good mechanics that is half the battle.

 

Factory warranty is 4yr-48K (while scheduled maintenance is 3-36K).

 

DR61- I should not have to pay a dime on any maintenance costs- whether scheduleld or not for the first 3-36K. Correct. They the extended mx is thru 100K miles which I purchased so as not to have to fork out bucks on big ticket repairs.