(sorry that should be S in the headline not 2)

Hi,

I originally started a thread about a 2009 Certified Preowned (CPO) Mini Cooper that I was considering buying, but when I went to the dealer, I didn't like a sound that the wheels/tires were making. The salesperson said it was just that the tires were a little "aggressive" for the car and that's what was making the noise, but I'm worried it could be something more than just tires.

So I test drove a 2011 CPO Mini Cooper S and liked it much more (I'm a former Cooper S owner, so I do like the extra power… i knew i would ). But in general the car felt more solid. Maybe that was the run flats? Anyway, I filled out a buyer's order for it, but now I'm just wondering, after reading some of the bad stories on here, if the S is going to be too much of a problem. The car has 41,285 miles on it. The CARFAX report didn't report anything major (only 1 owner as a lease) and the dealer didn't report that they did any major repair work on it before offering it as a CPO, other than put all new tires on and perform an alignment. The factory warranty is good until March 2015 or 50K (so almost gone) and the CPO warranty is good until March 2017 or 100K miles. The car looks to be in great condition too. The engine looked clean visually and it drove great.

So, I'm just wondering if there are real concerns with a 2011 S that I should be aware of?

I'm hoping to go Monday night (3/31/2014) to finalize the paperwork, but thought I'd make once last check here before that. I could always back out, although I don't really want to do that. It seems like a good car, but I wanted to check one last time.

Any advice will help!

Thanks!

(My signature and website are old and out of date, in case you are wondering.)

 

I have a 2011 MCS, so check out the thermostat, valve cover, hpfp, OEM rear endlinks(they suck), also check the oil, coolant and brake fluid, and check the brakes if they were done. Good luck!

 

Hi Rob,

Thanks for your reply. I'm not very mechanical. How would I go about getting most of these things checked? Especially the rear end links?

Thanks,

 

Take the car to a MINI dealership so they could look up the info on the fob key. It was a lease so all the issues or maintenance should be on the fob key.

 

thanks Rob!

 

CPO warranty until March 2017 or 100K miles sounds great.

Does that mean the thermostat, valve cover, hpfp, OEM rear endlinks, the oil, coolant and brake fluid, and the brakes are all covered by the warranty?

 

They'll most likely say the endlinks are a wear and tear item but it should be covered. Ask them what it consists of.

 

I'm going to go ahead and ask a really stupid question, but what are end links exactly? transmission?

 

They are connected to your rear sway bar. The aftermarket ones can adjust if you're on coilovers.

 

What is the issue with OEM endlinks? Do they fail in some way, and what exactly would you be checking for?

 

They fail when you start hearing weird rattling and clunking from the rear suspension or when you see the joint of the pin positioned in awkward angles. It happens on more 2nd gens.