I was searching for a MINI fixer-upper this morning, and came across this:

http://medford.craigslist.org/ctd/5324791626.html

Any thoughts on what's possibly wrong with it? I don't know the R56 very well. Could it be the timing chain tensioner?

 

Could be the "death rattle." Might ask him for a video of the noise. Some info on it here with a video.

 

Hard to tell. He/she is very vague with the symptom. My mini sounded like I needed a new engine, then I added a quart and a half of oil. It looks to be in pretty good shape, and fairly low mileage.

 

Possible timing chain, possible something else. I would ask for more info. Its a Cooper , so no turbo or anything.

 

It could be just a tensioner chain set, which is pretty easy and relatively inexpensive, but it could be much more. That's not what I would call a smoking price for a car with potential motor problems. If you want to investigate further, definitely take a compression test of the car. If you're looking for a fixxer-upper, consider a '05-'06 MINI Cooper S.

 

The more I look, the more the R56 seems to be a nightmare. All good comments, and much appreciated.

 

It's a real gamble. A new engine for it is about $6k so I'd expect the car to be much cheaper. Make sure you check it out.
We have a good project R53 for sale, but shipping would kill you.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=295576

 

I agree. I'd love to get my hands on that MINI you have. Maybe you could beam it over...