Hello all, I've been stalking this site as I'm thinking of purchasing a used 2013 Clubman JCW. It has around 50k miles on it and the dealer is giving me a great price.

I'm new to the mini world and I'm curious to know your opinion of this model/year. I've read some good stuff, some bad stuff and some horrible stuff. Anything I should specifically look for before purchasing this car?

The dealer let me test drive it for a day and it's an absolute blast, what can I say, I'm in love. I just want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into before I say "I do".

 

Mid 2012 and up are the best motors Mini made. You will love it and it should be trouble free

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I have a 4/13 build.

Don't know if the one you are looking at is stick or automatic, clutch on mine was redone at 44k and had a turbo issue at 49k.

Other than that the car has been flawless.

My 3rd Mini is mid Ocean so will soon have two CM's.

 

It's a stick and the clutch seems to be in good shape. Anything I should keep a eye out for regarding the turbo?

 

No it just disassembled one night on the way home. I have a stop sign out on to an up hill grade. I usually drive floor, clutch, floor, clutch. So I am not easy on the car.

When I hit 3rd gear I heard a different kind of fine metal tinkling sound. Followed by the 1/2 check engine light.

Took it in and they checked it replaced coils and plugs said it seemed good but under load like on a hill in sport mode I would still trip the 1/2 engine light. They then checked the turbo and found part of the exhaust side blades had separated and were gone out into the exhaust. That was the tinkling noise I had heard.

A fracture like that is not like oil issues to bearing and siezing it is probably just a defect in the metal that led to the fin failure

At least it was the hot side and not the intake, little pieces of turbo in the engine would not be good.

Also I have not seen any clutch issues on Clubman except normal wear, Early CM's had allot of clutch wear issues.

 

The N18 is a more reliable engine and the R55 is tons of fun. My only recommendation is to monitor your oil and change it every 5k.

Don't be surprised if you have to add a little oil in-between changes if you drive spirited. :-)

 

Good to hear there aren't too many clutch issues with the R55. I also read that the N18 motor Is a bit more reliable than the earlier generations, glad to confirm that with other R55 owners. Looks like I'll be calling up my dealer tomorrow.

 

I always recommend having someone inspect it before buying. A quick $50-100 cost may save you a lot in the future or at least let you know of issues you can't see till under the car. Or if any damage has been done you don't see just walking around.

 

A Clubman especially a John Cooper Works with the N18 motor is very rare.

 

Pics when you buy it! JCW Clubman IS special!

 

I have a 2012 JCW R55 clubman (N14 engine) with a manual transmission and have put 130k miles on it... I've done several mods to the car itself like a roof rack using the Thule Aerobars, a tow hitch for my little garden trailer (be careful here as the engine is not designed to really tow anything), replaced the speakers/amps with the Integral Audio System, etc...

My "daily" commute is around 80-90 miles on a 1500ft climb/descend hill (mountain, whatever) with plenty of stop/go traffic inbetween... Hit my 100k before my 3rd year...

Always did the required servicing on the car (up to 120k... after warranty, got pricy) and had upped my oil changes from "15k" to 6k around the 30k mark on the car.

I love the car. I was looking at the R56 as I liked the look and feel of the car but my son (9 at the time) didn't like sitting in the back seat of it and loved bouncing the the R55 in the back... and one JCW had just come available so... Long term, I'm glad I got the R56 insted of the R55. My GF has a 2013 R55 JCW and it motors around and is fun, but definately feels cramped once you "enjoy" the extra 3" of leg space in the R55. To be honest, I do most of the driving for lunch for my work group. All 4 of us pile into the R55 and drive to lunch with few problems. Parking is just about as easy as the R56, suicide door makes getting in and out of the back easier... and the 9" of extra "trunk" space in the back combined with the cargo doors makes it much easier for me to haul around crap and my GF can in hers. She basically puts down the back seats to get the extra space.

With all that said, the only things that have happened drive train wise to me over the years...

1. O2 sensor failed around 40k. Warranty replacement.
2. Clutch plate worn around 70k (my driving habits)
3. Brakes replaced every 20-25k (highway 17 in CA will do that to you)
4. Tires replaced almost as often (same issue)
5. By the time I hit around 60k, I had been changing oil every 6k but was now adding a quart around every 2-3k. Engine has been drinking oil ever since.
6. Timing chain and pulley "disintegrated" around 80k (lucky I was under warranty)
7. Water thermostat housing "froze" around 115k. Replacement was interesting as the plastic tube to the water pump disintegrated as it was removed and also had to be replaced.
8. Turbo gave up the dust around 130k (my current problem).

on the side, as a computer engineer, I've been "dumping" my OBD-II data for the last 30k miles trying to come up with some kind of interesting "engine HUD". Still working on this one

 

So I had read that 2011 and newer had the newer engine?

Is there a simple way to tell which engine is in a car by looking at it? Maybe two simple photos?

Sorry for the dumb newbie questions

Matthew

 

Regular S models did, JCW cars kept on using the N14 well into 2012

 

2011+ S models have N18 engine, late 2012+ JCW has N18 engine, anything prior has the N14. Easiest way to tell N14 vs N18 is if you can see the 4 individual ignition coil/wiring. N18 has a cover over the ignition coils, N14 does not.