I'm looking at a 2007 MCSC and it appears the owner drove the car quite hard (and admits to it). He has gone through two sets of front and rear brakes in 40K miles and a clutch at 24K miles! I was told that mini will only cover the clutch one time on the minis, even with the extended maintenance plan (The car is still under the factory warranty). I've been told a clutch can be $1800-2700 depending on whether it needs the flywheel or not. Ouch!

Other than that, there was no mechanical work done to it (actually thats a lie, it had a throttle valve recall done). Oil was done pretty much on schedule at 11K and 28K, but those sound like long intervals to me.

What do you guys think? I like the car, but am worried that this guy either drives really hard or sucks at driving. The price of the car is not bad and has options I want, but the usage scares me a little.

 

Did you have a mechanic or the dealership check it out?

 

My local dealer did some recon for me. The car is not local to me.

 

I would strongly say get a MINI specialist or a MINI dealer do a pre-buy....there is so much to know about these cars that a regular garage will not catch....
Most owners that i know do the free dealer oil change at the dealer, and then do a oil and filter change halfway....to ensure a long engine life....since 10+ is kinda long in my book. Look at the buyers guide on Motoringfile.com, it will help give you some guidance....as for the hard driving....that is up to you, your gut, and your pocket-book. If he says he drove it hard....get a really good deal, and put some money away for fixes due to the owners style IMO. Many cars have gotten clutches under warrenty because of noise....but 2 full sets of brakes in 40,000.....sounds like lost of gas/break/gas/break........HARD!!

 

Looks like it was a member on here! Hot ORANGE Tang guy. It sold on ebay, so no worries. The search for a Cooper Convertible S continues!

 

That, is a good idea

btw: If you were going to have the clutch work done, I would have recommended that ALL the wearable clutch parts be replaced....incl that flywheel no matter how good they thought "it looked".

IMO - Sorta pointless of them to put that old one back in there after all those labor related costs, which is about 90% of the entire bill

 

Ok thanks. Makes sense!

Went to look at a MCJCWC tonight (Hope I have that acronym right). Looked nice! Will drive it soon.

 

oooh a John Cooper Works Nice.

 

I have a '06 MCSc, bought at 28k. Dealer records show that brake pads/rotors were replaced at 26k and original run-flat tires as well. The OEM pads are small and quite soft, so it's not rare for them to wear down that fast, especially with a lot of stop/go driving.

$1800-$2700: that's a lot for a clutch job. Can others who have had this done confirm the price?

Oil change interval on Minis are usually every 15k or 1yr, which ever comes first. 15k is quite long, unless it's driven only on highway speed with little traffic. Stop/go, short trips and cold start frequencies contaminate and wear down the oil quickly.

The only problem I see is the car was driven hard. A lot of wear/tear can happen if the engine is not warmed up properly.