Looking for some owner's reviews on the Clubman
 

Howdy!

I'm looking into a new or slightly used Clubman S and I was hoping for a few comments on your experiences, likes/dislikes, etc. I realize this is a message board, so I'll be getting feedback mainly from folks who love the car. That is fine - I know on the other message boards I frequent, folks aren't afraid to offer the negative aspects as well as the positive ones.

It might help to learn a bit about me and what we need it for...

I essentially need the car as an every-other-daily driver. I drive 20 minutes to work with half being city traffic and half being highway. The drive takes 20 minutes if I go/leave before traffic hits and 40 minutes if I wait. The car has to carry our 120lb bullmastiff who goes to work with me everyday. I prefer cars which are fun to drive and a manual is almost a requirement.

I'm currently driving a V70R which is about as sporty of a wagon as you can get, south of $100,000. The wagon has 275,000 miles on it, and while I love it, it is nickle and diming me to death. Just dropped $1150 on calipers, rotors, and pads (who knew you could slap Porsche brakes on a Volvo???) a few weeks after dropping $600 on a fuel pump. Clearly it is beyond the days of being a practical daily driver. I plan on keeping it for poor weather highway drives (the R wagons just eat up highway miles!), as a winter car, and for the girls in my office to run errands in.

My every-other-daily-driver is an Exige S240. It is as raw as they come, but just a riot to drive everyday. My wife and I take turns driving it in all weather except under the threat of snow/ice. Her other car is a ES lexus.

I've looked at everything from another R wagon to an A3, to a RX350, to other small SUVs. I'm not a real fan of SUVs, and I really only like cars with manual transmissions. If you have to spend time to get there, you might as well enjoy it, right?

I went by and looked at a few Clubmans today at Baron BMW. No sales staff approached me for the 30 minutes I was there which was somewhat annoying. The car looked big enough for the dog, but my visit up a bunch of questions I'm hoping you could answer.

1. Can the dog fit? I realize I need to take her by, but if anyone else out there has a big dog, how do they like it back there with the seats folded down?

2. How does it do in the snow? I'm a believer in snow (not all-season) tires when the think crap hits. I would imagine this would be fine, but I thought I would ask.

3. What are the big issues that people run into? A guy across the street has an earlier Mini and told me that the front ends on them are crap. Expensive crap that isn't covered under warranty and melts down for everyone. Is he just crying over his bad luck?

4. What is insurance like?

5. What are folks paying for new Clubman Ss?

6. What are folks paying for used Clubman Ss that are still under warranty.

7. What would you tell folks looking into buying a Clubman?

8. Mini has some GREAT lease offers out there. I've never leased a car, thoughts on leasing?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Jeremiah

Our Great Dane does fine riding in the back of our regular Hardtop. She can even [barely] stand up, and she likes to lay in the area behind the folded seats where it's a little lower.

We've had our Clubman almost a year, I'm very happy with it. Don't have a dog, but with the seats folded there's a lot of room in back, I think yours will fit. Leasing is up to you. My wife was in a lease and she put a lot more miles on the car than the lease allowed, she got killed. And you don't seem to be afraid to keep cars for the long haul, so why lease? If you replace your ride every couple years it might make sense.

I've never heard of these having front end problems, and I've been reading this forum for about a year. Haven't had mine in the snow yet, but from what I've read it does OK with real snow tires.

Hmm, let's see...

1. Well I have a basset hound, and she's too overweight to get into any car, so not sure.

2. Just bought a set of Blizzaks last weekend and will have them on the Clubman in two months or so, but otherwise, the STL service guys all said that all you need to do is get a winter set and use your head and you're fine.

3. Hmm, I think its hit and miss with the dealers. I bought my first MINI on my 16th birthday at the Dallas dealer and they were great to work with. I ever spent any money on service items there. However, the STL dealer was really hard to deal with, they weren't very accomodating when it came to warranty stuff.

4. Let's see, I'm a 20 year old male with no previous driving record, no accidents, and live in a big city...I think its pretty cheap, I don;t remember my quote off the top of my head, but its bearable.
5. With and automatic, $28,000 new.
6. Check a local dealer's website, they will usually have a list of inventory new and used.
7. ...In my opinion, wait till next Spring for the Countryman. Larger and AWD.
8. I'm not sure with a MINI.

The dog will fit. I have a yellow lab, he has lots of room in the back, with the rear seat folded down.

I bought mine in May, so I haven't driven it in the snow, but my experience with front wheel drive cars tells me that it'll do just fine in the snow, with winter tires on it.

The insurance is no different than the insurance on my Volvo V70 T5.

I've heard that the series one cars had a problem with mushrooming shock towers, but that has been addressed with the series two cars.

I bought mine off the lot, so there were a bunch of options thrown into the deal, like the automatic transmission (I wanted the paddle shifters). It was way cheaper than the one I designed at the MINIUSA site, and had many more features. Plus, I drove it home and didn't have to wait weeks for it.

I looked at used MINI Clubmans and they were only a few thousand dollars less than a new one, not enough difference in money for me to justify giving up a couple years of warranty and most the free service warranty.

They don't bargain on the price, but they will add stuff like floor mats, mud flaps and other dealer installed items if you press them.

If you only keep cars for a couple of years then you might consider leasing it.
I keep my cars for a very long time, for me, leasing is a bad idea.

Dave

Had a 14 year old black lab until we recently had to put her down for health reasons. She loved the clubman it has enough room for just about any dog to move around.

With real snow tires the car does great I even get thru 10+ inches of snow piled at the end of the driveway from the snow plows. Normal street driving of up to about 6 inches is possible if the car is not lowered.

Really read thru the forums here there are many that complain about things not being covered under warranty but if you look at the actual reasons it probably should not be covered or the owners attitude is not congenial so the dealer just wants to screw them. Bottom Line: Be nice to your dealer an they are nice to you.

Less than what i was paying on a 11 year old dodge 1500 pickup. but that will vary widely depending on where you live.

Cant help you there. have had mine for two years now and still love it.

see #5

It is the most fun car I have ever driven and used as a daily driver. Great car for many things. Also take a look at this thread to see what really can fit in a clubman.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...a-clubman.html

personally i would never do that but it is personal preference.

Good luck with your search and purchase.

As a Clubman owner and a huge Lotus fan.... my thoughts:

I am sure your dog will fit... I have put a ton of stuff in the back of mine (no dogs, but huge boxes for work.

Snow, I can't say yet, but it is front wheel drive so it will do better than my Jaguar did I am sure. Probably not as good as my Land Rover Discovery will and has, but still good.

Not issues with mine yet in the 5500 Miles I have put on it in the 2 months of ownership.

Insurance.... mine is $20 less every month than my 03 Jag XJ8 was so I am happy... that and I get better fuel economy.

New I paid 28k-ish for mine

I Looked at an 08 set up the same as mine (3 of them in fact) and they all had 25k miles and were only 26k for them... I figured for 2k I would be better off with a new one.

Look for or shy away from? I hate the run-flat tires, they are rough riding, but being the cheap bum that I Am I will wait till they were out before I buy new ones.

The only thing I don't like about my mini clubman is the split door blocking my rear view. I am getting better at just using my side mirrors, but I like to see what is behind me at times.

just my .02 worth

1) The dog will fit. We get our black lab and our huskie in the back of ours.

2) We live in your area and use proper snows. No issue at all in the winter. We use the Dunlop WinterSport tires because it is mostly just cold here with just the occasional snow/ ice day.

3) As posted earlier Gen1 have mushrooming problems. The newer cars like the R55 Clubbie have no issues.

4) Insurance is going to vary a lot with your circumstances.

5) You should be able to get $1-2k off a car on the lot. Expect a $500 off if you order.

6) I have not checked the used market.

7) We came from a MCS convertible. The extra foot room for the kids was what we needed. Unless I push it past 9/10 the driving is the same as the hardtop. The boot has so much room under the load floor that you can grocery shop and have your dog on top still.

8) If you plan on keeping for a while purchase. MINI also has great finance rates from time to time.

Now commenting on Baron. This is the fourth MINI we have purchased from them. I recommend dealing with Liz there. She is great to work with and owns/ drives a MINI. The dealership is low pressure. They realize that most people want to explore without being pestered by a salesperson. Go inside and say hi and they will help you all day long.

There is also a great KC MINI club to have fun with also.

Joey mentions the split rear window. I don't mind it at all. There is more sight lines than in the convertible and way more than my trucks with trailers. It will hide motorcycles that are behind you though.

1. I'm sure the dog will fit -- I can fit my entire drumset in the back of mine.

3. No matter what some people will say on this forum, MINIs are not very reliable cars overall, which is why they receive low to average grades on all the major reliability reports out there (Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, etc.). CR does not recommend buying a used R55/R56 anymore and has it listed as one of the most unreliable used cars. You might very well get a good one, but this is definitely something to keep in mind.

4. Insurance is fairly high as the S is considered a sports car.

7. It's the most fun I've ever had driving a car and for this reason I don't want to sell it yet, but the build quality and reliability are simply not up to par. I'm going to keep mine and hope that it fares well (though I've had many niggling little problems since I bought it). You might get a good one, but like I said the reliability issues are something to keep in mind. They are not only problems that you see in forums -- they are problems that you see in major reliability reports. I'm not being negative at all -- just being a realist! The car has many quirks which you either love or hate; but I do love my MINI and hope it won't fall apart on me. :)

Got my Clubman (not S) at Baron MINI 2 weeks ago. They were very helpful.

I got a Clubman off the lot so it wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it was close enough and it was discounted $850 (plus another $750 for wheels I didn't want) and also got the 1.9% financing and the free premium package, but I had $1400 of dealer accessories installed (bluetooth/ipod and armrest).

So far I'm plenty happy about it other than when I took it in for the accessory install they gave me a Clubman S as a loaner! Now I wish I could've afforded the S. ;)

EDIT: I'm not affiliated with Baron MINI, they just happen to have the same title I use for my screen names. :)

I'm thrilled with my justa clubman, but I've only had it 2 months. Your current insurance company should be happy to give you a quote so you'd know the difference; my insurance went down as my MINI has more airbags than my 10 year-old Lexus.

Size shouldn't be a problem for your dog, they really are quite spacious. Why not take him or her down to the lot for a look :)

Haven't driven mine in snow, but it's front-wheel drive, so I'm guessing it would be fine if the need ever arose. Tires are going to be the big factor there, so if you're going to have dedicated snow tires, you'll be fine. From what I've read, MINI's handle quite well in the snow.

While I haven't encountered any major problem -- and hope I never do (knock wood), there do seem to be a few "reoccurring themes" with the Mk II MINI's in general: high-pressure fuel pump failures; carbon build-up in the engine; and the panorama roofs sticking in hot weather. The first two issues seem mainly confined to vehicles with the turbocharged engines; and carbon build-up seems to be held in check with the use of Top Tier (rather than budget) premium gasoline, and products like Sea Foam. The latter issue, of course, could occur with any vehicle equipped with a panorama roof, seems to be "luck-of-the-draw," and appears to be fairly easily corrected by the dealer. Speaking from my own experiences with my MINI, I would say quality and reliability are good -- at least so far...

I found mine to be a bit pricey in a relative sense; it's actually about the same as a C5 Corvette, and I don't have any accidents/tickets. But mine is a JCW Clubman, so that may up the ante a bit...?

The Clubman S is plenty of fun, but if you really want the go-fast-mobile (and judging from the rest of your garage, you may), get the JCW Clubman!

I'm with "Schatzy:" I'm not a fan of vehicle leases.

1. Dog should fit no problem, i have had two 75lbs in the back of mine with the seats folded down.

2. Sorry South Texas so no snow!

3. I have not run into any real issues yet, but there is a forum that discuss stock issues people have experienced.

4. My insurance was $18 more on a 6 mo policy, I moved from an Infiniti FX35 so that was not really a surprise.

5. I paid around $27k on a 2010 Clubman S that they listed for $31k and also had them throw in new 17" tires about a month ago. (caveat they could not locate the color i originally wanted without ordering a 2011 so i used that as a bargaining chip.)

6. I could not find many during my search to make a comparison.

7. My only complaint it is hard to see out of the back windows of the vehicle. Fun as hell to drive and gets awesome gas milage.

8. Didn't look at the lease but I understand they have some good deals right now.

All i know is that it was definitely worth it.:thumbsup:

Oh, yeah. Forgot about that window up issue... From what I've been able to gather on this forum, the recommended "avoidance tactic" for that is to regularly run the windows fully down and back up...?

From what I've read here, dealer satisfaction is most definitely hit or miss. We are leasing two Coopers --- An 08 MCS and a "just a" 09 Clubman and have found the St. Louis dealership just awesome to deal with. The MCS has had a couple of warranty repairs (most recently the HPFP issue) and both cars have been in for regularly schedule maintenance. the treatment by service has been outstanding.

Now back on topic: I'm the primary driver on the Clubman and would recommend it highly. I got it specifically without the turbo as a cost savings measure and most likely won't make that decision again. The slight loss in MPG isn't worth missing the get up and go you get with the turbo.

The extra 10 inches in space with the Clubman is well worth it on long trips and I'm sure your dog will appreciate it! You can fit a ton of stuff in with the back seats down.

I've not had any issues in the snow with just the regular tires but St.Louis really doesn't get much of it.

We leased both as we were coming off other more traditional vehicles and weren't sure how we'd like the Coopers. Having had both for over two years I wouldn't hesitate in buying if the numbers make sense.

Steve

See my comments in blue, hope these help you

Hope you will find what you are looking for

We have over 56,000 on our '08 Clubby S. No reliability issues at all. (yet). We have four dogs, but they're small and travel in cages - works great! With winter tires, snow is a blast! (for me, anyway) Gas mileage is super, even when towing my classic Clubman Estate (26 mpg). Most others' comments apply.
Get one and enjoy!

We've had a Clubby now for a few months, along with the MCSes I've had for almost 3 years.

1. We fit two 70-lb goldens in the back seat (not folded down), so your one 120-lb bullmastiff should be comfy.

2. We haven't had the Clubby through a winter yet, but my MCS is not too good in any decent amount of snow with the factory run-craps. But you said you believe in snows, and from what I hear these things are fairly unstoppable with a good set of winter tires. I had Blizzaks on another car, and they're like having 4WD.

3. Sounds like your neighbor just had some bad luck; I've never heard of any problems with the front ends on these cars. The two most frequent issues I've seen are the high-pressure fuel pump and the timing chain tensioner in '07-'09 S's. The first will cause the car to run absolutely crappy, and I think it throws a CEL; the second will sound like you have a diesel for a few minutes after a cold start, which if left unfixed for too long can cause early wear of the timing chain and possibly valve train damage. While these seem to be the most common, they're not frequent, and MINI usually fixes both under warranty.

4. Insurance is reasonable; as I recall, mine went up just a few $$$ from a 4-year-old PT Cruiser. It went up a lot more when I folded up my wife's Vue over the winter. :roll:

5. New Price? Best bet is to run through the configurator at miniusa.com.

6. Used price, I can't guess -- but KBB.com is usually pretty close to what dealers are getting.

7. Look around at as many other MINI's as you can and try to get a feel for what options you have to have vs. options that would be nice to have vs. options you just flat-out don't want. If you like your music to sound good, definitely go for the Harman-Kardon sound system.

8. We've got the modified lease on both our MINI's. I pay close to what a regular loan payment would be to ensure that we'll have some equity when it's time to trade; but the option to have the lower payment is nice for those months that are particularly tight.

Although I cannot offer any input... i have to say.

v70R... i love crazy wagons. They are no joke.

exige 240s... that is my dream car and I am absolutely jealous (btw... why the heck did the change the elise!)

Here's my two cents.

1. Can the dog fit? I realize I need to take her by, but if anyone else out there has a big dog, how do they like it back there with the seats folded down?We have a German Shepherd that rides all over with us but she rides in the back seat.

2. How does it do in the snow? I'm a believer in snow (not all-season) tires when the think crap hits. I would imagine this would be fine, but I thought I would ask. No snow where I live.

3. What are the big issues that people run into? A guy across the street has an earlier Mini and told me that the front ends on them are crap. Expensive crap that isn't covered under warranty and melts down for everyone. Is he just crying over his bad luck? Only had ours for 10 months and I'm not sure what that guy down the street is talking about.

4. What is insurance like? Less than my BMW.

5. What are folks paying for new Clubman Ss? Mine was $32,500 list and I paid $31,500.

6. What are folks paying for used Clubman Ss that are still under warranty.

7. What would you tell folks looking into buying a Clubman? It sits low so expect rock chips and its front wheel drive so expect torque steer. Some switches are in strange places taht you never get used to i.e. windows.

8. Mini has some GREAT lease offers out there. I've never leased a car, thoughts on leasing? I've leased many cars but bought this one, I wouldn't lease a used car.

Maybe the window switch location is an English thing, My Jaguar has the window switches on the center console. It is actually a good thing, you won't get broken wires at the door hinges, when the car has a few years on it. You get used to the switch placement after a while anyway.

If you get a new MINI be sure to get the Clear bra, it takes care of the rock chip problem on the front.

Dave

Just to add another thing here....

He has a Lotus with the big dog.... hmmmm not many places to put the dog...

Second, his one and only post has now gotten 22 responses and not another thought from the OP?

bueller.... bueller.... bueller

Dogs definitely fit and my labs love it! Go for the S. Did great in Pittsburgh during a big snowstorm but don't turn on the sport button in snow or ice! Sport button is awesome in dry conditions! Go to poochstyle.com and get the blankets that attach with suction cups to the windows to protect the interior from dog hair and claw damage. Nice company with a terrific quality product and personal service. Rusty and Raven love it!

We have only had our Clubman for two weeks, so can't speak to some of your questions, but in that two weeks we have taken our three small dogs to the beach for a week long vacation.

I bought a 2009 with 8K miles for about $11K less than it would have cost new.

My insurance is the same it was for a honda civic and my ins company calls it an economy station wagon even though it is a works edition.

The dogs have ridden both in the back seat and in the back with the seats folded down and we had enough room for three small dogs, a macaw(in a travel cage) and weeks worth of luggage with no problem other than having to take a few minutes to figure out the most efficient way to load the car.