I've been lurking and reading on this site for months and I think that I'm finally ready to get myself a mini. It has to be a clubman as I have a small daughter to transport, and unfortunately used clubmans are non existent around here. I've therefore been watching the autotrader out west and I've located what seems to be two great deals on some 08 clubman s. Now this is where I need your help. What beyond the cold start chatter do I need to look out for? I will be flying out to check out the cars, but I'd like to ask the dealers as much as possible before making the flight, as I don't want to be coming home empty handed. Here is a bit of info between the two cars as well.

Car #1 2008 MCCS. http://www.autotrader.ca/a/MINI/Club...0042612440965/. It has 19k miles (30km), Its being sold by a infiniti dealer

Car #2 2008 MCCS. http://www.autotrader.ca/a/MINI/COOP...2004826105311/. It has 15k miles (24.6km), It is being sold by a lexus dealer.

The only differences that I can tell (I'll call mini Canada tomorrow) are that car #1 has the two tone leather/cloth interior and some JCW upgrades (not sure which ones), while car #2 has upgraded summer rubber and rims, with winter tires on factory rims (big bonus as I would be buying these otherwise).

So what should I do beyond getting a car fax for each, and calling Mini with the VIN #'s. both still have warranty so anything that is currently wrong would be covered by mini right?

Should I be scared of the cold start chatter as I live in Winnipeg and it can get down to -40 in the winter, and buy a MCC instead to avoid the problem? I can get a slighty used 2010 MCC that is mini next with only 4k miles for only 2k more.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

I recently bouth a terrific 2009 Clubby. I simply love it. As far as the cold start chatter is concerned............not to worry. My first stop was very knowledgable MINI tech who informed that this is very typical. It is simply a matter of cold oil moving more slowly toward the valves. If I had let chatter discourage me, I would not have this great Mini in my garage.

 

What I have heard referred to as "cold start chatter" is caused by a defective cam chain tensioner. It has been a common problem in the turbo ("S") MINIs, starting in 2007. The "cold" part refers to the engine's startup, not the weather. Check with MINI's service/manufacturing history on these two cars to find out if the improved cam chain tensioner has been installed.

My 2007 MCS had this problem, plus icing in the turbo intake in below-zero (F) weather.

These two problems led BMW/MINI to buy back my 2007 MCS, and led me to buy a 2009 MCC. My non-turbo Clubman has performed flawlessly in all weather extremes; its only drawback has been its power, which is about on a par with other small cars in the 120 HP range, and quite adequate in normal driving. Its fuel economy has been excellent, averaging 35+ MPG, in mostly city driving.

 

I have a MCC with 88k miles on it. I have had no major problems.

As with any car I would suggest that you look over the service records to make sure it was maintained well. Somewhere on the forum there is a Mini buying guide thatlist thinga to check before buying.

 

The issue with the cold start "rattle" in the S models is the chain issue. I had mine replaced under warranty and have not had any issue. I was also told about the cold oil suggestion. I was told this could also be caused by the fact that the S models do burn a bit of oil because they are turbocharged. It is definitely something to consider. I currently have a MCS and have always said I should have gotten a non-S model because they tend to be much less problematic, but I love that turbo sound. After hearing about the issue stated above with frozen turbo problems, it looks like a good idea to get a MCC.

As for the cars you posted here:

#1: This car looks like it has the JCW stage one kit (cold air intake, exhaust, engine tune, badging). It also has a built in sub woofer, which is awesome because the standard systems are not amazing. Overall, it looks like a great car.
#2: This one has some great options. Also, with the extra tires for winter, it would be a plus. That will save you some cash right there.

If it were me, I would go drive the MCC one you found and compare it to whichever one of these you find the best. If you want the power, I would go for MCCS #1, but if you do not need the power and want great fuel economy with great utility, go for the NEXT MCC.

-Johnny

 

If you can buy one from a MINI dealer that is Certified MINI Next you will get an extra dose of protection and 2 years/50,000 miles more on top of the factory warranty.

I don't seem to see where you live* but if it's a possibility check out MINI of Peabody in Massachusetts. I just bought a 2010 MINI Cooper with 4,000 miles for an excellent price and my warranty goes out until April 2016.

*Ok, I now see where you live. Winnepeg. I'd check out a certified MINI, if possible, no matter where it is.

Factory warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles which ever comes first and be aware that the date starts from the date the car was sold or was "in service" so a 2008 could have been sold in 2007 - which should show up on the Carfax report. Warranty is different from the free maintenance which is 3 years or 36,000 miles.

 

thanks everyone for the great feedback. I was able to talk with the lexus dealer today about car #2. He's sent me a carfax and its clean. He's also told me the mini dealership that it was bought from (Yaletown mini) and the one that its been serviced at (Richmond mini). I'm going to call both of them tomorrow morning. /the cat went into service may 2008, so it still has 1 1/2yrs of maintenance.

I also managed to find a local used clubman s for sale, well officially a lease takeover. I checked the car out this afternoon and it seems in perfect health. The owner also happens to be a bit of a mini nut, as he has three other minis, both a R53 and two original coopers.

Now my question is, how easy is it to transfer a lease, and what future options do I have for purchasing additional warranty if I wanted to?

Thanks again for all of the great feedback. Laardilla21, thanks for informing me to the JCW kit

 

Is there a buyers guide for the second generation? I know about the great one for r50/r53s, but I've never seen one for this generation of coopers

 

I'm almost positive there is. I printed one out when I bought mine. I might have found it on anither Mini forum though.

 

Car #2 has manual A/C controls and less options (seems like), so I'd skip it. But it's personal choice, of course...

 

Transferring a lease will be difficult to impossible.

However, what you can do is buy the car out of the lease, then finance it. Have the owner call the leasing company and ask for a payoff - that will quickly tell you whether you should consider the leased car - I'm betting you'll find the amount owed to be far in excess of what other similar cars are selling for.

 

Actually, it's very possible here in Canada!
I did 4 times so far and for different vehicles. Last two for MINI. They are leased by BMW Canada Financial. Cost of lease transfer is approx. $1100 (ouch!) here in Ontario, and I had it both times paid by "original owner" ()...
All cars I found through "Leasebusters" on line...

Now, I love my current 2008 MCS Clubman that there is a serious idea to keep it next spring (2012) when the leas is up...

The same thing for warranty: as long as car is "under service records" with MINI dealer and all services were done on time, you can extend the warranty before the end of original term. On top, you can get the MINI NEXT from the dealer! This is all a fact as my fellow club member just completed the buy out/extended warranty (after the lease) for his 2007 MCS here in Ontario...

 

$1100 for the lease transfer fee, ouch is right. I figured that it was around $500 or so.

I spoke with the dealer that has the cooper clubman with the JCW package today (sounds like stage 1) and it turns out that this car used to be one of the press cars that BMW would lend out to the media during its introduction. Is this something that should concern me? Wouldn't automotive journalists be rather hard on the vehicle, or am I just being paranoid. It sounds like this could be the car for me, so I just want to make sure that everything sounds right before I book an airline ticket to go out and see (and hopefully buy).
I asked the dealer about the updated chain tensioner, and he is looking in to it for me. The car has been sitting on their lot for close to 60 days and it sounds as if they are willing to move on the price a bit. They already dropped by almost a $1000 a week or two ago, but it sounds as if there might be close to another $1000 of wiggle room.

 

Not sure if this helps but I just purchased a 2010 Clubman S with 9400 miles with cold weather, convienence, sport and premium pkgs for 22,900 USD.

 

So I've had a few discussions with both mini Canada, the mini dealership where it was purchased and serviced, along with the dealer selling the car.

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on vehicle #1. Its a 2008 clubman S, with 30,800km (19,000 miles). The car has comfort, convience, chrome, sport, travel, roof liner, media connect, aftermarket sub and amp, and the JCW stage 1 package, which was installed at 16,000km (10,000 miles). They are asking 23,900 CDN (mini prices are way over inflated in Canada, this car new cost $37k)

The car just had the brakes down at mini, I had the salesman start the car over the phone for me and the car doesn't sound like it has the cold chatter, the mini dealer when they serviced the vehicle 600km ago said that everything looked great on their end.

So is there anything else that I should look out for? The driver's door was replaced due to a small accident (I was sent the report).

Should I also look at getting extended warranty for this vehicle? It will maybe see 10,000km per year (6000 miles) and I will track the car once or twice per year.

Thanks for all of the feedback so far!

 

...

 

well some more of my concerns were eased today after I found out that the car seems to have collected under 600km as a press car before it was sold to the mini dealer who then sold it to the original owner. I realize that this could still be 600 hard miles, but my wife's matrix had accumulated around 500 test drive km before we bought it and we haven't had a single issue with it over the 3 1/2 yrs that we've owned it.

I know that I'm running the risk with the JWC package that it was purchased by someone who drove it hard, but the maintenance has been stellar, and the service rep remembers this car and spoke highly of it (even know he had nothing to gain, and even drove me away from the clubman that they have for sale.)

I plan to fly out saturday morning, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

Any chance it was CPO'd during this transaction? It's quite typical here in US that a dealer would CPO a demo/loaner car before sale... but a non-Mini dealer may no know about it later. Although with only 600km, it was probably never titled and was sold as new. I'd ask for an extended warranty anyway, if you plan on keeping it beyond the factory one.

 

Good luck!

 

...

 

thank you for all of the extra bit of advice, I will definately take a close look at the body, at the interior etc. I am also looking at extended warranty options.

This of course is making me wonder if I should look at a new mini, well very close to a new mini (there are a bunch of mini next cars at a dealer). Is it worth spending 8 to 9k extra to get a 2010 mini cooper S with roughly the same options (sans JCW stage 1), and get 6yrs of warranty, 3 yrs maintance and such. I know it seems that I'm flip flopping, its just that I've never bought a car that was more than a 15 minute drive away that I couldn't get my mechanic to look over.

 

Depending on your savings when you purchase, I will explore buying a "lightly used, well maintained clubman with warranty" (I did ). Then get the extended warranty at the dealership. I saved close to 11K on mine (sitting for too long with other luxury cars at the dealership plus end of the year "clearance" ) and I am extremely happy with my clubman.
I will suggest for you to make all the numbers (including insurance, extended warranty, etc) on both: new, order the way you want it vs. one use one close or with more options (as in my case) and see how they measure.
Good luck

 

Excellent points ggonzale. Weigh everything carefully.

I won't repeat my recent buying experience, though I'd like to.

 

well I just wanted to update you on my progress. I made some more calls and decided to not pursue option #1 mini, the one with the JCW package. It turns out that as a press car it had accumulated closer to 2500km. As well the owner had just done the brakes on the car before selling it, which makes me think that the driver was very aggressive as it sounds as if you should be able to get more than 30000 km (19000 miles).

As for car #2, it has already sold.

My plan now is to pursue some 2010 mini next vehicles. There are a bunch of base clubmans with varying levels of equipment for $25,900 and 2 clubman S's almost fully loaded for $31,900 at a dealership. They vary in mileage from around 100km up to 6000km. All in all, they sound like great deals, as they all include 6yrs of warranty, something that was going to cost me close at least $3500 on a used 2008 mini. I'll let everyone know how my trip goes this weekend to see and drive them. I'm leaning towards a clubman S still, but saving $6000 might win me over.

 

I'm curious, how hard is it to bring a Clubby fom the States?