Hello Everyone,

Looking for advice...

I just purchased an 08 mini clubman s wednesday with 30k miles and had some concerns..

Overall I love the car. I did my research and decided that this car is the car that suits me. However I wanted to ask a few questions.

-How reliable has the MINI been for you? Generally speaking will it last long?
-The motor seems like its constantly ticking and when I am in motion it sounds like it whines. It drives like a champ and seems fine but I was not sure if this was just the usual sound. -.-
-How is the transmission? The clutch?

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Congratulations! Welcome to the Club,man!

In my case, pretty reliable. And with like everything else, if you take care of it, it will take care of you. On that topic, BMW's (of which the MINI is) seem to be less tolerant of neglect than, say, Chevys and Hondas. So keep on top of scheduled maintenance (although in the case of oil changes, the group wisdom here on the forum is to do those at 5-7.5k mile-intervals rather than the 15k recommended by BMW/MINI), check the oil and coolant levels regularly (very important in helping to avoid a number of costly engine-related problems), and you should be fine.

Yeah, the engine makes a bunch of odd noises when compared to 'conventional' cars.

The diesely "tick-tick-tick" is normal; that's the injectors at work. Sounds bad at first because it's different.

I'm guessing the 'whiny' noise to which you're referring is the turbocharger. I tended to overlook that noise at first, but as folks on the forum started describing the noise it makes, I began to hear it. Again, perfectly normal.

At the risk of putting ideas in your head (or sounds in your ear): One bad noise (which keeping the oil at the proper level should help you avoid, save for a bad tensioner) is the so-called 'death rattle.' That's the timing chain getting loose because the tensioner isn't, well, tensioning it properly. You can search the forum (or YouTube) and find videos posted that will help you to distinguish that sound from the normal 'rattles and ticks' of the engine.

Another bad noise for which you'll want to remain alert is a 'screeching' noise, often when you start and stop the engine. That might be a hint that your water pump is failing.

So far, mine's been perfect (knock on wood). But the JCW clutch is a bit more stout than the standard one in the Cooper and Cooper S models... Seems to be a bit of a craps shoot whether any particular clutch will survive to 100k+ miles or die a premature death -- I don't think anyone's really correlated a cause for the premature clutch failures...

 

Tim,

Great advice man! I really do appreciate it. Makes me feel no buyers remorse at all now. I'll check the youtube vids out asap.

Thanks again,

 

We got our 08 Clubman S auto in March of 08. We have only 23k miles on it and drive it mostly in a start-stop, hilly city. The car has made us very happy and continues to be a joy to drive anywhere.

However in Nov. 2010, 18,000 miles the car was running rough and the engine light went on. The dealer tried a cleaner through the fuel system but ended up taking off the head and manually cleaning the excess carbon off the intake valves. All the work was covered under warranty. I believe this happened because of the kind of driving we do most of the time. Your car will probably be fine for many more miles.
The mechanism that opens the third door just failed recently. That was known problem for some early 08 cars but took 3 1/2 years to be a problem for us. Small inconvenience compared to the fun and utility the car has provided for us.

Enjoy you new car!

 

I bought mine on Dec. 09 (almost new) and I am extremely happy with her. No issues other than the need to be careful with the premium gas I use in the Chicago area; some of the brands around use lubricants that my gem doesn't like but apart from that It is a great car

 

Mine is an 08 so maybe we can relate:

I had the timing belt replaced by mini because mine sounded like a diesel and was running rough... a known issue.

ive bent some oem mini wheels on michigan's battlefields they call roads,

ive been through OEM brake pads like justin beaver goes through 17 year olds, maybe she was 19 at the time... since i switched to just basic autozone pads i dont have plumes of black brake dust and they seem to be lasting twice as long,

I also had condensation problem with my intake that caused the car to go into limp mode on a cold winter day... again bmw installed a redesigned unit... no problems since

just keep an eye on her, fresh fluids, and oil changes you should be good for years....

 

May '08 delivery. No problems save 2 melted hood scoops and bent door sill trims. I change oil every 5k with Mobil1 or Mini oil and usually run seafoam through at that time too. I get the occasional weird rattles at cold ambient temps startups but I'm pretty sure that's the secondary air pump as it goes away once warmed up.

My 3rd door was sticking almost from the get go but some judicious application of Teflon grease cured that one.

 

They are definitely less reliable on average than many other cars out there, but many people get lucky. Just don't expect it to be like a Honda, as the majority aren't (according to all the reliability reports out there). My engine and electricals have been fine so far (I bought mine in Dec. 2009) but the build quality of the car itself has been somewhat hilarious -- rattles, clunks, windows leaks, etc. These are known issues for many MINI owners; but you might have a good one -- it does happen.

Make sure to clean the carbon from your engine with Seafoam -- that should help with the main problem of the turbo engines. Many recommend doing oil changes every 6,000 miles, too, which I've been doing as well.

My clutch is fine so far, though two different techs at two separate MINI dealers have told me that they tend to burn out faster than average, so keep a watch out for that.

Congrats, and I hope you stay free from problems.