We are considering getting a used Clubman S 6MT, and now we have a few questions:

- what year to *avoid*?

- what should we look out for when buying used?

- any major maintenance at 30k or 60k service?

Thanks

 

I will be selling the Clubman pictured here,look at my gallery.To answer your question,I don't know of any years to avoid.mine is a 2008 with ,44000 miles.Q Pm me for any further information.

 

On my '08 Clubman S, I have had the club door not open due to the lower button not pushout entirely thus the door would not open. Both metal trim where it says "Mini Cooper" at the bottom of each front door peel off. The side rear window trim between the rear glass and body has peeled off. I had one changed due to warranty but the other peeled off after warranty. The front lighter housing no longer stays secure, it's a very weak design. Front Seat back adjusts are in the weirdest inconvenient spot in the center jammed against the middle arm rest, you have to raise the middle arm rest to use this adjustment. Other than that the car runs pretty good, I get 30mpg without even thinking about mileage. Easy to modify with aftermarket parts as long as you stay away from most of the Alta crap. Make sure the mini didn't go thru the 15K oil service interval. There is no way oil lasts 15K in a Mini Clubman S. I have to change every 3-4K miles as oil seems to burn faster. I would look for another car than the Clubman.

 

Avoid the vinyl seats (look for cloth or Punch leather), maybe look for one without the problematic pano-sunroof. Possibly look for 16" instead of 17" rims (better tire/ride options with the 16s, little loss in performance).

 

I just bought mine from Mini Ontario. I picked up a 2010 Clubman S 6spd and in love with it!

Are you buying certified pre-owned or are you going private party?

I would say any time you buy private party, you need to be very careful in making sure everything on the car looks good and works. Take your time and check everything out. Also subscribe to a Carfax account and make sure you know the history of the car.

I'm not sure if there are years to avoid... maybe the first year they came out, which was 2008. That's my own personal rule of thumb; to avoid first year run cars.

Mini maintenance is every 15k oil changes with major service intervals at 30k and 60k. Like gcaspelich mentioned, i don't trust that interval either. From the research i've done before and after buying the Clubman, changing your oil every 5k seems to be recommended by owners as the S models tend to burn oil. Dealer oil changes are expensive and DIY oil changes seem relatively easy with the right tools. I just bought a 6 pack of oil filter cartridges for $80 shipped to my door off minicarparts.net. Irvine Mini wanted $41 each filter!

Good luck in your search. If you decide to buy from Mini of Ontario, go see "Stormy". That guy is awesome!

 

If you are going to DIY your oil changes, may I suggest buying your oil filters at Amazon.com , $8.41 and free shipping with Amazon Prime.

 

Thanks for the link. I opted to spend the extra few bucks to buy the OEM filters. I think Minicarparts.net sells the Mann filters for about the same price too, just without free shipping.