This is addressed to those of us who, despite a few problems and expenses, still love their Mini, especially their Mini Clubman.
Ever since I bought mine back in March of 2008, I've had the attitude and plan of keeping it, ongoing. As I look at future Mini offerings, I could certainly own one of them, but I just would prefer to drive exactly this size and featured, car.
One major point is that having spent $30k on this one, and approaching retirement, I am done buying new cars unless I crash my Clubman and I get some insurance help, in which case I'd be fine with an F56.

But, that said, I want to keep and enjoy this car for the duration since it is so close to being the perfect car. Mine is the non turbo, so I do deal with the lack of scary acceleration syndrome, but it is quite peppy and handles like... nothing else, with the sport suspension and the best tires available.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there is in a similar situation. Who loves their Clubbie like I do, doesn't want the size and money 'upgrade' and would be happy to drive a healthy R55 forever?

Production is over, so we are driving an extinct species, or maybe subspecies. To me that makes it a little bit more exciting to be pushed out into the future with just the momentum behind us of seven years of sales; enough to ensure plenty of parts and mods and even a good selling market if need be.

I am taking the position of keeping the Mini as close to new as practical within my very limited budget. The Mini gets cleaned and vacuumed way too often and can hardly be distinguished from a new one, short of a fine tooth comb approach.

Anyone else thinking along these lines?

What are our techniques to keep the Clubbie feeling new and fresh? How do we keep our enthusiasm up over the foibles of Mini ownership ( timing chains and thermostats) vs. the joys (just driving it!).

Clubman or Hardtop, feel free to chime in.
Id like this thread to be one of wanting optimism to overcome the broken hearted repair stories that seem to plague our beloved vehicle, and to comment on ways to continue to enjoy the perfect blend of size, driving fun, classic styling, drivers' community spirit, and that sense of person/machine synergy that we have all known at times.

My Mini lives in my heated garage/office which also houses my stereo, kayak, bicycles, and library, so it's in a space that I like to share. This goes a long way to wanting to keep an old 'friend', but we all have our special connections to our cars.
What's yours?

 

I also plan on keeping my MINI forever. I have a 2010 Clubman S, it has been trouble free since I bought it new. I keep it clean and change the oil every 5000 miles.

Dave

 

Great to know that DD.
I too do my oil about that often, or certainly twice a year.

I'd like to get into what we love about the Clubman, or what we'd hate to do without if we sold them.
For me it's Mini handling and style with real back seat space, and room for dogs in back.

I've seen your posts, but forgot your color Clubman for the moment.
I kept my Continentals for two years, but had fun switching to Michelin Pilot Super Sports for summer.

 

My wife's 11 Clubman bought in Sept. will probably be the last car we buy. I will be 76 when it's paid off she will be 72. We have a Ford Expedition and Toyota Tacoma PU. Putting maybe 10K on the Ford and Toyota a year and probably less on the Clubie the next will more than likely be a lease. The Clubie just truned 30K this week so will have less than 70K on it when it is paid off. We have no clue what type of vehicle we will get next time, depends on our health I guess and if I am still vertical.

 

It's Chilli Red.



I'm still running the Continental runflats but they are about done, I'll be getting new wheels and tires soon.

Dave

 

Mine is one of the few factory JCW Clubmans imported to the U.S. during the inaugural year (2009); best estimates put the number as 1 of about 100. So I was planning to hold onto mine as one that could have future potential as a collector's vehicle.

 

Mine is a 2010 Club S that I bought just over a year ago with 7000 miles. I have put an additional 35,000 on it. It has been trouble free. It is the only car that I have ever owned that is the most fun and practical at the same time. I am planning on keeping it till the wheels fall off. Hopefully, that will be many many more years in the future. Heaven forbid that it gets stolen or crashed, but if that were to happen, I will look for a 2014 version.

 

Forever is a long time, but we plan to keep ours for the foreseeable future. It's paid for, my wife loves it, our kids are grown, our dog fits, so no need to change.

 

I took delivery of mine in June of 2008 and don't have any plans of getting rid of it. The run of r55's is done and they won't be making any more of them.

 

Great topic.

This concept plays out in my head all the time. Can I keep it forever? I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my 08 clubman. I just bought in in November of last year. It has 68k on it currently. I love it! I've had an SUV for the past 20 years (2 jeeps and an xterra) they pale on comparison to the Clubman fun factor. They have such a personality, I've joined the mini cult.

I loved my 2002 Nissan Xterra, I thought I was going to keep it forever, but now that I own a mini I feel like I wasted time driving those SUV gas hogs all those years. There is no car out there that I know of that has such a presence. Once I set my sights on a mini, there was no second choice. I must have looked/researched over 300 mini' and mini clubmans on craiglist. They drive like to other and simply make you smile.

I am definitely on the "keep your clubman" list!

 

Yes, my Clubman is the first car that I have considered keeping for a very long time. I have taught myself to replace the brakes and thermostat well as change ATF fluid. A very satisfied feeling in doing so that I never had before. In fact I noticed some paint peeling on the frame and plan to put it up on ramps in summer and scrape and paint it to ward off rusting. I have never contemplated doing that to any other car I owned !

 

I'm on board... Planning on keeping my 14 S Clubbie forever too.It's the end of an an era.

 

I plan on keeping my 2008 Clubman S bought in June 2008 until it stops running.

 

Mine is staying with me until one of us dies
We used to swap in and out of cars about every two years, and have been through a number of 'nice' cars. I'm just two months short of 5 years, and still have the same feeling every time I get in: "I love this car". I still look for any excuse to just go out an motor. I've had it on the track, and loved it (performed extremely well amongst a bunch of Porsches & BMWs); and I've piled 3 people, a dog, luggage for two weeks, and driven on 750+ mile trips multiple times. This is the best car I have ever owned - hands-down. We are now a two-mini family, and will buy a third when our daughter graduates college.

I'm in

 

I plan on keeping my Clubman for a long while. I brought a 2014 Clubman back in June and I have already put 8,000+ miles on it. I also own a 2008 Acura TL-S... My TL is the car that I do plan to keep forever.

I really do enjoy my Bond St. Clubbie. I love the leather interior and my dog does as well. It is so easy to clean. I just purchased the Minidomore tow receiver hitch. I can't wait to install it and go away for a long weekend with the lady, the dogs, and our bikes.

 

That's the plan!

 

Great supportive accounts, folks. I see some echoes of my own thinking in the stories above.

One aspect of keeping the Clubbie is to maintain the automatic tranny and its silly 'lifetime' oil. Once a year my indie garage does a partial drain and refill on tha while I'm getting my oil changed.

I also addressed the timing chain time bomb and found that my slack was beyond spec a bit and paid for a new design tensioner bolt. As Systemlord and a few others pointed out, I probably should have just done the whole cassette while it was open, but perhaps I'll do that in three years time, if she holds together otherwise.

I also like to do a few techniques to keep the Mini feeling new, such as a new custom plate (I've done two), fun options such as the Mini beam puddle lights (there is no greater car fun to be had for $40), and keeping the best tires on it.

This coming week get a new suspension out of necessity but I'm looking forward to experiencing the Koni FSD ride that seems legendary.
Keeping the Mini like new makes it feel like I still have my new car :-)

 

Just got mine after Two months and I love it. I havent taken out my fully modded BMW e93 since then!!! This car is so quirky and fun to drive. I plan on keeping it for quite a long time as the new offerings that are coming out seem to be increasingly larger in length. Plus the uniqueness of the clubbie makes me love it being there are not too many around my area. I plan on keeping it and giving it to my son in 7 years as his first car. I take care of my cars so it will look pretty much the same condition it is today. It is by far one of the best car that I have owned. I chose the Justa instead of the turbo models for longevity and less issues when it gets older in years.

 

I have a 2011 S. About 30,000 on it. Love it. I have a good indie garage that took care of my previous car for 15 years until someone ran into the car (she was fine - the car was not). I plan to keeping it.

J

 

A few weeks ago my wife's Clubman S burned an exhaust valve. Dealer quoted us over $6k to fix it up. That was getting into the money territory of trade it in and get a new car. (Maybe that was their scheme?)

As we bounced ideas back and forth, when it came to replacing her Mini, she said, "But I want MY car. I designed it and watched it make the trip over here. It's me."

So, here I am a couple of weeks (part-time, an hour here & there) into the job of pulling the head, getting valves & guides replaced, and generally spiffying up the engine compartment with all new rubber bits. All this while my other projects sit idle, but, it is for HER Mini. Besides, I'm learning an awful lot about this car the deeper into it I go.

Still HATE the fact that you need a special computer hookup to read and clear codes, or reset the various nannies in the system.

 

Quoting Scott13:

"Yes, my Clubman is the first car that I have considered keeping for a very long time. I have taught myself to replace the brakes and thermostat well as change ATF fluid. A very satisfied feeling in doing so that I never had before. In fact I noticed some paint peeling on the frame and plan to put it up on ramps in summer and scrape and paint it to ward off rusting. I have never contemplated doing that to any other car I owned !"

This is a big issue as the subframe tends to rust with road salt, despite my trying to power wash it clean often as possible in winter. I need to get it up on a lift and sand + coat the under frame. Does anyone know just what's to be done here?
How bad can it get before it matters?
Can we stop it entirely?
When I ask a commercial operation they talk about undercoating everything, which is not what I want, and how do I know they'd sand off the existing rust?

 

Me too. My '13 Clubman now has almost 40k miles, without trouble. As long as it keeps going without significant trouble, I'll keep it -- no interest in getting another car. I enjoy driving it, and it has enough room to haul plenty of stuff when necessary. My wife is still driving the Miata we bought new in 1994, and my son has my 2000 Honda Civic, with nearly 250k miles on it. Find a good car, and just keep it! (Socks I change daily.)

 

I like it for now but forever is a long time.

 

I keep cars that I like. Heck, I still have my first car, a 1952 MGTD!

I also have a '69 MGB GT, an '80 MGB and a '76 Jaguar XJ12 C.

Non British cars include an '82 GMC S-15 with over 600,000 miles, a '92 Ford F350 with 225,000 miles, a '98 Volvo wagon with 220,000 miles.

Then there's the 2010 MINI, which just turned over 25000 miles.

I have never traded in or sold a car, I maintain and rebuild them as necessary.

Dave

 

600K on the GMC? I had an 82 S-10. Transmission went at 8K. Traded it in on a Mazda RX-7.