Somehow, what I thought would be a simple purchase process has turned out to be a lot more involved.

I wanted to purchase a Mini as my fun car, and use that for excursions, short trips., etc., and just exploring the countryside. After looking at the different models, I figured that the Clubman would be my best choice for carrying luggage, handling, etc. What I decided on was to try to find a 2013-14 JCW, or a 2011-14 Clubman S limited edition of some sort, like the Hampton or the Bond Street.

That's proven to be a real chore. The nearest JCW Clubman is some 500 miles away, and I missed out (barely) on a nice Hampton edition Clubman S at a dealer about 120 miles away. There is a local dealer with a Bond Street model, which is quite attractive, and I've driven it. BUT, no turbo. I'd pull the trigger right away, if it were an S model. Having driven a JCW coupe, and comparing that with the regular Clubman is not a fair comparison, but I thought that the Clubman could benefit from some additional HP. I think that I'd feel better about the Bond Street if it were possible to boost the HP a bit, but I've not seen much available for a naturally aspirated engine in the searching that I've done. Anyone seen any practical way to do this? I'm not optimistic on that, but I'd be alright on 10-20% extra.

At any rate, pickings are slim here in the Midwest, and trying to get something out of the ordinary in way of a Clubman is proving to be a lot more work than I thought it would be. I do have another dealer allegedly checking with lease customers to see if they're planning on bringing the vehicle back. We'll see.

Thanks, and still looking.......

 

" 2011-14 Clubman S limited edition of some sort, like the Hampton "


Yes I really like the Hampton. Which is rare and nice interior. Can add some JCW bits down the road. Take a look at this MINI Cubman S Hampton edition.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...body-kits.html






JCW Clubman if you can find one, pretty rare. And you will pay more for this version , people hold on to them.

Good luck

 

I've seen a lot of threads where people regret not going with the S because of the power, so you're on the right path. Just be sure you're searching everywhere that can be; cars.com, autotrader, craigs list, carsdirect.com, etc. Search across multiple MINI forums and post in their WTB sections as well. Just keep looking and the right one will pop up eventually. Good luck!

 

About 4 years ago I was in the hunt for a 2002-2003 BMW 5 series. It took me 6 months to find what I was looking for. At that time it was a 9 year old car. What you are looking for is quite a bit newer. My advice is once you know what you want, just be patient and enjoy the hunt. Don't pull the trigger until you find what you want.

 

We wee following the PelicanParts suggestions above, checking multiple ad sources for a Clubman S. The end result: we found our perfect solution just a few hours away but I was ready to travel.


My last used purchase was a BMW E36/5 in LA, about 6 hours away, and before that an MCoupe that we bought in San Antonio and drove back to SanFran. This time I was looking at one in Mesa, AZ and one in KC until this close, and better choice, turned up.


I suggest doing the same thing you would do when buying a house: list the "must-haves" and then the "it would be nice if" items. Our purchase didn't have the HK sound system, rear fog light, but does have a great Tuscan Beige and walnut interior.


A little patience should do it: when I looked in my local CL there were over a hundred Clubbie listings.

 

No reason to even consider a Justa Clubman. S or JCW or you will regret everytime you drive the car. Good luck on your search.

 

Thanks for the recent posts! I'm trying to take my time, but being located in the midwest does introduce a few complications on finding stuff within a workable distance. I might have found something close by (2014 Bond St. Clubman S), but am reluctant to say much more for fear of "jinxing" myself. What complicates that process is that I will be out of town for a week, and the dealer wants $1,000 non-refundable deposit to hold the vehicle before I've even seen it or driven it. Not doing that, so I will take a calculated risk and call them late next week and set a time for checking it out and taking it to the local Mini dealer for a VERY thorough evaluation. Wish me luck on this!

Thanks!

 

I hope that your patience pays off... I brought a Bond St. Clubman last year and I love it. I made a big compromise between power and gas mileage. Do I wish that my Clubbie had more power??? Of course I do... but I am happy.

 

I also just bought a used 2012 black clubby non-S, base. I also would like more power (came from a 300 hp car to this 120hp). The S is much more powerful. At high revs mine has power. I don't carry heavy loads.

I get 39 mpg highway at "high speed", and 31/33 ish in the city, 36 if I try really hard. Another consideration is I don't face timing chain stretching (supposed to be rare on non-s), high pressure fuel pump failing (we don't have one), carbon cleaning (we don't need it only for direct injection), or oil line to turbo plugging up impacting turbo (we don't have a turbo. In 2011 the S N18 motor came out that addresses the timing chain (mostly) and maybe the oil line. I am happy with my choice.

I am not an expert. Some content in the response may be wrong.

EDIT... uh, traded for a 2011 S Clubman with 15,300 miles. I will miss the milage (I got 50mpg, 49mpg multiple times on a 40 mile stretch. But the power is seductive

 

OP, you're in the right direction with sticking with the N18 motor Clubby. I've driven both the JCW and the S and couldn't justify the price difference. As far as power is concerned besides the larger Brembo brakes there's little difference in overall performance over the JCW vs the S turbo. An JB+ plug & play tuner, torque arm bushing upgrade, aftermarket air filter and rear swaybar will wake up the "S" performance. I get an average of 32 mpg highway with all my mods.

2012+ JCW Clubmans are much harder to find but so are the themed Clubman's.
Good group of members here on NAM willing to help you out. Goodluck in your search.

 

Had two S's, an early '03 then early '07. First ran for 133,000 mi. before suspension bushings and shock wear caused me to sell it off. The '07 had issues with turbo (carbon build-up, crankcase breather blowing oil into engine wiring harness, timing chain stretch) all of which ganged up on me around 97,000 when it got traded for the '13 (Justa) Clubman I have now.

Other than the hills where I live now I don't mind the power loss though if I could spend $400 - $500 & gain more torque under 3,000 RPM I'd do it. Dropping into 3rd gets me up the hills without being passed too much.

And I HAVE carried heavy loads - several - during my move. Took the passenger seat out for the extra room then did a few 210 mile trips fully loaded (weighed everything that went in, including the OEM roof rack & packed solid luggage pod) with 1/2" wheel well clearance.

Never scrubbed a tire.

 

Well, maybe I jinxed myself. The 2014 Bond St. Clubman S that I mentioned in an earlier post did not pass inspection. I looked it over carefully at the selling used car dealership, and was concerned that there was some form of front end damage that was not reported via Carfax. I drove it from the used car dealership to the local Mini dealer and expressed my concerns with this. After checking things out, they reported that the driver's side door and some of the rear panels have been repainted. The door is out of alignment, as is the hood. All lift pads are missing, and there was underbody damage on the passenger side. Both front wheels were bent on the inner lip, which explained the vibration that I felt at certain speeds. Needless to say, the inspection stopped right there, and I returned the car to the selling dealership immediately.

In the meantime, the Mini dealer told me of a 2009 JCW Clubman (46.5k miles) that is going to become available, which would offer my favorite red color, but this also means the N14 engine. Per the Carfax printout, it is supposed to be equipped with the GP kit, which I assume means that the dealer who sold it originally added a GP suspension kit. The salesperson wasn't entirely certain about this. There is a 2014 CPO JCW available at a dealer some 500 miles away with minimal miles, but taking the time to go that distance is proving to be a bit of a problem, particularly if I were to go there and could not work things out with the dealer. I just don't feel right about buying a vehicle sight unseen.

Anyhow, still looking.........

 

Glad you did the inspections!

 

Thanks for the update, the Clubman might have the GP2 front seats or belly pan or something. Have not seen a R55 with the GP2 suspension kit we sell yet.

Good luck on the search and post up the pics when you find one.

 

LCranston- pending where the CPO 14 JCW is located you could possibly find a knowledgable Mini member here who's willing to inspect the car for you. If you have an iPhone you could FaceTime them and look over anything you're concern about the vehicle. I'd hate to see you miss out on great car if it the inspection pans out.

 

Great suggestion from Hamptup! For the JCW Clubman on the East coast, however, it may be too late, since the vehicle doesn't appear on the Mini dealer's website anymore.

Anyhow, motoring on with the search......

Thanks to all for the comments in the meantime!

 

Welcome.

Must have sold, I would call them, they might be selling it at another sister dealership. They do that sometimes.

 

I did follow up with the East coast dealer, and the 2014 JCW Clubman was sold in the last couple of days to a buyer from the New York area. They will have a nice car.

Anyhow, back to looking......

Time to motor on!

LCranston

 

Don't hesitate to purchase a vehicle some distance from you. Four years ago I was in the hunt for a 2002/2003 BMW 530. I found one that was a 6 hour drive from home. I located an independent specialist that fortunately was within 5-10 miles from the selling dealer and arranged for the selling dealer to take it to the indy for an inspection. I had already agreed on price with the dealer but the sale was contingent on a successful inspection by the indy. The inspection was completed and provided to me electronically. I was another 6 hours further away due to a work obligation so at the end of that week I detoured my return flight and went to the selling dealer, did a test drive, bought the car and drove it home.

Once the finance department realized I was driving the car 6 hours they sped me through the paperwork and didn't try to push any of the other garbage they normally push.

Just make sure you know what you want and you know what you are buying. I searched for approximately 5-6 months before I found this car, and lost a few as you have, along the way.

For this to work your selling dealer has to be agreeable.

 

In all fairness there are a lot of us who are glad we bought the Justa because of it being considerably more reliable than the S or JCW. It all depends on what's important to you. One of the advantages of being old is it doesn't take as much to get the juices flowing.

 

Thanks for the update, hope u can find another one.

 

I am brand new here and a brand new owner of a Clubman (just picked it up last night!). I was searching the net for an answer about my tire pressure light and happened upon this post.

I am not sure if it would meet your requirements, but Mini of St. Louis has a Clubman that you might want to call about. It is a 2012 or 13, Hot Chocolate with cream leather seats. I am pretty sure it was an S (but forgive me if I'm wrong, totally new to the Mini world). They just got it in and don't have it listed yet. It was parked next to the one I bought and was a real temptation- a beautiful color combo! I am thinking the price was going to be low $20s and the mileage was around 40,xxx. I know they were going to list it as a certified pre-owned.

It might be worth a call to get more details.

Edited to add a link-
It is now online- http://www.miniofstlouis.com/Vehicle...-MO/2627510243

 

All these posts about a JCW clubman are starting an itch.... My 09 has 100,000 miles now. No major issues so far. I agree with widening your search. Then you have an excuse to drive it home..... Road trips are what clubbier are built for

 

Thanks to daddyandmadi for the link! However, the times that I've checked, there's no Clubman listed.

In the meantime, checked with Carmax, and found a 2012 Clubman S Bond St. about 120 miles away. However, they will not let me have a Mini dealer inspect it without buying it first. Yes, I was told about the 5 day return, but after reading some reviews of Carmax quality control, and the bad experience with a local used car dealership, I do not want to have to go back to them in order to get my money back and to have to mess with that process.

I'm going to the local Mini dealer tomorrow to look at a 2009 JCW Clubman, but have serious concerns about the N14 engine. I do have a hidden agenda, however, and that is to also test drive a Paceman S. I'm getting pretty discouraged about finding a specialty Clubman S or JCW, but have seen that JCW Paceman models are out there for 2014 and 2015. This may be a fallback. We'll see.

Anyhow, time to motor on.....

LCranston

P.S. Thanks to all who have chimed in! This is a great forum, and the help and advice offered has been appreciated.

 

I found my last 2 BMW's at Autotrader.com and my quick search just now returned 533 listings so there are some opportunities. You could do a distance-restricted search if you don't want to deal with the distance issues, or go by price, transmission, narrow it to Gen 3, whatever you really want.

Those two BMW's were not close: MCoupe in San Antonio and the next one in LA, so hours of drive time, but everything worked out, except some body damage on the 318ti that the seller did not mention but we found during an inspection at the dealer. Then it was my choice: still worth buying or negotiating or walking away.