I will start saying this car is fun to drive and is so easy to park. But I've owned it for less than 2 years and it has been less reliable and more expensive to fix than the Jeep I had before it.

Below are all the repairs I've had over the 21 months I've owned it. It's cost $6400 so far and I'm concerned it will just continue. I get all the regular maintenance done at the dealer and do not drive it very hard besides stop and go traffic. So is this that normal or did I get a lemon?

2009 Clubman S - Bought Feb 2015 with 54k miles
-Throttle wiring harness
-Water pump
-Turbo oil feed/return lines and gaskets
-Vanos timing and idle unit
-Vacuum pressure converter valve
-Thermostat and hoses
-Door speaker blown
-Rear door latch failed
-Burns 1 quart of oil every 1000-2000 miles
-Cracked valve and head requires machining

 

Only thing I'd suggest is ditch the dealer and find a reliable independent. Dealers don't trouble shoot and fix problems. They throw new parts at problems which might solve the problem or not. No idea where you reside so use this link to find an indie near you.
http://www.minirepairshops.com/

 

I agree. I've had my '08 for only 3 months and had to do nearly as much work as you did but spent less than half as much fixing it by using a local indie mechanic. You DEFINATELY want a BMW or Mini specialist, but someone who will approach it thoughtfully.

When the dealer looked at my car which was leaking from nearly every place it could, they said it needed a new engine and quoted me $8K to fix it or $12K to replace the whole engine... I was all NO WAY! I took it to my indie BMW mech and he found VERY specific things and have me a replacement timetable based on severity for less than half the quote. Then after complaining at the guy who sold it to me, he sent me to HIS indie mech who had even lower prices and saved me another $1k in labor alone!

It sounds like you DO have a troubled car bu I'd question a cracked head, especially if the dealer is saying to machine it. You can't machine out a crack, you have to replace it. If it runs, chances are the head is fine and there's a valve problem or something instead. Take it to a BMW mech at least.

 

I believe he said there was a cracked valve not a cracked head. Cylinder 2 was only holding 20 psi and should be holding 180 so the head is getting machined.

 

Huh... That sounds even weirder to me. Typically when you machine a head, the machinist is either milling off a little of the bottom end of the head because of damage along the block to head seal interface, or is smoothing out the top of the combustion chamber up inside the head because a timing chain broke and allowed the valves to drop into the head and get hit by the pistons and scratch up the inside. Anything "cracked" has to be replaced because unlike plastic bodywork or glass, a crack cannot just be filled with more metal... well, I take that back. It CAN be filled with more metal and machined smooth at the surface, but it seems like a really inefficient way of doing it. Usually one does metal filling on things that are either of great and unique value like a wedding ring or an heirloom teapot, but something functional like the head of an engine where a structural imperfection can cause unending issues seems strange to me. I mean, I've heard of doing this to the engine on a SHIP where it would have to be drydocked and a hole cut through the hull to replace the thing, so it's a practical matter, but on a car?

I'll be very interested in hearing how satisfied you are with the result. I once had a Honda Civic Si that my timing belt broke and I had a head crash where all of the valves got bent and some machining work had to be done to put it right... the thing was a little "off" after that because the compression was a little lower and a bit less efficient. It still ran smooth, but kind of less responsive and peaky afterwards.

 

Is this repair not called a valve job?

"Valve Job is a repair to resurface the mating surfaces of the poppet valves and their respective valve seats. Valves should be inspected for damage which will prevent proper operation and could lead to catastrophic failure. Cracking, pitting, channeling, and burning are typical problems leading to valve replacement. Even hair-line cracks make a valve unusable."


My bigger point was the volume and frequency of these repairs. This valve job will be warrantied for 2 years but I'm worried the transmission or some other expensive repair is just waiting down the road.

 

Sorry, the way I read it, it sounded more "irreparable" than a valve job, which it probably shouldn't need, but obviously could...

Minis are expensive no doubt, but if you're willing to do the small stuff yourself, baby the oil and use the more pricey gas, and choose your major repair shops carefully, it shouldn't be any more expensive than any BMW. The list of repairs you've had to go through is pretty expansive though. It's like you got ALL of the typical things that most Mini owners will have to do one or two of but not ALL. The only reason my Clubman has had nearly as many things needing to be fixed as your list is it was abused prior to my buying it. I would hope that regular daily driving with the occasional spirited trip isn't going to break it so easily.

 

Getting here a little late, i guess...If i were you, i would not spend that much specially with a dealer. I do most if not all my repairs myself including an engine rebuilt and a "valve job". the cost? less than 1k in parts and coffee