Hi everyone, im currently in the market for a mini, i have been interested in them for years and finally decided to go for it, i found an 07 mini cooper s that i think is perfect. but i don't know what im jumping into, Ive had vw and other Japanese based cars but this is something totally different and want others opinions on the subject of minis, ive tried doing research on there issues which is not as easy as one would think. i just am unsure of what im getting my self into. Attached is the one im looking at its an 07 with 36k on it.

 

Looks nice. Low miles. Is it a good deal? What kind of options? What's the interior, etc?

 

I agree...nice looking ride with low miles.
I would try very hard to get the extended warranty thrown-in just as a CYA. MINI's are like any used car purchase...your success is rather dependent on the care that the previous owner took of the car. Get a carfax and see if the previous owner's service records are in the glove compartment. If not, ask to see service history which can be read off of the key fob (by any MINI service department). Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

Not a bad deal, there asking $19k, its got the the cold weather and convienance package, black leather interior, 6speed manual, and the wheels i adore. it says its equipped with run flats but im unsure of that. i haven't driven the car yet seeing how its 5 states away.... but it is exactly what im looking for in a mini.

 

That is very good to know, i will have to check into that, thank you for the advice. like i said before i dont know what im jumping into and ive owned cars that were money pits, lucky for my self i am my own mechanic. i just want others advice on there minis. i absolutely adore minis and have always wanted one but ive heard misc things about them that have stopped me in the past

 

Several things if you can.

Most things on a used vehicle can be noticed by a trained eye if you know what you're looking for. Abuse, neglect, cover-ups; they all leave a trail.
Check the paint around all the doors, look for paint overspray; that's evidence of replacement body-work due to an accident.

Check the heat shield around the turbocharger and on the fire wall inside the engine bay; is it discolored? Brown? Removed?
If so, the car you may be looking at has been hot-rodded all over town.

Check the oil, coolant, the undercarriage for scrapes + dents, any leaks, and anything and everything to get the upper hand on the sales person or owner.
Double check all components and you'll find out everything you'll want to know on the car.

Other things to look for:

Oil Sludging / Low Oil Problems: The biggest failure in terms of negligence has been the oil level, and oil change frequency on these cars. Since the oil system affect the Vacuum Pump, Timing Chain tensioner, turbocharge feed and return lines, and critical engine bearings, a low oil condition can make for serious problems down the road. Read the oil dipstick, see if the oil is low or is extremely thick / chunky; if so, maintenance has been neglected and you'll want to proceed with extreme caution if purchasing the vehicle. If sludging occurs, you could eventually have problems with: 1.) the Vacuum Pump seizing which will shear off the camshaft timing sprocket and grenade the engine. 2.) Timing Chain tensioner not applying proper tension on the timing chain, allowing the chain to skip teeth on the camshaft sprocket, therefore ruining the engine. 3.) Turbocharger bearings not be supplied with proper oil flow which will cook the bearings in the turbocharger, causing seizure.

Timing Chain Tensioner [1.6T - N14 / N18]: When you first fire up the vehicle and there's a significant metallic rattle on the passenger side of the engine, that's the sound of a loose timing chain. The parasitic "Cold-Start Rattle" you will read about refers to the lack of proper tension on the timing chain or the chain stretched out beyond proper specification. There's been reworking of the timing chain tensioner and a replacement is easy to come by, but it should be required. There's also a TSB regarding if the chain is out of spec, it can be replaced, sometimes even out of warranty. Check maintenance history and any open TSB's at a local MINI dealer.

Valvetrain Coking / Carbon Build-Up: Since the turbocharged engine use direct-injection (DI) versus fuel-port injection (FPI), the fuel is directly shot into the combustion chamber. Because that is so, there's no fuel washdown on the backside of the intake valves. Due to the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system on the engine, oil vapor is pulled from the valve cover into the intake system and can condense and build on the back of the intake valves. Serious coking of the valves will lead to obvious power reduction as the valves aren't properly closing for the combustion (power) stroke of the engine. What can be done about it? On the preventative side, make sure you're driving the car to bring it to proper operating temperature; short trips produce more vapor condensation. Once up to running temp, don't be afraid the bring the RPMs up to the rev-limiter of the engine; the 1.6T's love higher engine speeds, as it'll burn off most of the oily residue on the valves and keep the engine 'clean'. You can also install an oil catch can which with a passenger side PCV block port, will pull oil vapor through a condensing catch can first before being reintroduced into the engine. And finally, if the coking is so bad performance is hindered, the MINI dealer can do a walnut-media blasting service that uses crushed walnut shells to blast off any baked on carbon build-up; expect that service to cost several hundred dollars.

Check Engine Light (CEL): Make sure all of the emission control circuits are intact and there are no Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) stored in the OBD system. This includes the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor, the ignition coil, Secondary Air Injection system, and other sensors. Check to ensure no other fault codes in other modules, like ABS, SRS (airbag), etc.

ABS System: Test drive the vehicle and perform a Panic Stop to ensure that the ABS system is in proper condition. If not, expect to pay a fortune to replace the system... avoid those at all costs, unless you've got a buddy in the business.

All Electrical Accessories: Make sure to nit-pick all of the accessories; power windows (all switches), power locks, AC, cruise control... the works! There's been some issues in the early 2nd-Generation models and the kinks are still getting worked out.

VIN Service History: If you're not convinced of what previous maintenance has been completed on the vehicle, grab the entire VIN number off the dash, and bring it to a MINI dealership. Their database will give you any insight of service maintenance records, if it's been brought in any MINI dealer stateside. You could use that information against the selling party to negotiate price if there's something that's required for replacement / service.

As for putting down the cash: Play hardball with the price! Flash the cash; that always puts you in the offensive and gives good results. Offer to pay what you want for the car, not what the seller wants. If they say "no", walk away from the deal. There's other cars out there; and besides, they (and chances are good) they'll meet your reasonable price before letting you walk away.

Really the R55 / R56 / R57 / R58 / R59's are good; consumer reports tend to be negative because of faults due to lack of proper ownership.
Honestly, some owners have run into problems, but that was due to abuse and obvious neglect on the car.

With the 2nd-Generation here's what you're looking at...
Let's break this down to see both side of repairs:

1.6T - N14 / N18:
* timing chain tensioner - oil sludging will produce failure and destruction of vavletrain
* vacuum pump seizure - oil sludging will produce failure and destruction of valvetrain
* turbocharger - oil sludging will occur if neglected or abused
* oil level / oil consumption - MINI specs consuming 1 quart per 1000 miles is typical; always keep engine oil to proper level
* carbon build-up - due to "grandma style" driving habits; can use catch-can to reduce oil vapor into intake system

All relatively easy if you take care of the car.
And if they do fault out, and you're mechanically inclined, you'll have no problems doing the many of the repairs yourself.

Best of luck!

- Erik

 

thanks guys, for all of your advice, only issue i have now is the cars in south Carolina and im in ct, its the only one i found that has suited all my requests in a mini, and getting rid of my suv first... other than that im set

 

In September I purchased a very nice 43k mile 2007 mini S fully loaded with warranty until Dec 31 for $16,700. IMHO, there's some "fat" in the price of the car your looking at. My strong recommendation is that you negotiate a firm price and get it in writing BEFORE you go to the dealership. If you wait until your there, they will recognize that you don't want to go home empty handed after coming all that way and will be less willing to come down on price.
When you agree on a price, have them send you a correspondence with the price and a full description/condition of the mini as well as a statement that they will refund your deposit if the car is not as described! Good luck!

 

Since you are in CT, it may be worth a few minutes to register at www.nemini.org and list your preferred specs for your MINI in the "I Need" section of the forum. You may be surprised what comes out of the woodwork...and you won't have to take a plane to check out the car! Good luck whatever you decide.

 

I'll second what VV said. If nothing else, you'll have an in with us folks over on NEMINI once you do find the right car in the right place!

Carmax should be able to transfer the car up from SC for a couple hundred. Considering how hard it is to find a used MINI with everything you want, I'd say it's worth the risk. I drove 3 hours one way for my first and 1.5 hours for the second (3 times too, because the dealer was a PITA). Their cars are about as clean as used cars come too.

 

Hey Z06, is your 05 still for sale?

 

BlueFox, what an awesome post/reply. Perfect example of how cool a message board can be. Thanks a ton, from myself and any other newbies who've benefited.

 

I was wondering... what are you looking for? I mean like details... ask because I just spent a few months looking around for a MINI and I saw quite a few local that I thought were very nice and possible better deals than what you have discribed.. I saw several MCS at Prestige MINI in North NJ that were 2009-10's at that price point. These cars were MININEXT cars with warranty and everything. PM me and we can talk I you want.

 

If you looking to mod this car, it gets expensive. Not compared to Japanese aftermarket parts which tend to be a lot cheaper ...

 

Yep.

 

+1 I bought my 07 MCS with 13,000 miles for 19k

 

well i found a 07 cooper s here in my area, its white, has 64k on it and i test drove it today they want 16k for it, i dont think thats too bad, only thing i noticed it made some racket when he started it up before we left... i dont know but it was an awesome test drive. other issue is it has black wheels on it that the center caps say jcw but dont think there real.



Nvm i found a link for the wheels

http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/...116778428.html

 

The white mini S you found for $16k looks like a very nice car. Looks to me that the black wheels are stock S wheels painted or power coated black from the factory or after-market ( not sure which one). Does it come with a warranty? Is there someone that can check out the noise in the engine for you? I'd want to understand if it sounds normal or not.

 

Be wary of the "racket" you're hearing - it may or may not be a timing chain issue, especially considering it's a higher-mileage '07. There are plenty of good videos around that characterize the kind of noise a bad timing chain on an R56 will make, so a quick Youtube search would probably rule-out an issue pretty easily. Another option you could pursue, considering Carmax's generous return policy and (very) close proximity to New Country, is to drop by MINI service once you have the car and have them pull up the service records on the car. If you're suspicious of a timing chain and they can't find any records for service related to that problem, I'd return the car or at least demand that Carmax address the issue, since I do believe they offer some kind of warranty with their sale.

Don't let me scare you off though - these cars make plenty of normal "racket" too. I'd just hate to see you have to replace a timing chain (or worse) out of your own pocket despite all the aforementioned safety-nets. Also, I'm ~20 minutes from Hartford if you're interested in a non-professional second opinion.

 

Yea if about 20 min for Hartford as well, but im waiting to hear from the place thats suppost to be buying my truck, if they dont this whole deal is a bust...

 

If it's got 64k on it they should have already done the front brakes (about $500 at a shop). See if they did the rear brakes too, cause it's probably getting close. My 07 has 54k on it and I think I priced it as a $13k trade-in, in very good condition. It was $30k new.

 

PM sent.

 

"Racket" is something to take notice of...can be as simple as a broken muffler bracket to a knocking rod...I would check it out again, paying closer attention to where the noise comes-from...good luck!

 

real nice mini man! im from RI and i too bought an 07 MCS loaded just last in year i around this time. i was worried about the car maintenance but ive been issue free. im sure you should be fine just ask to make sure if you still have warranty. when i first bought my mini i bought it to a mini dealership they told me i didnt have warranty anymore. then last week i brought it in for the recall and they tell me i have 2 years left of extended warranty. so just ask and make sure so you dont have to spend extra money

 

well it definitely came from the engine, i just watched a vid from youtube about the mini on cold start issue, and it sounds exactly like that only didn't last as long
im going down Saturday to get the car, and going to mention it to them, is this a serious problem?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRINvbMz3h8