I'm looking at an 09' with 25k miles and it is out of maintenance warranty but still has manufacturer warranty. I'm pretty set on it, and a call to the mini dealership confirmed that it was serviced for the waterpump recall and timing chain somewhat recently.

To summarize it drove great, but the brakes felt weak and the clutch engaged very high off the floor. I took a glance at the pads and they 'looked' ok. Is the clutch engagement and brake feel normal? Is there any other way I can check to see if the clutch is on its way out?

Should i be concerned about anything else considering i still have factory warranty till next year for any big potential issues? I was considering taking it to the mini dealership for a ppi as well if possible. The car is not located at a mini dealership.

Thanks in advance!

 

I have a 2013 MCS and the clutch engagement is very high. Also clutch pedal is higher than the brake pedal. It takes some time to get used to. It is hydraulic and can not be adjusted. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you, any insight on the brakes? Didnt seem to grab all the well, do the stock MCS's have so/so brakes?

 

I would definintely get it inspected. As has already been pointed out, the engagement is pretty high. Not sure what you mean about the brakes being "weak". The fluid should have been flushed and changed by now, if not that might be the issue. Otherwise an inspection would find any normal wear issues (pads/rotors). Unfortunately, there really is no sure fire check to see if the clutch is on its way out. I know that when my clutch went on my 08, I first noticed it in the cruise control of all things! When I would engage cruise in sixth gear and then accelerate using the push buttons, the cruise control would fault out. I thought it was an issue with the CC unit itself, until I tried mashing on the gas in sixth gear and noticed the revs jump and then drop back down as the disc grabbed. This happened at about 90k on the car.

 

The clutch does engage high off the floor on my 08 MCS. My brakes grab hard and tight like they should. There should be no soft mushy feel to your pedal. Check your brake pads for wear and have Mini or a BMW repair shop look at your brakes. At 25k for brakes seem premature to me. I replaced my fronts around 78k and rears around 95k.

 

Thanks! Ill try to test drive it once more to get a better feeling for the clutch and brakes

 

If they have another mini there, see if you can take that one out as well to compare. Best if the comparison is done with a new one so you can listen/feel for differences.

 

Definitely get clutch confirmation....just had my 2007 estimated for ~$3800 for replacement with flywheel...good luck!

 

Depending on how long the car sat, the brakes may need to be scrubbed a bit. If I leave my car in the driveway for a few rainy days, it takes a few hard stops to get the strength back in the brakes. The MINI has a pretty good braking system. Maybe see if the dealer can get you a 1 year warranty against major problems, if you are worried about the clutch?

Have fun,
Mike

 

I drive an 09 MCS. Primarily hwy miles. Really very little city. Fair amount of country miles. Front brakes and rotors at 27K. Rear brakes and rotors at 38K. If the car has 25K miles it probably needs new front brakes and rotors. Rears soon. Mini brakes are soft and you burn through them pretty quickly. I switched out to Hawk ceramic and Ebc rotors.
Clutch has always engaged kinda high.....

 

Thanks guys, actually ended up buying the car in October and have already put about ~2,500 miles on it! Clutch was actually fince once I got adjusted to it and the dealer let me know that the brakes are fine as well but the front rotors got a little warped from the car sitting for a while. Will need to do some hard braking to correct that...otherwise love it

 

That's crazy that you had to swap out rotors at only 27k/38k. My original Mini had 49k miles before I traded it and still had original pads and rotors(and no sign of needing to replace quite yet when I did trade it in). Yikes.