So last year I very briefly owned a 2009 used clubman, but had some circumstances come up where I had to get rid of it very soon after getting it.

Fortunately, I was able to get back into the MINI world this weekend when I purchased a used 2007 Cooper S hatchback in Mellow Yellow!

The car has a lot of options that the clubman didnt have (heated seats, auto wipers, proximity key, driving lights, not to mention the turbo).

I will get some pics up once I do a few more quick and cheap visual mods to get it to my liking. I did have to put new tires on it, as the conti runflats were practically bald. I got Kumho Ecsta 4xs and the ride is much better.

The car was purchased with 63k miles. Any advice on routine maintenance I should look into around this mile point? I want this thing to last a good long while.

 

Vehicle history report, have the key read at a dealer to get a detailed print out of any recorded service history etc. Also, have them check for the turbo feed line heat shield recall, timing chain recall, aux water pump and high pressure fuel pump extended warranties to see if either have been done yet. Aside from all those things, you then have to think about the potential for a non-warranty, non-recall, engine grenading vacuum pump failure if that hasn't been replaced yet. Oh yeah, your overly complex and stupid priced thermostat/housing might start leaking so budget for that, it's also very common and not covered under any recall of any kind. Why? Because **** the customer, that's why. We're BMW/MINI not Honda, reliability? HA!

Oh yeah, and since it is a rushed to production Direct Injection motor, you will be paying big bucks for intake valve cleanings or buying the tools to do it yourself ever 20-50K miles depending on driving habits.

But seriously, aside from the negatives(which BMW/MINI engineered plenty of into the car), they're a blast to drive when they're not in the shop. Nothing handles like the out of the box, and even minimal suspension mods make them handle even way better.

 

Just visit a dealer and see if the water pump thingy (recall) and some chain tensioner thingy (covered even if warranty is over) have been done. I haven't done either one myself, and my car is about the same year and same mileage as yours. My HPFP needed replacing but nothing else has gone wrong. I replaced the front brakes and tires. And whatever the dude posting above me said it sounds like he's yanking your chain lol.

 

InjectedGT forgot to mention the valve cover which so happens to have the PCV valve integrated into the valve cover and these don't last much more than 75k miles on average. I have had my 07 MCS for less than a year, I have had the timing chain components fail, thermostat house fail, valve cover fail, gas tank sensors fail and soon will have either the water pump or gas pump go out. That's not counting my HPFP that might rear it's head at a later date! A used Mini Cooper S's are the worst car you could possibly purchase period, there high maintenance cars!

 

I didnt buy it for the reliability, I bought it for the driveability. I wouldnt have the same experience in a camry.

I will take it by the dealer to have them check it out.

Edit: I also bought an extended warranty that covers a lot of those things. If one thing fails it will pay for itself.

 

the timing set and turbo oil line heat shield are recall items. for those alone, i would have a dealer read your key to see if your car qualifies and if it's been done yet. worst case scenario, piece of mind when leaving the mini dealer with a service history. Worst case, it needs a new timing set, you drive a loaner for a day, and get a major service done for free.

 

Jprime84,

Looks like two of us are in the same boat. I bought mine in September- exactly like yours.

Call the Mini service dept in Raleigh and give them the last 7 letters/digits of your VIN number. He can tell you what has been completed on recalls todate. I wasn't too impressed talking to him.
Mine is put up for the winter (in NC), I'm in Gulfport MS now. There is a Mini dealer in Louisana with a great attitude. I'll pm (private message) you with his name and number if you want it. He'll answer any questions you might have.

I just bought the walnut shell blasting material/equipment needed to clean up the intake valve plenums when I get home in April and then I'll start that project. My Mini has 23k miles on it with new Michelins. My cooling fan update has been completed but it has two remaining recall items to be accomplished.

It looks like I'll be adding an OCC (oil catch can) also, at the time I do the walnut shell (carbon removal) blasting clean up-

I need to put a cruise control in mine and the guy in Raleigh wasn't interested in that. The guy in Louisiana said he could reprogram my ECU with no problem- I have the paddle shifters (which are required for this upgrade).

We are retired and this is the "Porsche" I never had (a pure toy)-- I can't pull it behind the motorhome, 4 wheels down, because it's an automatic. A dolly would be required and I don't want to get into that.

We'll have to get our two "Mellow Yellow" beauties together sometime-

Cheers,

 

I'm a new Mini owner myself. It ain't yellow, but I do have a yellow Vette. I've only dealt with the Raleigh dealer the one time. Made an appointment for the heat shield and timing chain campaigns. I took it down on the second of December and they installed the heat shield, but did not have the parts to replace the cam chain. I asked him how far out of tolerance the chain was and he told me they saw that it had the original tensioner and were just going to replace the whole chain cassette. As soon as the parts come in he will call me and have a loaner ready for me when I drop it off. So far I have no complaints with this dealer.
flashlightface, let me know when you get back to NC and maybe we can have a valve cleaning party. As far as I know, it's never been done to mine. I have a BSH catch can that will be installed after the recall/campaign work is done. Enjoy your time in MS. I was in Biloxi several times years ago and loved it down there. Of course this was the pre-casino days.

 

Since I saw 2 people mention it in the same context as the valve cleaning, I think you guys should know a catch can does not stop carbon build up. It's a good idea on a turbocharged to have a catch can, but it is NOT to do with the carbon build up caused by the build up of carbonized oil and contaminant that is not being washed off by the fuel because of the Direct Injection system as opposed to a traditional port injection.

 

Max I would love to get together. I wouldn't mind helping you on that walnut blast job either to see how it's done. Catch can is next on my list of purchases too, feel like it will help reduce gunk buildup. Send me a PM when you want to meet up and get to work.

 

Good to know. That's why I want to work with those other guys on learning to clean them myself.

 

Talked to MINI today and found out it does need the Turbo line heat shield - getting that, as well as a checkup done on Monday. It had the timing chain assembly and tensioner replaced in 2011, and the water pump done in 2012 at 30k miles and 40k miles respectively.

 

Pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11372297653/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11372300433/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11372192346/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11372229514/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11372171275/
on the downside, i had it up on jack stands with the front and rear bumper covers removed for some painting and noticed an oil leak from either the oil drain plug or the oil pan. this thing is already fun times, haha

 

If it is the drain plug leaking, it's probably because whoever changed the oil last re-used the crush washer. Noticed that on mine the last time. Just before I bought my car from my baby sister she had the oil changed at a chain lube/oil shop and I think they just changed the oil, because when I had it done right after I bought it the filter we pulled out definitely had more than 500 miles on it. Replaced with a BMW/Mini filter, O-ring, crush washer, and Mobil 1 0W40 and not a problem in the last 2K miles.

Nice looking car. I like the color combo.

 

Took it in today and they did the turbo heat shield recall.

They scanned the key and found out that the previous owner brought it in in October and was told the thermostat housing needed replacement and she declined. It was traded to the place i bought it shortly after. On the plus side, the 3rd party warranty i got will cover the repair.

More good news is they gave me dates that the valve cover gasket, spark plugs, water pump, cabin filter, drive belt, as well as the aux water pump recall were done, as well as the other recall whos name escapes me.

Tech said the car looks great other than the thermostat. Getting it fixed Friday.

 

Car is in the shop. Warranty is covering the diagnostics and the replacement of the thermostat unit. I asked them about my leaky oil plug, and they said that somehow it was actually the wrong kind of oil plug in the car (wtf?) so they are fixing that as well.

Thats basically all of the routinely replaced stuff. Hopefully ill be good for a while, or anything else that happens will happen before the warranty is up.

 

Have the exhaust back pressure tested at the first o2 sensor, that's how you'll know if your turbo is throwing oil out of the compressor seal clogging up your cat. If that's happening your turbo doesn't have long before it's toast, a clogged cat throws the exhaust right back at the compressor causing damage to your turbo.

 

who do you have your third party warranty with? I just got one on mine and hope it serves me well.
Going in for the cam chain assembly replacement on the 27th. Since I'll have a loaner I won't be too inconvenienced. Dropping at Flow Mini around lunchtime. Should be ready monday morning.(fingers crossed) While there I.ll check on al the previous service campaigns that can effect my car. anyone happen to have a list I can work from?

 

I don't think you mentioned whether or not the timing chain assembly was replaced or checked as per the campaign or recall, but that should have came up once you went to the dealer for your oil line heat shield. They should have either checked the part number on the tensioner to see if your do for a timing chain assembly replacement, if it's the old part # they will replace the entire timing cassette.

 

Yeah thats the one I couldnt remember. That one has been completed, but I dont have the date in front of me.

 

It's the dealer responsibility to at least check to make sure that the older defective tensioner wasn't just another older defective tensioner. They will have to verify that the updated part got installed, otherwise the same thing will happen again.

 

Love that color combo. I had started to "pre-shop" for my Mini in 2009 and was keen on getting mellow yellow with black top. Unfortunately they dropped that and later, sunshine yellow, so I wound up gettin my 2013 in ice blue.

 

Good to know. I will ask them about that. Its the timing chain tensioner that they should check the part number on?

Also, going for something different with the exterior.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11435057085/

 

If the tensioner is the old defective part number Mini dealers are supposed to then measure the timing chain slack, nine times out of ten it's best to go ahead and replace every timing components. When you take it in make sure you get a strait answer when and if they find the older part number what the timing chain measurements were, if they can't come up with an answer they didn't check it like they were supposed to. Make them aware that you know what's going on, because it's the naive spouses they try to take advantage of.