R56 2008 Mellow Yellow Cooper S New Owner
2008 Mellow Yellow Cooper S New Owner
Hey everyone, new member here. About a month ago I unfortunately totaled my '99 740i (The E38 for all you BMW enthusiasts on here) and picked up a 2008 Cooper S with a 6 speed and in Mellow Yellow on White with 51k miles. Although I still miss my old car, the Mini is undeniably much more fun to drive with its gokart characteristics. I also don't mind the nearly trippled fuel economy that I'm getting with the Mini compared to the BMW. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to get a few suspension mods done as well as a tune and all the things that go along with that, but for now it is more than enough to have a blast in.
The car has been dealer maintained for all its life, doesn't seem to burn much oil at all, and is overall in very good condition. For 51k miles, what maintenance should I expect to have to do soon? I've read a little about needing a transmission fluid change and maybe carbon cleaning because I doubt that was done before, but I'm not sure if I need to do it since the fluid does claim to be for life. Please let me know about any other maintenance I may need to do.
I'll leave you guys with some pictures of the old E38 and the new to me Mini, I look forward to interacting with you guys on the forum.
The E38 as it sat with Style 95s, lowering springs, exhaust and some other miscellaneous things done to it.
When I totaled the E38
The Mini as it sits now
The car has been dealer maintained for all its life, doesn't seem to burn much oil at all, and is overall in very good condition. For 51k miles, what maintenance should I expect to have to do soon? I've read a little about needing a transmission fluid change and maybe carbon cleaning because I doubt that was done before, but I'm not sure if I need to do it since the fluid does claim to be for life. Please let me know about any other maintenance I may need to do.
I'll leave you guys with some pictures of the old E38 and the new to me Mini, I look forward to interacting with you guys on the forum.
The E38 as it sat with Style 95s, lowering springs, exhaust and some other miscellaneous things done to it.
When I totaled the E38
The Mini as it sits now
3rd Gear
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 186
Likes: 4
Congrats on your new Mini. The Mello Yellow is cool color, neighbor up the road has one, and that one looks like it has really been taken care of.
"The car has been dealer maintained for all its life, doesn't seem to burn much oil at all, and is overall in very good condition. For 51k miles, what maintenance should I expect to have to do soon?"
At 51K you really shouldn't have too much to do. If you have the complete history just look for the usual suspects that were a problem with the 2007-2011, prior to the release of the N18 engine, you have an N14.
A kind of short list of the "usual issues";
- Some folks are pretty hard on brakes and they might need replacement soon.
- The intake valves are prone to carbon coking, so they might need to be walnut bead blasted to clean them.
- The HPFP, high pressure fuel pump, was a little problematic on these years, and is warranted out to 120K now.
- The timing chain tensioner bolt had an issue, as did some timing chains.
- There was a safety notice out on the thermostat wiring harness.
- Some folks have experienced cracked thermostat housings.
- The seals on the water pump were prone to leaking.
- A heat shield was added to the turbo.
- There were issue with some cars, that the heat from the turbo would warp the hood scoop. I never had an issue, but some folks did.
- My Mini's have all been manual transmissions and I have had no issues, but there seemed to be a rash of premature clutch wear issues for some folks. If you have automatic, I don't have any personal experience with those.
Most of these issues were addressed during various "campaigns, and I would expect they were addressed by the dealer, as it was dealer maintained, but it never hurts to check, or know, what the basic issues have been. The Key FOB can be read by any BMW/Mini dealer, and a complete history of dealer servicing can be obtained.
You have the 1st generation, 400mHz, TPMS sensors in your wheels. The sensor frequency was changed mid model year 2009, so if you decide to put on new wheels, be aware that there are two TPMS sensor models, so ensure that you get the right one(s).
The OEM brake pads for the Mini are god awful for brake dust. I changed mine to Akebono Euro Ceramics. But the EBC's are a very popular replacement.
If you did the work to your BMW's suspension mod's, there will be no mystery for you with regards to the Mini's suspension. They're very close, depending on the BMW model. You'll also be comfortable ordering parts. Mini uses the BMW parts numbering system.
Bentley Publishers came out with a manual for the 2nd generation Mini's a few years back that you may want to get. ISBN 978-0-8376-1671-1. It's pretty handy.
Enjoy your new Mini. It's nice.
"The car has been dealer maintained for all its life, doesn't seem to burn much oil at all, and is overall in very good condition. For 51k miles, what maintenance should I expect to have to do soon?"
At 51K you really shouldn't have too much to do. If you have the complete history just look for the usual suspects that were a problem with the 2007-2011, prior to the release of the N18 engine, you have an N14.
A kind of short list of the "usual issues";
- Some folks are pretty hard on brakes and they might need replacement soon.
- The intake valves are prone to carbon coking, so they might need to be walnut bead blasted to clean them.
- The HPFP, high pressure fuel pump, was a little problematic on these years, and is warranted out to 120K now.
- The timing chain tensioner bolt had an issue, as did some timing chains.
- There was a safety notice out on the thermostat wiring harness.
- Some folks have experienced cracked thermostat housings.
- The seals on the water pump were prone to leaking.
- A heat shield was added to the turbo.
- There were issue with some cars, that the heat from the turbo would warp the hood scoop. I never had an issue, but some folks did.
- My Mini's have all been manual transmissions and I have had no issues, but there seemed to be a rash of premature clutch wear issues for some folks. If you have automatic, I don't have any personal experience with those.
Most of these issues were addressed during various "campaigns, and I would expect they were addressed by the dealer, as it was dealer maintained, but it never hurts to check, or know, what the basic issues have been. The Key FOB can be read by any BMW/Mini dealer, and a complete history of dealer servicing can be obtained.
You have the 1st generation, 400mHz, TPMS sensors in your wheels. The sensor frequency was changed mid model year 2009, so if you decide to put on new wheels, be aware that there are two TPMS sensor models, so ensure that you get the right one(s).
The OEM brake pads for the Mini are god awful for brake dust. I changed mine to Akebono Euro Ceramics. But the EBC's are a very popular replacement.
If you did the work to your BMW's suspension mod's, there will be no mystery for you with regards to the Mini's suspension. They're very close, depending on the BMW model. You'll also be comfortable ordering parts. Mini uses the BMW parts numbering system.
Bentley Publishers came out with a manual for the 2nd generation Mini's a few years back that you may want to get. ISBN 978-0-8376-1671-1. It's pretty handy.
Enjoy your new Mini. It's nice.
Last edited by silkcut; Jun 11, 2016 at 05:30 AM.
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