Looking at a 2012 clubman s but have some reservations about it and was hoping for insight from the pros. The car is clean, it's the automatic, it drives well and my fiancée loves it of course. It does have 72k miles on it though and the reviews on it aren't all that good. I can wrench but having the tranny grenade or having carbon buildup cost me a head isn't something I want to mess with on such a new car. Are these things really that much of a pain to own? Are repairs really as frequent and pricey as people make them out to be?

I own two Volvos and a Land Rover and the MINI is eerily similar to the Land Rover as to how people talk about them. I love my Rover but it is every bit as unreliable and annoying as people say. I can wrench on it though and it's not a daily driver so I don't mind it much. The MINI however would be used for trips, every Saturday it will get driven 300 miles so I'd like it to be more like my Volvos and not like my Land Rover. We actually considered a Volvo C30 but after driving the MINI there is no comparison. How these two are considered competitors I don't know, the Volvo was every bit a Chevy Aveo inside and though quick, it's sloppy and has no charm. The MINI was just awesome but we've never owned one so we're torn.

Anyway what should I expect? Do I need a million brand specific tools and a high end diagnostic tool to work on the mini? Is it going to be reliable well past the 100k mark or is this more of a low mileage, weekend kind of car?

 

What options are on the car? After 2011+ has the better N18 motor without the timing chain & carbon issues. They say the tranny fluid goes to 100k but if the shifts seem sluggish at 72k I'd have it serviced. I can wrench when it comes to routine service but anything outside of that I'd farm it out to a mechanic. The temp sensor issue has been a issue but overall the clubman is a practical Mini. A JB+, eng trq. bushing, aftermarket oem dry filter, Koni's or similar makes it a peppy daily driver.

 

It's got every option with the exception of the screen thing on the speedo I think. Here's a link to the car http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...761666925.html

One other thing that concerns me is that they've had it since November of 2015, it's had like 100 miles put on it from the time they got it until now according to the car fax.

 

With the N18 engine you shouldn't have all the grief N14 owners have. Can you take it to a Mini dealer or an independent shop specializing in Mini's --- get a "Certified Previously Owned" inspection --- before buying it? Get a warranty of some sort? Craigslist items scare me! Since Nov '15, the seller's gotta be anxious and ready to deal.

Parts and service are expensive --- more so at dealers. Your wrench set needs to include a full set of torx sockets, male and female. Then a Bentley service manual is a must --- includes all the special tools needed, torque settings and sequence, etc. A good code reader would be a big plus.

If you start with the power mods, be prepared to lose reliability. Whatever Mini you wind up with, familiarize yourselves with it first, and enjoy it.

 

I was thinking about seeing if the mini dealer would give it a once over, but wasn't sure what it would cost. I'd really prefer to wrench on it myself if it's going to be as needy as my Land Rover has been. It sucks but it's easy to work on so I'm not $1000 into the dealer every time a light comes on or something stops working.

Anyway the dealer that has the car is offering a 90 day warranty, the third party "extended warranties" the used car places also have seem pretty useless and appear to just generate money so 90 days is all we will get with it. The main things I keep reading that might cause me grief are the water pump, thermostat housing and the oil pressure solenoid leak that seems ever so common. Someone also mentioned the FRM is easy to cook and expensive to remedy. I dunno, I absolutely love the car but don't want to get into something that is going to cost more than it's worth to own.

 

Seems like a decent price to start with, price-wise, for one that loaded. These have a niche audience and I have seen nice, used Clubmans sit on dealer and private lots for a long time.

Check with a Mini dealer to see if the original owner purchased the Extended Maintenance. That will add some value. There is the possibility it could already be Mini Certified. Both of those take you out to 6yrs/100k from the original in-service date.

You could also check to see what has been repaired up to this point. I think any Mini dealer can tell you what has been done under warranty so far. But maybe not out-of-warranty.

 

The car fax shows a bunch of "vehicle serviced" records at the same dealer but doesn't say what the issues were. If I called them and gave them the vin, would they have an issue giving me the history?

 

For some reason, mini dealers don't like to give out the service history (even if you own the car). I was able to get the dealer to let me 'look' at the service history, but he wouldn't print it out..

 

That's usually 'cause the previous owners name is on the records. Try asking them to remove the name from the print outs.

 

Hard to tell from photos but car looks like a rust machine, seems dirty with a quick sloppy detail and tire shine. Look for evidence of rust in person, get a PPI.

 

It would probably depend on who you are talking to and the mood they are in, or how busy they are. My understanding is that they do not like to print things out for you because it shows the previous owner's address/phone.

I was able to do that by phone when we purchased our 2010 hardtop and then again just recently when the thermostat and housing needed to be replaced. The CarFax showed all the prior work was done at the selling dealer - Mini of Sterling - so it made it nice and easy. But they had also done stuff that was not shown on the CarFax.

The advisor I spoke to at Mini of Sterling in Virginia was very helpful. They are 3 hours away so we cannot use them as our 'local' dealer.

 

Mini of Sterling is actually my local dealer so I gave them a ring. Car has a good maintenance history and hasn't had any major issues addressed that they can find. They told me it had an issue with the fuel filler that was fixed, Evap purge valve replaced and a reprogram of the ecu for something. Other than that all of he visits were for scheduled maintenance. She also told me it was covered for 10 years/120,000 miles for the hpfp which is a plus. Decisions decisions.

 

I took a closer look at the ad and I realized that place is being a bit tricky with the way it is doing the listing, as far as the way they show all of the possible options/packages. You can put the last seven of the VIN in here to see how the car was configured - http://bimmer.work

I know there are a few of these sites. Not sure which one is preferred.

 

I just purchased a 2012 R56 S with 87K on it and got an extended warranty up to 188K for a little over $1600 and it's pretty decent coverage. PM me if you want some details, but I have no regrets and have put almost 3K on it in 6 weeks.

 

Make sure in writing that the extended warranty is transferable to you. Maintenance warranty is completely different. The key fob is what they put in computer to check work done one the MINI. Every dealer updates the key fob but they have to ck all fobs for the car if you are purchasing to see if it went to another dealer. Just saying due your homework and then enjoy the MINI. Ck timing chain also.

 

Key fob data is nowhere to the scale you think it is.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ob-reader.html

 

We traded our 2010 Clubman S Manual in on a Countryman S in July. It had N14 engine and had 115k miles. The 2012 has the N18 which is a better engine. I did all of the maintenance and replaced the following.

Thermostat Housing-Easy
Right transmission seal at 105k miles-Moderate
Valve Cover-Easy
Oil Cooler Gasket-Difficult

If you get a pre-purchase inspection and the shop puts it up on a lift they can check out the underside for any prior damage and oil leaks. Around here the PPI runs around $100.

My take on the pictures-
Exhaust tips don't look oily(CCV working properly, not running rich)
Engine bay looks relatively clean
Overall looks clean.

The dealer we bought our CM from currently has a 2014 Hardtop S for sale with 6,000 miles. Iwas talking to my wife who drives the MINI's about the 2014 and said I wonder what is wrong with it. One thing she brought up is some people may buy one thinking they are cool and then after driving for a while realize they are not luxury cars. The sit low, ride somewhat rough and they are small. She said she could see people trading them in soon after purchase because the car really didn't fit them, especially as a daily driver. My has had 3 Mini's and drive about 100 miles per day round trip for work.

 

Grussell, true what you say about people bailing on the MINI, but a lot of the low milage cars are loaners or demo as well.

 

So do I need a bunch of special software and scan tools to do basic stuff and reset lights? Is there any diagnostic stuff worth getting if I buy this car? Really appreciate all of the responses.

 

Get familiar with whatever car you decide on, BEFORE you invest in a scan tool. Most parts houses will read your codes for you, IF you throw any. Keep it stock, well maintained, driven sensibly, and you might not need a scanner. If you start throwing codes right away, try to exercise your local "lemon law" or warranty.

 

I've got an obd2 scanner already, wasn't sure if MINIs wwre comparible with typical code scanners. I see a lot of people trying to correct issues with the FRM and referring to various software and such, I don't have anything capable of doing that stuff but I'm not opposed to buying the stuff if problems like that are common.

 

As a hoarder of old Land Rovers, amen to that! I wouldn't be without either though.

 

Same here: 2 Rovers & 1 MINI currently, and 2 MINI's in the past. I must be a glutton for punishment!

 

I use Carly for BMW/MINI. There is an app for iPhone or Android. The obd dongle is wifi for iPhone or Bluetooth for Android and is not interchangeable. I bought the Carly dongle off of Amazon. You can check and reset codes, do coding and reset battery and service lights.

 

Does the Carly app read and reset airbag and abs lights?