Well bit the bullet and bought an 07 s. Was a trade in at my local chev dealer. Used as a summer car and with only 41000 miles on it I believe it. Car is very clean and after a week of driving does not appear to be leaking anywhere. Oil level was good but as with any used car changed out the engine oil and will do rest of the fluids soon. Read up a ton on this and other forums, so your probably wonder why I still bought it. Well the car is a hoot to drive and gets great fuel economy and was the right price. I am motorcycle mechanic by trade and have a nice heated garage to work in. I am trying to get its service history from mini this week, to see what's been done and what hasn't. No rattle or codes at the moment but know a few things may need to be done soon. From what I have gathered the items needing repair or replacement often are the timing chain set, thermostat housing, water pump, vacuum pump, turbo oil lines, and oil filter housing gasket. I know the hpfp is still covered. I am also aware that carbon cleaning is needed for this engine. It is not my only vehicle, I also have a 2005 f250 crew cab that also has a infamous rep for reliability issues. If you think minis are cramped or expensive to work on, you should try a modern diesel truck. A lot of people wrote off the 6.0 engine as junk, however if you are patient and fix the issues you end up with reasonably reliable truck. I am hoping to do the same with the mini. I have to say that from what I have read so far that the two are similar in that if your not mechanically inclined it might be best to stay away. This seems like a great community and I hope I can add to it.
Ps just ordered the service manual today.

 

welcome aboard. enjoy the car as it is fun little thing...Add INPA, WinKfp, NCSexpert, ISTA/D and ISTA/P software to your collection. VERY great tools and might be better than the repair manual. specially ISTA/D

 

I have the INPA on a laptop but it's set up for my BMW Z3 (Using a VW adapter IIRC). Anything I need to do to convert it for use on the Mini?

 

Mini is "BMW". if you were able to connect to your Z3, I see no problem connecting to MINI. Only step you need to do, is update the folders containing SPDaten files. So, you need R56 SPdaten files to be able to properly communicate to the Mini Cooper modules.

 

Just looked at the Ista/d and it looks like a nice program. Coming from the motorcycle world I am shocked at how affordable the price is and that an individual can actually purchase it. In moto land good diagnostics are usually dealer only and the hardware is incredibly expensive. On another note, I forgot to pull the car fax before, and although I trust the dealer, I pulled it up last night. He was telling the truth, 1 owner local car, nothing showing except reg renewals. Now to try and ply the service history from mini

 

Thanks! I'll look into it.

 

This car is so much fun, it's like a 4 wheel super Moto. Although I have noticed that it tends to bring out the aggressive sides of other drivers. Tailgating, cutting off, etc. I have seen that when riding bikes before but never in a car. Some people need to get a life I guess.

 

Congrats on your new Mini. I don't think that with your background, you're going to have many issues that will spoil the experience, especially if you've been successful with that 2005 F250.
I don't wonder why you bought it at all. They're a blast to drive and knowing the issues upfront, is being prepared. The 2007-2009 were problematic, but it was a seemingly "infant mortality" mode(s) of failure. A 10 year old, one owner car, with 41k miles on it is past the stage of infant mortality.

Take the Key Fob to a Mini Dealer and they can read the service history, at least performed by a Mini Dealer, off the key fob. I've bought two Mini's used and had them checked by my local dealer and both times as, a preventative pre check,and they pulled up the "known" service history for me by using the fob.
There were some warranty campaigns that should show up.Here are a few from memory;
1. Timing chain tensioner bolt changed to a longer bolt.
2. Heat shield for the turbo oil lines.
3 Thermostat wiring harness. ( This one caused fires that burned the cars up)
4. HPFP warranty extended to 120k miles. Don't know if there is a time interval though.

BTW
Having owned a 2007, I can tell you that knowing the month it was made can be important. Continuous changes were being made during the 2007 model year, the first for the R56, as the cars were being delivered, and they're not all exactly identical.

 

A few thoughts:
Warranty on the HPFP is 120K miles or 10 years from date car entered service.

If it has an auto trans, do yourself a big favor before the car has too many more miles on it and change the ATF.

Spark plugs do not last anywhere near as long as Mini's service interval for them. Mine are often in sad shape by 30K miles.

If the OEM plastic water pump has not been changed, swap it out ASAP.

Change out the in-tank fuel filter sooner rather than later.

If the car has even the slightest hint of missing at high speeds & loads, decoke the intake valves.

Replace the stock 17mm RSB with at least a 19mm one. This is one of the best value mods for the suspension. And goes a long way to de-lawyerize the handling.

Enjoy!

 

Ya the fords been "fun". Have had to do a fair amount of maintenance work to it. The turbo itself weighs over 50lbs at least and is a bit of beast to remove. Have had to replace the stand pipes, dummy plugs, ficm, turbo drain, sct fitting, blue spring, y pipe, and an injector in the last 100000km. Every 6000 miles it takes 15 litres of oil ($140.00) and every 2nd change it needs the fuel filters changed. Have to flush the coolant (10 hrs to do a true cleaning) and replace the egr and oil cooler this week. But it's about $60000 less than a new truck. I look at the mini the same way, it's about $20000 less than buying a new one but I am on the hook for maintenance and repairs. $20000 goes a long way towards that. Of course I am only a couple weeks in, so who knows in a month I may be singing a different tune. But so far I like what I am seeing. Also thank you for all the helpful advice and tips, it is really appreciated. Finally as a funny side note, the minis roof is even with the window bottom on the truck, and the truck is just a smidgen short of being exactly twice as long.