I already bought the car, a 2008 MCS with JCW. 84K miles. Its got a little rattle so I'm going to get it checked out and remedied. I've been hearing the horror stories of the death rattle, I see where this can be a reoccurring problem, like every 20-30k miles. There's the vacuum booster, there's the HPFP. I'm starting to question why I bought this then I remember how much fun it is to drive and all the smiles and comments I get.

So where are the good stories, where's the good news? Is it all gloom and doom or do the bad stories get the press and the good stories go untold. Anyone have a timing chain repair that fixed the problem for good? Somebody give me hope before I give up and go trade it for something else.

 

6.5 hours later, and 101 views and no one has a positive story for me. Your not helping my paranoia about my choice.

 

Buying any used car is like playing the lottery. From everything that I have ever read/heard here, is that after a chain/guide replacement you make sure the oil is changed every 5,000 miles and you always keep the oil level at the top.

 

If you have the rattle, take it to a verified Mini shop to get checked out. Or, just go have the chain replaced for peace of mind.

Be prescribe with maintaining the car, and she should be good to you.

 

I've had my Mini for over six years and still love it. Creeping up on 100,000 miles. Fun. Great mileage (my best tank was 635 miles driving across and back Michigan's upper peninsula). I throw a set of snow tires on every winter and get around fine. Plenty of room. Great car! Every once in a while you'll even get a wave returned.


How's that?

 

I bought my car new, it now has 45000 miles on it. It has had the turbo cooling pump replaced in the recall and a little heat shield put on the turbo oil line, also a recall. I also torqued the timing chain tensioner, as it was not torqued at the factory. Other than that, no problems. There are no weird noises or rattles, except for some random interior rattles, when temperature is really cold, but as soon at the heater comes on they go away.

 

JCW fun car and love mine. Just do the proper maintenance and you should be fine. Oh and good quality oil and oil changes every 5K. Enjoy the drive.

 

Thanks guys. I needed to hear some positive stories.

 

 

91k on my 2011 MCS N18, nothing has gone wrong that the original factory warranty or my aftermarket warranty didn't cover. Well, besides regular maintenance and all the mods I have installed/done. As far as I know, the timing chain etc. have never been replaced. Bought my MINI used in 2014 at 21k miles. And I do drive it very hard. 5k oil and filter changes, Mobil 1 0w40 and MINI Genuine filters only. I don't think I use even one quart of oil between changes. Tires are another story. I am lucky to get 10k out of a set of 4, even with proper rotations and alignment checks. Twisty-turnies and terrible roads, plus a lead foot, LOL.

 

The problem is you bought an early 2 gen with the n14 engine. Lots of problems reported, you may notice most of the good posts above are from folks with late 2 gen with the n18 engine. We have a 2012 MCS (n18), have had only minor problems..

 

I have a MINI with the N14 engine and it has been trouble free. The whole point of this thread is for people with earlier N14 engined MINIs who have had no problems to speak out. I'm sure that there are far more reliable N14 engines out there than not. It is not for people with the later engines to smugly say that we made a mistake in buying our earlier cars.

 

I put 156,000 miles on my first N14 and bought another with 56,000 miles on it. Yes, I've experienced several of the N14 problems, but the car is worth it to me because it is fun to drive as a daily, I can autocross it, and I can track it. Also, there is a fantastic support network. I've owned lots of different brands of cars, most of which have disappeared or have changed into high-dollar luxury cars. My '09 R55 JCW just hit the 10 year anniversary of its build date, so its reasonably modern, reasonably cheap, and unreasonably fun to drive.