Never owned a Mini before.
looking at a 2010 S with 42K miles.

seller says thermostat and housing , coils and spark plugs, timing chain gears and tensioner and guides has been replaced.

anything in particular I need to look at while we have the car for a three day test drive?

I understand its a high maintenance vehicle. as demonstrated by the many repairs at such low miles, Hopefully I will be able to handle most of the repairs.
it looks like from a quick internet search these have had several recalls?

thanks,

Icouldnt post without choosing a prefix , I have no idea which one to choose.

 

The timing chain and tensioner were a part of the recall/service bulletin so it's good that those have already been done. The high pressure fuel pump is also notorious for going out early on the N14 engines so I'd be looking for signs related to that. There's a YouTube channel by the name of Project MINI that goes through a lot of the repairs that are common on the N14 engine and things to be proactive about.

How it's going to be for you really depends on how it was treated by it's first owner/s. It would be interesting to know if it had a tensioner/chain failure or if they just replaced that proactively - if it was a proactive replacement that would be encouraging to me, although there are folks within the MINI community who wouldn't touch an N14 engine with a 10 foot pole, while others claim that most of the N14 issues were user error (people taking care of their MINI like a Honda or Toyota) . If you're planning to do all your own work and keep up with maintenance (mostly oil - these are known for burning oil like crazy, and having carbon buildup on the valves) it won't be as expensive, but I wouldn't get it if you don't enjoy working on the car or are okay with paying someone else to do it.

 

thanks .
I understand it’s not going to be reliable like a Honda or Toyota , nor even as reliable as a Ford or Chevy

im used to maintaining a turbo diesel volkswagen.

although I always took it to a a aircraft mechanic who worked on Vw diesels as his side gig for the timing belt replacement every 70k .

Do all of the 2010s turbocharged have the n-14
Engine ?

going to run the carfax later today to make sure it hasn’t had 11 different owners .
I know that’s a red flag for sure .

and to make sure it hasn’t been wrecked or sold at three different auctions or something .

 

I’ve owned a MINI for 17 years. Personally, I would not go near an N14 engine. I’ve heard way too many horror stories! And only couple of just ok stories. If you really want a turbo MINI, look for the later 2011+ with the N18, these tend to be much more reliable.

 

I would also steer towards the N18. As far as I know, the JCW models still used the N14 til 2013, so be aware of that as well. My 2011S N18 has 127k miles on it now, and while it hasn't been trouble-free, it has had few issues....aside from a head gasket failure at 110k miles which was my fault for leaving the coolant tank cap loose. Big screw-up there, but replaced the head with a much lower mileage part (37k), so I'll call it a win. Lol. Other "major" stuff....clutch/flywheel/etc. at 80k miles, and three high pressure fuel pumps, the latest one on my dime.

 

Is there a list by states , of Mini Cooper gurus who are familiar with working on them ?

with our volkswagen turbo diesel we found a guy that works on them.
He’s an aircraft mechanic working three 12 hour shifts per week , for a major airline and works on volkswagen diesels at his home garage as a side gig.
Found him through a Vw diesel forum .

had the V-W diesel for almost 20 years .
It’s time for something newer and different .

Used him to do the major stuff like timing belts.
I did the brakes , alternators , wheel bearings, struts shocks bushings , oil changes , etc .