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2011 Countryman Base High Mileage: Good Deal or Walk Away?
I'm in the market for a new (used) car and have been a MINI fan for a long time, but never owned one.
There is a pretty clean '11 Countryman (base model, 2WD, automatic) available at a dealership near my house with 140,000 miles (a lot, I know) listed for $5,000. Super cheap, high miles, clean title. Anyone else here have a Countryman with that many miles? When I took it for a test drive, I couldn't identify any red flags. No apparent drips or leaks, no lurching, no grinding or knocking, and it shifts smoothly.
I do basic maintenance on my own (brakes, fluid changes, filters, etc.) , but I'm wary of common high mileage issues like head gasket or transmission failures.
It seems that there is a wide range. Some people get a lot of miles with few problems. With this one, who knows how many issues someone had before to get this far? Stock motor/trans?
Also, there are some fairly new ones people have with hardly any miles with a pile of various problems... Hence, any Mini can be a money pit...
Pretty car and pretty nice price. As @dmath said, make sure you have a look at the service history of the vehicle. If it can't be produced, walk away. This is true of any car, not just MINIs. Who cares about the power, anyway? If it puts a smile on your face and you like to drive it, then it's not for me or anyone to say. I have a Cooper S All4 and in some ways I think that a mechanically simpler (2WD vs AWD, non-turbo vs turbo) might be a way to thwart the service gremlins.
One of the positive points about a base model is that the people who own drive them don't hammer them in the same way that S drivers do. In that respect, it probably got drien with respect, and babied. And, because it's not what everyone is shopping for, the dealer wants to move it quickly, and the price reflects it.
Another vote for service history and a pre-purchase inspection. I'll take a well maintained high mileage car over a neglected low mileage car any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Pretty car and pretty nice price. As @dmath said, make sure you have a look at the service history of the vehicle. If it can't be produced, walk away. This is true of any car, not just MINIs. Who cares about the power, anyway? If it puts a smile on your face and you like to drive it, then it's not for me or anyone to say. I have a Cooper S All4 and in some ways I think that a mechanically simpler (2WD vs AWD, non-turbo vs turbo) might be a way to thwart the service gremlins.
This is precisely why I went with a non-turbo, 2wd. My daughter that drives it loves it and is plenty for her and I'm hoping for lower risk of problems.
My 2011 'base' Countryman has about 115,000 on it and it still runs well and looks good. No major problems in 7 yrs of ownership and I'll likely keep it for 2-3 more yrs. Secure the maintenance records and if it looks like it was maintained reasonably well then $5k isn't a bad price.
I ended up buying it! So far it has been awesome. I actually talked the dealer down to $3,300 because the front struts are leaking (caught that from a good PPI). Other than that, it is in great mechanical condition and the interior is super clean.
I ended up buying it! So far it has been awesome. I actually talked the dealer down to $3,300 because the front struts are leaking (caught that from a good PPI). Other than that, it is in great mechanical condition and the interior is super clean.
I ended up buying it! So far it has been awesome. I actually talked the dealer down to $3,300 because the front struts are leaking (caught that from a good PPI). Other than that, it is in great mechanical condition and the interior is super clean.
2011 Countryman Base High Mileage: Good Deal or Walk Away?
