Hi guys. A friend of mine is interested in getting a used Mini. She's interested in a Justa 07+ model but I'm not sure what issues exist in the Justas in that period.

Is it similar to the S like the melting heatshield, timing chain tensioner, etc? What other things should be looked into? The car she's going to check out has 66k miles. The owner has told her all service/maintenace was performed the first 50k miles at the dealership. The remaining mileage was taken to a independent mechanic according to the current owner. Any tips would be great.

 

melting heat shield? Never heard that one. If you have enough heat in the engine bay to melt a metal part meant to reflect heat, you have some much larger problems lol.


As for car shopping, if a seller claims dealer services up to a certain mileage then indy shop maintenance since then, I would assume and expect these claims to come with receipts/service records. I don't take a sellers word on a thing. If you or her or someone you know isn't up and up on mechanics and such to do a thorough inspection on the test drive, you want those records. Again, a sellers word is worth 100% of nothing, ever, period.

 

I believe the problem was with the turbo heat shield, and melting hood scoops, so she should be fine Not sure about the timing chain tensioner though.

 

The thermostat and water pump seem to be the only 2 items that have popped up on early justa's as needing replaced prematurely.

 

The R56 justa has turned out to be a pretty reliable car. Take the car to a mechanic & have it checked over prior to purchase. It will cost a few bucks, but it is money well spent.

 

Most of the common problems have been with S-specific systems, like the turbo heat shield, the hood scoop melting, the carbon buildup on the intake valves (which gets cleaned up by the port injection of the Cooper, but not the direct injection of the S), the high-pressure fuel pump, the auxiliary water pump for the turbo, etc.

The timing chain problems appear to be mostly confined to S models, though I am not sure why that would be. (Oil breaking down more quickly? Or being burned more quickly?)

The thermostat problems seem to be common throughout all of the 2nd-gen MINI models. There is a less-common problem with the oil pump solenoid leaking. Mine was replaced under warranty by the dealer, along with the thermostat.

Not sure about the water pump.

Overall, the Justa cars seem to be somewhat more reliable in general than the S cars. However, you don't get the extra push from the turbocharged motor...

 

Thanks guys. Any recommendations for mechanic/shop choices in SoCal?

 

I take my E65 7 series to a foreign auto shop in Huntington Beach called New Image Auto, my mechanic is Amir. They've been pretty honest when I've had mechanical issues, and service prices are decent as well. The dealership wanted (gulp) $3700 for a full brake service, and he only charged me around $500 for all 4. And I had stumbling/misfire issues about 6 months ago so I brought it in for them to have a look, but they couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. So they put in a bottle of Techron and sent me on my way, didn't charge a dime. I will definitely be taking my MINI there when the warranty runs out.

 

What on earth is a justa

 

Just a "justa" cooper aka non-s

 

Honestly thought the same thing when I first signed on here. Definitely the dorkiest "cutesy" crap I've seen in the car enthusiast world lol.

 

What a term to use for a car.
What is so hard in saying Cooper?
It's just one letter extra.

 

I've always considered "justa" a bit derogatory as in "it's only a Cooper, not an S or JCW." Not quite as bad as "MINIs are girlie cars," though.

 

If that's the dorkiest thing you've heard, you haven't been around for very long...


"Cooper" can refer to all of the MINI models sold in the US. Technically, they're the "MINI Cooper", the "MINI Cooper S", and the "MINI Cooper John Cooper Works". "Justa" is an easy way to distinguish the base model car from the rest.

I suppose we could call it the "Reliable"? The "Doesn't burst into flames spontaneously"? The "Has Not Been Recalled Yet"?

Naah, those are too long.