so first of all hi newb here. Found some great info so far on this site and I'm sure that I will find more. But on to my questions. My wife and I are looking to get her a new car and she fell in love with an 07 base. She like the look and uniqueness of the car. But after reading a few threads on here I'm no so sure that this will be a good choice for us. I have been reading about the timing chain problems and want to get some clarification on in. Is the campaign on limited to the the S models or is it all MC that could have this problem? I have looked at mini's website and used there recall look up tool and it turned up nothing. I realize that this could mean that either its been fixed before or that there isn't a problem with this car. Also if it has been fixed is there any way to tell with out taking the top end off or some how getting the service records for it? If it has been fixed is there any thing I can do to prolong the life of the known issues? Is there anything else I should look for before purchasing the car?

I would be purchasing the car from a local non mini dealer who is authorized/ specialized to work on mini's. The closest mini dealer is about 4 hours from me and it's not feasible to take it to them every time I need something fixed. Here is a link to the dealers site and the car that we are looking at.
http://www.rockymtnsubaru.com/used/M...3b836dcdc7.htm

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this and replying.

 

In my opinion I think the car is a little over priced...about $2K.

However... a overall inspection by a third party may be worth the cost to find out just what the overall condition.

From the photos it looks like the bonnet is rather stone chipped... not a big issue but time consuming to touch up, even with easy methods like Squirt 'n Squeegee Paint Chip http://www.drcolorchip.com/store/squ...ueegee-kit.php .

You may also want to ensure the local shop has the correct software to perform basic OBD code work.

Nice plus is the bike rack, if you have a pair of bikes you need to tote around...

There is a big service at 100K miles, more than likely that would be in about 10 to 16 months away depending on your driving habits.

Regardless of my or anyone else's opinion ... you need to be happy with the car to truly enjoy it.

But what do I know, I only have three MINIs in my garage..

Motor on!

 

+1 on the pre-purchase inspection. Find another independent in your area that works on mini's. You are correct, there are far fewer problems with a non-S, however, these are not cheap cars to get repaired.

 

Although there are a few owners that have experienced issues with the timing chain in a non-S, the issues you read about on the Internet tend to be primarily the MCS models. To my knowledge, the campaign or whatever it is only applies to S models.

 

I have a 07 Mini base and I love my car. However, it burns oil at about 1/2 quart every 1200 miles. I did have to replace the timing chain which was a $1500 repair. Its important to keep the oil filled as the low oil causes the chain to stretch/break. Other then this set back, its a great car!