Mini Clubman Cooper S (2.5 door one)

[JC29]

Hello Chaps,

Always fancied a Clubman since I saw Paddy Hopkirk's one a few years back.

Need a second car and a Clubman Cooper S came to mind as something interesting, space for two babies, boot, etc.

Is there anything to watch out for when buying and owning one - or are they fairly solid?

Thanks for the pointers

[Maracus]

Buy an N18 184BHP version. The engine was available from mid 2010 in the hatch, not sure when it arrived in the Clubman.

The timing chain issues are resolved with this one....

[mike9009]

Hi

I owned one for six years (just part exed it last week and up for sale at a dealer!). Mine was an early 57 plate one.

In six years I did almost 50k miles. I kept a full MINI service history and had very few issues.

Biggest issue was thermostat housing cracking which cost £200 to fix at MINI. Also had the clubman door fail when I went through a puddle which was deeper than expected. Cost £90 to fix.

I would average 40mpg on my A/ B road commute. Same when travelling on a long distance motorway trip.

We have two kids and we all fitted fine - we used a roof-box (which I still have if you fancy one??) for longer trips away.

Stereo was poor so I fitted a Parrot mki9000 which gave better sound quality plus Bluetooth which mine missed out on.

Check tyres as these can be expensive if replacing with runflats (which I would recommend, but many do not).

Mine (and many owners have reported this too) liked a drink of oil. About a litre every 900 miles. It did not seem to create any major issue though. I had a major service complete about three months ago, which seemed to reduce the consumption - I suspect the garage used a slightly more viscous oil which may have contributed to the better consumption?

Mine had a sunroof which was fine - although benefitted from a regular clean down and lube to keep it running well - otherwise it sometime would not open when cold.

Timing chain is a reported issue, but before buying mine the dealer replaced the tensioner. It would sometimes rattle for 30 seconds when cold - but never created an issue. I 'suspect' some timing chain issues were exacerbated if the oil is not checked regularly.

I only got rid because I fancied something different.

HTH

Mike

[Maracus]

Hi Mike,

I think you're right with checking the oil regularly. Even though ours is the later N18 version, I always check it every couple of weeks. It doesn't use any thankfully.

Good move on getting the tensioner, etc changed before purchase though.

[mon the fish]

The back doors can rub and then rust - peel back the rubber seals on the doors. Happened on ours, the dealer took 12(!) attempts to fix before we eventually got rid of it. Some others I've looked at have the same issue

[JC29]

Thanks for the help gents - really appreciate it.

Going to see this one later in the week - 31,000 km, July 2010 model and being resold by the original dealer

http://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/mini-clubman-kombi-...

Any thoughts gratefully received

[mike9009]

JC29 said:

Thanks for the help gents - really appreciate it.

Going to see this one later in the week - 31,000 km, July 2010 model and being resold by the original dealer

http://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/mini-clubman-kombi-...

Any thoughts gratefully received

That looks nice - although my foreign language skills are terrible. Xenons are a nice option and it already has Bluetooth fitted. Make sure you like the stereo quality as I was a little disappointed with the standard stereo.

Listen carefully when you first start the car for any rattling which should 'calm' down after about 30 seconds. If you hear anything I would ask for it to be investigated. Check the oil level before you start. The rear exhausts look clean from the pictures - mine were fairly sooted up from what I thought was related to the high oil consumption. Not anything to worry about but could indicate high consumption and would then require more frequent checks. I cannot see the tyre condition but just have a check of them as a point to barter.

HTH


Mike