New Daily - R55 MINI Cooper Clubman
Discussion
Having decided that I wanted to SORN my Boxster for the winter, it was time to look for a cheapish third car that wouldn t take up too much space. I originally had my sights set on a Honda CR-Z because they re a bit weird and very cheap to run. In the summer there were loads on buffet but when I was finally ready to buy one, pickings were slim. Prices seem to have risen in line with high fuel costs.
I went to look at a few; one had a rusty rear arch that had been touched in really badly. Another was quite expensive but rough, especially the interior. The passenger seat had a massive rip in it conveniently not shown in the photos and it hadn t been serviced for ages. The third one was mechanically sound, owned by a Honda enthusiast and despite the high mileage it was the best to drive. It was a bit rough around the edges.
In and amongst looking at the CR-Z s I also had a casual look at MINI s. There was one Cooper S (N18 engine) with a great spec and comfortably in budget but on the day it arrived it shat itself so I couldn t view it. The garage was a bit vague about what had happened and one back, the price jumped up so I gave that one a hard pass.
Locally there was a nice Cooper Clubman that wasn t up for a lot of money. The lady selling it was hard work, thankfully her husband was a bit easier.
She wouldn t let me see it at first because she was waiting for the V5 to some back after taking off their plate, in the end I managed to meet her husband whilst he was out running errands. It actually looked really smart when he turned up .it was clean, no dings etc and drove pretty well. It s a 2011 car on a 10 plate that s done 103k, has the Chilli pack and MFSW with cruise. Externally it s got a body coloured grille and some nicer, coloured side skirts.
In the end, the condition and price were hard to see passed, so when I got home I made an offer which was accepted. The one snag was I was asked of I could hang on until her new EV arrived. This wasn t really an issue because the later I collected, the easier my life would be trying to park three cars at home.
I wasn t expecting to collect it until the end of the month, however I had a text on Tuesday after if I collect Thursday night. So last night, we popped over to Derby to collect. A slightly strange collection done on their drive in the cold although she did seem genuinely sad to see it go.
The horrible steering wheel cover was removed before I even pulled off their drive. Awful. The drive home was uneventful other than the fuel light coming on after about 30 seconds of driving and someone had turned off their three flash indicators which annoyed me far more than it should have. There were no floor mats either but I couldn t remember if they were in the car when I saw it a few weeks ago. Again a minor annoyance but not one I could be biter kicking up a stink over (she did strike me as the sort of person who would take them out .their house was for sale and she said she wouldn t let one person view it because they were reluctant to take shoes off).
Anyway, made it home after grabbing some fuel. Resolved the indicator setting issue.
The weather is grim this morning, so my pictures are a bit cack.
It s slightly overdue a service, so this weekend it ll get an oil change, new plugs, air filter and cabin filter. I ve got a set of ATE discs and ceramic pads in the garage ready to go on at some point. I ll change the brake fluid at the same time too because the brakes aren t great (it s had new rear callipers recently so I m think it s a poor bleed and lack of use).
A CarPlay screen is on the way which will give me the opportunity to remove the dashcam which I found a bit distracting driving home last night.
I’ve order a set of mats from my local MINI dealer which I’ll collect first thing tomorrow morning.
I went to look at a few; one had a rusty rear arch that had been touched in really badly. Another was quite expensive but rough, especially the interior. The passenger seat had a massive rip in it conveniently not shown in the photos and it hadn t been serviced for ages. The third one was mechanically sound, owned by a Honda enthusiast and despite the high mileage it was the best to drive. It was a bit rough around the edges.
In and amongst looking at the CR-Z s I also had a casual look at MINI s. There was one Cooper S (N18 engine) with a great spec and comfortably in budget but on the day it arrived it shat itself so I couldn t view it. The garage was a bit vague about what had happened and one back, the price jumped up so I gave that one a hard pass.
Locally there was a nice Cooper Clubman that wasn t up for a lot of money. The lady selling it was hard work, thankfully her husband was a bit easier.
She wouldn t let me see it at first because she was waiting for the V5 to some back after taking off their plate, in the end I managed to meet her husband whilst he was out running errands. It actually looked really smart when he turned up .it was clean, no dings etc and drove pretty well. It s a 2011 car on a 10 plate that s done 103k, has the Chilli pack and MFSW with cruise. Externally it s got a body coloured grille and some nicer, coloured side skirts.In the end, the condition and price were hard to see passed, so when I got home I made an offer which was accepted. The one snag was I was asked of I could hang on until her new EV arrived. This wasn t really an issue because the later I collected, the easier my life would be trying to park three cars at home.
I wasn t expecting to collect it until the end of the month, however I had a text on Tuesday after if I collect Thursday night. So last night, we popped over to Derby to collect. A slightly strange collection done on their drive in the cold although she did seem genuinely sad to see it go.
The horrible steering wheel cover was removed before I even pulled off their drive. Awful.
The drive home was uneventful other than the fuel light coming on after about 30 seconds of driving and someone had turned off their three flash indicators which annoyed me far more than it should have. There were no floor mats either but I couldn t remember if they were in the car when I saw it a few weeks ago. Again a minor annoyance but not one I could be biter kicking up a stink over (she did strike me as the sort of person who would take them out .their house was for sale and she said she wouldn t let one person view it because they were reluctant to take shoes off).Anyway, made it home after grabbing some fuel. Resolved the indicator setting issue.
The weather is grim this morning, so my pictures are a bit cack.
It s slightly overdue a service, so this weekend it ll get an oil change, new plugs, air filter and cabin filter. I ve got a set of ATE discs and ceramic pads in the garage ready to go on at some point. I ll change the brake fluid at the same time too because the brakes aren t great (it s had new rear callipers recently so I m think it s a poor bleed and lack of use).
A CarPlay screen is on the way which will give me the opportunity to remove the dashcam which I found a bit distracting driving home last night.
I’ve order a set of mats from my local MINI dealer which I’ll collect first thing tomorrow morning.
Edited by Court_S on Friday 23 October 10:36
Kev_Mk3 said:
I really hanker one of these, have since they came out but I've literally no need for one 
Are the boots actually a decent size on these? Looks a good car and base to start with.
I’ve always quite liked them. Are the boots actually a decent size on these? Looks a good car and base to start with.I’ve had four MINI’s now but skipped the R56 era probably because I was such an R52/3 fanboy that I hated the R56 when it was released.
It depends what you compare the boot to - compared to a MINI hatch it’s much more useful. Compared to our Cayenne, it’s laughable small. A mate had a Cooper S Clubman and we managed to get to MTB’s in the back with gear for a day at FOD.
BORNXenon said:
Nice car OP, I keep looking at these, was seriously after one as a stop gap/third car until/once the R53 is on the road but somehow ended up with an R50 with a knackered gearbox!
Thanks. It’s pretty good for the cash really….it was less than 6 months of a lease on a Model 3. As a third car, it seemed like a no brainer. With a bit of love, it’ll be pretty smart I think.Kev_Mk3 said:
I really hanker one of these, have since they came out but I've literally no need for one Are the boots actually a decent size on these? Looks a good car and base to start with.
My wife had one almost identical to the one pictured back in the day. We could add two small kids and a decent amount of luggage without difficulty. The extra side door made child seat access easy, too. Fun to drive and ours was very reliable. Strongly reccomended. Are the boots actually a decent size on these? Looks a good car and base to start with.First job tackled at lunchtime - removing the silly MINI branded wrap behind the plates and the Mad Max Edition badge 
It looks like at some point someone has run short plates on the car because the screw holes for the plates have been filled and the wrapped.
Once the wrap was removed, the plates were refitted. The front plates are currently fitted with wood screws, so I’ll get some proper screws tomorrow. Once I have the V5 I’ll get some dealer plates made up and stuck on.
I then had a nosy inside - it’s a bit grim to be honest. I think I’ve got my work cut out to get the inside up to my standards.
The gap between the handbrake trim and centre console was grim.
This is what came out.
Looks like I’m going to be a busy boy! It’s definitely going to be a seats out job.
It looks like at some point someone has run short plates on the car because the screw holes for the plates have been filled and the wrapped.
Once the wrap was removed, the plates were refitted. The front plates are currently fitted with wood screws, so I’ll get some proper screws tomorrow. Once I have the V5 I’ll get some dealer plates made up and stuck on.
I then had a nosy inside - it’s a bit grim to be honest. I think I’ve got my work cut out to get the inside up to my standards.
The gap between the handbrake trim and centre console was grim.
This is what came out.
Looks like I’m going to be a busy boy! It’s definitely going to be a seats out job.
Court_S said:
I originally had my sights set on a Honda CR-Z because they re a bit weird and very cheap to run. In the summer there were loads on buffet but when I was finally ready to buy one, pickings were slim. Prices seem to have risen in line with high fuel costs.
I've looked at CRZs a few times in the past, for the same reasons. Agree they seem to have got expensive recently.Seems like it all worked out well for you, as this looks like a decent Clubman for you to run as a third car.
Court_S said:
A CarPlay screen is on the way which will give me the opportunity to remove the dashcam which I found a bit distracting driving home last night.
Will be interested to see this. How do you fit a CarPlay screen in the R55 dashboard?spreadsheet monkey said:
Court_S said:
I originally had my sights set on a Honda CR-Z because they re a bit weird and very cheap to run. In the summer there were loads on buffet but when I was finally ready to buy one, pickings were slim. Prices seem to have risen in line with high fuel costs.
I've looked at CRZs a few times in the past, for the same reasons. Agree they seem to have got expensive recently.Seems like it all worked out well for you, as this looks like a decent Clubman for you to run as a third car.
Court_S said:
A CarPlay screen is on the way which will give me the opportunity to remove the dashcam which I found a bit distracting driving home last night.
Will be interested to see this. How do you fit a CarPlay screen in the R55 dashboard?The screen basically replaces the centre speedo with a new unit with a screen in the middle for CarPlay. With warning lights, fuel etc being around it. The installation looks quite involved but it’ll give me the opportunity to remove the dash cam.
Nice to see a clubman getting some love, I have got a JCW one as a bit of a project car alongside my m140 and out the box they drive so well with, imo, a nice gear change.
I will be following this to hopefully pick up some tips, the handbrake gator just lifts out of there btw, as the handbrake adjustment nut is just there.
I will be following this to hopefully pick up some tips, the handbrake gator just lifts out of there btw, as the handbrake adjustment nut is just there.
Court_S said:
Thanks.
The screen basically replaces the centre speedo with a new unit with a screen in the middle for CarPlay. With warning lights, fuel etc being around it. The installation looks quite involved but it ll give me the opportunity to remove the dash cam.
I've seen these for the R50/R52/R53s but the fact that the replacement speedo is only in kilometers puts me off.The screen basically replaces the centre speedo with a new unit with a screen in the middle for CarPlay. With warning lights, fuel etc being around it. The installation looks quite involved but it ll give me the opportunity to remove the dash cam.
PistonbrokePaul said:
Nice to see a clubman getting some love, I have got a JCW one as a bit of a project car alongside my m140 and out the box they drive so well with, imo, a nice gear change.
I will be following this to hopefully pick up some tips, the handbrake gator just lifts out of there btw, as the handbrake adjustment nut is just there.
It seems to drive well enough; albeit it’s not very fast. The gear change seems pretty good and overall, much like my old R52/3 era cars that I loved.I will be following this to hopefully pick up some tips, the handbrake gator just lifts out of there btw, as the handbrake adjustment nut is just there.
I’ve already had the gaiter out to scrap the grot out. Seeing this is exactly why I avoid eating in my cars.
Court_S said:
danb79 said:
Looks a good buy that Sam; love these in 4 door and JCW finish
That interior filth is making me itch
Cheers Dan.That interior filth is making me itch
Yeah, the interior is absolutely f
king hanging. Definitely going to be a seat out, trim bits out to get at it all.
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