Opinions on Mini Clubman

[ten200]

Hi,

I've spent far too much time driving a boring car and browsing Autotrader for the car that I'm going to buy one day. Reading the 1 Car A Month thread has inspired me to finally get a second car just because I can - I won't be changing cars every month, but I'd like to try a few different fun cars over the next few years so would probably only keep each one a few months.

The current car is an Astra, which will still be used for commuting and the odd times I have to drive the parents somewhere. I've read the buying guides and I know that the Cooper S and JCW are relatively complex and could potentially be expensive if anything goes wrong, but my Astra is 150bhp and the 2nd car needs to be more powerful than that or there's not much point having it.

I'm looking at a Mini Clubman, as I've always preferred them over the other models. These two have come up for sale fairly close to home:

2008. £4,195
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2011. £5,500. Not my choice of colour scheme and a bit more than I'd planned to spend, but a JCW and with 6 months warranty
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[irocfan]

I'd be asking why the 2011 has had 7 owners in its life. Does seem like an inordinate amount for a small engined car

[DaveyBoyWonder]

From everything I've read I'd definitely be looking at a post 2011 car if I was after an S/JCW. So out of those two, the JCW without a doubt.

[chrisch77]

IIRC the Cooper S got the better N18 engine from 2010 but the JCW didn't get the updated engine until 2012(?). On that basis both of those cars are likely to have the 'less desirable' (or read more borkable) N14 engine, so beware of high oil consumption and timing chain death rattle.

[chrisch77]

The R55 Clubman platform is good though - we've had our Cooper D since just after the launch in 2007. Aside from the Peugeot engine, it has been very reliable over 80k miles. Main issues have been some corrosion on the edge of the RH rear door within the first couple of years where it gets rubbed by the seal, and two door lock modules failed (at 10+years).

The engine on the other hand....Oil leaks, squeaky cam belt tensioner and sooty leaks from the turbo.

[Chrismawa]

chrisch77 said:

IIRC the Cooper S got the better N18 engine from 2010 but the JCW didn't get the updated engine until 2012(?). On that basis both of those cars are likely to have the 'less desirable' (or read more borkable) N14 engine, so beware of high oil consumption and timing chain death rattle.

This isnt a "proper" JCW though. Its a Cooper S with the JCW tuning package.

[chrisch77]

Chrismawa said:

This isnt a "proper" JCW though. Its a Cooper S with the JCW tuning package.

Apologies - you are (partly) correct, I hadn't looked at the links in detail. The 2011 car appears to be a Cooper S with JCW body kit only, not a factory JCW model.

[Maracus]

chrisch77 said:

IIRC the Cooper S got the better N18 engine from 2010 but the JCW didn't get the updated engine until 2012(?). On that basis both of those cars are likely to have the 'less desirable' (or read more borkable) N14 engine, so beware of high oil consumption and timing chain death rattle.

The N18 came out around July 2010.

Our December 2010 registered MCS has an N18.

[Chrismawa]

chrisch77 said:

Apologies - you are (partly) correct, I hadn't looked at the links in detail. The 2011 car appears to be a Cooper S with JCW body kit only, not a factory JCW model.

Have a look again. It's down as 190bhp which means its likely to have the JCW Tuning kit as well.

[Driver101]

Chrismawa said:

chrisch77 said:

Apologies - you are (partly) correct, I hadn't looked at the links in detail. The 2011 car appears to be a Cooper S with JCW body kit only, not a factory JCW model.

Have a look again. It's down as 190bhp which means its likely to have the JCW Tuning kit as well.

It is an S and not a JCW.

It has JCW bumpers, but it's missing the side skirts. It has JCW front brakes too. I don't think this was ever an option and must be a self fitted upgrade.

[mikeswagon]

Chrismawa said:

Have a look again. It's down as 190bhp which means its likely to have the JCW Tuning kit as well.

IIRC N14 was 175, N18 was 190, no tuning kit there, it's all cosmetic stuff and a bit OTT?

Driver101 said:

It is an S and not a JCW.

It has JCW bumpers, but it's missing the side skirts. It has JCW front brakes too. I don't think this was ever an option and must be a self fitted upgrade.

The bumpers are probably easier to come by second hand, as are the brakes. At that age the side skirts would have the grills towards the back, and you'd normally have an alcantara steering wheel too.

Of the 2 I'd definitely have the red one, and allow a bit of money to change the timing chain if it's not been done recently, and possibly a de-coke while you're at it.

I loved my 2010 JCW, I still miss him.

[Chrismawa]

mikeswagon said:

Chrismawa said:

Have a look again. It's down as 190bhp which means its likely to have the JCW Tuning kit as well.

IIRC N14 was 175, N18 was 190, no tuning kit there, it's all cosmetic stuff and a bit OTT?

Yep you are right, I was looking for this info on the N18 but couldn't find it So looks to be just an S with the N18 and an interesting colour combo....