Is the r56 cooper (not s) reliable?

[imahuman118]

Hi
I'd like to buy a mini with a £3k budget, whenever I start researching the issues I get swamped with people having problems with the cooper s.
The cooper s obviously has oil leaks, timing chain failures, clutch slippage and a bunch of other issues.

Does the normal mini cooper from 2007 with 75k miles have the same problems?

[mike9009]

No. There are a few reports about the timing chain, but nowhere like the 's'.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Not that I'm aware of. I run a 2008 R55 Cooper which obviously has the same engine and whilst it won't set the world on fire, its been faultless in the 13/14 months we've owned the car. In fact the whole car has been faultless.

[R56Cooper]

As others have said, the timing chain issues seem to be limited to the S cars.

Had my cooper for a year or so and not had any issues. It's quick enough as a daily driver (think 0-60 is mid 8s). Interior is very pleasant and well equipped.

[Touring442]

imahuman118 said:

Hi
I'd like to buy a mini with a £3k budget, whenever I start researching the issues I get swamped with people having problems with the cooper s.
The cooper s obviously has oil leaks, timing chain failures, clutch slippage and a bunch of other issues.

Does the normal mini cooper from 2007 with 75k miles have the same problems?

Yes. Whilst the Cooper doesn't have the intake port coking problems, it certainly suffers from oil leaks, stretched timing chain and broken guides as well as bore wear leading to high oil consumption. The chain can be ready for replacement by 50,000 miles but to be fair it's not a massive job.