This is exactly why you should NOT buy a Used MINI!

The MINI is about the riskiest used car you can buy!

[keithstapleton]

Being able to remove the front end makes working on them much easier, they are designed that way. The Peugeot engines are the biggest issue along with owners not following the correct service instructions. You’re spot on about all cars having their issues.

[rayrowland]

Had my 1.6 one for twelve years never let me down.

[chriswarren]

Imagine if Rover back in the late 90’s had developed this Mini with a 1600 Honda VTec? Be an absolute winner.

[simonsutton]

Makes the old Rover K series head gasket issue look trivial

[MrBinabanana]

In terms of the petrol engines, the reputation for timing chain problems and valve coking was earned by the N12 and N14 engines; they'd fixed the majority of the issues with the N18 engines on the later models from 2010 to 2013. Problems with them aren't unheard of but are far rarer, but they tend to get lumped in with the rest. Again, the root cause of many of the issues lies with the unrealistically long manufacturer service intervals. Service these every 6000 miles and make sure the oil level is correct and problems are rare.

[sabredogone]

Bought a Mini Cooper S in Newcastle travelling from Belfast with my teen son. Road trip :) Looked great. Took it for a test drive no issues. Timing chain had recently been changed.
Managed to get it home no issues. However just 2 days later when in sport mode and I did an overtake the eml came on. Long story short. Said was a MAF error but when I checked the MAF was 2021 so the previous owner knew about this issue when selling it to the dealer.
Walnut blasted the engine. Has driven perfect since then. Beautiful car and drives like a go cart.

[thisiszaphod]

Our 2009 1.6 Convertible - in my late wife's and now my hands for nine years all told, and promoted to this one's daily drive - regularly serviced, has had absolutely no issues except the usual comestables. Sails through her MoT every year. Totally reliable. Never to be sold, I should add!

[cclark]

Fantastic video Janes! For me one of the best. Probably because I had an '03 Cooper with the Midland 'box. Had it 9 years, bought for £2250, shipped it to Finland sold it in 2022 for €1900. Changed clutch and steering rack myself. As you said, everything needed front off, and often subframe dropped.

Still, I drove over 100k miles on top of the 125k when i bought it. I fitted a towbar! Cost me €500 a year in parts...driveshafts, wheel bearings, rear wishbones, brake lines, belt tensioners. Hated the constant work but it only broke down proper once. Did all the work myself, even spraying the rear light clusters after rust repair. Hated the "what now?" So many issues, loved it for driving and cabin.

ModMini on youtube saved me big time!

[markcowell]

Drove my sparkly new Cooper S out of the showroom in February 2007 and in February 2024, I am still driving it as my daily runabout. A couple of clutches, a new air con pump and one new thermostat housing have been the major outlays (plus all the usual tyres, shocks etc). Sunroof has given up the ghost and the paintwork is looking a bit sun beaten these days, but the old girl still raises a smile when the Sport button is pressed on a winding road.

[ianswanson]

The dreaded N47 or was it N46 engine, had the same in my 520D, has put me off BMW’s for life!!

[MrProplayer]

I had an R53 back in the day in black eye purple. Got Lohen to mod it to 260bhp, which was good back then for a supercharged engine. Had it for 5 years a genuinely, it never missed a beat. Best car ever.

[rocklter]

Had an r57 for 4 years. Had no issues at all. They are great cars. Look after it and it'll look after you.

[petea]

you're referring to the gen 2 model which has the Peugeot engines which we all know to avoid. The 1st and 3rd gen are good though.

[cabottaxi]

The 2.0d diesel engine in this car was called the N47. It was modified and superseded in 2015 by the B47 engine . Shouldn't cause any problems provided regular oil changes are done.

[johnpritchard]

Hello James, well, what a horror story the "super mini" was - but to have it sold so quickly to a well known mechanic at the garage where the service / repairs was carried out was a real bonus! Best wishes from Lincolnshire.

[Dreamweaver]

Wasn't this an engine built by Peugeot and not BMW, but saying that we have a 2021 Mini Cooper JCW with a proper BMW ICE and it's an absolute joy.

[martinjohnson]

Love your video's...free flowing, concise and very informative...thank you! Its shocking that a cheap plastic tensioner blade and poor tensioner are installed in these cars in the first place. Just from a 'Saving the earth' point of view, its unforgiveable penny pinching. I particularly feel for the high mileage car buyers on a tight budget, who suffer these totally unecessary costly problems...it could send them over the edge.

[JP-bhwb]

Important point you are missing: the problems you are talking about only affect the R56 Mini's produced from 2007-2013. Prince engines are poorly designed but the F series MINI's from 2014 on wards are much more reliable.

I suggest to change the title to mention this only affects R56 Minis and also the thumbnail as well as I believe that is an F56 Mini which is a completely different car to what is shown in the video..

[unlikelymechanic]

It is actually the spring going bad on the tensioner that makes the plastic break on the timing chain. Bought a cheap 1.6 cooper as my daughters 1st car as a project as it had death rattle. Really enjoyed working on it - did the chain with the engine still in the car

[MichaelMyers]

I have a 2005 Cooper S. It’s been fine, and I love it. I don’t drive it hard. It’s the preferred supercharged version, as I’d heard they’re more reliable than the later turbocharged models. Great video, by the way.👍🏻