I think you ought to get it–fun car to drive. Well made, but have a mechanic go over it well. Main systems, especially, engine (compression test, exhaust system), brakes (inspect wear), steering (suspension and links), and wear and tear (carpets, pedals, handles, glass and chrome).
Assuming you will keep it for the long run, find a great mechanic and stay in touch with them.
I got a low mileage 2014 Clubman a couple of years ago. It’s pretty decent but had a few build quality issues (I’m blaming on the Germans as it’s made in Bayern not my home town )
Check engine light comes on a lot, the interior panels on back door have come loose, and there some mildly scary electrical issues where whole system including ignition and door locks shuts down. Definitely not what I’d expect of a modern car.
I bought a 2018 Mini Cooper S Clubman from a dealership in 2023. It had less than 27,000 miles on it and was painted British Racing Green Metallic. No regrets so far. My circumstances may differ significantly from yours in that I’m in the U.S., don’t drive all that much (about 1500 miles/year) and drove a 1968 Camaro for 33 years before getting the Mini.
Perhaps more critical than whether to get an S is which model to buy. I felt uncomfortable with the small size of a regular Mini. It gave me the feeling of a deathtrap on wheels. That left a choice of Clubman or Countryman. The former is the Mini version of a station wagon; the latter, an SUV.
There was an option for an extended service contract (ESC). Thanks to advice I got in Used Car Warranty: Worth the $$$? and elsewhere, I went without it. Average total maintenance cost over two years has been about $150/year, none of which would have been covered by the ESC. Nevertheless, if something more serious was to go wrong, Mini repairs can be very expensive.
Manual shift seems kind of silly in this day and age – especially if one’s driving terrain involves steep hills or heavy traffic – but it’s a personal choice. It does add potential clutch abuse to the list of things that need repairing.
If buying from a dealer, “certified pre-owned” condition is the preferred way to go (mine wasn’t). If not buying from a dealer, the reliability of the mechanics who check it out before you buy is critical.
In 2001, I bought a Mustang Cobra (USA), thinking this was the last gas/petrol car I’ll have. And just a 5-speed. Next year, a much better 6-speed. And nowadays, you can get a GT supercharged that would smoke my Cobra.
I had one more Sable Wagon to replace my T-bird “grocery getter” (That Cobra was the definition of a “garage queen” - don’t think it was ever rained on).
I certainly will miss shifting (in the UK I’ll be reaching for what - mid-air? Or is there still a PRNDL (pernundal, as Eva Gabor called it in ‘Green Acres’)
I like that there are no ‘absolutely do nots’ above, as I recall the initial reception of the car (besides not being a “real BMW”), as it was (and is) heavy yet most drivers I’ve heard speak of theirs fondly.
I don’t have even 2020+ EV money, which is why I centered, more or less, on 2016 (for about any car). I do like the Clubman, if only you don’t see many. So 25 years later, this next vehicle is my last petrol car. And I guess manual shift too. In 20 years it’ll sound like I’m talking Model T’s.
I’ve targeted (circa) 2016 as 2014 and before seems a bit shady (even if it’s just high mileage).
Also here, the MOT (inspections) are publicly viewable when you enter the tag (license plate) letters/ numbers. What might have failed, warnings, advisories, and mileage. A lot of people seem to drive their tires down to (and below) the minimum, which says a lot about the owner. Oddly, though, last night before I went to bed, I read an ad for a 2016 for £7K (about $8K), which said one wheel was slightly not round. “Oh, that thump is part of the BMW ride experience.”
I may not be close enough to test drive, yet I will pay several hundred for an independent tester. And ask if all the wheels are round.
ETA: Also loosened up a bit to accept a non “S” or at least not be exclusively “S”
At least early on, that was the thing with Ford Mustang’s: The six cylinder was a secretary’s car and the eight cylinder (was it always a GT?) was the manly car. When I had a Mustang Cobra it was a thing to wave at other Cobra drivers and some were female.
I don’t know BMW’s entire lineup - yet would think anything mom would drive her kids to school in is their girl car. I reckon some mini-SUV probably smaller than the (eta: ack, which is a largish Toyota - so something mini-SUV will have to do) Rav4 which a friend of mine has.
I have a manual transmission 2016 Mini Cooper S convertible which is a ton of fun to drive. It has been essentially mechanically flawless. Other than maintenance (brakes, tires, fluids), I don’t think anything has gone wrong with it.
If anything, the clutch is too easy – when you downshift, it will automatically goose the engine to get the revs up for you. Very little turbo lag, good torque.
Four different drivers in the house, all with somewhat different shifting styles, and the clutch and transmission have been flawless.
I reckon I will! The rev-matching on downshifts will have a learning curve so both me and the car aren’t doing it. Higher costs, yet I’m old enough no insurance company will charge me like a “boy racer” so I’ll hope there’s only been a couple responsible owners (somewhat glean-able from the MOT histories). I dunno (yet) how to tell if a turbo engine has been beaten on.
I has an S stick shift. I loved how it drove. (except for the torque steer, which, despite the engineers’ efforts, was still pretty pronounced). I wish I still had what it was when I bought it.
But it was a maintenance hog! It wasn’t quite a “hangar queen” but I spent far too much money on repairs. Did you know you have to remove half the front end for basic maintenance? That there is no off the shelf socket than can be used to get the spark plugs out? The battery is a special size that cost a fortune?
And those were the things I had repaired. I lived for years with the radio/mutli-display not working when the temp was above 40F. (estimated repair cost: over $2000). The moonroof quit moving, and I never opened it again because I was afraid I couldn’t close it.
Until the repair costs exceed the value of the vehicle.
I sold it with the check engine light on, for that reason.
But my dealer had the nicest, cleanest service bay I have ever seen!
Heheh, when I bought mine all of my gay friends would exclaim “But you’re straight!” when I told them what car I bought.
I did truly love driving that car. I had a 2007 S with sport suspension and a limited slip diff. It was a complete delight to autocross, keeping it on three wheels through a turn was easy. Nothing built at the time except a Lotus Elise stopped better than it did.
However, my long-term experience was much like @Just_Asking_Questions 's experience*. After two sets of brake pads, you had to replace the discs due to wear. One of the rear taillights just melted itself one day. At around 110,000 miles, a known issue with the valve gear struck me, and it had to be rebuilt to the tune of about $3K. At that point I was done with it and traded it in on my WRX.
So, at least mine had BMW maintenance habits. Not a cheap car to own. But every once in awhile I’ll see one from the generation mine was from and I’ll look at it wistfully and remember what fun it was to drive.
I loved mine, but I wouldn’t do it again.
*sorry about that, saw purple and didn’t double check.
The difference between the 2014 (2013? Something like that) Mini that I had and 2016 Mini that I traded up for was stark. I think that was when BMW finally took full control of the design – got rid of the big clock in the middle, redesigned the interior.
We didn’t run into problems with the older one, but we only had it a few years.
You can still do your own rev matching. My BMW has the exact same system and it disables it’s own attempt to help you out the moment you hit the accelerator yourself.
I’ve had a number of BMWs and found that the first four years are super easy, maintenance-wise. Years 5 or 6, things start to creep in. Years 7 and beyond have always finally had that moment where my independent service guy has told me that he’d make the needed repairs, but that he didn’t recommend them.
When the evaporator coil on my 1 series started leaking at year 9, I took it in and I swear the guy turned pale. Basically said he hoped never to have to replace one again. Basically the entire interior had to come out, dashboard, electronics and all. And it was one of those things that was almost impossible to get back together 100% correct.
Service records are important to keep, and it seems that history needs to be known to your mechanic.
I’m not looking for a convertible unless that’s the way it goes. Same with AC. We’ve had a number of 40 degree days here (UK) yet typically only three or four a year and maybe another seven you’d want the top down. Yet if it can leak it will, and if the evap coil is that integrated with the dash and interior I can deal without AC unless again everything else about the car is just right. And I’m looking at 2016, give or take a year. If that being done isn’t logged in the service records, it sounds like something I should ask the mechanic inspector to see if he thinks it’s imminent (it won’t be his job - he’ll be wherever I find the car and it’s way unlikely to be around here.) Tractors are aplenty.
I don’t so much remember the gay/girl association of the mini in the USA (though in Ireland and Australia everyone I knew who had the classic mini was a woman). Yet initially, because they were making them mainly in Oxford, it definitely had the stigma of “not being a real BMW” yet at least by the 2010s they were making them in Germany.
Missed the window: By “if it can leak” I was referring to the soft-top of a convertible. I doubt there’s any correlation to the weather here and the evaporation coil.
I’ve never had any issues with leaking, and it stays outside all year uncovered in NJ winters. Uncovered, meaning there’s no tarp or anything on it, not that the top is down.
Okay then: less reluctance to get a convertible. I’ve got gray hair and if I lived in the USA I’d need a Corvette. I also probably underestimated the days to have the top down - I saw a guy a couple weeks ago with it down.
I’ll let the fates allow AC or not yet that repair you (oops - Pork_Rind) described is scary.
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