[edit: more details downthread]

Nice clean car with all records from Mini. Actually still has a few months of extended warranty left.

The car was walnut shelled about 10K miles ago (car now has 60K+ on it). Should I expect it to be good for a while, or is this the kind of thing that's more or less routine maintenance?

Thanks for any info.

 

One more quick question: at low speeds I noticed what I believe was significantly increased tire noise when turning gently. Is this normal? Haven't heard it to this degree on any other car that I can recall.

 

Walnut shell blasting is going to have to be done regularly, but not too often. The noise could be because of the tires, do you know the model? Runflats usually make more noise, and the type of tire can matter too

 

Walnut blasting, unfortunately, is considered to be "routine maintenance" on the MINI Cooper S. I just had mine done about 5k miles ago, and it made a night and day difference. I wasn't too happy about forking out $450 out of pocket, but in the end, I was actually extremely happy with the results. I personally, will probably have it done to my MINI once a year.

I have Bridgestone runflats and my tires a bit loud. There honestly could possibly be several factors contributing to the noise.

The extended warranty is great, if it is transferable. Either way, I definitely recommend getting an extended warranty of your own when that one is up. MINI has its issues, and you certainly would want to be protected in case anything happens - with any car though, not just a MINI.

I got my MINI back in September and the only thing I had to do was the walnut blasting the following month - it was running rough and may not have been something the previous owner took care of. Other than that, I take great care of my car and so far, it is mechanically sound with zero issues at 58k.

 

Tires are Kumho Ecstas. Not sure the specifics beyond that. They're pretty new with just a few thousand miles on them.

I actually don't know if they're runflat or not. Seems like a good question to ask.

 

Check and see if the tires are choppy..but also dont rule out a bad wheel bearing. A bad wheel bearing is very noticeable when turning. Not as noticeable when going straight! My first wheel bearing went out at 70k. and it was real bad by that time.. funny thing was a week later the other side went out! good luck!

 

I had the ecsta's on my '06 S and they were terrible: loud, rough and loud. Did I mention loud? Switched to a new set of the General all season high performance tires and am loving the difference. Smooth and quiet!!!

Bryan

 

I had the valves/ports blasted after about 30k miles, and I think that this is the proper maintenance interval.


Issues that I would have the dealer inspect (if they haven't been fixed yet)
1. Auxiliary water pump (recall to replace control board)\
2. thermostat housing leaks (see if there is any blue/green stains on the right side of the engine or on top of the trans bellhousing).
3. Oil leaks - valve cover, oil filter housing (shows up as wetness above the exhaust dowpipe on the lower front of the engine), turbo oil line (leak where the line joins the top of the turbo housing).


Any of the items in #2 or 3 above will be $400+ each to have the dealer repair them. You will eventually get the leaks. I did all 4 items between 60 and 80k miles.


Make sure if you have the extended warranty or extended maintenance. The extended maintenance includes oil changes, brake pads/rotors, wiper blades, brake fluid flush, and air&cabin filters. Have the dealer confirm that all of these items are up do date before the maintenance runs out (you need to request new wiper blades).


These are fun cars, but there is definitely maintenance required.


Have fun,
Mike

 

Got some more details on the car. Also it appears to have the maintenance plan, not extended warranty, through May of this year.

• New clutch ~2K miles ago
• Turbo heat shield installed same time as clutch
• New front brake pads same time
• HPFP replaced about 6K miles ago
• Walnut shelled about 10k miles ago (mentioned this above)
• Same time (10k miles ago) oil pan gasket leaking, repair declined

My sense is that if the oil pan gasket is leaking that I can probably do it myself. Anyone have experience doing that? If so, how much of a pain is it?

Appreciate any thoughts.

 

Last "standard scope" whatever that is was about two weeks ago. No problems found.

 

Yeah, it looks like the owner replaced with runflats. Seems these are pricey; I gather they spent something over $1K.

I'll probably get another set of wheels and wrap them in some summer HP tires. According to Tire Rack the Hankook Evo V12s are amongst the best in that category; I run the same tire on my Mustang and like them. Here in Texas we can run summer tires more or less year round.

 

The oil pan gasket is a bead of silicone sealant. I think that you can get it off if you drop the exhaust (which is easy). I checked mine when I had my downpipe off. My leak was the oil filter housing, not the oil pan. You can definitely do that yourself.

Any history of replacing the timing chain or tensioner? This is another common problem that I forgot to mention above.

Mike

 

No record of timing chain tensioner service. That's a recall item, correct?
Should I be able to get it sorted at no charge even without a problem?

 

Yes. Our 09 is at the dealer right now getting timing chain, water pump and heat shield recalls done. 95k.

 

OK. Thanks to all for the feedback/answers. I'm going to go ahead and buy the car. Will do that Thursday after the seller gets a small chip in the windscreen repaired.

Looking forward to joining you Miniacs! Will post pics of the car after I detail the ever living ***** out of it this weekend.

Any thoughts on where to get another set of OEM wheels without paying OEM prices? Guess I'll look at the classifieds here. Or maybe I'll just spring for new rubber on the existing wheels so I don't have to drive on runflats.

 

I've found great deals for wheels on craigslist/searchtempest.

 

Not sure where you are from, but check craigslist. Get familiar with what you like. There are over a dozen OEM wheel choices. You will need at least 16" to clear the front brakes on your S. I would drive it a while with the setup that you have, so that you can decide what to do with wheels and tires.

Welcome to the club.....

Have fun,
Mike