When you're buying a car, there are various checks that you should always carry out, such as making sure that all of the electrics work and that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is the same on the car as it is on all paperwork.
With Minis, however, there are several additional checks that you need to make, with these 3 being the most prominent. If you do come across one of these problems, it should not put you off buying the car - but you should take the problem into consideration when agreeing on a final sale price.
1. Power steering pump. Check out any number of Mini forums and it will be guaranteed that there will be at least a small number of threads asking why their new model Mini has suddenly got really difficult to drive, seeming to be really heavy.
What's strange is if you put someone over the age of 30 in the car that appears to be broken, chances are they would look at you and wonder what you were talking about.
This is because Mini's seem to be susceptible to faults with the power steering pump, making the car have no power steering, which is something of a luxury when compared to the feeling of driving a tank which was normal a few decades back.
Unfortunately, the power steering pump is located at the back of the engine, making it particularly difficult to get access to. Prices can range depending on if you buy a new or second hand part and how much of the labour you do yourself, but on average, you could be looking at costs of around GBP 500.
2. Suspension. When you are in a car and driving along a road, you may feel the car naturally start to drive to one side of the road, due to the camber of the surface. However, drive a second hand Mini away from any of the Mini dealers in the country and it wouldn't be surprising if you felt the car wanting to pull to the left. A lot.
This problem seems to have been fixed in the more recent models, but for those versions that were put on the forecourts of Mini dealers for the few years after the millennium, there appeared to be an issue with the suspension, requiring for new springs to be fitted. This shouldn't cost as much as the power steering pump, but still put aside one or two hundred pounds for the full job.
3. Cold start death rattle. If you're a Mini enthusiast and participate in discussions with other fans, both online and offline, it's likely that you've heard of the 'cold start death rattle'.
If you've got a second generation BMW Mini (built from 2006 onwards) and your Mini makes a strange sound when you turn the ignition on on a cold morning, you could very well be the victim of the 'cold start death rattle'. Unlike other cars that might sound a little bit dubious when turning them over in cold weather, the Mark 2 Mini's sound like there is something seriously wrong.
Initially, BMW failed to diagnose the problem and it took until the latter part of 2009 for them to come up with a permanent solution to the problem (which turned out to be the timing chain tensioner). There is no recall for all affected models at the moment, as the noise is more of an annoyance than a problem, but some cases are being dealt with on an individual basis, completely free of charge to the customer.
Author Resource:-
Jardine Motors Group UK operates a large portfolio of specialist franchises of the world's most prestigious marques, including Mini dealers.
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