2007 Mini cooper S (F56) any feedback/reviews?

H

hopz121

Veteran
 Guildford Surrey
Hi all

Well the zed will be sold sometime soon as it won’t be getting used as a daily anymore, and its not special enough in my eyes to warrant keeping it as weekend toy. But i will be saving for an Z4MC when it goes which should fit the bill perfectly.

We will still need a car between us so I have chipped in to buy a car with my misses, that i can use at the weekend when needed.

We have bought an ultra-low mileage 2007 Mini Copper S in chilli red from a main dealer and will be picking it up in a few weeks.

Anyone owned one before?

Any problems i should be looking out for?

How do they generally drive etc?

Any must have Mods?

Thanks

Ash
 
I had a 2008 MCS for 3 years. Bought with 30k miles on the clock

It was pretty reliable, the only issues I encountered were chain tensioners (sorted under warranty) and excessive oil use / carbon build up.

Mini quoted something like £300 for walnut shell blasting.

Other than that is was a great little car.

One thing I would advise. Buy the JCW dip stick. The standard one that I had was like a metal coiled spring at the bottom and was really hard to read.

The replacement one cost £16 and looked like http://new.minimania.com/part/G2NME3200/Mini-Cooper-Dipstick-Factory-Original-R55-R56-R57-R58-R59-R60

DSCN0123_zps5373d3cf.jpg


Dan
 
Yea i have read about tensioners but it will have a 1 year warranty minimum so i will keep an eye on that. Apparently you can hear it under 2000 RPM when cold if it needs changing.

How did you find out about excessive carbon build up? Would that be covered under warranty?

How did they drive compared to the zed i know one is FWD and one is RWD but do they drive well and are they fun?.

Thanks

Ash
 
My car was hesitating and making a tapping noise before boosting. Mini first told me to use Redex but that didn't resolve the issue.

It wasn't covered under warranty as its a cleaning / dirty fuel issue. I argued with them as I only ever used V Power but they still wouldn't budge.

They are great fun, the only reason why we got rid was due to medical reasons.
 
hopz121 said:
Where do you get the JCW dipstick DPG?
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I got it from the main dealer - it was about £16 IIRC

Looks like this one

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_14292643685138&drKey=1439&libId=i8lf3blg010004ri000DAbq6a9cxf&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.z4-forum.com%2Fforum%2Fposting.php%3Fmode%3Dquote%26f%3D5%26p%3D1123979&v=1&out=http%3A%2F%2Fnew.minimania.com%2Fpart%2FG2NME3200%2FMini-Cooper-Dipstick-Factory-Original-R55-R56-R57-R58-R59-R60&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.z4-forum.com%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D5%26t%3D76478%26p%3D1123982&title=Z4-forum.com%20%E2%80%A2%20Post%20a%20reply&txt=http%3A%2F%2Fnew.minimania.com%2Fpart%2FG2NME3200%20...%2058-R59-R60
 
Shares the basis of the engine architecture with the PSA group, and indeed the one in my car - different state of tune.

many horror stories on the interweb of turbos blowing etc, but if used and allowed to cool, should be good - mines just ticked over 30k without any issues, according to the internet it should have gone pop just after 12k...

driven a JCW edition of same car which was a hoot :driving:
 
My Ex GF had one. Was a great little car to drive.

It did suffer the chain tensioner. It was really noticeable on cold start up, but was sorted under warranty. I think more frequent oil changes helps as I think its an oil pressure issue to the tensioner or something along those lines. Cant really remember as it was a while ago.

I think it did use a bit of oil too!
 
The missus has owned two and I owned a JCW for a year.

Make sure you check the oil regularly! They do like to drink it and have no low oil level sensor :thumbsdown: The first thing that will tell you have low oil is the low oil pressure sensor coming on when you take a sharp corner. By that time you'll need to add a good 2ltr :headbang:
 
Not got an S but do have a 2007 R56 and have had it for coming on 3 years.
As has already been said they use oil and the manufacturer says anything up to 1 litre per 1,000 miles is normal. Dont rely on an oil light telling you it needs oil either.
Personally I think the cars are overrated and the quality of the interior is poor. If you think the noise driving a Z4 is bad just wait till you drive a mini.
On the plus side they handle really really well and hold their value.
We have a panoramic sunroof and although it is great it makes a bit of noise going over rough roads and theres also a bit of wind noise too.
Not had any problems with ours up until around 2 months ago when it was misfiring under 2000rpm and it was the plugs.
The drivers side rear caliper is sticking and needs replaced as the piston wont wind back in, its stuck solid.
And just last week the passenger door actuator has packed in which is another fairly common fault.
 
DPG said:
My car was hesitating and making a tapping noise before boosting. Mini first told me to use Redex but that didn't resolve the issue.

It wasn't covered under warranty as its a cleaning / dirty fuel issue. I argued with them as I only ever used V Power but they still wouldn't budge.

They are great fun, the only reason why we got rid was due to medical reasons.
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How many miles did you do a day? Just local BMW dealer advised me with my E88 that any journey under 15/20 miles each way was considered 'short' and this was leading to carbon build up. Funny that your dealer told you to use Redex, VWs 3 cylinders suffer a similar issue and their dealers advise using a tank of V Power every 3 to 4 tanks to keep the issue at bay. Although they may have suggested a non approved BMW product due to you already using V Power.
 
I had an o8 cooper s, brakes handling and steering area great, they are fairly pokey too. I switched from my z4 thinking it would be more economical but there wasnt much in it. Gf had it and I went back to a 3.0 z4. I hated how common they were, didn't feel special like the zed.

Mine had to have warranty work as it had rust bubbles on the rear quarters. This car was bought from a main stealer.
 
I had an S for a couple of years, at 15K miles the cold idle became intermittently hesitant and stuttery, using V power helped a bit but was not sorted, it also used oil. At 20k Miles a small oil leak appeared at the rear of the engine and developed the timing chain death-rattle. Dealers changed the high pressure fuel pump which cured the cold idle and an oil leak from a seal (?), as well as the timing chain. I found it a love/hate car, despite the excellent poke and handling the interior rattles and general build quality was disappointing, fed up I px'ed it and the dealers. The good news was they gave a huge valuation which is another-upside of Mini's in general.

Had a 54 plate cooper, then the S and now have a new Cooper so still love the Mini :thumbsup:
 
Angie4m said:
DPG said:
My car was hesitating and making a tapping noise before boosting. Mini first told me to use Redex but that didn't resolve the issue.

It wasn't covered under warranty as its a cleaning / dirty fuel issue. I argued with them as I only ever used V Power but they still wouldn't budge.

They are great fun, the only reason why we got rid was due to medical reasons.
Click to expand...

How many miles did you do a day? Just local BMW dealer advised me with my E88 that any journey under 15/20 miles each way was considered 'short' and this was leading to carbon build up. Funny that your dealer told you to use Redex, VWs 3 cylinders suffer a similar issue and their dealers advise using a tank of V Power every 3 to 4 tanks to keep the issue at bay. Although they may have suggested a non approved BMW product due to you already using V Power.
Click to expand...

It did about 10 miles a day mid week then about 50 miles at a weekend, so not much at all.
 
Just remembered, 6 months ago I had to get a new clutch fitted after the crank seal went and put oil on the clutch.
The engine has to be removed after dismantling the front end and cost me a fortune.
Another common failure apparently.
 
Never had one myself by a good friend of mine has had two.

Pretty much the same view as what's been mentioned. Good handling, fairly nippy and fun but build quality let them down and they are as common as...

2006 Cooper S which drank oil like it was going out of fashion.
Had numerous engine niggles and BMW/Mini were useless in sorting them out.
Engine finally went pop and dealer said they'd replace the engine for free given that it was nearly new and had only done minimal miles. Friend didn't want it and the car was returned after 12 months and BMW bought it back.

She's since had another one.... 2008 Cooper S convertible. Kept that for 2 years without any issue at all. Just before deciding to sell the roof seals were starting to perish and there was water leaking in the driver and passenger doors. BMW wanted £500+ for new seals so she chopped it in and got an A5 2.0 TFSI S Line Convertible.
 
Mine broke a lot and had loads of rattles. I hear the new one (F56) is much better in this respect. Shame it's gopping...
 
I had an R56 from brand new when they first came out at the end of 06. I had the tensioners done under warranty and also the drive shafts needed replacing as one had broken it's seals and had lost all its oil what ever that means. I ran it in properly and always warmed it up before using full throttle and in the first 2 years and 40k miles it required no oil top up. Sadly on its second service it was over filled with oil by the mini technician. Many problems ensued after this that I won't bore you with.

It's a great handling car, you can really throw it around and feels very predictable and it's also a good motorway long distance driver with pretty good refinement for a car like this. I specified the sports suspension on my car and body control was excellent. It could get a bit scrabbly on broken surfaces and ridged roads but on roads that have a good surface even if they are undulating it felt very secure. The engine has excellent torque in mid to low revs but also revs freely and has good top end power.

As an everyday car that's fun to drive I don't think there's much to touch it.
Hope you like it!
 
ocrx8 said:
Mine broke a lot and had loads of rattles. I hear the new one (F56) is much better in this respect. Shame it's gopping...
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Agree the new model is a quantum leap in terms of build and materials, but gopping!? :brucelee:

:wink:
 
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