Mini Clubman/Countryman servicing info?

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nicam49

Joined
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Leicestershire
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Hi All! My son in his early 30s has never driven, now has a young family and is coming to live with us in the UK after being abroad for 9 years. He's anxious to want to learn to drive asap, and I'd like to get him a smallish suitable family car. I watched an episode of Wheeler Dealers Dream Car recently and was impressed with the choice of a Mini (Cooper?) Countryman that was the desired car. I do most of my own repairs on my Mondeo mk3 TDCi and Classic Impreza, and there's a wealth of advice and knowledge on forums and youtube videos to help me. I'm wondering if there's the same support out there for the Mini, - my daughter has a Renault Modus and the available tech info is next to impossible to obtain.
The Renault forum is paranoid about divulging any info they deem 'copyright' and suppress any 'helpful' stuff.....
How so with the Mini.....?..... .are all the engines cam chain driven and easy to access? What about code readers that read 'Mini' not just generic OBD codes, that sort of thing I'm thinking about.... I've been spoiled with the Mondeo as there's a software called Forscan that's supported and written by enthusiasts and free to download and runs on a very cheap reader and can do live monitoring and code injectors too......
Thanks for your thoughts!
 
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I read generally that the Mini has a poor reputation for reliablity - especially when a few years old - and spares are very expensive. Cars now BMW-engineered and thought to be unnecessarily complex.
 
Had to hire a car last week for 2 days and it was an Aygo X. Flippin' 'eck! soooo much technology! I kept thinking "so much to go wrong" ... and "what chance has a mere mortal got to fix it if/when it does".
Actually I couldn't even start it! Didn't know that with "modern cars" you have to press the clutch in before it'll start.
 
nicam49 said:
Had to hire a car last week for 2 days and it was an Aygo X. Flippin' 'eck! soooo much technology! I kept thinking "so much to go wrong" ... and "what chance has a mere mortal got to fix it if/when it does".
Actually I couldn't even start it! Didn't know that with "modern cars" you have to press the clutch in before it'll start.
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Well that is the case with all modern cars. Even my very very cheap but brand new Dacia comes with all sorts of electronic gizzardry which stops, even mechanics who are supposed to know what they are doing such as dealer mechs, from fixing stuff without throwing parts at it which gets expensive for us mere mortals. Want a car that is easy to work on then buy an old banger 30 or 40 years old and do it up.
 
Mini countrymans aren't too bad wife has ran a 1.6 cooper s all4 for 60k.

The petrol are peugeot engines and generally reliable, they will want a chain doing at some point in there life but it's not a bad job.

Coil packs fail but that's not unusual on any car nowadays, there cheap enough to replace.

Software wise find yourself a copy of ista d for a laptop or download the carly app, ista is dealer level software but carly covers alot of the same stuff in an easier to use format.
 
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Have to admit I've been toying with the idea of buying an early clubman .. 'ere indoors loves the thought of a 'large' mini with the rear doors, but my local garage (that I have patronised for years) warned me off getting one, due to unreliability & cost of parts.
 
Family car. Aygo too small, bmw mini ok, personally I would go for a focus. Not had one but a decent size small family car, spares readily available and loads of garages to choose from. Alternatively how about a bmw 1 series, very helpful forum (babybmw.net).
 
Old Salt said:
Family car. Aygo too small, bmw mini ok, personally I would go for a focus. Not had one but a decent size small family car, spares readily available and loads of garages to choose from. Alternatively how about a bmw 1 series, very helpful forum (babybmw.net).
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Thanks for the suggestions.

Partner learned to drive in a MIni decades ago & an original was her first car .. really fancies a Clubman now. As for me, not a Ford lover & already own a proper BM (25 year old 5 series)
 
norseman said:
Have to admit I've been toying with the idea of buying an early clubman .. 'ere indoors loves the thought of a 'large' mini with the rear doors, but my local garage (that I have patronised for years) warned me off getting one, due to unreliability & cost of parts.
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I agree with them
 
Get a micra. I like its long service intervals for various things - less hassle for a DIYer. Though, I never like the look of japanese cars.
 
DiyNutJob said:
Get a micra. I like its long service intervals for various things - less hassle for a DIYer. Though, I never like the look of japanese cars.
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I agree with the reliability aspect of the Micra, but it would give me a definite image problem .. nothing to do with badge snobbery, more a question of reaching a certain age when comfort & a bit of class takes precedence over the 'Mum's taxi' association ;)

To put it bluntly, I wouldn't be seen dead in one .. sorry.
 
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