“Problem Car” Alert ⚠️ The Mini Cooper

The Mini Cooper is a perfect vehicle for bombing around in Metro Vancouver. It handles narrow roadways well, but still has seating capacity for four. It is good on gas and makes parallel parking on Robson Street in rush hour a breeze. However, despite all of the pros this vehicle has, there is one very big “con” that is has as well… It’s engine.

The Mini Cooper may come across as sporty and fun at first glance, but the reality is there is nothing fun about having to replace your engine or transmission after just hitting 100,000 kms on your car. Unfortunately, for many Cooper owners, this was just such the case.

The problem has become so widespread that there are several lawsuits currently taking place in the United States of America. This is due in part to the great inconvenience that owners were caused, but also because despite the frequency, Mini never issued a proper recall.

This means that Cooper owners were forced to pay for the engine repair or replacement themselves. If you’d like to check for any current or previous recalls, you can do so HERE.

Mini Coopers have been noted by various car blogs, car magazines, safety councils, and consumer reporting agencies as having some of the most frequent and catastrophic issues on a vehicle.

From engine fires to timing chain failure, to transmissions failing, and a whole host of other issues right along with them, these problems have taken a good name of a playful vehicle and made it something many people steer clear of nowadays.

Parts for a mini are cheap, but the engines are expensive because finding one that is used and in good condition is next to impossible. This means that when you buy a replacement engine, 9 times out of 10 it will have to be a brand-new engine, which costs thousands of dollars.

What Years Were Affected with the Bad Engines?

The models you should try to steer clear of are the 2007-2013 models. They have the highest number of consumer reports regarding engine failure.

The engine failures were usually caused by cooling issues due to coolant leaks, which caused the engine to overheat. However, timing chain tensioner issues were also another commonly reported problem that directly affected the Cooper’s engine.

Newer models of the Mini Cooper have a higher reliability rating, but after several years of frequent engine problems that affected nearly every car that was sold, consumers have grown quite weary of buying a new Mini Cooper, no matter how much they amp up the interior design, technology, and innovations.

Mini Cooper’s Worst Years: 2007-2013

Mini Cooper Countryman’s Worst Years: 2010-2013

The Mini Cooper was redesigned in 2014 after the company was hit with multiple lawsuits due to the global engine problems on their vehicles. If you are planning on buying a new Mini Cooper, buy 2015 or newer to lower your risk.

Most Common Mini Cooper Problems

Just like any vehicle on the market today, the Mini Cooper has more than just engine issues. Although consumer reports show that engine failure is the biggest and most common issue, there are several problems that are common across nearly every year of the Mini Cooper.

Most Common Issues Are:

1.Transmission Failure

This is definitely one of those issues that you don’t want to have on any vehicle, especially when the vehicle you own really isn’t that old. The Mini Cooper is notorious for having premature transmission failure, and not because of how often it happens, but rather when it happens and how much it costs to replace the transmission.

Replacing a Mini Cooper’s tiny transmission costs on average between $6,000-$7,500, and if your Mini Cooper is older, it is hardly worth the price to do the replacement. However, the reason this most commonly happens is because of contaminated transmission fluid that doesn’t get changed enough.

Some vehicles will never need their automatic transmission fluid changed, while others need it done as part of routine maintenance at specific intervals. The Mini Cooper needs its ATF changed at least every 90,000 kms, or it runs a very high risk of the transmission failing.

As a professional scrap car removal company that has been serving Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since 2005, we’ve seen a lot of Coopers with blown transmissions. If you think your Cooper isnt’ worth anything because the engine or transmission is gone, think again. We always pay MORE!

When a timing chain goes, it can bend your valves, depending on whether or not the vehicle was driven after the chain went. When your valves are bent, your repair bill usually doubles.

The issue with the timing chain on Mini Coopers is that the wear prematurely which leads to unwanted slack in the chain. When things are flapping around under the hood, it’s never a good sign.

If your Mini Cooper’s check engine light comes on, get your vehicle to a professional mechanic promptly to ensure that it’s not your timing chain. Immediate attention will help reduce the chance of other major complications, as well as your repair bill.

3.Coolant Leaks from Thermostat Housing or Water Pump

As you continue to move down our list of Mini Cooper’s most common problems, you’ll notice that one of the issues that has impacted the Cooper the most is the automakers decision to use plastic in certain components instead of metal or other more durable materials.

This is the case with both the thermostat housing and water pump. Both vital components are made of plastic, and as we know, plastic breaks. This, in turn, causes coolant to leak from the vehicle. The problem is so common across every year of Mini Coopers that Mini Cooper themselves have advised consumers to change their thermostat housing and water pump every 50,000kms.

This is not something that is usually part of routine maintenance, and the fact they advise their own customers to fix their mistakes in design is ridiculous. No wonder so many Cooper owners sell their cars to More Cash For Scrap when no one else wants to buy a car with major (and regular) mechanical issues.

4.Front Radiator Support

Part of the Mini Coopers unique design is how small it is in stature, but also how low it sits to the ground. As with any low-riding vehicle, this makes it difficult to traverse speed bumps or “traffic calmers”, as they are sometimes called in Metro Vancouver’s residential neighbourhoods.

Additionally, it makes navigating deep city potholes and narrow roadways tough too because if you hit even a small curb with a Mini Cooper, the front radiator support will usually break. This is due in part to poor design, but also because the material it is made with is actually plastic, not metal.

As a professional scrap car removal company, we see many Mini Coopers come our way with various issues that have rendered them as scrap. And because so many Cooper owners are looking for parts like the front radiator support, we have a huge demand for scrap Mini Coopers.

If you have a Mini Cooper that has a dead engine, a blown transmission, bent valves, or anything in between, call More Cash For Scrap today. Our scrap car removal specialists will offer you MORE cash for your Cooper than any of our competitors.

Cash for Scrap Mini’s in Metro Vancouver

The Mini Cooper still has a lot of followers, although many of them have had to pay out thousands of dollars in repair bills to keep their vehicle on the road. Fortunately, for those Mini Cooper owners who would rather cut their losses, there’s More Cash For Scrap.

We offer MORE cash for scrap cars, especially Mini Coopers with a viable engine, than any other scrap car buyers. Since the engines are the hardest component to find in good condition, if you have one currently in your scrap Mini Cooper, you’ll get even MORE cash for your car.

Just call, text, or email our scrap car buying team today to find out what your vehicle is worth, and get an instant cash offer on it.

That’s why it’s so important that we get the details of your vehicle from you first over the phone before ever making you an offer on it.

Provide us with the make, model, year, condition, and location of your vehicle. Then, provide us with any vital details, like whether or not the engine still works, or the transmission is still in good condition, etc.

We will then make you an instant cash offer right over the phone or through text based off of the information you have given us. If you accept our offer, we’ll arrange a day and time for our free scrap car towing service to come collect your car.

Scrap Your Car for MORE Cash Today!

If you’d like to be well on your way to putting MORE cash back in your pocket, and to have less of a scrap car sitting in your driveway, garage, or anywhere else, give us a call.

We provide our scrap car removal service 7 days a week, from 7:00 AM-11:00 PM, and even work on most statutory holidays. No other scrap car buyer in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley can offer the same level of service as we do.

That’s why we have been the #1 scrap car removal company in the Lower Mainland area since 2005. Give us a call or send us a text, you’ll be glad you did!