Hey folks

I'm New around here and have my eye on Clumbmans (or would it be Clubmen?). In the past, when I'd see a Mini Cooper I'd think: I wanna drive one. When I recently saw the Clubman, I thought: I want to own one! Problem is, I live in Louisiana, 130 miles from the nearest Mini dealer. Around here, within 60 miles our choices are the "Big three," Nissans and and Toyotas. 60 miles away can get you Honda, BMW, and MB, then the assorted Asians. Good luck even finding a manual transmission car.... really dreary. 120 miles and you can score a VW, which is what I did. I guess I should tell you my position so you can help me out. I realize I posted all this in the NEWCOMERS area. I know to repost on most forums is poor form but that thread may not get enough eyes. Forgive me.

Currently I have a 2006 VW GLI. This is the Jetta version of the GTI. This was the first model year for this car's generation (MK IV? I can't keep up) and has what was then, the new 2.0T FSI. Great engine for 20K miles then carbon buildup, turbo leaks, PCV valves blowing, and the rest of VW engineering and Puebla, Mexico factory issues arise. Look, if you buy a German brand car, get a model made in Germany. Same with Japanese cars: Japan. American? U.S. factory. Globalization isn't what it's cracked up to be with cars.

So, you can say I have experience with cars whose support is 100+ miles away. This VW has been loaded and truck transported more than a load of bricks. Oh, by the way... I'm on my sixth (6th) AC compressor. 125,000 miles. And have you heard the horror stories about VW customer service? True stories. I know I'm really rolling the dice with a Mini and am doing as much research as I can first. So, the questions:

Realizing it's too early to know everything about the 2017 models, what are Mini's trends as far as working bugs out of their cars? I guess 2016 was the first model year for this generation of Clubman? How old is this 2.0 liter motor? Is it part of the N18 engine family? From what I've read, the N14 intake would gum up easily with carbon and I'm assuming this was mostly due to PCV valves blowing, like VW. How does the N18 (or whatever engine they're using) remedy this?

If I fully believe Mini's marketing claims, I'm led to believe the new Clubman is more durable with better build and material quality than before. What say you? How are the older ones holding up? I've been in third world countries that have better dirt roads than our maintained Louisianan roads, and I can't stand rattles. Regardless of previous Clubmen, is it reasonable to believe the 2017 good? Are they known to improve each year or generation?

I have hundreds of questions, but I'll leave it at this for now. Bottom line: considering what I'm used to enduring, can it be any worse going for the new Clubman?

Thanks.

 

Find a local mechanic well-versed on Mini. I've dealt with my local dealer for the last time - lied to me about an issue with my sunroof, which acted up after resetting the tire pressure sensors. They wanted to check it out & replace switches and motors, but it only needed a simple reinitialization. In another instance they told me my brand new battery was dead & they would be glad to sell me a pricey replacement. Nothing wrong with the battery. Had a couple of other minor issues that weren't actually as they portrayed them needing spendy fixes. The owner's manual directs you to see the dealer on issues where you need only reset service interval reminder lights, which leads me to believe it's not just a crooked local dealer, but the corporate structure that wants their hand on your wallet more than necessary, too.