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[BLAUGRANA]

Originally Posted by tigermann

I bought mine mid April 2008 and now have about 14K miles. Here's my list of issues or concerns:

1. Oil changes - I paid the dealer to do mine at about 5K ($130), then got the second one free after a year went by (11K). And they didn't reset the service interval so I will get another free change at 18K. Otherwise, I will continue to pay for extra ones myself and try to keep it changed every 5-6K miles.
2. Window dipper issues - first re-initialization lasted a week, second time lasted a month. Third time must have been the charm, it's been OK since and was not enough trouble to return to the dealer except for oil or other issues.
3. After the first few week I noticed a front window pillar plastic molding cover did not fit right, and the front inner wheel liners were trimmed too short and did not fit right - both fixed at first dealer visit
4. Missing driver door lower rubber molding that a lot of early Cubmans had - paid $17 and just put it on myself.
5. Door sills started coming unglued after 6 months, dealer replaced for free with ones that have upgraded glue

That's about it - everything else working perfectly. SO, basically I'm out about $150 so far, but been back to the dealer 4 times, so if you are far away from yours you might consider that.

Then there are a few annoyances:

1.The car (at least a stick) needs to be driven with the SPORT button on all the time to work well - but you have to push it down every time you re-start,
2. The seatbelt buckles catch between the seat and door - just a pain
3. Mini's come with some sort of anti-corrosive stuff that's between the metal pannels under the hood and in the door jams - which oozes out over time and requires frequent cleaning
4. The black plastic/rubberish components around the outside of the car (wheel well covers, moulding, etc) get wax on them and tough to clean
5. Mini's have serious brake dust - every car wash requires a lot of time on the wheels to look good
6. If you get run-flats and pick up a nail, the dealers won't fix them due to liability issues - need to find a tire shop with a run-flat mounting machine, most will patch if the nail is not on the side walls

and...it is too easy and too much fun to drive fast and I find myself way over the limit all the time (ouch!)

But the cars are a hoot - just get one and enjoy, and with the resale value and gas savings, if you decide you don't like it, you won't be out that much anyway.

2 The seatbelt issue is easily remedied. Just push up the plastic piece on the belt itself. I had that issue until I watched the owner's video.