Hello all,

I'm brand new to the forum and have a potentially very stupid question, so I apologize in advance for that.

I bought my wife a brand new 2008 Cooper-S hatchback four years ago, 6spd manual and pretty much loaded except for leather and rain sensing windshield. She absolutely adores the car which now has 37,000 miles on it.

Having said that, we're now just outside of the factory warranty and we're wondering if the previous four years is any indication of what next four, or seven or even ten years will bring. Quite frankly, we're scared! The car has been in the shop for numerous repairs, computer glitches, new water pump, a complete engine overhaul because of carbon build up ($3,500 job if we had to lay for it) and now, just out of warranty, new thermostat and other bits costing $600+. Take into account the car is babied. Always garaged, aways expertly maintained and living the good, easy life near the beach in Southern California.

My wife, despite loving her little "English" car says we should sell it before it eats us out of house and home and buy her a Honda Civic or Hyundai. Of course I'm resisting because the Mini is such a blast to drive and still, so utterly unique. But I share her fear. On one hand, I feel like we've gone through all the numerous factory recalls and (hopefully) been thought the worst, now it should be smooth sailing! But when the thermostat started leaking right outside of the warranty, I started looking around for a buyer.

Ok, I know this is a stupid and loaded question, but does anyone have a sense of what miles 38,000 to 100,000 brings with these cars? Should I simply expect to fork put thousands over the next five years? Is it reasonable to expect this cute car to be as bullet proof as a Civic? Am I asking too much?

Lastly, has anyone had any experience with third party extended warranties that are worth their salt? I don't know what they cost, but if $1,500 or so today covers potentially many thousands down the road, I'm willing to consider it.

Many thanks in advance!

Michael Buday

 

All you are going to get here is my opinion and things to think about.

Once you get that "feeling" about a car not being reliable, it is hard to get rid of. Anything that happens will reinforce it, where as in other situations you might find it normal.

The three big known problems are the carbon build up, timing chain/tensioner and the thermostat housing. Sounds like you have had two of the three taken care of. You can slow the carbon build up by adding an oil vapor catch can. Pretty easy to install. (also drive the car harder and on longer trips) The thermostat housing is made of plastic and will give you a limited life. Sounds like yours went early. This one should last 10 yrs. The chain tensioner can be a very expensive proposition if you don't catch it early. Early it can be a new tensioner part and an hour labor or so. Late, it is the tensioner, guides and chain. Beyond late is BAD. Some MINIs seem to have this problem and others have totally avoided it. Watching the oil level and changing it ~5-7.5K seems to help.

Will it ever be as bullet proof as a Honda? NO, sorry. But there is joy of ownership issue. Priceless!

Warranties are OK, but look at the costs and read the fine print. They were quite expensive when I looked into getting one.

IF you are really worried about your MINI, think about selling and getting a Justa. The same fun driving with a bit less of the punch, but a much better track record of repair.

I love my MCS. Had the tensioner issue under warranty (3x as they worked out solutions) Two years off warranty and no problems. I am planning for the carbon build up walnut shell blasting and the themostat housing to go in the future.

Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for all this great info. A couple of questions:


- Any idea of the cost to replace the tensioner?


- When the thermostat was replaced, the repair shop said the Mini Dealer did not replace the PVC valve when the engine was overhauled for carbon buildup. Is it complex/expensive to change this now? I'm very handy and do a lot of work on the car myself, is this something I can do?


- My neighbor just had his '07 Mini 'S' fuel pump fail. Is this a common issue as well?

Lastly, what is a "Justa". I couldn't tell if you were kidding or not!!


Many thanks again for all this great info.

 

A "justa" is a MINI without the turbo and some other "S" features.

 

For the tensioner, you can do it yourself for about $50 +/- if it is just the tensioner being replaced. If you have to do the entire timing chain, guides, etc., probably somewhere between $1500 - $2000 depending on your dealer. (btw, changing your oil more often is probably not going to help reduce the odds of this failure occurring).

The high pressure fuel pumps (HPFP) are a common problem. MINI has extended the warranty on them if they fail to 10-year, 120,000 miles.

fwiw, I'm at 108k miles and thus far I've only spent $5 on repairs. That said, I threw a CEL this morning, so looks like I have a repair imminent. I do have a couple minor oil leaks that need to be addressed that would be about $1,100 if the dealer fixes them, but I'm hopeful I can DIY them for under $150 in parts.

 

I love my justa! The S has too much power for such a small girl like me, so it's perfect! I think that is a good suggestion. I don't know too much (yet) about the problems that MINI's are famous for, so it's nice to see what we're all getting into

Good luck with your situation. And maybe you won't have to end up with a Honda or a Hyundai

 

Good advice above.