Hi all,
I’m shopping for my first Mini. (Cincinnati area). I’d like one that’s cheap to purchase, cheap to maintain, as simple and reliable as possible, and as comfortable as possible. I don’t want a race car, just a daily driver. I have been told to avoid turbocharged models and automatic transmissions, both for simplicity’s sake. I have no fondness for any year, other than not so new as to be out of my price range, and not so old as to be at death’s door.
Any advice on years or models to focus on, or to avoid? I’m looking forward to hearing from experienced owners.
Thanks so much for any help.

 

Welcome to the forum.

First step is to drive a few different MINIs to see what you like and which model would be best for you. Are you looking for a convertible, a quasi SUV, do you need 4 doors, do you need to put people in the back seat and so on?

The later years of each generation are the more reliable. The basic used car advice of buy the best maintained, lowest mileage vehicle you can afford is more relevant for MINIs than most brands. MINIs need regular attention. They are not Honda Civics where you drive them and forget about them. They also don't have the forgettable drive of a Civic which is why we think it is worth the extra attention.

The first generation is the most go-cart like. Each later generation is more civilized. There is a trade-off between practicality and fun. The first generation has fewer issues than the second.

If you can narrow down what you are looking for we should be able to guide you to the right MINI for you.

 

A classic is the only one that is going to check all those boxes Especially the cheap to maintain, simple, and reliable.

 

Thanks for the reply. The two door hatchback should be good. I mostly would be making 20-30 minute day trips by myself, occasionally with my wife, never hauling much more than groceries, and rarely having anyone in the backseat.
I’m surprised to hear that the first generation has fewer issues than the second. From my limited reading thus far, I had the opposite idea.

 

They all have their issues, the first generation's issues just tend to be less catastrophic. I've spent 3 years just fixing or repairing poor designs on my 2006. I still haven't gotten a set of summer tires because all my money goes there.

 

"I’d like one that’s cheap to purchase, cheap to maintain, as simple and reliable as possible, and as comfortable as possible. I don’t want a race car, just a daily driver."...

Buy a new 2019 Mini. It will meet all of your requirements and you will get a four year, 50,000 warranty, free oil changes, brake fluid changes, air filter, cabin filter and inspections is included.
It will also be the most comfortable Mini and a reliable daily driver. If you buy used, then be prepared to pay the mechanic when things go wrong.- and based on the posts in this forum, a lot of things do go wrong.

 

23k isnt my idea of cheap... Buying any older used vehicle is going to entail some risk that something will need fixing, but on the other hand who wants a monthly payment and the need to pay for additional insurance to cover a new vehicle.

Given the choice I would (and did) buy the convertible. Partly thats down to the climate where I live. If speed is not your thing the non supercharged/ turbocharged models have less to go wrong, arent as likely to have been thrashed about, and are still lots of fun in the corners with a stick shift, but you wont be overtaking much with the available power. My 2005 puts a smile on my face nearly every day as my daily driver (166k miles on it). The exception being the day all the oil departed the transmission and it cost me $2500 to fix, but thats still less than my payments made this year on my wifes blah vanilla white bread VW...

But if you really want "cheap, comfortable and reliable" over "fun to drive" there are probably better choices than a used mini out there.

 

And at $23,000 you aren't even getting a fun car.

 

Sounds line a CPO Corolla or Civic would suit your needs better. Or maybe the cheapest Mini on CarMax and buy the extended warranty.

 

I would never recommend a Civic or Corolla to someone who wants a fun to drive car. If we are recommending vehicles other than MINI, 2014 to 2018 Mazda 3 would be my non-MINI recommendation. 80% as fun to drive and 20% the maintenance with decent power.

Another option would be 2016 Scion iA, 2017 Toyota Yaris iA, 2018 Toyota Yaris Sedan (All the same vehicle - sold as a Mazda2 in other countries) Great handling but limited power.

I don't think I would bother with CPO unless it did not add too much to the price. The repairs for a Honda, Toyota or Mazda would be minimal for the first 150,000 miles or so.

 

Yes, it is cheap. If my 18 year old niece who works in Burger King can afford it then it's cheap. You will have a monthly payment no matter what you buy. It will either be paying for a new reliable car or paying a mechanic to repair your clunky unreliable car.
Your transmission went and it cost you $2,500. What's next? Here are a few titles of the threads here: Why in the world anybody would want to deal with this crap when they don't have too. OP, buy new and enjoy your reliable new car with a smile.

• N12 Nightmare cylinders 1&4 misfire after head gasket replacement
• F60 Stuttering Acceleration
• 2012 Countryman S Will Not Start
• R53 electrical problem
• 07 Base R56 jerking/surging at idle and while driving
• R52 Tranny? Valve body? else where?

 

Not true. My new Mini is as fun as it gets and it has a much more compliant suspension for daily driving.

 

I love their look, but not sure I want anything as old as me...

 

Im glad you are happy, but there are countless threads here bemoaning the fact that late model minis lack some joie de vie compared to the older variants.

No brand new car is going to offer value for money, the depreciation as soon as you drive off the lot sees to that.

Is it possible to argue that $23k is not expensive compared to (for example) $4k on an old R52? Im glad your niece can afford it, but its either a lot more payments over a longer time period, or a much larger monthly payment than is needed to buy a used R52 or 53.. Did she make a down-payment on the new one? It was quite possibly more than I paid in total for my old convertible. Over 5 years a "zero down" base cooper 2 door is costing you over $2k in interest alone at the dealer 3.49% rate. Thats enough for a transmission rebuild right there

I dont think of my car as unreliable. It starts first time every day, the A/C is cold, its stops on a dime and it gets me to work and back every day and out to play in the mountains at weekends. Yes, it did suffer one freakish failure due to a sheared bolt head but search as I may I've not found any other online reports of a similar failure so its probably safe to say its not a common mini failure mode. Are there more reliable options than a fifteen year old mini available for the same money? Undoubtedly there are but do they involve me and entertain me like the mini does? Not so much, so ultimately its a compromise.

Even taking into account the relatively freakish transmission failure it has still cost me less than $200 a month in the 14 months Ive owned it. By my reckoning that puts me 200+ a month ahead for cash flow compared to financing even a base cooper. And my roof goes down in the summer for more fun That's also not taking into account any savings from avoiding the need to pay for fully comp insurance on a newly financed $20k car.

Will I still be driving the same car in 5 or 10 years time? Maybe not, but it is also unlikely I will have to rebuild the transmission again in that timeframe either.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Nice as it would be, I can’t afford a new car, and I definitely want a mini, partly because of their aesthetics, and partly because of their handling. I don’t want reliability instead of fun, but a compromise, if that’s possible. I’m not averse to working on my own car, as long as it isn’t constant.
So far I’m thinking either gen1 or gen2 non turbo with manual transmission. Any thoughts?

 

I'm pretty sure it's impossible to get a consensus. You already saw "Buy New versus Buy Used"! I bought new, but I understand both sides of the argument (although MINI don't depreciate as fast as other cars; I looked at pre-owned and it felt like it took several years or lots of miles before you saw significant price drops).

Anyway, it sounds like a 2 door "justa" MINI is what you're looking for. It seems like every generation has their advocates and their detractors. Some people seem to swear by a particular generation while others will think it was a piece of trash that "killed MINI". I'm not sure if there's good data to even show which generation is the most reliable. And that's extra difficult now that Gen 1 MINIs are getting up there in age and miles. So I'd try a "justa" from each generation (Gen 3 is turbocharged, if that's a deal breaker) and see if you particularly like or dislike any of them. Then it's the long process of finding a car with the mileage that you're willing to accept that has the features that you want, for the price that you want.

So while much of this post is useless, I'd say the answer is to "try out the different generations, if you can".

 

Get a 04 mini R50. I love mine. Just get manual trans. Working on a mini is not that hard. Go on youtube. Pretty much figure things out. Do not let people scare you off. Yes they brake down. Yes it does cost money to fix. But I myself do enjoy working on my car.

 

No matter what you get have it inspected prior to purchase so you don't end up with a surprise or expensive repair right off the bat.

If you want to make the trip to Atlanta I have a 47k mile GP for sale, and an 06 Cooper S for sale that are both good cars.

 

If I was considering a base Mini I'd just buy a more reliable civic for less money, I don't see a difference at this point. Fun is really subjective when measuring cars. I've had people tell me all kinds of cars are fun, that I would never consider fun. I'm a bit of an extremist though, as soon as someone makes a compromise for comfort, fun factor immediately drops in my book.

Nah dude, old stuff is the best stuff. At this point if I replace my R53, all the vehicles I would consider are at least 10 years older.

The R50 5 speed transmissions have a history of failure. It's an easy swap (relatively) to put a R53 6 speed in it, but be prepared if it happens. Research the R56 Non-Turbo, I believe they had the same timing component issues as the turbo, but I could be wrong.

 

Actually it is the opposite. An inspection can catch the minor required repairs/maintenance like low brake pads or worn out shocks, but it can't catch the expensive repairs. How is the person doing the inspection supposed to know the transmission is going to fail in 30 days? How can they know when the head gasket will suddenly fail? How can he foresee an electrical problem? How will he be able to see that hidden convertible top cable that is about to snap? Parts fail when they are ready to fail- and no inspector can read the future. Most often, seemingly healthy parts just 'give out' for no apparent reason.

So while an inspection is recommended, it will not offer any peace of mind on the expensive repairs. Only a warranty that is actually honored can do that.

 

...

I do.

 

For clarity thats the original 5 speed "midland" box in the early R50 / R52 "justa", not the 5 speed Getrag from 2005? onward.

 

Again, it is subjective. I see a base model FWD economy car. They are both equally ugly, heavy, and slow. If I have resigned myself to that kind of beige, I'm going with the more reliable and cheaper option.

 

I have a base 2012 with 120,000 miles on it (bought it new). I've never been stranded by the side of the road, the manual transmission is smooth, it gets great mileage, and it's fun to drive.

 

Thank you for attempting to answer OP's question I agree that the 2011+ Mini Hardtops are going to be your best bet. My 2011 Cooper S was at about to click over to 70K and I have no problems at all aside from a Ford Excursion hitting it.