I would, and by the time I do trade it I would expect it to be even better.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/10/m...sue-plans-fix/

 

but that article is just over a year old...

 

We really do like the car and the way it drives, but we have had too many issues.

Our first CM (2012) was a disaster...major electrical issues...the car broke down repeatedly. BMW replaced the car only after we commenced a lemon law action. And it took way too long for the dealer to confirm that there was formal approval from BMW/Mini USA to replace the car and what the exact terms would be.

We have asked ourselves more than once if we made a a mistake and should have just completed the lemon law process and got our $ back.

We think the build quality of the 2013 replacement car is better (everything seems to fit better, switchgear seems to feel like higher quality, but lately problems have started to crop up...not major ones, but enough for us to not be confident about the car.

Even though we religiously use Top Tier fuel, if we don't add a bottle of Techron every couple of tankfuls the engine idle smoothness quickly deteriorates to the point the engine shakes the car while idling...and the dealer service people maintain that there's nothing wrong.

Then we took the car back to the dealer for a noise that turned out to be a cracked wheel bearing.

Lately the engine has developed a very bad "stumbling" problem when accelerating. It only happens a couple of times a week, so the dealer can't duplicate the problem, and now we are afraid to pull out in traffic because we never know when it's going to happen.

And we noticed today that the driver's seat lumbar adjustment does not work anymore...another visit to the dealer.

And we question whether BMW is a company worthy of our trust. Our first Mini was a first generation 2003 hardtop, and as is well doumented by numerous owners elsewhere on this website, the power steering pumps failed without warning in large numbers after the cars were out of warranty. Meanwhile BMW started installing redesigned pumps on subsequent cars, but failed to address all the pumps already installed, choosing instead to let the owners bear the cost of replacing the pumps, a wildly expensive proposition ($1400 for us at the local Mini dealer). Fast forward several years and the Canadian government forced BMW to recall the cars there given the obvious safety issue. Only then did BMW decide to extend the warranty on the pumps here in the U.S. and reimburse the owners for the cost of the repairs. One has to wonder if after all this time BMW extended the warranty only because they realized they were squarely on NHTSA's radar screen after the Canadian action (and all the owner complaints on NHTSA's website, look for yourself)

And then to add more insult, BMW has dragged their feet on the reimbursements. We submitted for our reimbursement in July (including a copy of the repair receipt from the dealer) and we still don't have our money yet!

It's safe to say that we would be hard pressed to buy another...

 

I just purchased mine recently and I have no regrets.

 

Wow Shark, I guess your experience speaks volumes as they say.

 

yes, we definitely would. Our loaded JCW CM is a great machine. Excellent integrated electronics, and gizmos that work fantastically well. A really great package.

We definitely did not buy the best value out there by a long way for sure, but Mazda3's, Soul's, Focus ST's, and the others are well, just cars, IMO.

The Mini chili red is the best shade of that color we have seen out on the road.

We like driving something unique of which there are very few out there....To us, virtually everything about the JCW CM is different and far more enjoyable than other cars out there.

after 8k miles, ours is still tight and trouble free, but my fingers are crossed.....we also didn't buy the JCW CM for it's stellar satisfaction ratings either I fully understand folks experiencing multiple, and sometimes major problems, not wanting to buy another. Mini is in serious danger of hurting future sales due to their dismal overall quality. So far, so good with ours...

 

Latest bit of advertising I got from MINI shows a CM in the middle of a snow-covered winter scene. No mention that in order to do that you would have to ditch the factory tires and buy a set of non-runflat winter or all season tires. Image trumps reality over at MINI.

 

 

I've had mine since March and to date no issues so I would say yes I would buy another one.
But would spec it slightly with the climate control (too much fiddling with the manual set-up) and would wait until there was a rear camera.
Besides the car- I really enjoy the Maintenance folks at the dealership, and the 36k warranty

 

They photoshoped it

 

Laugh all you want but it seems you have already moved on, in your intentions at least, so I certainly understand the sarcasm regarding your old automotive brand.

In our experience, Mini Connected with bluetooth, GPS, XM, iPhone integration works great. Comfort Acess is excellent and we love how so many settings are remembered per driver simply by leaving them them at certain settings before stopping the engine and locking the doors...the way the backup alert system gives you visual as well as audible information, so you know exactly how far you are from an object. It was an intelligent way to do backup alerting in the absence of a camera. The Harmon/Kardon audio upgrade is far and away the best stock system I have heard, and I have heard a lot of them. Why most other car companies don't think of putting the primary door speakers up high so your legs don't block the sound is a mystery. Well thought out electronic aids and components, IMO. Thus far, we are wowed by the overall integration of the systems..

I just hope it stays that way....

Now, 5 or 6 years from now, my opinion of whether we would buy another may change, as this car is extremely new...time will tell, I suppose.

 

We had the option of ordering all-season tires. So, at least as of 2013, they provide the alternative.

 

I own a Countryman and I also just bought a Fiat 500L.
I am not displeased with owning the CM (still love the car) however the Fiat is also a blast to drive.

Knowing now, what I didn't know when I bought the CM, of all the things that will probably go wrong, and just had the shop for one of those and they refused to replace the part that they even have service bulletins on, while its still under warranty...unless it acts up for them again, SERVICE is the reason that I would not buy another CM...

I would however buy another Fiat 500L...

Not a performance thing, they just won't back their product well enough.
And the Fiat 500L is good enough to give me that fun fix...

 

Uhm.... yeah. So I am assuming they didn't fix it, then unfix it. Not sure why there would be a newer article out there that had the headline "Hey, Mini continues to supply new Countrymans with updated clutch and software."

 

So? I see Subaru and Audi ads all of the time in snow and no one come out and says "In order to do this, you have to ditch the summer performance tires your vehicle may have come with with all season or winter tires."

My A4 Quattro came with summer tires but no one had to tell me I needed winter tires to drive in snow. Common sense.

 

I have to say I am not a fan of Comfort Access, at least not completely. I love the keyless start and access to the hatch, but the door buttons are finicky. I am now 95% of the time using the fob to lock and unlock because walking up to the car and pressing the button 2-3 times to get the car to unlock is not my idea of convenience.

 

All seasons were offered with the smaller wheels. We, however were smitten with the 18" anthracite and silver wheel. No all season for us.

@EHans - - - As for "common sense", common sense tells me that if you advertise the vehicles abilities, you should at least sell what it takes to get your customer there.

Putting aside the iPhone debacle, the armrest debacle, the phone cradle debacle, MINI connect debacle . . . Zaftig still changes stations on me and his new trick is not liking BT music. 99% of the time, I have to go thru the menu trees to re-set up BT and allow music. There's nothing major wrong with him, but he's got enough little quirks that they add up.

 

Yeah, when we ordered it I assumed it would be just like the system on our X5 (another BMW product), but it's a "cheap" version. On the X5, you just grab the door handle and it opens as if the door was already unlocked, but on the CM you first have find the button, press it, and then open the door. It's "OK", but we were not happy the one time when we were somehow able to lock the key fob in the car! That's not supposed to be able to happen

 

We have an 11 CMS with over 50k on the odometer. Other than a few small issues, which I expect out of any car, it's been an excellent car for my wife. I've owned 5 MINI's and have always had great success with all of them. I read about how so many people on this forum hate their MINi's. I say if you hate them so much, move on.....haters will always hate. Me, I spend most of my time on the other friendly MINI site where most of the discussion is positive..and friendly. OK, now it's time to react....let the fireworks begin!

 

I think if your customer orders 18" wheels, which are NOT factory options, your customer knows what the heck he is doing. Sounds like you've found an extraordinarily small nit to pick at.

I just saw an ad for a jeep in the snow. But there was no disclaimer that for those that ordered a lift kit and massive offroad tires and wheels that they would have to remove those to drive on the roads in order to be street legal.

 

Yup. that touch-n-grab is exactly how my wife's 2013 VW Jetta works. Seamless, and that was cheaper than Lana.

 

This could go on forever. They ARE factory wheels. Came with the car all the way from Austria. It's been a while since I looked, but there's not a factory option for all season to go with them. I just mentioned it, you seem to be fascinated with picking my nit.

 

18 inch wheels have always been a factory option and remain so, we have them too. There was a point in time where the dealer ordering guide inferred that you could specify all season tires with 18 inch wheels, but it turned out they were referring to 17 inch wheels only. On the other hand, there are all season as well as winter tires readily available aftermarket.my own guess is that the marketing people incorrectly assumed buyers specified 18 inch wheels to maximize handling and therefore would all want summer tires, but the advertising people somehow realized that was not the case with some all 4 buyers.

 

Yes, for the R60/61, you are correct. Mini has made a big deal that the 18" will now be a factory option for the F56. Previously, only up to 17" was available for the R5x line.

But you are also correct, if you are buying 18", you likely want performance, and you know the difference between summer, all season and winter tires.