So me and my wife went to the dealer this weekend (Momentum MINI in Houston) to look at some Countryman. We talked a little bit to sales guy and then she signed up and took one for a drive (2013 model). After we left the dealer, she told me she really liked it, but then she also told that the sales guy who was with her on the test drive suggested that maintenance is very expensive on the car. I asked her why? She told me sales guy said that oil has to be changed every 10k miles, but it will cost $1200 I couldn't believe this. So, for the owners of the R60, could you guys give me a rough estimate on what does it cost to maintain a Countryman?

 

I hope the sales guy was quoting the price for the maintenance package.

 

An oil change at the dealer cost me $60. Idk what the hell that guy was talking about

 

A R60 2013 with how many miles on it? Assuming they serviced it at a MINI dealership they should be able to print out everything done to it.
At 60,000, the clutch often goes which is more costly if it is an ALL4 not to mention issues with the turbo begin to show up (this is from my trusted MINI Advisor).


From a MINI dealer web site:
A new maintenance package purchased before 36,000 miles "protects your MINI by extending your maintenance for up to 72 months / 100,000 miles for only:

• $1,995 for COOPER Models
• $2,095 for COOPER S Models
• $2,195 for COUNTRYMAN and PACEMAN Models"

 

Thank you, the one we were looking at was 2013 with 27k miles, automatic transmission, non-S

 

By now I red soo many bad reviews on the manual transmission clutch and turbos going bad that Im about to put my 2014 Mini Country S Manual with 15K miles for sale.
:-(

My wife loves to drive the mini, and as long I keep it she will not drive my 2016 M3 ;-)

But 4K for a clutch job is just unreal.

 

Good to know, thank you. I was pushing my wife to get manual transmission Mini, since it was $1500 cheaper, but she totally refused... So, I guess I will stop with that and let her have an automatic....

 

Do turbo's go into S models only for R60?

 

Yes, only the S has a turbo.

Lets take note that there are always car owners who had bad experiences with any type of car. We also don't know how these people drove their car. I have heard range rovers are terrible. My dad owns one and has never had a problem. Heard Fords are terrible. Havent had a problem yet.

 

If you are going to buy a countryman get ready to invest some serious money. My thermostat has gone out 5 times, coolant return line fails about every 5,000 miles; the list of parts that have failed on my CM is to long to mention.

 

For the OP.. I've got a 2011 Countryman non S with an auto tranny and it just turned 104,000 kms (about 64,000 miles) without any problems other than regular maintenance items. Regular oil changes at the MINI dealer are just under $100 Cdn and it gets changed 2x per yr. Yes, service work at the dealer is a bit more expensive than at your local Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic dealer but then you will miss out on the fun of owning a MINI. The one you are looking at should have the balance of the factory warranty. Maybe the salesperson was suggesting to your wife that she should buy an extended warranty and she simply misheard what he said?

 

And the next poster proved my point. He obv is either doing something wrong or has a lemon

 

My 2012 ALL4S has 70k Miles....I change the oil every 5k myself. Only issue was at 30k the alternator went out taking the battery with it. Both were covered under warranty. this is my 4th Mini. My thoughts are: Good Oil every 5k, top tier fuel 93 octane, Change coolant and brake fluid every 50k or 5 years and your good.


Don't, put a hot air intake on them. Dont forget to change the o-ring and copper washer when changing oil. if you have an S model let it idle for 1 minute before turning off to get fresh cooled oil into the turbo.