Never owned a Mini of any kind before but have always loved them. I think I've found a good one. It's a super low mileage 2019 Countryman S, FWD in British Racing Green Metallic. I've been waffling back and forth, whether I should get this one or wait on a newer one to come along, but these cars are not common at all in my part of the country and seeing one on a dealer's lot is rare. So I think I'm going to go ahead and grab this one.

I do have questions though:

1. How does this work as a daily driver? I need a car that can stand up to a middle-aged-dad-with-kids-lifestyle - meaning that I'm going to be in and out of the car all day, I might make 10 separate trips some days. I don't beat on my vehicles at all, but I need to know that this is a regular car, that I can use like a regular car. I need it to be pretty drama free and not have to feel like I need to coddle it all the time.

2. Being a 2019 this car will have no warranty left. What are the mechanical weak spots? Every car has them.

3. What are the expensive things in terms of upkeep? I can do quite a few things myself, which should help, but if there's anything wacky like $300 headlight bulbs or having to walnut blast your valvetrain every couple years, I'd like to know that stuff ahead of time so I can at least know what to keep an eye on.

4. Is the base stereo at least OK? I would have preferred the H/K system but this car does not have it and I am a little bit picky about sound.

5. Can I tow a small U-Haul trailer cross country if I need to?

6. Where can I get small accessories? I have a few things in mind already, I'd like to black out the door handles and headlight rims, stuff like that.

7. Are the headlights and taillights from the later models a straight swap to the older ones? I'd really love to have the Union Jack taillights, for one thing.

8. I don't really love the wheels that are on the car, they're the 10 spoke in silver, and they're not terrible, but I'd like something that accentuates the car a little more. I feel like RPF1's would probably look good but I don't know. I really like the split spoke OEM wheel too. Any thoughts?

Thanks for answering all my dumb questions LOL. Getting one of these cars has been a goal of mine for a long time and I'm getting pretty geeked up about it

 

1) Fine as a daily driver
2) No particular weak spots I'm aware of
3) Depending upon what package it has, yes, some bulbs are expensive.
4) HK is a BIG upgrade. But, for true audiophiles, aftermarket is possible. HOWEVER, this is totally dependent upon the skills and quality of the installer. Screw up the electronics in these cars, and you have big problems.
5) I wouldn't tow anything with a Mini. Rent a van or something once a year.
6) ECS Tuning, MiniMania, FCP Euro, many others
7) Seems like nothing is "straight swap". You have to know what you are doing, and many times need an electronic coding adaptor/system to access the required configuration...see number 4.
8) Wheels are relatively easy, as long as you pay attention to the offset required to clear brake, suspension, and body parts.

It's a car. It's a BMW...good and bad. Lately, BMW and Mini are showing themselves to be more reliable than most cars. Whether that early reliability will prove to hold as they age is up for discussion. The electronics is the bugger for the newest cars...all the electric-tech is very fussy unless you know electric-tech...then it's probably easy for those guys and gals. If you want a car that you are happy to look back at as you walk away, and if Mini does this for you...then you'll love your car. If you want an appliance, this may not be your car.

 

My MINI CMan is almost the same, except mine is the ALL4 model. It's been very reliable as a daily driver, with the only exception being that I had to replace the rear differential at 50K miles. No significant issues otherwise.

With regards to light bulbs, it depends on whether or not you have LEDs or halogen bulbs. If the latter, then all are off the shelf bulbs available anywhere. Lamp assemblies with integrated LEDs are not repairable at the individual LED level, they have to be replaced as a unit, and that gets expensive. Headlights are either halogen or xenon - halogen bulbs are inexpensive, available anywhere. Xenon headlights are much more expensive to repair or replace.

Can't comment on the quality of the sound, I'm half deaf so that matters little to me anyhow.

The Countryman is very capable as a tow vehicle, though I'd draw the line at towing anything over 2000 lbs. I routinely tow a small utility trailer with my MINI Coupe, if that gives you a point of comparison.

Aftermarket wheel styles are abundant, go to a reliable site like Tire Rack to see how different wheels look on your color Countryman. If you want new tires as well, then by all means buy the wheels and tires as a preassembled and balanced package, with new TPM sensors on each wheel that the manufacturer guarantees that they'll work with the Countryman's integrated TPM system. Then save the old wheels and put real snow tires on them as your winter setup.

 

Don't buy..my gf has one and it's been nothing but problems..Ive had to drop about $10k (water pump, ac door mixer, valve cover, driver side CV boot, and there's more)
you can't work on the car yourself as there's nothing for it out there...oh you need a battery? you have to do it at the dealer and it's $400 minimum. They have to "register" the battery to the car. Worst vehicles made IMHO. Good luck trying to resell it when you're sick of it.

Oh but has it has cool ambient lighting! 😂😂😂

 

Really? This is about the exact opposite of everything I've heard about these cars. I mean, I know there's bound to be some added expense, this is not a Toyota or Honda.....but everything I've read suggests they are pretty solid.

 

>90% of the people here will tell you that the F60 Countryman with the BMW B-Series 3 and 4 cylinder engines is very reliable. JD Powers agrees and MINI has been rated one of the highest for a few years now. Quite a turnaround from the hopeless mess it was in. It's been my experience, too. I don't work on my own cars short of doing regular maintenance stuff, so I can't speak to the DIY angle.

 

Well, I sure hope so because I just committed to buy one. Going tomorrow to do all the paperwork and pick it up.

 

I am sorry you had that experience. $10k is a lot of money. Agree with the ">90%" reliable comment though. I sold of my Rxx due to reliability issues and fears. We have $30k in an R60. These F60 are on the whole other end of the spectrum based on forums and mechanics I have spoken to. I confidently bought mine last month. We also have an F57 I am confident will go a long way.

Below are the mileage and failure experiences people had in a couple forums, when mileage was noted. Note the F60 shares a motor with the F56, and for those since 2014 there are significant reports of motor mount, thermostat/water pump assembly (it is all in one), and oil filter cartridge gasket. Have only heard of 2 valve covers. Here are the F60 problems over miles from forums that had the miles called out:

8 1/2 year mini tech & owner of 2 F60 Cooper S & S ALL4. Very reliable. No oil consumption issues . Common issues Upper motor mount Water pump Thermostat. That’s it

??k miles Tuned failure Piston cracked at skirt. It was tuned. 24k Engine, sunroof mechanism

50K miles or so Motor mount 63k It has 103,000km on it and has had only one issue with a sensor that was replaced under warranty (can’t recall which one).

70k Drive shaft flex disk $1027

115k Nothing broke

118k nothing Deisel

F56 117k Motor mount

153k Motor mount

214k S not All 4 cracked water pump housing at 100,000 mile health check. Replaced under warranty. Starter motor at 125k Clutch and flywheel at 148k Battery at 165k Broken engine mount just after That's it apart from routine stuff. Only changed brake discs once 3 sets of pads. Lots of tyres 217k Clutch

There is a 217k one too some whers.

When I asked other what the experienced besides a list, there were only a couple responses:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...can-miles.html

 

I just went through the NAM only posts again (skipped MINIF56 and Facebook). Also skipped HUD etc electronics posts. Here is what was posted:

CEL 1
CEL when 15 degrees 2
Brakes no sensoe activate 1
Drive studder manual trans 1
Drive jerky (fix reset trans) 3
Elecrtrical ?? Short to ground 1
Flex disk (proactive) 1
Front spring 1
Front strut mount 1
System Light malfunction. Replaced Body Control Module) 2
Motor mount top 3
Oil condition sensor 1
Oil filter housing gasket 1
Oil pressure sensor 1
Sunroof rattle 1
Thermostat/waterpmp 2
Transfer case leak 1
Transmission P762 Solenoid 1
Valve cover 1

 

The car I bought is a 2019, but it only has 20K miles. First owner leased it new, didn't drive it that much because of COVID, then bought out the lease and drove it rarely. It's been really well taken care of from everything I can see. I am prepared to do battery and tires right off the bat if I have to....I'm always proactive about batteries and I want a nicer wheel tire setup anyway. I've also read that oil changes are relatively easy to DIY.

 

Congratulations! Well done!!

 

Yeah engine mount seems to be the only consistent issue on F60s and that's right around 50k miles...right where mine is when I was told I have an issue...

But yeah other than that, pretty rock solid. I even got hit by a deer a few weeks back. Can barely tell.

and @kerwooddr that's crazy mpgs you're getting. I'm averaging about 23.4 since I bought my 19 about a year and a half ago.

 

2024 F60 2.0 auto. I got 35 mpg entrance to exit on a long highway trip with cruise on and trying to hyper-mile. But 32 is my normal highway miles on cruise, at a "fast clip". Speed limit here is 75.

Still trying to figure out my city. Most of my city is long stretches of 45mph and generally good luck with lights. Seems like around 26. But, I accelerate *very* slowly.

 

@cargusjoh i try my best. Very slow. Green mode and watch the real time mpg. I can typically get about 25+. But it drops dramatically as soon as normal driving sets in. Of course. I only drive around town and maybe twice a week on the highway and only for any exit or two

 

MPGs are always going to suffer in city driving. I've had a Mazda 3 2.5 GT for the last 3 years, very quick (but not fast) car that gets 35-36 mpg on the interstate. But driving around town, I'm lucky to get 22.

35 on the interstate is amazing for a car that's basically square-ish. Even 32 is great. My wife's CX5 doesn't ever hit 32, no matter how much you baby the throttle.

 

I would echo the engine mount weak point... Had to replace mine of my '19 F60 at 70k... not a cheap fix if you don't do it yourself.

 

Mazdas have fluid filled engine mounts that bust and leak. I'm familiar with that scenario. LOL

 

On my third Mini. 2018 Countryman S for 15,000 miles...traded it on a 2019 Countryman JCW that I drove to 45,000 miles...traded it for current. 2020 Countryman JCW currently with 28,000 miles. As expected, no problems with any of them at such low mileage.

MPG went down a bit each time. The S FWD got about 30 MPG on my most-suburban driving with a Mountain Bike mounted on the roof on some trips that were at 70 mph on the highway. 2019 JCW got about 29 MPG in the same conditions, and the 2020 gets about 27.5 MPG in the same conditions...but I must confess I do like to feel the power a few times during a tankful! Obviously, I don't "beat on" my cars...or the MPG would be MUCH lower. Best I ever got on the 2020 was a 400 mile highway trip where I averaged right at 30 mpg...driving 65-80 mph...mostly in the low 70's....OK, I had one little section where I went 100 mph for a moment just because there was no one around. Smooth as silk at that speed...

 

I really need to sit shotgun on these 29 mpg tanks that are suburban. I must be doing something wrong or my car is in bad need of a tune up

 

Pretty smart not keeping these long and trading these before warranty is up...

 

To give you a glimpse of what that ride-along would look like, even with OEM soft pads, I'm at 28000 miles and haven't come close to triggering the brake wear sensor. Compared to many reports of having to replace pads at 20,000 miles, I'm obviously someone that pays attention to traffic and anticipates stops. When the light turns yellow or the traffic is piled up in front of me, I'm off the throttle and coasting as soon as I know my coasting will end up near the point I must stop. My family members are ALWAYS still on the throttle even though it's obvious to me that they could already be off the throttle...drives me crazy.

At the same time, I wear the tires out a bit faster than usual, because I drive quickly around corners. This scares my family members, because I say they drive like old people...including accelerating when there is really no room to accelerate and then combine that with the afore-mentioned late-off-the-throttle habits. Tires with a Treadwear of 500 will only last me about 25-30,000 miles. So, I'm not slow...I just pay very close attention to what's ahead...that comes from riding motorcycles and bikes on the road for decades...you better be very aware or you will get run over. I now only ride mountain bikes on trails...too many people distracted on the roadways to take my chances on 2 wheels out there.

 

Okay so it doesn’t seem like you’re driving differently than me.

I’ll now say my car is off or it’s just the fact that my car rarely goes more than a couple miles at a time

 

True. But I also do all my own work. I have a Toyota with 107,000 miles and a Honda with 130,000 miles, and they've been relatively trouble-free. Besides fluid changes/flushes of transmission/oil/brakes/wipers/tires, I've replaced timing chain tensioner, starter, valve-cover gasket, belt, plugs, and adjusted valves on the Honda (oh, and new pads all around). Toyota has had rotors/pads. That's it. Boring and easy stuff (except the timing chain tensioner...that could have gone sideways but didn't).
I do all the fluids/brakes on the Mini as well...don't believe in "lifetime fluids", I at least drain/refill transmission/drivetrain fluids periodically.

 

I don’t do any of my own work.

Thank you MINI dealer!

 

Short-tripping is awful for MPG...no doubt. Car is running rich and never getting up to full efficiency...also consider that the oil is thick and producing drag every revolution as long as it's not up to a nice, hot operating temp.