I'm a car enthusiast and I don't mind working on cars, but I've heard some pretty tragic stories about the Mini Cooper S of the 2nd generation. How has everyone's 3rd gens Mini Coopers been treating you? I'm specifically looking at the 2 door hardtop/coupe.

 

In in the UK but reliability seems decent upto now. Of course most if not all issues will have been sorted under warranty.

I noticed your username, was it an FRS you had before by any chance?

 

Haha, good guess. (Yes)

I'm basically in the market for another car and I've never gone to the european side of things. I've only owned japanese cars. Finishing up a build on an Integra to go road racing this season, but I want a fun daily.

 

Ha! - I swapped my Toyota GT86 for my current Mini Cooper S. No regrets. The 86 looks a lot better there's no denying that, but I love the turbo power delivery in the mini more than the NA FA20 (assuming yours was left NA!) it's a lot nicer inside too. Hope that helps!

 

Your post makes me feel a lot better about my idea. I wasn't sure if I was going to have remorse in switching. How long have you had yours? Have you modded it? I'm not sure where to start for the 3rd gen Minis. Doesn't seem like there is much of an aftermarket yet.

 

31,000 miles on my 2016 F55 four door JCW Tuned S and no issues at all. Just normal "free" maintenance and car free driving. I will most likely get out of it before I hit 75,000 miles for either new one or the next gen Golf R.

 

Ive had mine since December. It has a Remus exhaust, Craven speed induction kit and I've had Coilovers fitted this week which I'm pleased with. Im really enjoying driving it. It makes you realise how lucky you were with the aftermarket parts for the FRS/86 when you change cars as parts for them are plentiful!
Things I miss from my 86;
-Asthetics
-Seats
-Boot was slightly bigger

I didnt enjoy the RWD so much, so I enjoy driving the F56 harder without it trying to spin out on me!
A simple remap can gain as much bhp on these cars as a £'000 turbo conversion on the 86 too, should you want more power in the future

 

I was always a RWD kind of guy. I had a Supra a long time ago and that was a blast too, but there's something about small fuel efficient cars that are fun to turn that appeal to me now.


Since you're in the UK, I think our US aftermarket is a bit different. I'll look those up to see if they're around here.

 

Good stuff, I hope you enjoy the car!

 

I would not hesitate to suggest an F56. I love my S.

 

Run away.. I have a unique case but it seems like some problems are popping up on the F56 that shouldn't be. The problems listed below are the ones that seem to keep popping up on the forum not my car specifically pm me for info on mine.

1. Failing suspension parts on front arms
2. Sunroof creaking noise etc
3. musty smell from AC
4. fading windshield cowling, and side logos

other issues that seem to be addressed at this point

1. crank bearing milling through the block
2. leaking oil filter assembly


There also a PIA to both work on loads of unique fasters down to the spark plugs requiring a special socket, And the parts are crazy expensive for what they are thermostat for example normal car 10.00 to 25.00 Mini thermostat 170.00 online.

Oh and one more thing Mini's use to retain there value like a champ with them keeping 50 to 60% of there value at the 4 to 5 year mark.... Now there dropping in value rapidly with F56 coopers that at most three years old losing 40 to 60% in value.

If your truly set on the Mini experience lease don't own.

Want fun my suggestions would be
Mazda Miata, Mazda 3, Honda Civic,

 

In my opinion those cars won't be nearly as good as the F56 and all of those problems except the "one" of fading plastic seem to have been fixed by 2017. Which in my opinion is simply something I don't care about at all. I can't see it from inside the car and I sure don't care about on the back roads. The suspension does not fail, just makes noise, I don't disagree with your frustration, but your post makes no point to say there hasn't been a report of it causing unsafe driving conditions.

The Mazda Miata is probably the most fun car, but the lack of turbocharger to me is a major turn off, especially if you daily the car. Finally, it has two seats, I cannot compare these two cars because I needed some space.

The Mazda 3 is definitely less fun, I have had people drive my car and the Mazda 3 and have become very sad.

The Honda Civic, I can't say will be better or worse, but more than likely less fun. However, their turbo engine suffered a recall so bad they had to put a stop sale on it. I am not knocking Honda, and I understand as part of an industry stuck between so many fires they will always have to skimp somewhere. I merely wanted to point out all cars have issues.

 

Agreed all cars have issues my wife's 2011 CRV had a failure to start issue on a regular basis that went into the dealership 3 times to be fixed and they couldn't resolve it. I fixed it by upsizing the battery from the comical 380 CCA battery to a 670CCA battery, tray, and hold down from a honda odyssey. Start issues have gone away since.

My issue is so many of the issues on Mini are disregarded and just accepted as quirks. To that I say a 16 to 22K entry level car that unique can have quirks and be acceptable due to low cost I.E. you get what you pay for, But a premium car thats going for 22 to 36K should not be having these kind of issues esp at production year three and to top it off many of these issues are being ignored by the local dealerships until it goes in for visit 2,3,4

 

I guess a difference of opinion then. In my opinion premium cars should have more quirks and require more work to keep up. "Premium" cars are designed to be driven faster and often will be. Not only do these cars require tighter tolerances of materials, they are also worn faster because of it.

As for the dealerships, I will agree with you, I have heard horror stories of the work being done by some dealerships, one in Tennessee especially. Of course, My opinion is that this experience should be taken as a suggestion to get rid of dealerships and sell direct. I understand that is a logistical nightmare at this point though.

My conclusion is this, at your price range, you are getting what you pay for, a car that can out maneuver some 50-60k dollar cars, and is as fun as some 100k+ dollar cars. Let me put it this way. Not one cent of that premium I paid for my MINI was for "better reliability." It was all for that stupid ear to ear smile I get when I drive it.

 

If I could do it over again I would buy a Lexus IS 4 banger turbo for mid 30's and keep it till 200k miles. fun, premium, and Toyota reliability. Change oil and filters and go

 

I have a 2014 which was the year the F56 came out (and it was an abbreviated model year at that). That said, I've been subject to a lot of the "features" associated with the first year of a brand new platform ::cough:: engine replacement ::cough::

Yes, there have been issues (control arms, sunroof noise, etc.) but all have been covered under TSB's and none have left me stranded. The car has been reliable thus far with 31,000 miles on the clock. If I had to do it again right now, I'd probably buy another F56 though that Mazda Miata RF gives me funny feelings in my pants.

 

I think that is a great compromise for you. I would not take it though. I'd have my MINI any day, as I understand it's a compromise for me too.

 

Resale my not be as good on third gens, but I'm sorry, I can't think of a car that's more fun and versatile than the f56. I cross-shopped everything under the sun, and with requirements of something with a turbo, manual transmission, and ability to drive in winter, the Mini was the ultimate choice if you wanted refinement. Not to mention the ability to add JCW coilovers and pro exhaust while maintains the warranty, the Mini's fun factor blows away the Lexus IS or Golf R.

 

Thanks for that! As far as I've read, the crank bearing issue was solved under a TSB, was it not?


Anyways, I'm mostly trying to get my feet wet with a European car, and this car happens to fit every single one of my strange requirements. Turbo, manual, not heavy, not a bad interior, and most stuff seems to have been figured out and ironed out. And also, the Civic/Mazda 3 definitely would not cut it for me. Miatas are fun too, but just not what I am going for right now.

 

We own TWO 2015 F56's hardtops, so on year 3. One with 30k the other with 40k. Both of them have been quite reliable, but have had the same issues come up. All the little problems have been repaired/replaced under manufacture warranty. Here is a list of them...

- On both vehicles, the front control arm bushings have failed and had to be replaced. Given they were replaced with the same part, I assume they will fail again in the coming years.

- Sunroof started making creaking/popping noises and was replaced. The sunroof is closed 95% of the time, so I'd go with no sunroof next time to eliminate this issue.

- The plastic rain gutter cowl at the base of the windshield faded and started disintegrating. You could scratch deep cuts into the dry plastic with just your finger nail. It was replaced, but I'm worried it may happen again in a year or so.

- Random squeaks and noises from the dash. Fixed under warranty. Worried more noises will come about with time.

- Musky smell from AC. Was cleaned and repaired and the smell has yet to return.

In terms of the engine, everything has been very reliable there.

 

Well, if 2017 hasn't fixed the problems, at least I know what's coming. I was mostly worried about "catastrophic" failures or anything that would leave me stranded. It is my intent to find one that is as close to base as possible, with the JCW package. So I don't think I'll worry about the sunroof.

 

Almost 3 years ago, I switched to a 2015 MCS Hardtop from a 2013 BRZ, and there are things I miss about the BRZ, the handling and styling mainly, but the Mini has been a fantastic daily driver. It's hard to beat the combination of power/mpg that this has compared to an 86. With a $300 piggy back tuner, my Mini puts down more power at the wheels than I was able to get in my BRZ with headers, E85 tune, exhaust, etc, and still gets 30mpg compared to the 20mpg that the BRZ pulled after all was said and done.

I'm about to hit 30k miles in the MCS, and haven't had any reliability concerns. I get regular oil changes every 7500 miles, my stock runflats lasted a shade over 28k miles, and everything else (brakes, etc) still have plenty of life in them.

 

This reminds me. What is the actual maintenance schedule for this car? I see people recommending 5000 mile OCIs, etc. Mostly asking because I know Mini will be covering the first two years of maintenance/service.

 

Maintenance schedule is oil every 1 year/10k, brake fluid every 2-3 years.

The 5k OCI is a cheap insurance recommendation. I generally tell many of my customers to do oil changes every 5k if they plan on keeping their MINIs long term, because it's been proven to improve engine longevity.

I meant to respond to this a while ago, but got sidetracked - in general, and not just with MINIs, it's best to avoid the first model year of a vehicle. As others in here have said, their experiences with their 2014s have been generally good but TSBs and warranty repairs have been common.

2015+, in my experience has been very solid, save for the crankshaft thrust bearing recall, but you'd be covered under warranty for that anyway.

 

I thought I read that the crankshaft thrust bearing recall was only for certain 2014 to 2015 models. It effects the 2017 models too? Anyways, is this something I would bring to their attention before anything happens, or should I just let it happen and then tell them? I've never had warranty work done on any car I own (because I've always bought old stuff, or Toyotas)