As a future Mini ower who will be using the car as a daily driver, I have to be concerned about reliability and longevity. I'm looking for opinions from people who 1) daily drive their minis and 2) have over 100k on their cars.

I sold my gas guzzling modified mustang last summer and have been using my truck, with a whopping 15mpg highway, as my daily driver. I was initially looking at the corollas and civics, but as a car guy there is just zero fun driving one of those cars. Great mpg, but no fun. I started looking into the mini and thought that would be a really fun daily commuter vehicle; good mpg and fun, what more can you ask for? Of course, the price tag is a bit more, but if it's reliable and I'll get 120k min out of an S model, then it will be worth it. Plus, the extra space in the clubman would make my doberman a happy rider...

Thanks!

 

We've been using our two MINIs as daily drivers for about a year and a half, 27-28 mile commutes each way for both of us. 400 miles to the tank and makes the commute not only bearable, but fun... what more could one ask for ?

Of late, we've been using the MSC Convertible for communting (trying to get either get the brake pad sensor to come on or to get the service mileage down inside of 1,000 to get the brakes done before the 3 year free maint plan is up next month). With the "S", the fun meter goes up but the fuel indicator goes down... faster.

Yep, perfect cars for communting, IYAM.

 

You can absolutely have fun with your MINI as a DD. There are a few problems, though.

1. You might really fall in love with the car and feel bad about using it so much (I did).
2. You might want to start modding it, which can become expensive, addictive, and lead to warranty issues.

But those two problems aren't really problems! Go out and test drive both models (R56 and R53). If you're looking for mileage, then the R56 S does very well. It also has more grunt (being a 'stang guy) than the R53 S. On the other hand, it's a first year run, and could suffer reliability issues while they work out the kinks.

~To the R56 defense brigade - pleade note that I said "could" have reliability issues~

I drove my R53 20,000+ mi. a year for 3 years before I deemed it a weekend/track car. I had no intention of doing this when I purchased it, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

Good luck, and keep us posted.

mb

 

Tons of folks use their MINIs as DD (including my wife and I). I drive 78 miles a day (27K on mine and 24K on hers with no major issues).

 

Cause florida, while nice, does not have an ample supply of curvy roads nor an ample supply of elevation changes to fully satisfy the desire to drive!

OMG - the car is the best.

 

We at this point only have one car.. which is our wicked lil mini... my husband is a soldier, we live on post.. I work 12 miles away.. so he runs me to work.. then goes to work himself, then comes and gets me at the end of my day.. we have 21k on the car in one year.. it's our daily driver, our fun driver.. and we love it for either!!!It's a great pickmeup when I wake up on days like this.. where I worked till 10 last night, ( I work 10 hour days) and am back up and in work at 8 on the next day. People smile which makes me feel good.. and its off to start another day!

 

I have been driving my 06 MCS for about 2 weeks now. I am sales rep and cover the whole state of Colorado. Driving about 2000-2500 miles per month. I can't imagine driving any other vehicle.

 

You know, that's a great point that I overlook sometimes, and it might be the single best part of owning a MINI - that people look at it and smile. Good call.

mb

 

there's already threads out there about having more than 100k. ty searching the forum for "another 100K".

also supercharged engines aren't really meant to do 300,000 miles or anything so if you will be putting tons of miles on it go for the regular MC and enjoy all the handling and lightweight.

i strongly recommend the manual tranny. its amazing.

 

You won't get 120K miles out of an S without a fight. Also, mileage would not be that great. In a Yaris you would have saved so much money on the purchase that you would never care about the mucous, slobber, and rectal cheese that will be smeared all over the interior by the Doberman. Alternatively, you could get a VW GTI and have more power and a bit more practically.

 

I drive 90 miles roundtrip daily to work, and I bought my MINI S in October - 4 months, over 7000 miles, and the commute is at least 100% better! The trip goes a lot smoother and faster in a MINI! Great little car, a super DD - no problems or complaints whatsoever!

 

I don't qualify for the over 100K miles range yet, but my S is my only vehicle. I saw the other guy's comment about an S not reaching 120K without a fight... I dunno, I just think that's a bit overly pessimistic if you give the car (or any car for that matter) the extra TLC it needs after a while. But we'll see how it goes, I guess.

I do agree on the gas mileage though, the S is not an economy car. If I drive conservatively it can almost rival what I used to get in my Honda, but... when I get behind the wheel of my S and hit the highway that becomes difficult! It's so much fun to drive that I can't help but make it go go GO!

 

Not a 100K guy, but I'm at 30K after 17 months on my 06 MCS. Roughly 66 miles roundtrip commute per day, mileage typically around 27mpg.

Beware the MINI if you want to have fun, even if stuck in traffic!

Makes a great daily driver.

 

I put 34,000 miles on my MINI the first year I had it, then did something similar to mbcoops, hit 60,000 & retired it from DD duties. Bought a used Honda Civic, and just use the MINI for fun, now less than 10,000 miles a year. They are up to it, but honestly more prone to electrical gremlins and few mechanical ones too, so you should be prepared for a few annoying problems along the way.

 

For the first 3 years I was putting on 600+ miles a week on my 03 MC. I had a 100 mile return commute. Almost all 2 lane highway, and in severe Manitoba winters. Racked up over 85k miles by 08/06.

Since moving down here to the St. Louis area, I have barely put 10k miles on him in the last 18 months, and that kind of mileage is what I expect to do for the foreseeable future.

So now he has kind of gone to pasture, but still goes like snot, brings a smile to my face every time he cranks over.

100,000 mile club here we come

Mark

 

I looked at the civic si, vw gti, subaru wrx, mitsubishi evo,

Of these I deemed my JCW 02 mcs to be the best of them as far as handling, performance, fun, fuel mileage. This without performing modifications to any vehicle.

I've had it since last July and put on 12k. I'm just about to 20k on the odometer and the radiator/ps fan fuse blew caused slight overheating. fixed by extended warranty.

Other than that I now don't get the same mileage because the modding bug has taken hold

Best thing is listening to the Supercharger whine and exhaust tone while crusing up the canyon in 3rd gear.

 

I bought my MINI Cooper (non-s) on October 26, 2007 to be used as my daily driver. My commute is 100 miles round trip and the "just-a-Cooper is perfect. I have about 10000 miles on the car and milage is averaging at about 35 mpg (calculated the old fashioned way of dividing miles driven by the gallons of gas used. The on board computer is about 1.5 mpg higher than actual mpg). The cooper is still plenty of fun to drive even without the turbo. I can routinely out run higher horsepower cars when manuvering through the turns. What a hoot!

 

I have an '05 S with 82,000 miles on it. It's running great no problems at all. It's been my daily drive since Jan of '05. All but the first 16 miles have been me or my hubby.

Now, my husband is a Mustang driver and loves them. He absolutely loves the MINI! Oh, and I have a French Bulldog and a Bullmastiff. The Bullmastiff fits fine in the back seats up or down. (She's over 100lbs)

 

Would that be Boulder Canyon on the way to Ned? I bought my MINI after leaving the people's republic, and keep thinking how nice a trip to Sunshine or just up to NED would be in the spring with the top down....

Sorry for the highjack - back to things at hand - I was worried about the DD aspect (moving from a V8 SUV to the MINI), but have no reservations so far!

 

Just hit 67K in 28 months and have not had a single issue. Drove a S Clubman last night and loved it. Unlike the rice burners, you will have a car with real resale value after you are done with it. I bet you keep it longer than planned due to the pure joy of owning a MINI and being apart of the MINI Nation.

 

i have a '02 MCS daily driver w/ 120k+ miles on it...

 

these things are great DD's. I see them all over the place in NYC, and they rack up 50,000 city miles with ease. I cant help but wonder how long a classic mini would last though...

 

I do not dailey drive my Mini only because I have other cars available. It could easily be a DD though. I have several friends now that have well over 100k miles with good service . Yes there will be certain things that will start to wear out as with any high milage car but the Mini can certainly be thought of as a good daily driver.

 

Drive a Civic, Corrolla, or other Japanese car if you want practical. Get a MINI and you'll love it more than any other car you've ever owned or will ever own. Buy a MINI and you'll be happier because the car is just plain fun to drive. That alone will make your commute better.

 

I just hit 50k on my 03 MCS as a daily driver. It isn't 100,000, I know, but my 3 mile traffic light laden commute is much harder on a car than a 30-50 mile highway commute would ever be. My engine is barely up to operating temp before it's sitting for 4 hours again. No significant issues in over 5 years of happy motoring. Buy the MINI and enjoy your commute.