I really love my MCS, but I'm seriously worried about the reliability of my MCS.

the warranty expires next month and so far the MCS wasn't quite trouble-free.

power steering pump replaced,
power steering fan replaced,
motor mount leak replaced,
coolant reservoir replaced twice,
thermostat replaced twice,
front control arm bushings replaced (although these go out all the time on bmws),
dome light failed,
gear lever cable replaced,
axle nut replaced,

and i just took the car in for another service for mysterious fan/pulley squeaking noise and thumping rear suspension.

I am very **** about my car and do most maintenance myself unless the warranty covered parts.

when I bought it 2 years ago used, the car had been driven 10,000 miles for 2 years by the previous owner, even the door-sill sticker wasn't even taken off.

any opinions?

 

If you don't want her, I'll take her .

It's always going to be a concern, but to be honest, no car is without problems, and the cost of switching to a new car is quite a lot of money, and the money you'd spend on that could fix a lot of future issues on your Mini.

But seriously, I love the color of your car. I'd seriously love that MINI :D

 

are you INVOLVED, or are you COMMITTED?

if that leaves you wondering, try this test.

imagine you had bacon and eggs for breakfast.

the chicken was involved.
the pig, was committed!

it takes both kinds I reckon.

my plan is to keep her - is it cheaper? I am at 138,000 miles, and just rebuilt the car from the firewall forwards. with 5,000 miles on the new drive train I will be under parts warranty until at least 200,000 miles. At that time my estimated maintenance costs will be 12 cents a mile. That will occur in 2012 at which time I'll have enjoyed the car for nine years.

My wife says I should be committed...

 

while you have not had any really major problems no one can guess what the future may bring, my own plan would be hold on to it but if you are that concerned then maybe you should send it down the road.

 

I went through similar repairs on my 2004 MCS shortly after I got him pre-owned in 2007. I am out of warranty since last October now and just paid $1200 for repairs (leaking power-steering hoses, harmonic balancer, tensioner and probably a few other parts).

I was thinking of selling and getting a new one, but while I was driving the loaner from the dealer - a 2010 MCS mind you - I realized I wanted him back; actually real bad after a week.

So I'll see how it goes. I may try to find an independent repair shop instead of going to the dealership (or at least compare quotes), but I sure plan on keeping him.

 

Keep it!

 

I bought an '06 with 30,000km in excellent shape last week. It still has a year of drivetrain factory warranty remaining. The salesman gave me his pitch on the 4 year bumper to bumper warranty available through the dealership, then quietly suggested if he were me, he wouldn't bother with it since the car is in such great shape. The sales manager convinced me to go ahead and buy it while I was setting up the financing, and I must say, after reading these forums I'm glad I did. In four years I may consider sticking with the MINI brand, but I'd probably trade it in and get a newer "S" with a warranty.

 

All cars eventually go out of warranty. MINI's are not cheap to fix, but neither are new car payments. I'm 22,000 out of warranty & I've had an out of warranty repair. Like I said cheaper that one payment on a new one. Plus a new one means an R56 & I'm just not going to do that for a long while.

Short version... KEEP IT.

 

Trade it in and lease a new one. Free maintenance and no worries. At least that is my plan for when the warranty expires on my Clubman. I've owned BMWs in the past and the cost of maintence and tires, plus depreciation(and the hassle) is just not worth it, imo.

 

The EHPS Pump is a recognized weakness in the 1st Gen cars...we long-term owners are all destined to replace ours at some point. Be glad that you have this replacement behind you.

Another common failure item due to its exposure, particularly the fan bearing. Not a big deal.

Again, if you've done your research you've seen that this is very common in the '05 and '06 model years. The replacement mounts are a bit more robust; alternatively, you can get an aftermarket solid urethane mount if desired.

First-time failures of this component are common; second time, not so much.

Just bad luck here I think. First time failures are not rare, but at least it's not a major repair item.

They're known to wear out pretty quick on R53s too...especially if they've been driven with spirit during their lifetime. Often as early as 60K - 75K miles.

No big deal.

Sounds like there has been some abuse of the shifter.

Can't speak to this one...

Most of the things you've listed are known early wear items in the R53, though I see a pattern that would suggest that the car has been driven pretty hard by you and/or the previous owner(s). Makes me wonder if the clutch and drive train in general should be checked out too.

The good news is that the common repair items above are now behind you.

 

yeah, pretty much everything that was replaced are common-issues on R53.

I was just worried because some items on my list kind of went out prematurely.

shifter cable already had problems when the car had 10000 miles.

thermostat/coolant reservoir were replaced two times within less than 12000 miles in between

and seems like power steering fan is now making noise again after just 2000 miles.. although i don't think it's a failure and just needs to be lubed up.

but i really love my r53

ps. I knew my previous owner personally and he drove very conservatively. And yes, I do drive spirited here and there but the car has never seen track days nor constant aggressive driving. It's kind of not possible in LA traffic :(

 

There is no way to lube the power steering fan. Nice thing is when the dealer replaces a part on your MINI it comes with a 2 year warranty. I'm on my 3rd power steering fan & all under warranty. I'm not worried about it as it is an easy DIY fix.

 

Listen to your pocket. Do what you can afford. If you can upgrade...now might be the time. If not fix up what you have.