The doors are annoying because they don't have three definite stopping points where they will ACTUALLY stop. I once got a nice bruise that took a month to go away because they slammed right on me!

 

Could it be defective? Never heard of this before and mine closes without effort. Check your locking mechanism, not hard nor expensive to replace yourself!

Another defect? Mine does work flawlessly when I deactivate or activate it. This too, never heard of it before... This one sounds expensive though...

Good luck!

 

I have a love hate thing with mine.. I hate the fact that I love mine so much that I don't want to drive anything else even if it's inconvenient to drive the mini. I hate the fact that is so peppy I want to play every chance i get.

 

I'm not talking about the toggle switch Traction Control, as disabling this works fine, it's the system that still stays active after you permanently disable TCS and ABS by pulling big ABS fuse under the hood.

As far as the hatch goes, yes it closes but if you do it without a hard slam, the light on the dash pops up and you can actually see that it's not fully closed.

 

I hear ya, and my kids 12 and 14 feel the same way. I just got my MINI in December and their Lacrosse practices just started. The 3 of us plus all the equipment kepe cramming into the MINI, and they complain every day about their equipment try to fit all the equipment, which does fit, with the right ordering. Although none of us would dream of taking the other car

 

I was talking with a friend that has an 06 MCS and I mentioned your hatch problem and he said that he used to have the exact same hatch problem as you, in his case the screws that hold the latching mechanism became somewhat loose, so he managed to remove the screws, put on some lock-tight and then tight them up and said that it's been about six months and now he does not have a problem with that.

Maybe yours the same?

Good luck!

 

Thanks. Will try.

 

You want inconvenient? Try driving a Miata for 15 years.

 

I hear ya.
Miata is a great one trick pony,Warm sunny day with the top down tearing up a twisty country road,any other application and it gets downright uncomfortable and impractical.

 

Only thing I truely hate is the annoying wind Squel outta my drivers window at about 80-90 mph on the autobahn... Strangly its in direct relation with what speed the fan is on. On 4 its squealing like a stuck pig on 1 its bareable with the radio up and pumping. Past that I hate the water/snow on my seat when I first open her up in the early AM in nasty weather. Tho I learned that if it is snowing leave the scraper on the passanger seat the night before so I just open that side and keep the snow off my seat.

 

I just got my Mini because I could no longer handle driving the Miata in Northern Vermont where we already have over 100" of snow this year and too many SUV's driven by people who think that an SUV will never get out of control.

 

I bought a nice '02 MCS/JCW 5 months ago. I've heard 3 different HP ratings (200, 207 and 218) and 2 different boost ratings (13 and 19) and all I know for sure is that you're right about 1 thing, this car begs to be DRIVEN. That's probably why it called to me in the car lot.

 

I came here because I was thinking of buying a MINI but dang you guys got me scared to death to buy one now.

 

i HIGHLY suggest you look at the other forum threads/posts before you let this one influence your decision/desire to have a MINI. And always remember, no matter what car you own, you're going to find things you don't like about it. I'm pretty sure that majority of MINI owners on this site will attest to the fact that the aspects they love about this car far outnumber the aspects they hate.

 

Very true, I think since I've test drove one that it will take a lot to talk me outta of getting one. It was love at first drive!

 

While there is a lot of "Hate" here. I really bet less than 1% of it is true hatred, and the rest is slight annoyance. I know that most of these things are so minor, If someone really did hate them I'm really glad I don't know most of you.

 

Your S is a Gen 1 (aka Mk I) supercharged car. It has a different engine from the Gen 2 (aka Mk II) turbocharged cars. The Mk I uses the Tritec engine that was a joint development with Chrysler and BMW. The Mk II cars use the Prince engine which is a joint development by BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Your car has the JCW Stage I Tuning Kit added to it. This was a dealer installed option. Stock supercharger boost is 10.5psi unless you have a smaller than stock pulley. The Gen 2 S boost is 13psi and the factory JCW is at 19psi.

However, note the there can be some slight differences in the power ratings. PS is the abbreviation for Pferdestarke, which is the German word for horsepower. It is also referred to DIN-horsepower and several other terms. 1 PS = .9863 HP as we know it. For example, factory JCWs may be listed with power ratings of 211 or 208. Both are correct as 211 PS = 208.1 HP.

 

Yeah, the negative always comes up on the forums. But trust me, as a new MINI owner, I will never go back to driving a "normal" car again. I have not had any real issues with mine yet, and hopefully never do, but this car really is making me love driving. All of our nitpicking is just that, nitpicking. But if you are thinking about it, research research research! I knew what I was getting into before I got my Justa, and even with the problems that can happen, I wouldn't trade it for anything, well maybe for a JCW lol.

On that note, back on topic, I hate the factory wipers. When it is below 20 degrees the passenger wiper gets frozen and misses a huge patch on the windscreen.

 

Don't listen to us! We are just griping about the things that are not absolutely perfect with our beloved cars. Heck, I knew I didn't like all these things about them and still bought one. We love them so much we day dream about getting a cabrio as well, or possibly a classic as a project car. The MINI is truly a joy to drive despite these things we don't like. And as far as any mechanical stuff, well, as someone else said, people come to forums to gripe and complain. You will always hear more from unhappy people than you will from the happy ones.

 

Oh I have the fever after just one drive, I can't wait to I get one just gonna have to wait a few more months when I don't have to pay daycare no longer. WOOO HOOO extra $600 a month.

 

Most of us bought ours the same way...one drive and hooked.

The problem is that you looked at the post about "what people hate most about their mini"...What do you expect? This is all the gripes. Heck if you asked a bunch of Toyota owners what they hated most about their Toyotas they would probably say it is boring. What you really need to do is look at the other million posts in this site about all the neat things people are doing with their minis and you will see that they are basically infatuated with them...warts and all. And if there are warts you don't like there is probably a mod someone has made and posted on here to change it.

Go for it and don't look back

 

Switching on the wrong defroster on cold mornings because the icons almost look identical
Rain/snow falling all over the seat/me when getting in or out.

Love waaaayyyy more about it that make it worth it.

 

Originally Posted by VYPUR
I came here because I was thinking of buying a MINI but dang you guys got me scared to death to buy one now.


I'm the opposite - I came here to read the "hate" thread, and it's so much better than other "hate" threads for other makes that I went ahead with it! Cup holders I can live with, the problems the Golf TDI has I cannot!

 

You won't regret it. For all the dislikes, people still smile when they're behind the wheel. Nice eco engine with some real kick -- that's MINI; the rest of the stuff is just icing.

 

Well just got a call from Mini and I'm approved for .9% financing which has sealed the deal so hopefully Thursday I will be on my way to get a new MINI!!! Also get the free package also till the end of the month. Wish me luck!!!!