Here on NAM, we can all get a little frenzied with the stories of "My MINI blew up after I had an oil change" or "Here's my blog where MINI's denied all of my warranty claims" or "My sunroof leaks so bad, my carpet's moldy, the car's been in for service 12 times in 3 months and the dealer's an a**!."

There are lots of horror stories that often scare or intimidate folks considering MINIs for the first time. And I'm not denying that they happen, but there is more to MINI ownership than that, isn't there?

I'm curious if folks would like to share their experiences of "I've had two MINIs over the last x years and the only time I was ever at the dealership was for maintenance." or "I have over 90,000 miles of purely blissful ownership."

Folks care to share their stories about the unexciting or boring cases of MINI ownership? I think it would be interesting to hear about the other side of the coin.

Just a thought! (Wouldn't it be embarrassing if there really aren't any such stories?!?!?!)

 

Ive had mine in the shop for various things but I would say that this is my 3rd favorite car that Ive owned. The first being a 93 5.0 Mustang LX that I got brand new at 16 years old. Many memories....The Second was the first out of 4 Jeep Wranglers and was a 4-banger with 33" tires on a 3" body lift. Lots of fun in that thing also. Now that I'm older and don't do the partying that i used to do, my MINI is very fun car for what I do. Ive thought about going back to Jeep or just maybe trading it in on a Toyota Tacoma but just can't bring myself to getting rid of it.....

 

I have only had mine for little over one year, but so far its been the most trouble free car I have ever bought. It seems that every car I have bought new has had to go back for some kind of fix within the first year. My Volvo XC90 had all sorts of first year issues and had to be fixed several times. My Mini had only one small issue- moisture buildup in a back fog light. That was replaced and its been perfect ever since.
Like all cars, it seems that some people have good luck and some dont. I didnt buy my Mini because I thought it would be the most trouble free car, but it has turned out that way for its first year of ownership. I have also owned Toyotas, a Honda, a Miata, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and several Bmws.

 

My 2005 S has been great....since new!!
One return to the dealer for an aifbag light...one passanger seat stuck....sure...I did have a cooling fan die....but in 7 years, not bad!!

No issues other than that!
Modded and driven pretty hard....everything else he's been what I call normal wear and tear...bushings, shocks,etc.....

 

My '06 was great. I had 2 things repaired under warranty IIRC. One was a cracked windshield, the second was a sensor having to do with the power steering. Other than that, just regular maintenance and lots of fun!
Just got my '11 2 weeks ago, so guess I'll see.

Annette

 

128k without anything unexpected.

sure had fun though...

so much so that I put a crate motor and blower in it, essentially rebuilt the car rather than buy a new one.

now at 153k - still purring when asked, and growling when called for

best car I've ever owned (my first car was a '62 Midget bought in '71)

i keep forgetting to write a thank you note to Oxford (with a copy to Cooper, a copy to Quaife, etc...)

i do still love my wife more though.

 

I'm sorry, but these cars eat money. They're cute, fast and the community is great, but just look at all the frequent posts where members are spending cash to keep the car running. Let's not ignore the obvious, either. That said, it's a fun car when operating properly. Kudos to those with minimal problems.

 

Bought 04 "Merlin" in April 2010.
Been a pleasure to drive.
Only issue was a door lock actuator.
Do my own maintenice.
Have added many mods to suit our style and taste.
Love the car!
Wife won't drive anything else now.

 

Obviously the OP has seen those posts, but that's not what they're looking for in this thread. Plus, unless someone asks, who is going to start a thread that's called: "Just wanted to let everyone know my car has been problem free for 2 years!". That said, there are obviously some relatively common trouble spots both for 1st Gen and 2nd Gen cars.

Anyway, we just crossed over 45k miles on our '09 with ZERO problems. It's a Cooper, FWIW.

 

Purchased a 2009 JCW on 11-28-08. 24k miles to date. No real issues to report.

A clip on the right passenger wheel arch was broken. Arch was painted and replaced under warranty.

Sat radio stopped working. Antenna assembly on the roof was replaced under warranty.

2 windshields replaced. Insurance covered both at no cost to me.

That is about it.

Considering all my mods and that lots of things have been taken apart, its in great shape.

Now that the weather is getting warmer in the northeast, I hope to be driving the car on a more regular basis.

BTW... while its a little car it is not an economy car. Its a premium car designed and built by BMW. BMWs in general are expensive to buy and maintain. Many BMWs have the sames issues as our MINIs. Go check out some BMW forums for their horror stories.

One other thing to note... as you read through this thread take a look at the number of posts on NAM that each person has.

 

03 Cooper. When I bought this car people couldn't stop staring at it! That seems like a historical period now.

There have been problems but I'm not complaining. This is a complex machine with lots of moving parts. I think my problems have been typical: cracked windshield (warranty), hatch hinge (warranty), oil canister mounting block replacement (about $400 repair), need a new bearing (nother $400), and otherwise just new tires and brakes. (Those wear out on all cars--so you can't say that's a "mini-thing.") Sorry if I haven't used the right terms here.

I appreciate a thread like this because I sometimes see all the complaints and think to myself, "Yeah, but the happy owners are just silent."

So over eight years of ownership and I think I've spent maybe $3K on maintenance and repairs. I'm not counting oil cause I do that myself and don't keep track.

Oh, there was the $1200 stereo upgrade!

 

My MINI's and Mini haven't cost me a cent in the last 5 months or so, not even gas! That'll change when they go back on the road this spring.

 

I haven't had any issues while owning the MINI. Now I did have to fix a few things because of previous owner. The clips on the boot handles had to be replaced and a spot where the rubber bumper hits in the hatch had to be repainted. I suspect the other owner was slamming the hatch to hard. MINI repainted the spot and I replaced the clips.....no biggie really. I do have a chip on the front window but that's part of motoring.....I guess my insurance USAA will repair but not replace. I'll prolly replace it out of pocket. Anyhow it's been super reliable and loving it.

 

14 months...had to get new wiper blades! Car has been extremely reliable and tons of fun!

Can't ask for much more than that.

 

52K miles here.

had the cold start and a few other small issues fixed under warranty. been fine for a long while now.

no biggie.

 

These stories are EXCELLENT! Exactly what I was hoping to uncover.

More, please?

 

The good or the bad?

 

Blainestang - you capture the issue perfectly. It's the same complaint folks have about the evening news. "So much negativity!". Stories like "It was a quiet, uneventful day in Manhattan" are much less interesting than "Three shot dead in hail of bullets in XYZ".

But it doesn't mean we can't try to make the boring and mundane more interesting!

 

The good! That's the whole point of the thread. There are tons of stories of unpleasant ownership experiences. Let's hear more about those who haven't had problems.

 

Bought my 06 used summer '08 with 14K miles on it. now have 59K and many mods. other than maintenance it's been in the shop for 2 repairs. a leaking t-stat housing and a broken valve spring. I don't baby it but i don't abuse it either and it's been a great car

 

Keep in mind that most owners of any car, not just Mini, don't follow a car forum. And that most only go searching out information and posting or asking about problems when they have a problem. Else you wont' ever hear of them when their cars are working fine. So number of issues on an internet forum will always be higher than in reality.

 

06 MCSA 04/07 Delivery: No mechanical issues to report 48k current odometer. The only real problem was waiting too long to ditch the run flats

 

Waited 8 L-O-N-G Weeks to have Molly come Home, that was almost 3yrs. ago (April 19th), with just under 35,000 miles have had No Major Issues, a couple of Park Sensor Issues, Windows no Uppy, and some Rattles...still. She has been the B-E-S-T Car I have owned and planning on keeping her 'til the Wheels Fall O-F-F...she's a keeper!!
And I W-I-N @ Post Count!! If you'll look back at my posting(s) my Biatch sessions have been few and far between.

 

My experience is mixed. With only 40K on my 2004 MCS, I've had a couple of warranty repairs (new steering rack, new window lift actuator), a bad wheel sensor, and one of the door lock actuators is currently AWOL. All the usual maintenance stuff: tires, brakes, fluids, etc. about as you'd expect. I've also had a few minor problems that mostly I've sorted on my own, like a plugged rear window washer. And one or two that I've just accepted as normal, like a clutch that occasionally makes a gronking noise on the first get-away on a cold morning and an odd engine idle stumble that occurs occasionally if the car is hot and idles for a long time.

I expect my experience is about average. The truth, as you'd expect, is somewhere between the extremes of "the car is a problem waiting to happen" to "the car is bulletproof".

But don't kid yourself.... every piece of good data we have is that these cars are average AT BEST in reliability and one or two notches below the most reliable small cars (mainly the Japanese models). This probably translates into having a couple problems every year instead of perhaps one when the car is new. And in later years, probably having two or three problems every year compared to one or two with the most reliable cars. I've owned a lot of cars in my driving career and universally the Euro cars have been the most rewarding to drive and the least reliable; conversly the Asian cars have been the least rewarding to drive, but by far the most reliable. For example, I have a Honda Pilot that I actively dislike driving, but in 55K miles of hard family use, it has not had a single solitary issue of any kind whatsoever.

I'd go in with realistic expectations, a good mechanic, a closeby dealer, and willingness to be resourceful in solving issues. With the right approach these can be great cars to own and drive, but if you're going to get all torqued out of shape with every problem, or if you're not willing to be knowledgable and instead just have to throw the keys at the dealer with every issue, I'd recommend a Honda or Toyota.

- Mark

 

I have had my 03 mcs only 2 months now with no problems, There is a oil leak from the crank sensor that leaks a quart about every 1500 miles that I will fix when I am in there doing the 15% pulley. It has close to 140K and feels tight and is rattle free. After two months and 2K miles I still look for an excuse to take her out, the best part is at 31 mpg I don't feel guilty driving for fun.