I read this in depth review of CR's vendetta against the Suzuki Samari. I am no longer reading CR or using the data it provides.

With that said, 90k miles. Only breakdown was the alternator belt which ended up costing me $300 in tows, and it should have been changed before 78k miles (I had maintenance agreement). I can not recommend the maintenance agreement now.
I used my insurance company on the first tow which processed it as some kinda claim, so now my insurance has gone up. The gift that keeps on giving.

Other than that absolutely no issues not even initial fit and finish stuff.
2007 justacooper, 90k miles, bought new, no mods.

 

And like most data on the 'net, those tell us nothing about actual reliability.

 

I'm not saying the issues that people have are not real, I'm just saying that those with reason to be vocal are the ones who actually are. So you will hear most from the people who have problems

 

your post is kinda confusing. you say "it hasn't needed anything", then you proceeded and say "Besides the leaky/empty motor mount that needs to be replaced, replaced the serpentine belt ($20 for the belt, $70 for the tool)". it obviously needed work. what year is your car? Mine is a 2010 MCS with about 14k miles, and absolutely have not needed any kind of repairs or replacement besides the "scheduled oil maintenance".

Nodoze, stop with the "you'll hear people that complains more than ones who aren't". i mean, obviously! people aren't going to come in here and start a thread saying, "hey i am not having any problems with my MINI, any ideas as to why? any help would be appreciated". if i had a problem with a cold start, i'll come here and ask. if no problem, i obviously don't have to.

 

I wouldn't say my car "needed" any work; it's never broken down or left me stranded or in a condition where it needed repairs to be driven again.

I changed the belt as preventative maintenance. The motor mount (a known 'problem') has leaked, but it hasn't made my car un-drivable. I did forget to mention that I did my brakes (all corners, by choice) when my rear sensor came on, but again, that sounds like routine maintenance to me for a car with 65,000 miles on it.

In my opinion, any upgrades that someone chooses to do (larger brakes, polyurethane bushings, supercharger pulley) are not 'needed', and don't qualify as 'costs to keep a mini'. Neither are any parts replaced 'just because' while you were in there.

Don't get me wrong, I maintain my vehicle and I believe in fixing/replacing things before they fail, but calling something "needed" implies failure and an expenditure of money. This has not been the case in my 17 months of Mini ownership.

 

Link 1: shows Mini's are considered 'the rest' compared to 'above average'

http://autos.aol.com/cars-MINI-Coope...bility/?prev=4

Link 2: shows reliability is "70". Explanation box says average cars are 100 and lower numbers are 'better than average'.

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/131

Link 3: chooses a 2007 mini (first year of new body style, which is always prone to issues). It shows mechanical reliability as 'about average'.

http://www.carfax.com/safety/mini/co...SARreliability

None of your links show a 'well known history of lower than average reliability' based on 'independent research'.

I'm sure I'm annoying some of you, and I don't want mods coming in and threads getting locked because we are bickering about mini reliability. I've said my piece, and I'm moving on. Good luck to all of us with our mini's!

 

forget what i said .

 

Ok guys I have had my 2002 cooper S since new it's been 10 wonderful years, I have now well over 200,000 miles on it, mainly all in the first 5 years of ownership as for the past 5 years I don't drive it much as I'm trying to keep it in great condition and have other cars for the daily grind. The total cost the car has given me is $800, it's never left me broken down or anything of the like. It doesn't burn oil has great vacuum and pulls as hard as she did new. Just kept up on the maintenance and she has given me wonderful motoring memories. The 800 I've spend has been on a new clutch as mine started to go at about 195,000 miles.

Edit all my mods, as far as mechanical worthiness the car has been flawless.

Hands down the best car I have ever owned. Hence our return to the brand and our second mini purchase of the new countryman. Now we are finally a two MINI family.

 

Wow, that's an amazing testimonial. I know in the BMW motorcycle community we would track folks who had lots of miles on their bikes. I personally knew a guy who had over 600k on his BMW and was well known in the community for it. Does the MINI community track such things too?

 

Wow, that's an amazing testimonial. Great job!! I know in the BMW motorcycle community we would track folks who had lots of miles on their bikes. I personally knew a guy who had over 600k on his BMW and was well known in the community for it. Does the MINI community track such things too?

 

WOW! I certainly hope Cary reaches >200k with such an incredible maintenance history! I'm at a puny 49k with my '09 - so far no issues at all.

 

It's good to hear from people who are having good experiences re: cost of ownership w/their Minis.

It's also a little frustrating to see people who, when given access to all kinds of evidence, are still committed to deluding themselves that this is an overall reliable, economical brand.

I also see European cars as being more costly/demanding to keep and most people know and accept this. There's an awful lot of evidence that Mini's are at or near the top of the list of high maintenance European vehicles.

One of the difficulties inherent in this medium (the online forum) is that without the subtler cues available with in-person communication, too many people tend to read the worst into posts.

For instance, I could see it would be easy to project an air of complaining onto the paragraph above. But you'd be mistaken in doing that.

I love my Mini. I have no gripe with the company. I simply accept that what I'm having to pay well above any other car I've owned, is the price of owning one of these little gems!

 

Mine is at 63,000 and of course out of warranty.
What has happened lately:
Sept 2011 - thermostat leak ($400)
Dec 2011 - timing chain issue ($500) Dealer submitted $1200 to Mini of the $1700 cost.
That's it other than normal stuff, oil changes, etc. that I do myself.
So, $900 total in a couple of months but should be ok for quite some time.

 

Hmmm... Provocative post there...Yes indeed, if you are referring to my post, folks would be rather mistaken to interpret what i said as being in any way a complaint or even an implied concern of future maintenance; with all due respect, i'm not sure what point you're making about how people may or may not perceive the compliment. If so, so what? I don't mind. It is a compliment and congratulations. No more, no less. A digital 'wink'. I suppose I must be quite clear, then, I thoroughly cherish my Cary. At 49k miles I've just began my own 200k+ journey, and I say "kudos" to anyone who reaches that milestone. For every complimentary car review in a magazine or consumer report, there is another that is harsh just as such extremes can be found in an online forum... Yin to the yang. The truth lies between. Your frustration is noted. I have none of my own and love it when folks rave about their cars, european or otherwise, but that's because I'm an optimist, not delusional. Just tell an Alpha Romeo enthusiast how terrible and unreliable their car is.. You may be right but they'll still tell you how much they adore that d@¥n car

 

I have a 2007 MINI Cooper R56 that I purchased new - base model, manual.

It now has 99,000 miles on it, and other than normal maintenance (i.e. oil change, tires, and brakes), I have only had one repair. I had a coolant leak that ended up costing me $1,400. Having said that - I don't believe it was a defect - I had gotten the front of my car hit about a month before I found the leak. I can't prove it, but I'm fairly certain this was a direct result of the impact.

Overall, it has been one of the most economical cars I have ever owned - and definitely the most fun! I now have an R57 Cabrio on order and can't wait!

 

^^^
Can't complain much about that. Hopefully, I'll fair as well.
Just turned 63,600.

 

Kind of hard to parse through the information, but I think the table below is accurate for the data in this thread:

No. Year Miles Cost for Repairs
01 2003 38,000 miles $4,000
02 2008 98,000 miles $0
03 2007 99,000 miles $1,400
04 2005 ?? $0
05 2007 63,000 miles $900
06 ???? 54,000 miles $500
07 2005 20,000 miles $0
08 2007 90,000 miles $300
09 2002 200,000 miles $800
10 2009 49,000 miles $0

Some of these don't appear to meet the OPs requirement of being out of warranty due to time. As a group, 711,000 miles and total cost of $7,900, or about 1 cent per mile in repairs. For those that appear to be out of warranty based on time (Nos. 1,3,5,7,8,9), they have 510,000 miles and they have incurred $7,400 in costs, or about 1.5 cents per mile in repairs. Obviously this is based on a minute sample size. Just thought it would be interesting to try to analyze the numbers a bit however flawed they may be.

 

I don't know how you all think about this but it seems that those cars with more than 50K (not using the above figures), seem to have actually less issues. Like timing chain issues, from what I'd read and seen on this forum) appear to happen within the first 20K or so.
I think alot (not all) but many issues are from owners neglect. Not checking oil and fluids etc. Also, the more they are raced the greater the amount of issues which is understandable (if you play, you pay).
Even myself. I'm not versed in direct fuel injection or turbo's but with the help of this forum I'm learning, as well as learning about Mini's period..
I've always prized myself as one whom takes care of my things and I will do what it takes to control my fate as much as possible.

 

AMEN!

 

Subaru makes good cars too and like the Mini, parts can be costly. We had an 05 turbo charged Legacy and the turbo blew at 56k miles. Now I'm reading the turbo'd Minis are having issues. Luckily, I don't have a turbo. I figure it like this, every car out there is going to have some issue or another. Our job as responsible owners is to make sure we try to keep an emergency fund in the event of a major occurrence. I've never done that until now, but this is my first car in 20 years that cost more than $600...seriously...I'm 40 years old and I've never financed until now. I have AAA for tows, a warranty for a short time, and plan on keeping said fund for emergency repairs. We got hammered when the turbo blew and I don't plan on going there again. That one hurt... I knew going in this car could get expensive, but to me it's worth it to have what I want...a car I ENJOY rather than need. JMHO