I'm about to venture into my 1st European car.
I have been a Japanese car user for years as I cant afford a European car.
I've decided that its going to be a mini cooper s.
Most likely likely a pre-owned Cooper S (1st Gen).

For those who have experienced this Cooper, has anyone ever regretted ever buying a Cooper ? if any regrets, what are the reason(s) ?
My main concern is reliability issues, how reliable are these cars & how is maintenance cost ?
As I'll be looking at a used R53 S --which year should i avoid ?
Are these cars fairly easy to maintain ?
any tips and suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks
Caprisun

 

No regrets. The 05-06 R53s are touted to be solid. After reading this forum since 06, it can be ascertained that maintaining your MINI and treating it with respect will pay off. Good luck.

 

No regrets whatsoever. I have a theory early production 2002's have less problems. I base this on tea leaves, thrown bones and my Mini's horoscope.

Kevin

 

I know a few people who have regretted it for reliability issues but most absolutely love their cars (even those that have issues). As said above I would stick with 05 and newer.

 

Noooooooooooo!!!

 

I love the 2004 MCS I have owned since buying it new Dec 2003. I typically get bored with a car in 3-5 years and trade, but this car has kept my interest throughout and I like it as much today as the day I bought it.

My annual mileage isn't high, so it only has about 50K miles on it. It has been reasonably reliable, but certainly not trouble-free; I had a couple warranty repairs and out of warranty, I've had a couple electrical problems. This car has not been as reliable as several Hondas, Mazdas, and Toyotas I've owned in the past.

The data is that Mini Coopers, in general, are average at best, and much worse than average at worst, in reliability. In general, the non-S models do better than the S models, and the very early models in each generation (e.g., 2002-2003 and 2007-2008) do worse than the later ones.

I think Mini ownership suits someone who loves what the cars represent and is willing to put up with sketchy reliability at times for the joy of driving them. Not unlike most BMWs. They're also relatively expensive to fix, especially if you don't do any work yourself and/or are at the mercy of a dealer's service department. My experience is that Mini dealers are almost predatory in their service pricing for non-warranty repairs (e.g., you an spend thousands just to replace a sensor or diagnose a CEL). If reliability is your #1 priority, there are much better choices, especially if you're on a tight budget. You should go in with your eyes wide open. But they're very rewarding cars to drive.

- Mark

 

Well, let's be honest. If you look in these forums you will find MINIs have issues. It's not like a Honda Civic where you can drive it for 250k miles without ever changing the oil and it just keeps on trucking. You will find dozens of threads here of people who jumped ship because their MINIs gave them enough trouble within the warranty period that they did not want to risk keeping the car out of warranty. In addition to that, MINIs are more expensive to repair as the parts are not as readily available and fewer people know how to work on them.

That said, I bought a 2nd MINI after the transmission tanked on my first, and I would buy a third tomorrow if something happened to this one. People who own MINIs and keep them long-term or are repeat owners do so usually because they LOVE the cars and the good outweighs the bad. And there are plenty of very reliable MINIs out there - the 05s-06s were generally quite solid.

But if you are the type of person that wants to drive a car for 250k with no problems and has no tolerance for the possibility of problems, I would encourage you to do lots of homework before jumping in. I would recommend a MINI to EVERYONE, I love mine so much...but you have to know what you are getting into.

 

I would look for a 2005+, reason being is they changed the gear ratio of 1st to be much smaller and an easier start in a manual. Also after 2004 they changed the metallurgy of the cylinders heads so they don't shoot spark plugs into the hood. Also 2005+ there was a different drive pulley used that is lighter and supposedly more reliable. Also 2005+ had limited slip as an option if that is of interest.

Common parts to fail: Window motors, door lock mechanisms, clutch slave and master (manual trans), fan unit (the resistor, unless you do the workaround), drive pulley, and of course the hated belt tensioner.

Common replacement parts are pretty cheap, not bad if you have a reputable import autoshop to work with unless you want to do it yourself.

Do not expect japanese reliability or quality.

 

Don't get me wrong, I have a love/hate relationship with this car. Super fun to drive, but the maintenance and repairs has just been a nightmare.

I am just about to punt this car, mostly due to a work change that I need a very reliable high mpg car for.

If I could have a 2nd car for fun I would buy another 2005+.

 

The first gen cooper and cooper s are both amazing cars and I haven't had any regrets buying my mcs back in 06 but I do miss the rock solid reliability of my old 92 Toyota celica. I spent over $2000 at my dealer in repairs last year at 75000 mi
After 6 years the car still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. It's well worth a bit of sacrife in reliability area.

 

I've been reading Mini forums for eight years and this is the very first time I've heard of this.

- Mark

 

I've heard about shooting spark plugs into the hood...but not that this was the cause.

 

You can't just assume a car is good because the manufacturer's home office is in Japan, anymore. At one time, Japanese cars were without fault, but lately, I've seen huge issues with a lot of the early 2000's Honda, Nissan, and Subaru vehicles I work on, and not all are high mileage, either. I'd say in the first 100,000 miles, an average to good first gen MINI will be more trouble than an American made modern Honda of the same vintage. After that, the gap closes. I have a steering rack replacement on a 2003 Altima scheduled for next week. Just over 100k on the car. Seriously? The only racks I've ever done before this were Audi, and probably because the wrong fluid was used (ATF will blow the seals). This is the ONLY thing (well the motor for the EPS pump) that I'm worried about on my R50. I'm not a fan of Japanese cars anymore.

Good luck with your MINI. If nothing else, the driving experience will have you never wanting a Japanese car again. They have no soul.

 

The only real survey data we have strongly contradicts this. Also, in cases where the same car is built by the same mfg in two different countries, the data shows the cars to be equally reliable (e.g., an Ohio-built Accord is equally reliable to a Japanese-built Accord).

I do agree that the huge difference between Japanese-built vehicle reliability and the rest of the industry has narrowed. And the other Asian mfgs (e.g., Hyundai and Kia) have closed the gap to the Japanese to essentially nothing. But the difference in reliability between say, a MazdaSpeed 3 and a MCS of the same vintage is still very signfiicant - the data says you can expect to have 2-3 times more problems with the MCS.

I'll leave the judgement of which cars have "soul" to the individual buying the car. I do like the way a Mini (and most German cars) drive. Dunno if that's because they have more "soul".

- Mark

 

The country of manufacture was not my main suspicion, and my comment was highly misleading there. To clarify, I have a small one man shop, and I don't work on newer cars. So my experience is on stuff 2005ish and older. I used to pick and choose what I work on, but lately I've been asked to do a lot with 10-12 year old Hondas and Nissans, an am rather surprised at how even well kept cars are having problems I never see on older ones with the same mileage. Anyway, my entire point which I got sidetracked on, is that I wouldn't automatically think going from a Japanese car to a Euro car instantly means more trouble. From the experience with my MINI, probably. But I have two customers with very few issues.

And my feeling is that Mazda and Mitsubishi are actually very decent cars. I wouldn't want to drive one (soul thing), but would chose over a Honda any day of the week. I can't really describe the soul thing. Some cars just feel like a conveyance, some are enjoyable.

 

Well if you are quite comfortable working on cars, that changes the game a little bit. The 1st gen MINIs are really like tinker toys, they come apart and go together pretty easily (sometimes it can be tedious, you have to take more apart with these cars to get to things than you would with a Honda or Ford with lots of engine bay space). There are a number of things I have done myself and I am by no means a mechanic. If you get a 1st gen and a Bentley manual and aren't afraid to get your hands dirty, you could do fine.

 

Well, once my car blasted one out of the #2 cylinder on the 10th anniversary of MINI in the USA you find out. If you read the postings of how to fix it with a helicoil you will find it, after 2003 you never see it as a problem.

 

No regrets and I have an 07 MCS. I did have a couple of issues
shortly after buying it (used) and to be expected but those are
fixed and no other issues.
Love it and love to mod it.

 

Now owning my third mini and now my wife drives one. Would not own any other vehicle!

 

i just picked up my 2012 countryman s all4 yesterday
i love it!

but i would love it more if it was the diesel version the available in europe!

my sister has a 2009 mcs and has had zero problems in 3 years 30k miles

scott

 

OK, I regret that we got my wife a Clubman. I can't stand the fact that she has one. Because I wanted one first, but ended up with a damned Focus...

 

Nope i love my car. Best and most fun car ever.