Has your Mini ever been towed back to the dealership ? If so, for what? My 2003 BMW was towed for ignition problems; my 2008 BMW was towed for a water pump... 30 miles/ pain in the ***...I'm looking to trade for a mini roadster S...

 

Wow... Good sign... No tows !!

 

Once, I had a flat and the 1-800 lady insisted I could drive on my RFTs but I wanted o repair it, thus dictating I needed a tow. I called and 40min later a truck came, loaded me up on a flatbed and dropped me off at the dealership where my wife picked me up. It was after hours for the shop so I came back with my plug kit and air tank and repaired the tire in their parking lot.

 

A few weeks ago I had my '06 R53 towed from my work parking lot. I went out to get lunch and she wouldn't start.
The tow was about 22 miles. The problem was my fuel pump resistor had gone up. I live near the airport, so I was easily able to rent a car for a couple days.
Between my car insurance and my extended warranty, I didn't have to pay for the repair, the tow, or the rental! I only paid for an oil service since she was nearly due anyways.

 

Of the 4 MINIs I've had, only the Countryman has been towed for a faulty thermostat that prevented the engine from running. The others had problems, but were always drivable.

 

It appears that Minis are reliable. Talking with a BMW salesman today ... Told him I was exploring the mini roadster. He recommended that I reconsider because , according to him , minis are garbage ; stats show that they are not dependable. Think he was biased? Hey, both of my Bimmers had to be towed !!!

 

Every car make and/or model is going to have it's "ugly ducklings" that give it that bad reputation. I would recommend a MINI but i'm partial towards the car make.

 

Well, if he sells BMWs but not MINIs then what would you expect him to say? No offense to BMW owners, but I have been on their forums and seen plenty of times where frustrated owners state they would never own one if it didn't have warranty and/or maintenance plan. Not a dig at all, you will see that tone here as well.

On the other hand, these are not Hondas or toyotas that you can ignore the crap out of and they still run forever. They perform better and they demand more care and feeding.

Im on my second. No tows, but I have friends that have. If you actively pay attention to the car and keep up the maintenance, I think you will be fine.

 

Towed a few weeks ago for a throttle body gone kaput!

 

Thanks 05r 50,
Ohio... How does your car handle snow?

 

I'm one of those BMW owners who is a little paranoid since my warranty expired ... ( 2008, 135 I , loaded, 46, 000) Had some problems , had to be towed, dealer is 20 miles away, had to make a number of irritating visits. This motivated me to look to possibly turn the car over. The roadster caught my eye... Not practical, but should be lots of fun... My Binmer is running well at this time. I do like the car... Sometimes I fear the possibility of buyer's remorse; wonder if the Mini is quality, and not a major step down from my coupe.

 

I'd say MINIs are pretty reliable, but as has been said, there's always those 'Friday cars'.
As for quality, the only way to tell is go out and drive one. How it feels to you is how it feels.

 

Thanks Eric, I just got off the phone with the mini salesman. They don't have a roadster S at the moment for me to test drive. So we are still waiting.

 

I'm someone who has owned a few MINIs before (last one was a 2010 MCS Hardtop), and currently drives a 2008 328i Coupe. My partner drives a 2012 128i Coupe. I'm looking to sell my Coupe and get a 2012 Countryman S. Since I've spent decent amounts of seat time in both types of cars, I can honestly say MINIs interior quality isn't far off from BMWs (especially the 1 series). Obviously BMW will be more upscale on some things, but MINIs are really solid cars just like BMW. I always do the "tap test," reaching up and tapping on the top of the dash to see how solid in feels. I've been in some cars that sounded hollow enough to be worrisome. MINIs and BMWs both sound the same. There probably are some reliability differences between the two, but Bimmers aren't exactly known to be the most bullet proof cars out there.

You've had your little 1 rocket ship for a while. You've experienced some issues and you've enjoyed driving the car, right? You can probably expect the same with MINI. That being said, of the MINIs I've driven, I've never had anything major fail with any of them.

Btw, you want a car that's really fun to drive and also amazingly worrisome, never knowing if it's going to fail to start or just die while driving, get a classic Mini! We got our second one a couple of weeks ago, have already had some bugs to fix, but we absolutely LOVE it.

 

Thanks , RVExotics...
Great input ... Especially from a Bimmer owner ... Yes, the 135i is a little rocket ship , and fun to drive... Somewhat expensive to run, and will be expensive to repair.. The issues , some major , most minor, have made me somewhat nervous.... The car has been riding beautifully since my last repair. I'm retired, and will not ge able to trade the 135i in for a new one...But, I could trade it in for a new Mini Cooper Roadster S, and maintain a small monthly payment ... I am waiting to test drive the roadster... Will be the game changer, one way or another. Go for the Mini; stay with the Bimmer. A roadster is a real life style change.... I experienced the MGB when I was a teenager... Lots of fun... I'm an old dude now , so the reality might not be the same , or maybe it will rekindle my youth.

 

About a year ago my 02 MCS was towed from the Colorado/Kansas Border all the way back to Denver. I won't name the Dealership because they messed up my car, and screwed me unnecessarily, but I had my clutch and transmission replaced. Before I bought my MINI in June of 2011, she was used primarily for AutoX, so not really a fault. I have however had other visits to the shop, and not the dealer, but they didn't require a tow. I chock up the visits to the fact that she is 10 years old.