Currently at 155,000 w/the original clutch 🤞. I still absolutely adore the car as much as I did on the day I picked her up 11 years ago & would buy another in a heartbeat!! It's needed more work this year than ever before but I don't think that's out of the ordinary for high mileage. I've spent less than $5,000 on it in the last 3 years (take into account I live in a very expensive area, so labor costs are $$$), still better than a car payment in my opinion.

2021 repairs: Thermostat, tube seals, oil filter & valve cover gaskets, coolant & heater hoses and it's going in tomorrow for what is likely a bad alternator.
Last big repair prior to 2021 was the water pump in 2019.

 

Start saving for a new motor.

 

09 R55S with n14 and 164,000 on the odometer.

 

09 R55 N12, 6 speed.

118,000 KMs (about 73,000 miles).

Still a baby....

 

177k miles here on my 2002 R50.
Driven hard (almost daily to the redline, I live up a hill with a twisty road) but with extreme care e.g. gentle warmup and cooling, heel-n-toe gearchages etc - the latter most for the fun than anything else.
Always maintained with attention e.g. oil change at 8k miles instead of the 15 or so suggested in Europe.
The engine itself is 100% fine, just had to move to an appropriate more viscous and thermally stable oil (Valvoline 5W40), eats not even a quarter in 6k miles and runs perfectly.

Still, the car is starting to show its age... new pulley, new water pump, new alternator, new supspensions mounts new radiator, new inside roof fabric new windshield water pump, new muffler, new whelspeed sensors, new wheel bearings and many other sweet things in the last 25k miles.

​​​​​I'd say past 150k miles ownership makes sense if you have access to cheap parts (e.g. Autodoc) and have a cheap and trustworthy shop to install them.

Oh, and not to mention the gearbox - the crappy Midland failed at 70k & I swapped it with a Getrag 6 speed with LSD from a 05 S - if you are buying a high-mileage MINI really learn about different M.Y. first!
On the bright aide it's a pretty much computer free car relatively easy to work on and there is a trove of information available on every possible fault for everyone willing to learn.

 

roughly 175K miles !

 

roughly 175k miles

 

R60, Countryman S. 235k. Runs great.....but, just had the Turbo and the Clutch take a dump. Not bad considering the mileage I guess.... and some of the recent loving abuse I've put him through. It has been very reliable, replaced the High Pressure FP(warranty) and the Thermostat....That's it! So pretty luck lucky I suppose.

 

2004 Mini R53 Cooper S Hot Chili 177,000 miles

 

My 2002 cooper has done 170 ish.
Nothing spent on engine.
The only problems i have had is the 5 speed midland box
blew up with cogs every where {six speed put in}.
single mass clutch 2 weeks ago.
Lower ball joints.
Had the car since 37000 miles.
The car has never not started and has run sweet its whole life.
next week it will have its first fuel filter change.

 

Hello;
2010 Mini Cooper owner here, currently with 161,150 to be exact. And for the last 13 years with no car payments. Let me tell you, YES I did spend 1,200 dollars on 2024 replacing the timing chain, new clutch and fly wheel, water pump. Now the way I look at it; all these repairs will get me another 150, 000 miles and the beauty of this; still no car payments. "Nice" right?

1. I do not really understand on why there are so many negative comments about Mini Coopers, any car that is abused and not following routine maintenance will break at some point.
2. Why these people have negative comments and bought a Mini Cooper to begin with.

Anyways, if you own a Mini and if it is paid for, just do the maintenance that is required.
See attached pictures of my well-kept 2010 Mini cooper base model.

 

You're not getting another 150k out of the engine. NO CHANCE. These engines weren't engineered to last that long. They are among the worst engines made with the cheapest plastic parts imaginable. You'll burn a valve in the next 50k miles, or your vacuum pump will seize and grenade the valve train. Start saving for a new car. Im not being dramatic Im just telling you what you dont want to hear. Why do you think they depreciate so much?

Start saving for valve cover, MAF, PCV tubing, broken intake tubing, plastic throttle body, 02 sensors, leaking water pipe, cracked oil cooler and/or leaking oil cooler, leaking oil pan, leaking vacuum canister and motor, leaking vacuum pump...and the list goes on and on.

 

WOW!
How do you know all these negative issues? Can you provide us with few positive issues? Are you certified/active Mini mechanic?

Thanks.
PS. For the last 12 years I have not made car payments, I have spent an average of $5,250 on maintaining my JustA for the last 12 years, kindly do the math and see my cost per year.

 

Yes I can give you two positives. The Japanese trans is great and about the only thing that doesn't leak on thus car snd the paint job is awesome.

 

Thank you!!! I see that you are a *** car lover. I will stick with my 3 Volvo's, and my JustA mini for now..

 

I love some cars...dont trust Mini. Just fix my girl's endlessly.

 

I feel your pain with the R56 - that's not the stoutest version....

The B48 however looks pretty damned good - once you have dealt with the oil filter housing / intercooler and the water pump housing. The plastic bits on the front of the block are a worry, but once dealt with all seems well.

I'm at 149k on a 2018 JCW, and he pulls like a train and returns 30mpg. Fingers crossed, 'cause the newer versions do not tickle my fancy.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

N14 is a POS French motor. B48 has won many awards for its driving characteristics, but BMW's dedication to plastic engine parts is a BIG problem. I hope they didn't use dissimilar metals like they do on the n14 (aluminum block and steel oil pan) which ALWAYS leak.

 

Great to hear you're still enjoying it! Just recently passed 215k on my R50. I had to do an expensive CVT to 6-speed swap 13 years ago, but it was money well spent, and the car's been solid since, and still drives great. There are plenty of owners around here with 300k and even 400k on the first gens. One older gentleman had over 600k on his R50. Longevity is a combination of engineering, driving style, maintenance, and environment. I think the poor reliability reputation comes mainly from the turbo R56s.

 

ya ya every model of car has someone who claims they got 500,000 miles, blah blah blah.

JUNK man junk. I have a Japanese car that's 1 year older and with more mileage on it, for which I have changed essentially nothing. The Mini has had many thousands of dollars in parts (+ my free labor) put on it in the same time period and 20k fewer miles, including an entire engine.

 

Thank you JKNorr, My Mini is being very good to me so far, I always like European cars, since I grew up with Saabs, and Volvos with good experiences. These do demand repairs for sure, but these cars are fun to drive, and if these are kept good maintenance habits, these will not brake.

 

My 2003 mini cooper s has 218000 miles on it . Still going

 

I have a 2008 R55 Mini cooper S Clubman that currently have about 169,000 miles on it. Ive had it for a little over a year and put over 15000 miles on it.

 

Nice, keep motoring👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾

Basket installed….

 

05 R53 166,9xx, getting close to oil change time. Doesn’t look to bad for being 20 in August. Runs great too 😉