I have an opportunity to get a 2008 MC (justa) from a private seller here in St louis for about 17,900 which since it has the cold weather, and convience packages as well as the NAV I think isn't a bad deal?

Well I was all gung-ho to get this MINI and now I'm getting luke-warm feet. Not quite cold... I start thinking about actually using this car as my everyday driver, in winter, in summer, and passengers? What about possible reliability issues... statistical errors or not, there has to be something to those JD Powers and consumer reports surveys?

Of course then the OTHER part of me says WTH since I've always wanted the car just to get it anyway and if it turns out to be a mistake just sell the sucker.

I know these are fun cars, and thats the appeal. I actually have two cars right now, one is a turbocharged Miata, and the other a 1997 Chevy Lumina. *complete opposites* I got the Lumina for about $500 for 5 years ago. (steal of a deal - never would have gotten it otherwise) The Lumina is on it's death bed and the MINI would be the replacement! Miata will always be my baby so it gets driven on seldom occasions. So I wonder if this MINI is a good choice for my new daily driver!?

 

I do over a 100 Miles a day in my 04 MCS, not to often I have back seaters so no worries there. MPG is just OK, A few Minor issues but nothing that has caused me to be stuck on the side of the road. Youo cant measure the fun factor on this car. I have owned over 30 some very High Powered stuff and this ranks right up there with the best of them. No regrets for me buying this ride

 

Very happy with my Daily Driver Mini!

 

I have ahd no problem with my clubman in the snows of winter in New England. In fact I get aroudn better than many of the 4 wheel drive SUV's and Trucks. these cars are great in the snow as long as you put "real snow tires" on them. leave teh summer tires on them and your not going anywhere but put good "snow tires" not all seasons on and you will be good to go.

 

My 2008 MCS has been great as a daily driver and occasional family hauler. Makes my commute so much more enjoyable. Even today when traffic was snarled up and a normal commute of 40 minutes took closer to 80, I was like - no worries, mate, I'm in a MINI. In any other car I'm sure I would have been cursing up a storm.

 

Have you looked at the Consumers Reports reliability history for the 2008 MINI? You can't get much higher ratings at CR. If you are familiar with their dot system (solid red is best, solid black is worst, white is in the middle), every category has solid red, except Engine Minor. That may be due to the timing chain rattle that MINI has been fixing under warranty when they can reproduce it.

See if the car has had the timing chain tensioner replaced. If so, you are good to go. If not, see if it is under warranty. Read the thread about "Cold Start Rattle" and test for it. Once it is fixed, you shouldn't have much to worry about.

I would pay much attention to JD Powers. I received their survey and was amazed at how stupid the questions were. They didn't seem to have much of anything to do with how reliable the car will be. Rumor is that JD Powers is an award that car companies can purchase.

Threads here seem to indicate that MINIs do very well in winter weather. I'm in California so I wouldn't know. Here we just have Fire Season, and Mud-slide Season.

My 2007 MCS had the timing chain tensioner replaced, and the tail pipe shortening recall, but otherwise has been fine.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I've decided to go ahead and get it! I'm sure I'll be back here soon with questions about the thing as it's all new to me. :-)