I love my MINI but im having too many problems with it. It's a 03 mcs with 117,000 mi's. The Airbag light is on, power stearing pump out, windows work sometimes, and needs a complete service.

I am test driving an 04 Nissan Murano SL AWD. Its very nice with everything I want but VDC. The only problem is my sister who is 15 now is wanting my car. I told her that I would let mom take over payments(she will only have one year left to pay on it and mom is going to give me some money or make my new car payment for a while) when she turns 17 in a year and a half but I am sick of all the problems I am having with the car.

What do I do? Trade and make my loving sister sad, or just keep the MINI another year or so and make everyone else happy but me?

 

Do you perform regular maintenance? Do you fix problems when they arise, or do you let them linger as long as the car is driveable? Complaining that the car "needs a service" is not a real complaint, since all cars need service at regular intervals. It sounds more like you aren't willing to maintain the car to the level it requires.

 

Sell the used MINI since trade in is not good and they often do not take any used cars with more than 90K miles on them.

Later when your sister is older she can look for another used car at the time. Maybe find a low mileage 2005 MINI which is a better model year.

Your MINI service problems are common, it's part of driving and maintaining a MINI. You want trouble free then get a Civic or Corolla.

 

I do all the service at my dad's shop. The stuff like coolant flush, tranny flush and little odds and ends add up, and my dad's shop is not equipped to do stuff like that. I'm also a student so the money I need for the $500 coolant flush is not there. The airbag light came on a week ago. I love my car and I have said from day one that they will last forever and I don't like when people say I'm not willing to maintain the car, when I am and I do! I posted this to get some advice not get bad mouthed!

 

Sell and buy newer or brand new when you can afford it. Sis can get her own vehicle. Really the newer MINI's have fewer issues.

Services like tranny flushes and coolant flushes are NOT recommended by any OEM. Only the snake oil sellers of said machines and chemicals promote them. Simple drain and fill is all that's needed.

 

Thanks, I would love to have a newer one but I can't afford get a higher payment. I think I will keep it till my sister is old enough and I will get a countryman. I drove one at mini of birmingham. I live in kentucky and drove down there because one of the salesadviser is a friend of mine. I love, love the countryman s all4. Thanks again for the advice.

 

This is not a car for a young penniless person. My 18 year old son drives a 2005 Scion XA with 18,000 miles that I bought for him. Cool car and realiable. Can mod it up plenty too. He loves it.

 

"The Airbag light is on, power stearing pump out, windows work sometimes, and needs a complete service."

The Mini dealership should be able to get a read on the code that's producing the airbag light. From there they can inform you of your options.

Power steering pump, you could look into simply having it replaced. I know it costs a lot, but figure that against a higher car payment, and the cost of a new pump doesn't look so bad.

My right window has the same issue, sometimes working, sometimes not, only I've figured out that it won't work in warm to hot weather. I'm planning on replacing the window motor next year to remedy that.

The complete service, again, weigh the cost of the service against a higher car payment. Sometimes it's better to repair than replace.
Good luck in whatever decision you come to!

 

+1
Some things just need to get fixed...as things age, they break!
The needs a complete service line is confusing...you say you do it at your dads shop...then why does it need to be done?!
The stuff on the INSP2 or INSP1 list are not hard to do for the most part...especially if you have access to a shop...a few special fluids..like PS fluid is special, but not a big deal...NAPA, VW or online sells it...
IF you DIY the list, it does not sound too bad a list...$500 for a PS pump, live with the Window till spring, airbag...may or may not be $$, but add it up...it is like 2 or maybe 3 car-payments!! Then in a few months, you own it outright...no payments...put the $$ in the bank...use it to maintain the car, and build a down-payment (a big one) on a newer car in 2-3 years! Simple!

 

The airbag light might be on due to a defect in the seatbelt harness, wire frays or something. Take it to a dealer and mention this, it should be fixed for free because it is a recall. Easiest to do is call the service department or MINI USA directly and ask if your VIN falls under this. Just had mine repaired 3 weeks ago for this.

 

My guess is he is just saying the service/inspection light is on These do have those like other BMWs right?

 

TO the OP: and this 04' Nissan is 100% trouble-free and will NOT need any maintainance work whatsoever....not harping on you, but we're talking about a very soon 7 year old suv in a couple of days.

You might want to google search 04 nissan murano complaints...my friend will gladly ship you his...known common issues that stands out the most is the bad tranny...just make sure it's been rebuilt or recently replaced (not just serviced either) and has an extended warranty....his has only seen the repair shop four times in two years with a week long loaner cars if available...

 

I wouldnt trade it. I would get it serviced and keep it. My mom had a murano and liked it but she said it was weird having a mini then going to that. She liked the mini a whole lot more. But do whatever makes "YOU" happy.

 

Get rid of it. All minis and cars will eventually fail and have problems, its just the choice is up to you whether you want to pay BMW shop rate and part prices/availability vs. other cars.

in the last week I've replaced an anternator on a ford explorer and a mini. I had to call 15 shops to find the mini alternator at $270 and it took me nearly 6 hours start to finish.

The ford alternator was at my local discount auto for $130 and it took me 45 mins start to finish.

The Germans build failure into their parts and expect the operators to be maniacal about the service intervals. Affording the service intervals is entirely up to you.

I got 170,000 out of my mini before he finally croaked. a good portion of those were carrying tools and off-roading as I am a wireless tech.

 

I would trade it. my 2002 just kicked the bucket with 170k miles in the same week that I made my last payment. I abused the hell out of the car for the 100k miles that I drove him (loaded with tools, occasional off-roading). I am a wireless tech so I spend my days at cell towers fixing problems.

Anyways, your window motors are going to run $100 a pop and the power steering job, start to finish, cost me $800 + 4 days of rental car while it was in the shop. Mine died at around 130k.

If you have a stick, the clutch will die soon, if not already and expect your air conditioning compressor to kick it in another 20k miles or so. Your alternator might have another 30k-40k miles on it. Just expect that the more you drive your car, the less someone will want it. Once you hit the 125k mark, you are pretty much in until the wheels fall off.

Dont get me wrong, i love my mini and everything its done for me but its time to move on to a bigger car for my job now that I've made all the payments. I have a ford explorer that I just had to change the alternator on. The part was at a shop down the street for $140 and i had it in and out in 45 mins. The closest mini alternator i could find when I needed to replace mine was 2 hours away and $270. It took me 6 hours start to finish.

The germans build stuff to fail, but they expect that you are maniacal about maintaining service intervals. I can say without hesitation that if you are pushing 120K now, it will cost you at least $4k in tires, brakes, fluids and misc failed parts, tows, rental cars, etc to get you to 170k