Hello, my name's Mike, 25, and I'm a UAV Operator in the Army, I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan but we're heading back soon enough.

Mods, please don't shoot this thread down because I really haven't came to a conclusion on whether a Mini Cooper S would be a feasible choice or not, even after reading a lot of the problem threads.

My motoring background is primarily of the Mazda and two wheel variety, I've owned two NA Miatas and currently drive an '06 Mazda 3i Sedan. I've also owned a Kawasaki Ninja 500R (EX500), Suzuki Bandit 600S and a Kawasaki KLR250, I don't currently own a bike.

So when I finished my training at Ft. Huachuca, AZ I flew back to North FL, where I'm originally from and went looking at cars, I was looking at MCS's on autotrader and liked what I was seeing, well the two cars I called about were gone, I didn't even get to test drive one, and to this day haven't driven one. Well I eventually found my Mazda 3 and it's been a rock solid car, it's carried me from KY to FL and back three times on leave, and all over KY and IN without a hiccup, just like my Miatas, neither of which produced any real problems. This leads to my concerns, I'm an active duty Soldier, when you're given a time hack, you do everything you can to meet it, if you show up ten minutes late to a formation and tell your NCO "My car wouldn't start" or "My alternator went out" you will usually get a reply such as "Well you should've given yourself more time so you could hop a ride with someone or ran to formation" not all NCO's are like that but trust me, many are. I can't afford to have a car that's going to be messing up all the time.

The MCS is very attractive to me, from the obnoxiously awesome exhaust popping, to the short squat stance to the interior and not to mention that supercharger! I've never had a forced induction vehicle. I'm a single Soldier so I don't need a ton of storage space for when I PCS to a new duty station, I have a good bit of stuff but I could fit it all in a miata with a luggage rack or in the back of an MCS no problem. So I'll move on to my concerns, I have to have a car that can deal with heat and cold conditions, the Army can send me anywhere from Ft. Richardson, Alaska, Ft. Drum, New York to Ft. Irwin, California or Ft. Stewart, Georgia, so it just has to be able to handle any of those temperature ranges and light snow, of course I'm not going to go snow plowing through 2 feet of snow at Ft. Drum. Most Army posts have autoshops with all types of equipment and tools you can use, including lifts, tire changers, you get the idea but I don't want to be changing out alternators and power steering pumps all the time, not to mention I wouldn't, that's the type of stuff I'd rather pay a shop to do, I'll perform my own fluid changes and such, I used to try an fix everything but now days I don't want to spend my entire weekend trying to fix my car, I rather be gaming or out hiking and taking pictures.

I've read into the mushrooming of the strut towers, does this primarily happen on cars driven on really crappy roads or also on cars that are primarily driven on the nice stuff? The power steering, is this still a huge issue? is there a fix? how much is it to have a new one put in? I've also read of alternator issues, is there an alternative part that is better than the OEM piece? Are there more problems I should be aware of?

I plan on buying an '04-'06 model with no more than 75,000 miles on the ODO. After typing all of that, my questions is simple, are these cars reliable enough for someone in the active duty military to rely on? Can I own this car without going broke well past 100,000 miles?

Thanks a lot everybody, if I end up seeing the car as reliable enough for me, I would end up buying one in March whilst on leave in Florida.

 

A few more questions, can the mushrooming be reversed? Is there a thread on what to look for when looking at buying an MCS? I've read the interior isn't put together very well and they squeak and rattle, are there any threads detailing remedies for these problems as well?

 

And another question, how do these cars perform on the interstate? Do they hold up well? I'm going to have to drive the thing from Kentucky to Arizona.

 

If I was still active duty, as much as I love my '07, I would be towing it behind my Suburban to travel to somewhere that I have have got to be, no excuses. These cars can be reliable, but they can also leave you on the side of the road in a heartbeat. Traveling cross country you could find yourself hundreds of miles from a Mini dealer. and you can't pick up some of their parts just anywhere. You could conceivably be stranded for days without wheels. I live in VA and the closest dealer is 60 miles away with the next closest 120 miles away. You won't find many dealers outside of a metropolitan area. I think they are estimating 125 dealers nationwide sometime this year. Not what you would call a massive support network.
I will reiterate, I do love my Mini, but there is no way I would depend on it as my only mode of transportation unless I lived near a dealer and had a warranty so I would at least have the possibility of a loaner. The year car you're talking about is long out of warranty, as is mine. I bought the Mini as another toy to enjoy driving, but when I have an appointment at the VA that's 120 miles away in the foothills of the mountains you can bet that I'm probably gonna take the Suburban or my truck. Even after you retire, they still get pissed if you miss an appointment/formation.
This is just the opinion of an old retired MSgt. YMMV.

 

Thank you for your opinion on the matter, and I guess some things never change when dealing with the government, huh? haha

 

Mike, I think it takes a tolerant person to own a well used MINI, especially if it's an only car. With the concern over reliability that you have expressed you might be better off with a car with a higher reliability quotient.

I have been retired for 21 years and have other transportation and no first sergeant to answer to. So my MINI is a hobby and fun car.

I wish you luck with whatever you decide to drive!

(I got my basic training at Ft Knox in 1953.)

 

Thank you for your take on the matter, your honesty is appreciated. I graduated basic at Ft. Benning in 2012. haha

 

I am retired from the Coast Guard. I had a MINI the last 4 years of AD. My experiences were great. I was able to transport enough "stuff" to support myself for a year of geo bachelor duty. As you know, being able to fit your life in a small space is part of military life - especially for sailors.
As far as reliability - I am on my second MINI and never had a problem like the one you described. Other than routine wear and tear, I never had a mechanical issue. I bought MINI's at a diiferent stage of my life and career. All I can say is my experiences were positive.
I think when you get back and test drive the MINI, you will know weather or not it is the car for you.

 

Thank you for your input, there doesn't exactly seem to be a middle ground with these cars but I think your last statement is probably going to produce the real answer to if I end up getting one or not, a test drive is needed.

 

I bought my first MINI in 2002 in Germany, drove it all over Europe, no issues. Shipped it back to Ft Huachuca and put many highway miles on it between AZ and Ft Sam Houston - probably 5 or 6 trips (800+ miles each way), never left me stranded. I must admit my second MINI isn't a daily driver, but I do drive it to work a couple times a week (60 miles). I haven't had any reliability problems, but I am pretty **** about maintenance!

 

Well, that's what I call good reliability, that's the type of driving I expect this car to be capable of, I'm going back to Ft. Huachuca in September for another 9 months of training and I want to go see the grand canyon along with a road trip to Scotsdale and going to Tuscon and Phoenix now and then on weekends.

 

You should at least drive a Mini before you get all worked up about the maintenance hazzards. Try to drive the newest lowest mileage one you can afford. Having a little seat time in the car can let you know just how unique these cars are to drive, and you might just feel that supercharger/turbo is not necessary to have fun. Lets point out that the 2007+ non turbo Mini's are really reliable and return incredible gas mileage.

Oh, and there is a Mini dealer in Tucson now, as well as several independent mechanics here too - Arizona is an excellent place to purchase a used Mini because there are a lot of them here and the weather is really good to them.

 

ive had my mini for a year now, and its ussually parked in the summer so i can ride my bikes... although i have taken it for spirited drives int he summer. super fun car, i made sure i got the first gen since they are much more reliable and have the addicting sound of the super charger. i would try to find the lowest mileage one you can get since the superchargers dont last forever, the PTO gears are known to start failing around 100k miles. other than that my mini has been through 12 in of snow on unplowed roads at 50 mph, no prob

it has more than enough space for me at this time, not the most gas effiecient car, but it does decent. the only thing i have done to my car that left me on the side of the road is i have to get a steel sleeve put into my oil pan because my drain plug decided to have love with the threads. but i seem to be the only one with that issue, the Power steering pumps are under warranty for little while longer and can be replaced by somone with mechanical apptitude and tools. mushrooming of the towers can be solved with some strut tower plates or a nice front strut brace. one you test drive one, you will buy it, there is a guide for finding the proper used one. make sure you read that.

my GF also has a 2nd Gen justa, and doing halfcity and half highway, she is getting 39-42 mpg in the winter..... im getting about 24 right now, but my commute is only 7 miels each way and the supercharger whine is my coffee =)

 

As someone who recently separated from the Air Force, and stayed overseas the entire time, I think I can give you a little advice on this.

Being overseas, typically you are only allowed to own one vehicle per licensed driver, so single guys can't own a backup car. I didn't let this stop me from driving "unreliable" cars like a Porsche 911, Mazda FD3S RX-7, Skyline GT-R, Evo's, Audi A4, Lancia Delta Integrale, and several others. All of these cars were well used, normally fairly high mileage, but only one time did a car truly leave me stranded, and that was because of my abusing the transmission.

Now I'm a new Mini owner, actually haven't even got it yet, picking up my 06 MCS tomorrow, but I will treat it exactly the same way I have my previous cars. The key for driving a potentially problematic car is to be proactive about maintenance and repairs. Read forums like these (as you obviously already have) and keep reading them to see what kind of problems others are experiencing. Take the time at least once a week to spend a good hour or so with the car checking things out carefully, maybe once a month take it to the base hobby shop (or whatever you guys call it in the Army) and put the car up on the lift and give a really good inspection. Tighten bolts and belts and check all fluids. Change things before they really need changing, and try to do it yourself if it all possible. Not only is fixing the car yourself rewarding, if you can spare the time it can save you a great deal of money.

Hope this helps. It's not a guarantee that you won't have a failure that leaves you stranded, but being proactive with maintenance will ensure that you won't experience 95% of the problems that "drive it and forget it" type people will experience.

 

And I agree with the above. Love hate relationship when mileage is up there. MY alternator just crapped out on the way home....they are not cheap and not going with aftermarket since it's my primary mode of transportation.