I read the boards and always cringe at the cost of repairs. Just in general, how are the repairs for owning a Mini Cooper.

My case, I have two. Both 2013. One is a S Coupe and the other is a Countryman.

I did get the Mini Extended Warranty for 100K on both. And I realize that there is much not covered in that warranty. Regular maintenance and such.

In general terms, is owing a Mini a money pit? So far I have been pleased but I am sure they are more expensive to maintain than my past automobiles. In the past I owned Toyota. But I did drive a BMW as well.

Many advise people that these are not great as a first car, buying used, expensive to own. My case might be different buying new and with warranty.

For me personally, when I was looking for a two seater there was not all that much out there in the price range 50K and under. Nothing excited me more than Mini did. And still does.

If you take care of the car has your experience been good? Yes, it might cost a little more but driving it makes it worth some added dollars.

I just wonder how many buy new and keep them for 100K, pleased? Spends lots of money on repairs? Reliable? Regret the purchase? Can they make it too 100K with love and care and all the maintenance?

I enjoy the S Coupe but at the time the only other choice would have been a Mazda or BMW. Not too many cars with just two seats and a cool body style. As I wanted good gas mileage and that rules out the Mercedes. Cost more but who needs a V8 in a two seater.

I am also sure if I bought another type of car and read a board that is similar I would be shocked at the repairs or postings as well. Nothing is perfect.

Comments? Thoughts? Would you encourage family, relatives, son or daughter to buy a Mini?

 

While some cars are money pit....
I believe that the warrenty will protect you from the big hits...
And as long as you drive "normally" with a few "fun" excursions, the cost of ownership is not crazy high....
My gut feeling is many of the folks with multiple $$$ repairs often fit into a couple different groups...
1) drive they they stole it....they have a warrenty...so in the words of Michael Jackson "just beat it!!!".
2) I love mini's, but know nothing about cars or this is my first car........this persons typical response to an oil issue..."I get it changed when the book tells me too...how can I be out?".
3)OCD.....when they read of a "common issue" they automatically have the issue...they sometimes attempt a repair..cause if you have a good diy guide you can do anything right? Even if you don't have a clue right! Car looks great...detailed to the nines....
4) I just bought a cute used car.... The paint was perfect!! Looks almost new. The dealer says it needs $6500 in repairs!! How is this possible?! It looks so good.....
My mini ownership experience has been pretty uneventful....
I have modded...
Matained (within my skill set) and even done a few basic fixes...again within my limits.
Some things....like clutches do cost more...but a GOOD INDEPENDENT SHOP that knows minis are cheaper than a dealer by 50% or so on labor...10-15% less on parts...
Might not be as "perfect on the first try" as the dealer might require a second trip...
But since CHRISTMAS EVE 2004 (WHEN I TOOK DELIVERY), MY CAR HAS NEVER been towed or spent the night at the dealer....or any other shop...

 

I've incurred around $3700 in maintenance and repairs (not including oil changes) in 6 years and about 144k miles of ownership. I have an oil leak currently and just waiting for warmer weather to diagnose and decide whether I'll attempt a DIY. Figure I'm about due for a clutch as well. Of the repairs I did have, they either occurred in the first 50k miles and were covered by warranty or post 100k miles and I paid (except for HPFP at 118k covered by warranty).

Car has never left me stranded.

 

There's the extended maintenance plan for that. In 18 total years of MINI ownership, we've never payed for one oil change in regular maintenance. The only problem not covered by warranty or maintenance was a battery.

 

The Volvo 850 I had was a money pit. My mechanic's kids went to college thanks to that car. What a POS and it ate front tires in less than 20K. Made my previous BMWs seem cheap.

By comparison, my Mini has been nothing but fun. You have 2013s, so you wont be seeing the timing chain and carbon build up problems with the earlier engine. Change the oil at 5K intervals and enjoy.

 

Thanks.

I don't drive the car hard, I think I have kicked the Turbo in maybe 4 times and by accident. Plan to keep up maintenance and oil but I don't have time to do the repairs. We have very good Mini Shops here besides the dealer.

Lets see, the car is the S Coupe automatic. Traffic is terrible here and I have a very long commute. But I only like to drive it on nice weather days. Have to run my other car too. I sort of inherited an old Buick.

I can understand why people post this should not be your first car if you find one for under 10K. Potential work and the cost could be high.

I am also over 50. The car is fun but I don't drive crazy and I have not really changed anything. So far I am fine with the run flat tires. Places I drive are extremely dangerous to be changing a tire.

I am not opposed to spending money on good oil changes, even at the dealer. I have always followed a strict regimen of having all my cars serviced religiously. Just hoping to avoid having to drop say 8K a year in repairs.

Interesting to hear about the Volvo. Never had one. Like I said when I decided on a two seater not many choices. Wanted something fun to drive and many cars the body styles and interior did nothing for me.

I normally buy a car new and keep until 100,000 miles. Then assess what to do. Sounds like with warranty in place I should be good.

 

I've had manageable expenses with my '07 Cooper (non-S) that now has about 74K miles on it. It certainly hasn't been a money pit - but routine maintenance is definitely higher cost.

My only Out-of-Warranty repair expense was a water pump thermostat sensor issue. That happened at around 60K miles. It did not strand me. I took it to an independent mechanic. I also had them do the 60K mile serpentine belt change, replace spark plugs, remove manifold and inspect valves and perform normal oil/filter change.

The thermostat sensor/water pump portion was around $600. Inspecting the valves ($225) was likely unnecessary since non-S Coopers don't typically have carbon build up issues. But I had been reading the forum horror stories and just wanted to know. Other portions of the bill would have been normal routine maintenance. Our MINI Club receives a discount which further reduced the final cost.

I'm on my third set of tires. Still have original brakes and mechanic says they have about 25pct left. Still have the original battery - recently tested and it's good. I will just keep having it tested regularly.

I'm a conservative driver and my car has a fairly ideal operating life. In hot weather it's mostly in Wyoming. In cold weather it's mostly in Southern Nevada. Most of it's mileage is back and forth between those two locations at highway speeds. It doesn't see much stop and go traffic or short distance trips.

As of today:
Mileage: 73891
Avg Speed: 49.3mph
Avg Mileage: 38.3mpg (OBC)
Avg Mileage 36.5mpg (hand calculated)

Avg Engine Hours: Mileage / Avg Speed = 1498.8hrs
Note: Avg Engine Hours is just a very rough indicator of how many hours are on the engine. Lots of other variables involved and doesn't really reflect possible engine abuse. However, in normal conservative driving, engine hours are a better indicator of mechanical wear and tear than mileage.

In some ways this may be among the least expensive car ownership experiences I've had. I say that because this is longest I've ever owned the same car (almost 7 years now). I typically buy new and then replace cars at about the 3-4 year point. That means I take serious depreciation hits. I've avoided that expense so far - and I still like this car! When I do replace (maybe a 2015?) I will likely do what the OP did and buy new with the extended warranty.

 

beedeejay nice to hear your car has been reliable. Our R55 non-S has been too. It seems that the non-S models have been more reliable that the S.

You do not need to have the intake manifold removed to look at the valves. The non-S is not a direct injection engine & they do not suffer from carbon build up. Throw a bottle of Chevron Techron in the tank at every oil change & your injectors & valves will stay clean.

 

We got our 09 MCS used, now has 95k. I don't know about the prior owner, but from what I can tell the car just had oil changes. I believe it's on the second set of tires and brake pads. Does have the timing chain rattle, but it runs good and that's being sorted at the dealer right now under recall. Tune up parts like filters and oil are no more expensive than any other car I've owned. That said, I mostly do my own repairs. I think some cars are built better than others but if you take care of it, it will take care of you.