Hi all, new to the mini forums, not new to cars. I am looking for general info on mini’s as my daughter really likes them, and she is looking to purchase her first car. She really likes the countryman’s. Manual tranny is fine. Are there participial years to stay away from? I am thinking it would be a 2014 with high miles or older. One thing that worries me, is that it sounds like there are a fair amount of repairs that start popping up in the 80-100k mile range. Is that true? Are minis easy to work on? Aftermarket part availability? I am used to Hondas, being able to drive them 200k plus before really even thinking about struts, alternators, tierods, ect……. I did have a vw Jetta Tdi I put 360k on before selling, still had org. Clutch, but brakes, bushings, strut bearings, ect….. all needed work. So, I am just looking for info. If there are certain threads that talk about all of this, please direct me. I may have missed some of them. Thanks for any help.

 

My co-pilot's is a '15 CM (auto gear box) that she is very happy with. It's got near 70K w/no problems. It gets oil/filter every 5K, a 5 and 3 zeros or 4 zeros on the odo. Check with other MINI or BMW people for the best reliable German independent shop in your area. He can advise on other regular maintenance needs and intervals. One thing to fully understand is that these are NOT drive 'em and forget 'em grocery getters.

 

Thanks for the input, my thoughts are, she would probably be looking at one with over 100k, her maintenance budget wouldn’t to large, I can do most work myself, but I just didn’t want her to have to have a $ pit. Normal maintenance I would expect. I could see control arms, struts, sway bar bushings, ect….. maybe needing do be swapped, but how does the Trany, clutch, engine hold up? I am in Wisconsin, so how do they do in the cold? Decent tires can be had, but will it start reliably?…….. thanks again

 

The gear box should be just fine. The clutch plate will last as long as it is treated well. I've got 120+K on mine. She just needs to keep the foot off the pedal while under way, neutral and foot on the deck when stopped and rev match when downshifting. I continue to watch my co-pilot's left foot when she's driving the R52 and still have to bark (carefully) once in awhile. As for Northern winters a heated dip stick unless it's a new model where the idiots have removed it then I don't know. Last year's Jan. severe cold we had no problems with either, I got to morning coffee with the old goats just fine.

 

Welcome along

 

Minnesota here and I can tell you MINIs are made for the snow. In the winter, my favorite thing to tell people (when they invariably ask) is that they (the MINI) eat snow for breakfast. I’ve had a MINI since 2006 (started with a 2004, now have a low-mileage 2013), husband bought one not long after I got mine (started with a 2006, now has a 2021), and we’re both very pleased with them. We are functionally unable to have any other car than a MINI..

Funny story - husband bought his from a Cheesehead (on this very forum!), and as I’ve looked over the years there have been a ton ‘for sale’ in Wisconsin - you WI folks really like your MINIs!!!

 

I’ve driven 2013 and 2016 hardtop models and the only thing my daily driver (90k miles) 2013 clubman really needs are tie rods, bushings, or sway bar links every so often due to the atrocious condition of the roads here in VT. I bring it in twice a year for regular maintenance and maybe once more when something funky comes up. I don’t go to a specialty garage, just my local trustworthy shop. Mine is the only MINI they regularly service, but they said it’s not any different from the myriad other car brands they work on. We’ve only had a few annoying situations where they’ve had to order special parts (lights/housings/wipers).
All my MINIs have been amazing in the snow when they’ve got good snow tires (studded or not).

 

Your best bet would be to get an F60, if you’re willing to spend then extra money for the long and short term reliability. The R60’s, while better than early second gens, still suffer from issues of the second gens. I’ve heard that their turbos like to fail after about 70-100k miles. They also suffer from carbon buildup issues, as well as the timing chain will most likely fail after a while. I believe valve covers were still an issue with the N18.

Of course, you could also get the base model of either generation for cheaper than you can get an S, while being more reliable but significantly slower (which certainly isn’t an issue for young drivers).