Hi all,

Been in a MINI for the past 4 years. an 05 r50 for 2 years and now an 07 r56 for the last two.....the r56 was a bad idea in hindsight.

Although I love the car and it really has everything I want (nav system, cold weather package, etc.)....it has racked up about $3500 in repair costs in the past 2 years....plus simple mods like an AP, DoS intake, and summer wheels. The repairs have been:
Water pump, oil lines to turbo leaking, hpfp (warranty), faulty fuel line (goodwill).

Currently I'm in the dealership with a cracked thermostat housing, carbon buildup, and possibly some other issues since my brand new spark plugs (I just installed them myself two weeks ago) are said to look like they've been in there for 100k miles, according to the dealership. I'm hoping it's carbon related and it will get fixed but it sounds like it could be worse....maybe a compression issue. Bear in mind I change my own oil every ~6k miles and routinely check it to make sure it's at the proper level. I also have a scangauge to monitor coolant temp and and other car behaviors. I definitely don't beat on or neglect my car.

Anyway, enough complaining. I'm debating selling the MINI and getting a more reliable car. I'm in my third year of teaching and my gf and I are considering purchasing a house in the next year or two. I don't feel like my r56 is reliable by any means (I'm still paying back a loan for it too...but it is worth more than what I owe on it). My r50 was bulletproof, same with my old volvo 850 I had before it.

So my question: What would you guys do? Keep fixing up the r56 (it should be like new now right?) or consider a very low mileage focus se or civic that would be super reliable and still net good gas mileage, albeit without as much fun. Also any other car suggestions would be appreciated if you would go that route.

Thanks a bunch!

 

I can not advise you on your next ride.
But I would get rid of that thing before it breaks again.

 

R53

 

Mini Cooper 2008 color gray is for sale, gray color, one hand drive, total genuine condition, with good rare and front.
I want to get rid of it, so help me .

 

Step 1: Sell the lemon R56. Nothing against all R56's (I own one), but yours is a lemon. Try not to hold this against other Minis.
Step 2: Figure out the budget for your new car, and your priorities.
Step 3: Buy something still covered by factory or CPO warranty (any make) if you can't self-insure or DIY.

HTH,
a

 

I wouldn't say this is a lemon. These are all somewhat common issues and can happen to any R56. If this reliability scares you then I would look for a MINI that has been CPOed or find a Honda/Toyota and be bored.

 

afadeev and yetti96: I sold my r56 about a month and a half ago. I bought a very lightly used (8k miles) '12 Civic Si coupe. I realize that most if not all of my problems were very common but I was starting to hear the death chain on cold starts and I knew I had another big repair coming. I traded it in and put that repair money towards my down payment. My monthly payments pretty much stay the same....just obviously for a longer period of time since I owned the MINI for two years.

It does feel nice to have a warranty again. I was having some slight rubbing of my rear brakes on the rotors and Honda is getting me brand new rotors for free as they saw that they have some high spots due to sitting (likely from the dealership before I bought it).

I still miss the MINI and want to wave as I see them on the road, but the peace of mind of a warranty and the reliability of a Honda was the right move at this time in my life.

 

Good choice I like the newer Civic Si's. Actually I love the Mugen body kit. I'm sure you won't miss the headaches with the lemon you had especially the timing chain issue.

Show us some pictures!!!

 

Here are some pics of the Si. It's on coilovers which I'm thankful about as the new Si's have some serious wheel gap without being slightly lowered.




Approve?

 

Sad to see you leave the MINI family...But that is a nice Si

 

Love it!!! Looks fantastic, especially in white!

 

The new Civic Si's look hot, very nice choice. How does the fun factor compare?

 

Thanks for the compliments all. I do think white is one of the better colors for an Si. I'm happy with it thus far.

The fun factor is actually quite comparable to my r56. Rowing through the gears is just as fun, but the Si's do have a bad case of rev-hang between shifts. When you depress the clutch the rpm's will hang for a second before starting to drop. It was intentionally programmed in to smooth out shifts and be easier on the syncros from what I've read. It was annoying at first but I'm now completely adjusted to it.

As far as straight line speed goes, the Civic is just as quick if not a little bit quicker than my AP stage 1 MINI but there isn't the same feeling of torque that you get from the 1.6 turbo in the MINI. The 2.4 k24 engine has 170 ft/lbs now so I actually have some torque in a Honda!

Handling is just okay. The MINI was telepathic and I knew all the lines on it having been in one for 4 years. I could park my car behind another with only an inch to spare with ease if I wanted. The Civic is noticeably longer and I'm not completely used to that yet. With my coilovers the comfort level is comparable to my MINI with sport suspension if not a little more civilized/less jarring.

All in all I would say that the Si is very close in fun factor to my r56 but I think I still have to give the win to the MINI. If my r56 was reliable (I had bad luck) or still in warranty I wouldn't have switched cars.