I guess I get what I deserve by coming onto the Mini Cooper online site and expecting to see mostly positive comments about the cooper. What sticks in my mind here is all the coolant, tranny, brake and other problems. If I had thought about it a bit longer it makes sense since this is almost funneling any possible problems into one forum.

So, is there a checklist of items I should watch out for in the first couple of weeks so that I don't get burned by miniUSA? This is a lot of money to spend on a little dream of mine and I don't have a heck of a lot left over to repair it in the first year.

Here are the details on my car just ordered last week:

2003 Cooper S
Dark Grey, black roof
Cloth interior, Patina finish
Premium, Sport, Cold weather packages

Delivery is "sometime" in August. Help calm me down so I don't go into buyers remorse and lose my deposit by pulling the order!

 

i wouldn't be nervous, but i would have waited for october delivery so you could get a '04 instead of a '03!

 

welcome fprintf,

i took delivery of my april build 03 ds/b mcs
(looks great w/black stripes) on 9-may, and now have 1400 miles on it.

in stop n go, or cruising on the highway,
i have not heard 1 out of place peep from my car...so far...
and expect none, but am always prepared for the worst.

don't let the horror stories grind you down.
there's always risk with any car, and it seems that
most of the initial quality problems have been worked
out of the build process by now...

june order - august delivery?
much better than my
october order - may delivery!

cheers!
S-

_________________
ordered 21.oct.02 - delivered 9.may.03 - MCS - DS/B - stripes - prem. - sport - HK
"daniel striped mini"

 

Don't let my post ( 1 year: 29004 miles ) contributed to your nervousness. Most of the problems I have had have long since been resolved, both for me and for the current production.

I can say this much about MINIUSA: it has been *far* more responsive than VW of America (my other car is a 2000 Jetta VR6). MINI has made a practice of addressing most problems in a timely manner and the 2003's reflect that. There have been software and hardware upgrades to your car (and to mine) that weren't available when I purchased my car a year ago. IMO, MINI does care about it's customers and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a 2003 model.

For what that's worth, those are my thoughts. :smile:

Dave

ps - welcome to MCO.

 

fprintf,
I wouldn't worry about it. The MCS is truly a great car. I don't see any real big "gotchas" with the car, and I received my MCS last June. The smile that I get from driving my MCS has not worn off yet after a year of driving it! Don't worry, and enjoy the ride!

 

I have been lurking on this forum for a while (since early this year I think) and this was my first post, I think.

Thanks for the reassurances. Dave in Denver, your post was *definitely* one that I was thinking about when getting a little nervous. I had so many problems with my VWs (1980 Scirocco, 1990 Golf, 1993 Passat VR6) that it is pleasing to hear that your experience has been better than VWAG provides. Phew!

As for waiting until October, I wish. My vehicle lease is up in August and so that is when I need to buy. We went into the dealer last January prepared to order the S, but backed away after deciding to purchase a regular Cooper. When we went in last week I drove the Cooper and decided it was not for me (former autocrosser and grown up kid). Fortunately the wait is now only two months here in Connecticut, so we got the S. My wife didn't like the 16" wheels so we just had to get the sport package, even though I *know* the 16's are better for acceleration and handling.

Thanks for the replies folks!

 

No problems here. I love my MCS and smile every time I get into it.

Best of Luck.

 

fprintf.....
you won't have any regrets!
you'll be able to enjoy the end of your summer motoring too!
have fun!

 

Agreed, most folks here really LOVE their MINIs. But we are a chatty bunch and we talk about everything from coolant tanks to rear fogs to poptarts to....well other stuff!!!!

 

Don't worry, this is just the friday the 13th/full moon syndrome... it's easy to think that there are a lot of problems, but in reality, you're just noticing the handfull of people that have had problems, and not the overwhelming majority that have not...

I have over 10,000 on my 02 MCS with no problems what so ever...

Rocketboy_X

 

Fprintf,

I think a lot of us went through a similar period as you are going through right now. Please don't worry about the issues you brought up. Those issues have been dealt with on the production line. Current production is very good.

I have posted a couple of messages about minor problems I had with my car, but most of my issues were cosmetic in nature. Overall, my experience with the MINI (April '03 MCS) has been extremely positive. The car is a joy to drive and I have spoken to the dealership and they are going to take care of me very well, so no worries, mate.

Also, keep in mind, things are continually adjusted in production and probems are eliminated. Since your car will not be built until this fall, your chance of getting a car with a problem is even less.

The only thing I can think of that you may experience would be a rattle or two and those can be fixed by your dealer with some adhesive felt applied in the proper areas behind doors, dash, etc. There is currently a software glitch that causes the MCS to stutter/stumble/hiccup...whatever you want to call it...in first gear when launching the car from a dead stop. That BETTER be solved by the time your car is built. A solution should be coming soon. I think as long as you plan one trip to the dealer for "final adjustments", you'll not be disappointed in the MINI experience at all.

You mentioned cost. Remember, the only cost to correcting any problems will be your travel and time expense. The warranty will cover all repairs necessary to the MINI.

Good luck,
JS

 

fprintf,

no need to be nervous!

I have 12k miles on my 03 MCS, and have not experienced anything yet that would have been a problem or kept me from driving it. In fact, I have not even had to take it in to the dealer yet for any serious work. It did stop at a dealer on a roadtrip, but it was not an urgent issue. 1st oil change coming up this week at about 12.2k miles.
I've got a few small issues that can be sorted out. Overall a reliable and incredibly fun car, IMHO.
The one thing I would definitely recommend, is to get zero deductible on glass, because of the windshield issue.
Other than that you will be fine.
Cheers!
Markus

 

it's under warranty.....I have had more problems than most, but many were fixed in a day.... hatch, dash, door, sunroof rattles....others took awhile longer unfortunately because they occurred in 02 when mini dealers didn't have a good stock of replacement parts...blown air compressor, supercharger, Goodyear runflat (since replaced)

If you are buying from a good dealership with a good service center (hopefully you aren't buying from North Scottsdale BMW/Mini) then you shouldn't have any problems (well maybe a few minor ones)....if I bought another, the only thing I would change is I wouldn't include the sun roof....less weight, no potential rattles and mainly not practical for Phoenix without a solid cover to block the heat in summer...have fun !

 

repair it in the first year??? That's what the warranty's for. I have had mine since Oct '02 (Aug '02 build). I drive the poor baby pretty hard and have had only one real problem - the water pump leaking, which of course was done under warranty.

 

You made some excellent choices in your specs

 

I wouldn’t worry. It’s a great little car, loads of fun to drive, solidly built (with the exception of a few easily repaired rattles) with lots of great features found only on much more expensive cars. Lots of bang for the buck.

 

fprintf (great name btw),

There wouldn't be a site dedicated to the car, and a loyal following, if everyone were having such a rough time. I love my car.

Enthusiast sites amplify problems, as you pointed out, and many of the problems were ironed out in the first year.

HTH, Jeff

 

You need to keep one important fact in mind when reading the posts on MCO, anyone invloved in a site like this could be labelled as an 'enthusiast' which means we are all a bit 'over the top' about our Mini's.
The car is soooo much fun to drive that any problems you may encounter will pale in comparison. Besides, being a member on the site you'll be able to keep up on the latest issues so when and if a problem does occure you will be better prepared. BTW, I ordered my 02 in March, took delivery on August 1, aside form replacing the water pump, its been great!
Welcome aboard!

 

Unless the MINI's are built in heaven by angels , not all will be perfect :smile: :smile: many,many happy miles!!

 

im waiting august built too... i also was scared when reading all the windsheild horror stories and tranny probs and stallings... i was in between that and the evo and i test drove both. The evo was fast but the mini was soo much more fun to drive and i believe my driving experience will b 10X better than the ugly evo... i just wanted it for its power.. But i think the fact we have to wait so long for it, it gives us 2nd thoughts cuz we are scared that we are waiting for a piece of junk.

just my thoughts.....

Twink

 

im waiting august built too... i also was scared when reading all the windsheild horror stories and tranny probs and stallings... i was in between that and the evo and i test drove both. The evo was fast but the mini was soo much more fun to drive and i believe my driving experience will b 10X better than the ugly evo... i just wanted it for its power.. But i think the fact we have to wait so long for it, it gives us 2nd thoughts cuz we are scared that we are waiting for a piece of junk.

just my thoughts.....

Twink

 

The rule of thumb among Porsche owners is that if you really want a trouble free car buy a used one about three years old. By then the original owner will have fixed everything. At least, we're in good company.

I don't think problems are guaranteed, but you can be sure you're not buying a Honda or Toyota either. Like someone said, that's what the warranty is for.

 

There´s one thing you have to consider, most people usually post about the problems with their cars, we rarely post about trouble-free cars. This holds for all of these communities (If you read about the problems on civics you would conclude they are terrible cars)

For my part the only problem I´ve had was my ignorance about how the ASC works (which I interpreted as a failure) and a hatch rattle (fixed with duck tape)

In general 03s have fixed most of the problems that 02s had, but the reality is that if you want a 100% perfect car then better look at a Camry or Corolla.

 

I would not be worried at all. I have had my standard MC for six months and am very satisfied, and particularly for the money. Just take a look inside more expensive cars of whatever make, you'll see dash and interior components which don't even measure up to the quality of this $17K car (when stripped). I expect that when I'm done with this one, I'll just move up to an S, as long as BMW doesn't mess with the style too much...

 

>>Unless the MINI's are built in heaven by angels , not all will be perfect

You mean they are not!!!!

coolant (it's brown but still works)
tranny (you have the S with 6 speed, no problems with that)
brake? (I have not heard of any problems)

I have Nov 2002 (oct build) and have had no problems other than cosmetic stuff I was complaining about. nothing mechanical at all.