R50/53 Saying goodbye to NAM and MINI
I very much agree with Lotsie. Lashing out and insults does no good. Would none of you be at all upset if you were in the O.P.'s shoes? And don't blame him for buying a damaged car... that's pretty silly. I seriously doubt he went to a lot and said "give me the one with water damage, please". He had no idea it was damaged and probably will never know exactly how it happened.
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,743
Likes: 5
From: Hot Springs Village, AR
I don't know. 37 seems to be the magic number for BMW--our 530i does it then, and before it, so did our 325Ci. Neither did it below 37--just would chime as you drove along and the temp went down to 37. Always a brief moment of panic the first time of the season (it's rare here), until you figure out what the warning is all about!
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 3
From: South Florida
OK, I'm going to wade into this now.
I have an April build 03 MC, Winter package,Sport suspension. I've installed mud flaps, short shifter, and an intake. Poco now has close to 95k miles on him. His first 3 years were in Manitoba, hot summers, long COLD winters. He started unassisted at over -40f many a morning.
I have had issues with this car; while leaving the dealer the day I picked him up the glovebox would pop open, dealer fixed. 2 days later, right rear brake light stops working, turns out to be the Body Control Module, fixed by dealer. Then the dreaded frozen door handle issue
I've post many time about this in just about every thread here on NAM, do a search. Then during his 2nd winter, during a long stretch of very cold temps, the tranny started to lose oil from a frozen axle seal. The Midlands was dealer replaced with a NEW Midlands. He now has over 50k miles on that tranny and going strong. The car has it's second windshield , split the deductible with the dealer as I was out of warranty, but, well MINI Winnipeg is a great dealer
.
All that, except the windshield, happened over 3 years ago. Except for regular maintenance, OEM brakes lasted 90k miles
and the few mods, I have not spent one cent on this car(Detailing supplies don't count in my world
)
Some of us have a stick to it attitude about these cars, some bail if it gets a rock chip, some endure till it just does not seem to work for them, and the hassle is just to much.
Are these cars perfect, no. Are these cars really horrible , no. We all have our reasons for wanting to own a MINI. I'm sure the OP had his, and by the looks of things has good reason to get rid of it.
Lets not attack the OP, lets tell him that his choices are his. Maybe what he needs is to test drive a NEW MINI.
As some have said, this is a MINI site, and when someone speaks bad of the cars we love to own, we feel like we should lash out. Well this does nothing.
Mark
I have an April build 03 MC, Winter package,Sport suspension. I've installed mud flaps, short shifter, and an intake. Poco now has close to 95k miles on him. His first 3 years were in Manitoba, hot summers, long COLD winters. He started unassisted at over -40f many a morning.
I have had issues with this car; while leaving the dealer the day I picked him up the glovebox would pop open, dealer fixed. 2 days later, right rear brake light stops working, turns out to be the Body Control Module, fixed by dealer. Then the dreaded frozen door handle issue
I've post many time about this in just about every thread here on NAM, do a search. Then during his 2nd winter, during a long stretch of very cold temps, the tranny started to lose oil from a frozen axle seal. The Midlands was dealer replaced with a NEW Midlands. He now has over 50k miles on that tranny and going strong. The car has it's second windshield , split the deductible with the dealer as I was out of warranty, but, well MINI Winnipeg is a great dealer.All that, except the windshield, happened over 3 years ago. Except for regular maintenance, OEM brakes lasted 90k miles
and the few mods, I have not spent one cent on this car(Detailing supplies don't count in my world)Some of us have a stick to it attitude about these cars, some bail if it gets a rock chip, some endure till it just does not seem to work for them, and the hassle is just to much.
Are these cars perfect, no. Are these cars really horrible , no. We all have our reasons for wanting to own a MINI. I'm sure the OP had his, and by the looks of things has good reason to get rid of it.
Lets not attack the OP, lets tell him that his choices are his. Maybe what he needs is to test drive a NEW MINI.
As some have said, this is a MINI site, and when someone speaks bad of the cars we love to own, we feel like we should lash out. Well this does nothing.
Mark
The facts as presented in this thread:
- OP bought 2003 MC used
- OP has experienced many problems with vehicle promprting his decision to sell it
- OP has discovered, upon having the transmission taken down and opened up that: a) transmission is not the original that came with the car b) gearbox exhibits salt water exposure suggesting flood damage... Katrina car.
- OP in many instances stated that MINIs are unreliable pieces of junk, not suitable for daily driving.
- OP has expressed interest in 2 other cars, namelyMitsu Eclipse and Mazda RX-8 that have equal if not worse spotty reliability histories than the MINI.
-OP states that he loves the car but the whole MINI experience has left a bad taste in his mouth.
-OP has decided to purchase a new Mitsu Eclipse. he believes the car is a good fit for him and he seems to like it
-OP has since retracted from his claims that MINIs are unreliable because after all, he was sold a turkey (We'll give him the benefit of the doubt) and after all it isn't MINIs fault.
- OP has made a final decision and has decided to move on.
Hope that helps!
Thread Starter
|
4th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 470
Likes: 0
Good summary there ClubmanS. I will say that from my research both MINI and Mitsu have come a long way as for reliability within the last few years, Mazda, not so much. Mitsu did it when they bought back there shares from Chrysler and stopped putting american built transmissions into their cars and having them painted by Chrysler, the two biggest problems with the Mitsu's from years ago.
Last edited by RonP; Jan 5, 2008 at 12:37 AM.
Thread Starter
|
4th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 470
Likes: 0
hmmm, I don't know about that, I might get beat up here, posting pics of something other then a MINI. 
I'm headed out today to test drive a Nissan Altima Coupe. This will be the last test drive and then I'll make the decision which way to go. I'm not too impressed with the Altima's style but it's in my budget so I've got nothing to lose.
I'm headed out today to test drive a Nissan Altima Coupe. This will be the last test drive and then I'll make the decision which way to go. I'm not too impressed with the Altima's style but it's in my budget so I've got nothing to lose.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,118
Likes: 1
It's not Japanese but you might want to take a look at the Volvo C30 -- plenty of style and personality though not quite as fun to drive as a Mini. Plus, since they're not selling particularly well right now, you should be able to get a good deal.
Thread Starter
|
4th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 470
Likes: 0
A good suggestion, thanks, and it's in my price range as well. Looks like a busy day today. I need to decide soon as my MINI should be out of the shop by Tuesday and I'm pretty much trading it in the day I get it back.
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 3
From: South Florida
The problem with Vdubs is that you either get a very good one or a total piece of crap. But worse than that is the junky VW service network.
An used R32 probably can be picked up for $19K-$20K.
7th Gear Gal
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 36,087
Likes: 3
From: Weeblegabber West (aka WLA)
OVERDRIVE
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 8,233
Likes: 128
From: San Francisco
250 hp V6, 4 wheel drive, 6-speed DSG transmission, $33K
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
R50/53 2002 R53 Creaking/Clacking
maestro39
R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006)
3
Oct 27, 2015 02:38 PM
PelicanParts.com
Vendor Announcements
0
Aug 7, 2015 08:39 AM