Hello all,

I am shopping around for a used mini (probably 1st gen for financial reasons) and I had a question regarding the cars life. How many miles can a Mini owner expect to get, assuming the car is treated very well. Is a MCS with 70,000-80,000 miles going to last me another 70? Is that overly optimistic?

Alot of these cars being sold have engine mods...will this extend the expected life? I have never been a Mini owner and I am not sure what to expect.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

 

My car has 66k on it and I'm positive it could easily go another 50k with basic maintenance. Knocks on wood. Mods will usually not effect vehicle life as long it's nothing major. Minor things won't make a difference. But, just for safety, get the newest, lowest mileage car you can find with the least mods because there is always a chance the mods could have been done improperly.

 

Mods mean they like to use the extra power. I would be weary of cars with mods. My car has 110k miles and I think it will last another 50k at least. I think an mcs would last longer than an mc because of the better transmission and engine internals. But if there are mods, then they may have tracked the car a lot or street raced. If properly taken care of, there is no reason it wouldn't last 200k.

 

There is another thread here stating Road & Track Magazine has a rather thorough article on exactly what your asking here....

BTW: Most aftermarket performance upgrade kits and equipment did not come out of CHINA, or Ebay. They come from reputable companies whom do their home work, and I doubt any upgrade with drastically effect the life of the MINI. Like anything else, it is how they are maintained and used.

With any used vehicle, getting info on the prior owner, speaking with them can be a plus!

 

With proper maintenance there is no reason for any modern car to last less that 200k miles. How much over that is all in how well you take care of it.

 

Bought mine a month or so ago with 141k of highway miles. Put 2000 on so far!

So far replaced a muffler bracket.

Car is tight, runs great.

I really don't expect and issues. Knock on wood.

 

Anything can be repaired or replaced, right? So, I guess you should let us know what your cap is on how much you are willing to spend on maintenance/repair. If $0, then you cannot expect the car to last long.

 

I would say anything over a few hundred dollars would be excessive for any one repair of a fairly new car. Basically all major components should not have expensive issues/repair costs. At least thats how I'm approaching my recent purchase of an 03 MINI Cooper S with only 13,600 miles on the clock. Otherwise I would be very disappointed....

 

I think age really has about a equal importance as miles.

 

My cap right now is between 16-17...Obviously the lower the better. Right now I am shopping on this forum...because it seems like members here take care of their cars. It may be out of my league, but I have contacted SpiderX regarding his (not sure its still for sale)...My guess would be with engine upgrades done recently, that would extend the usefull life of the car (assuming upgrades were done right and with quality parts) right?

There seem to be alot fo good deals on the forum for cars with 40-85 miles on them for 10,000-18,000...some pretty sweet rides between spiderx and hosmer...

Right now I drive a 05 Dodge Magnum RT with 80,000 miles logged, and I am so fed up with Dodge in general, and of course the gas pump...so it ends up being much cheaper for me to sell it and buy a nice used mini. My payment will drop quite a bit and my cost to maintain will drop. I am willing to spend on the car I purchase to maintain its life.

Also, On the 1st gen models...what kind of MPG should I expect, is it worse than the newer ones that can get up to 35-40? Right now I get about 18, so anything is better.

Thanks all for the help...and If anyone can point me in the direction of a great deal, on a Mini that was cared for very well (and will last another 70,000-100,000)...let me know.

 

With an R53 realistic city MPG is anywhere from 23mpg to 28mpg depending on how much stop and go. Highway can be about 30-32mpg.

I can't say for the R50.

The new ones are more efficient.

 

I get an average of 30.1. Thats mostly back roads at less than 45mph and once I get close to work, it's all stop and go. I'd consider the split to be like 75/25 city-highway.

 

So If MPG is a concern for me, I amy be better suited to look at 2nd Gen models...thats no fun, as the price for those is a bit higher...

 

Or if you are okay with underpowered the R50 gets better MPG. In my 03 MCS if I were to drive 60mph on the highway I can see 36-38mpg. But thats too slow.

 

I have a 03 with 40K miles just bought it 3 weeks ago.the thing is mint.......its not a S but has all packages including Navi for 13K, I am getting the same amount from the dealer,(have a new mini on order) it up for grabs>>>>

 

I am definately interested...could you post up some pics and details on the car? or email Blax20@yahoo.com

All info on the the car woudl be fantastic...I do not need the extra power (but half of me really wants it)

 

I've got 71,700 on my 05 MCS and I really hope and expect to triple that value

 

double post... sorry. i really hate these touch pad mice!

 

So, I found an 06 MCS PW with 31,XXX, seems to have convienience package, maybe winter, lounge carbon leather, sunroof, and looks to be in very nice condition.

It is listed at the dealership at $21,877...this seems like a great price for what it is, but I was not planning on spending that much. The guy at the dealership said minis are flying off the lot, and his prices are well below the going rate. They are not a Mini dealership but have 20 or so used on the lot, he said mini dealerships are calling him to buy them.

Is this a good buy, should I just bite the bullet, and spend more than I wanted...seems as if the prices are going up on the used ones as demand rises...I would save a ton in gas mileage over the next few years from my V8 hemi...arghh.

 

man im almost to 50k i really hope it goes past 200k +

 

there is a man on here with a red r50 and has a lil over 300,000 miles on his mini... i'll try to find his profile... but anyway i've seen high numbers on these cars and pretty basic maintenance so i saw +1 for good life