... I've test driven the MCS, and really like the car. I almost ordered it two months ago, but wound up replacing my tow vehicle first. But I'm a bit reluctant to place the order for several reasons.

First- I've read about all the problems that seem to be a bit rampant, and am a bit concerned about the lemon thing, as one of my last cars was a total money pit and don't want to repeat that.

Second- The closest Mini dealer to where I live in Central Idaho is in Murray, Utah, Mini of Murray. Murray is a five hour drive, one way, from my house. If I wound up with the dreaded problems reported by so many, I would have to live with them for a month or so at a time, as I can't just up and make the trip every time something starts to rattle, stumble, pull left, etc. And rattles drive me nuts.... How often have you all had to take your car to the dealer? Is a close proximity a good thing, or a serious pain if far away?

Third- I live in snow country. I'd be moving from a Volvo XC wagon (incredible in the snow, zero problems in 40,000 miles) to the MCS, and I'll have to drive the MCS in the snow. I haven't had a front wheel drive only car for along time, and am wondering how the Mini does in icy, snow packed roads. We get 3-4 feet of snow, that starts falling in October and has melted by late March, so the roads get covered in hard pack and stay that way till the sun comes out long enough to melt it. No salt on the roads here. Anyone out there drive a Mini in the snow? How is it? I'm assuming snow tires, but what about the runflat/no spare thing?

I've wanted a Mini since they first came out, and am finally in a position to get one, but the little nagging feeling in the back of my mind keeps me wondering, that and deciding on the color...

Any opinions, comments welcome, and Thanks, this is a great forum.

Pete

 

first of all welcome pete

you have to understand its a new car, and its not made by honda, sure there are a few grumblings about it, so you have to take that into account before you buy

i have a 11/02 build 2003 mcs, 0 problems, i have had NONE of the problem people report, knock on wood, teh car has been as reliable as my honda/lexus cars.

on the runflat issue, i replaced them with a bit more performance oriented yoko es 100. currently the car has no spares, ,you can carry a can of fix a flat

as far as snow goes, i am not sure, but have read many threads here, you can do a search, that have said the mini performs great in the snow, you should look into that, and i am sure other memebers will chime in

well the dealer being far, i have 4 dealers in about 40 mile radius, but i never go to them, because i dont need to. however, if ur car has problems a dealer far away is troubling..but this is relative to if ur car has probs or not

well i hoped to answer all ur questions to the best of my ability

good luck and happy motoring

 

welcome to MCO Pete!

Here are my 2c worth:

I have an 03 MCS with 7 months and 21k miles on its back.
I love this car, it's the most fun car I have owned or even driven. Period.
However, I am amongst those that have had their share of problems with the MCS.
My car is currently at the dealer for the 5th visit since I got it.
The first visit was not strictly needed but done for advice while on the road about a possible problem, and for checking a problem with the alarm/locking functions, next was for scheduled service, next for a part replacement that was not available at time of service, the 4th visit for fixin a defective window, and now for rattles, tranny noises and popping steering column.
At the same time, I have to state that none of these problems set the car into a non-driveable state. Nevertheless, I would say at least 4 of these 5 visits were needed at some point or other. More will be in the future, I am sure of that. Add this to the problem that apparently many of the parts that may be needed for repair are often not in stock, and it will take a few days to get them in. Many of the possible part exchange dealer visits will therefore end up costing you TWO round trips to the dealer: there for diagnostics and home in MINI or rental. Then back again when the part is in / work was done, and back again. In your case that would be a total of 20 hrs of driving. Hhhmmm.
Now, quite a few people have had entirely trouble free MINIs. Many have also reported a large number of problems. That seems to point at inconsistent build quality or unresolved quality / design issues.
It is hard to come up withj a recomendation in your case, and everyone needs to make their own decision.
All I can say is this: If I were 5 hrs from the nearest MINI dealer, I am sorry to say that based on my current experiences I would not get a MINI, as much as I love this car. I would presonally get something else.
All that said I am hoping that soon my cars problems will be largely solved and I can get back to motoring and fun.
Cheers,
Markus

 

The MINI is made in England. I just factor that into the cost of ownership. The nearest dealer is over 100 miles away from me and as such, I have only brought the car in once in 7 months of ownership. My Feb. 03 MCS arrived from the factory with all sorts of problems, some of which were fixed in that first visit. Other factory defects, like the broken headlight, I hope to have fixed by the end of the year.

It's a big change from the Honda that hasn't been to the dealership since the day it was bought, 13 years ago. And yeah, it really pisses me off. I find it oddly humorous, however, that the MINI designers had the foresight to equip the car with a stress-relief device. I don't know if you found it on your test drive or not, but there's a little pedal down under the dash (kinda looks like a gas pedal) give it a swift kick and I guarantee you, you'll be fu#%$ng grinning ear-to-ear.

 

Welcome Blueskies,

I moved from California to Colorado. I brought my MINI with me. Mine is an early S, April of 2002. I've had a few minor issue's that I visited the dealer two times in California (the second time was their fault, they misunderstood what I was trying to get fixed) and two times here in Colorado that are outside the normal maintenance window. Total number of visits 5 since May of 2002.

My tires are the performance runflats and I did not change them for the winter. The car did very well in the snow out here, better than my wife’s Honda. Snow melts quickly out here, the car did have trouble with slush, it would rather have compacted snow.

It is a tough decision when you have other factors such as the long drive to the dealership. We would always love another MINI on the road but it is a decision you’ll have to make, hope this helps.

 

Pete,

Those are some tough questions... here are a couple of thoughts.

No matter who makes the car, you could have some problems that require warranty/dealer attention (and that is going to cost you some driving in a Mini because the dealer proximity). Will your car be plagued by problems, I don't think it is likely, but it IS possible that ANY car could have problems. So you're taking a calculated risk. Of course, one nice part of this risk is that you can likely sell the vehicle at little or no loss, so it is something of a risk reducer.

Snow, well, the car handles so increadibly well and has such a short wheelbase that is will probably do well in the snow (especially when equipped with the right shoes). The short wheelbase means that if you get a little crossed-up on the slick, you should be able to recover it easily. However, there is NO comparison between an AWD vehicle and the Mini for truly foul weather. I'm a big fan of 4wd/AWD vehicles for foul weather. Can the Mini handle it, sure, but why make it harder on yourself. Of course, with the price difference between a Volvo XC and an MCS, you could afford a used Subaru as a winter beater (which is our current plan, we hope to keep the MCS garaged come the white stuff and more importantly the SALT).

 

Pete, Welcome to MCO :smile:

The MINI is a wonderful car. My 2002 MCS has had a few of the common problems, but not all and nothing all that serious. My car has never been "on the hook" (or flatbed, as would actually be the case). If my service dealer were 5 hours away, I could have managed just fine in my year of ownership. I live in northern MA and this is often pretty snowy. Last year, we started in October and by April we'd had somewhere around 50". Unlike Utah and Idaho though, we salt and scrape our roads down to bare pavement. It's hell on cars...but the MINI (with 15" snowtires) handled like a champ.

All that said, I wouldn't buy a MINI if I were in your situation. 5 hours is just too far to travel if you were one of the unlucky few who did have serious problems. Oh and rattles, yeah, everyone's got 'em...if they drive you crazy, then you might have a problem with the MINI. But more importantly, it sounds to me like you're in that relative minority of the US population who really SHOULD drive a 4WD vehicle...or dare I say, SUV. The Volvo is probably a good choice for someone who wants AWD with safety and a decidedly non-truck-like experience. The MINI is just an entirely different sort of vehicle. To me, it's more of a city car. And to be fair, it's much more of a sports car than categorically anything else. It's fun, and a blast to commute in. But my only car if I lived far out in the country? I don't think so.

Are you planning on moving anytime soon? I might reconsider my above opinion if you said that you were only about a year from moving back in-town...

 

But more importantly, it sounds to me like you're in that relative minority of the US population who really SHOULD drive a 4WD vehicle...or dare I say, SUV. The Volvo is probably a good choice for someone who wants AWD with safety and a decidedly non-truck-like experience. >>
>>Are you planning on moving anytime soon? I might reconsider my above opinion if you said that you were only about a year from moving back in-town...


Jsun- I've got the SUV too, an '02 Tahoe, for the really crappy snow days, and for towing recreation trailers. But, I'd like to have a fun car to make the 30 mile round trip work day to save some gas mileage. I wouldn't be taking the MCS on long winter drives for sure. I don't expect it to push through a fresh 12"-18" snowfall like the Volvo will. The roads are clear, for the most part, of deep snow, but they will get hardpacked with snow/ice around town and stay that way for weeks.

I suppose the biggest question for winter driving is are there runflat snow tires available? Hate to have a flat with the snow tires and no spare. I've never owned a set of snow tires for any car, I learned to drive in the snow when I was a kid, so I know what not to do, and snow tires don't necessarily keep you on the road. But they would help, especially for my wife... :smile:


I think we are going to place the order, and hope to get lucky with a good trouble free MCS. There is half a dozen of them running around our little comunity, so I won't be the only one...

Thanks for the input everyone, Pete

 

Congrats, Pete! I am three hours from my dealer, and it has worked out-- I've had very few problems. Talk to your dealership about the distance, ask them how they can overcome the distance for you-- what are they willing to do if you have a problem requiring immediate attention? My dealer gives me coupons for free car rentals. Will your dealer pay for flatbedding the car in? I've had my MCS for one year, 27k miles, runflats (replaced one) in snow and I LOVE IT!!!

 

Hiya Pete! Beautiful country you live in. :smile: If I ever do my cross-county road trip want to give me a tour?

I don't know if there are snow runflats, but I'm planning on getting regular tires when my runflats wear out. Plenty of people have them, they just carry around fix-a-flat and a compressor and the help line number.