I have a pair of the beasts, and love the cars. The price to buy this small car is on the high side, compared to other similar sized vehicles, but I thought it was worth it, as the car is amazing, and well built.

But the out year costs for a Mini make me wonder about the decision. New brakes up front ($661). New pads in back ($259). New Battery ($140....or over $300 IF you let the dealer install). Automatic transmission goes bad...expect a $8000 bill from the dealer.

Normal maintenance is on the high side of reasonable, but when you have to get some expected replacements done, it makes the long term equation for owning one probably not worth it.

 

thats why you do it all yourself.. save a ton of cash. Id never let the dealer put new brakes on. its such an easy thing to do

 

I'm not sure where you are... but around here its much less to own one...

New Hawk pads and Brembo rotors (front and rear installed) are $519 with tax and a battery is $90...

Transmissions can be expensive, but if you take care of the one you have, you wont have to worry

 

Like the Queen said...if you can follow directions and turn a wrench, it's not too bad...it's the mods that will break the bank

 

I agree a tranny is expensive. But overall these cars a pretty easy to work on,and there is no reason to spend that much on maintenance. I did the front brakes w/ rotors for $180 and the rear pads $50.

Here is a thread I started over a year ago when I had just 150k on mine, now with 188k the maintenance cost haven't changed that much. I find I spend more on mods than anything.

Nik

 

ANY car will be expensive to maintain if you take it to the Stealerships after the warranty is done. Find a good independent garage and or do it yourself and you will save a lot of money. That said a Mini is listed as a premium small car, not an economy car..

Point: couple years ago the transmission on the wife's BMW went bad.
Dealership with 1 yr warranty: $5,000.00 plus.
Independent with 1 yr warranty: $2,200.00.

 

I agree, it is a higher cost car. (and it seems it has more than it's share of issues.)

I feel your sediments everytime I see ads for new cars (under warranty) cheaper than what I paid for the used MCS (out-of-warranty).

Edmunds.com has a "Cost to Own" estimate that incorporates expected maintenance, insurance, deprec., etc. For example, an '05 MCS has a 5 year cost to own of $45k. An '05 RSX-S is $46k, but an '05 Corrolla is only 34k. So you have to decide if it is worth it compared to what you would otherwise drive. It's cheaper than owning a Porsche or Ferrari!

To reduce some of that cost, you could to do the work yourself, maybe use to independent garages, purchase a car under service warranty or buy new.

We got the mini because it's for my daughter (and it more fun to drive).

 

Agreed. I saved $200 last time my pads needed to be replaced by doing it myself. I also save $50 each oil change. These cars really aren't overly difficult to work on, just check some of the forums on DIY maintenance. There's no reason you can't do it right yourself.

Tranny's are expensive. I was quoted $5000 for a manual with installation. (That's why I'm getting a new R56.)

Really, though, if you think about it... The money you save with the service warranty on all the routine maintenance in the first three years really helps bring down the overall cost of maintaining the car.

 

automatic tranny? shouldve got a manual. way cheaper and funner. i love my MINI ; )

 

This is my 4th street/track car, and I find it pretty darn reasonable to own. Only issue in a year and 10k miles is the clutch slave cyl and a motor mount, but after 60k miles, I'm pretty happy. I don't find mods all that expensive either, but there's a ton of them to do......

 

The only costs I've had in 3 years is for suspension and tire or wheel damage due to the crappy roads here. I've had to drive several days a week on a freeway that has expansion joints as big as speed bumps.

 

If you have any mechanical aptitude at all, these cars are very easy to work on.

Oil changes are a piece of cake.

Brakes were easy and I replaced pads and rotors for <$500.

Slave cylinder..... easy

DIY

 

I plan on doing a lot of the basics myself to save money. My car is almost out of warranty and as we all know here..I am not a "well off" mini owner

 

Just to give another perspective, I added the JCW Brake Kit (mailordered from Morristown MINI) and installed it myself for less than you paid for front brakes only. Learn to do your own repairs and mods and you'll save a bundle whether you drive a MINI, a Maybach, or a Corolla.

What's the worst that can happen? You'll have to take it in to a shop somewhere and have them fix it for a price...but that's only if you can't properly finish the job. Get some manuals and some good tools, then start with the simpler jobs until you gain confidence. Lots to gain, little to lose...

Rawhyde

 

Couldn't agree with you more Wawhyde. A good manual will take you far in the world of working on cars if you don't know much. I had a good friend of mine that took his pickup to get the oil and spark plugs changed at a local show though and they charged him $150 out the door! So be careful the mechanic that you go to....cause even some independents can jack up the prices whenever they feel like it! The wrench is your friend....and a good wrench is cheaper than hourly labor for your car

 

Remember folks the Mini is a "premium" hatchback, the first of two in the US. (Volvo C30 being the second) Maintaining a premium car isn't cheap by any means, but as many of you said, do your own maintenance if you can.
Suspension, brakes, Bulbs, bumper covers, headlights, tail light, plugs, filters, and belts are all doable by the owner. There are How To's on this forum to help you as well. Or as Rawhyde said, "Get some Manuals..." you won't regret it.
Soon you will find that you know just as much as the service members know and you will gain confidence in your car and what stresses it can take.
Oh Yea, you also won't find any oily finger prints all over your steering wheel, seats, or dash.

 

I have started to feel the sting of high cost and thats with me doing the labor.

 

Professor....where do you get parts from? Normally you can find really good deals if your willing to scour the internet a little bit....

 

[quote=Minian;2601048]Remember folks the Mini is a "premium" hatchback, the first of two in the US. (Volvo C30 being the second) Maintaining a premium car isn't cheap by any means, but as many of you said, do your own maintenance if you can.
/quote]

There is a thread here that discussed whether MINI owners are "well off" and a lot of discussion about self-repairs.

I have owned 4 BMWs, and my wife has had 4 or 5 Caddies CTSs and they fall in the same category as the MINI. They are high end luxury/performance cars that little thought has been put into design to make them easy to self service or to use inexpensive parts. They are aimed at people who have extra disposable income and who take their cars regularly for maintenance (or sell the cars after 3 or 4 years when the lease is up or the waranty ends.

A BMW will cost you at least 500-1000 per year in routine maintenance and repairs, the Caddie is also expensive to maintain. They both have traditionally have used premium gas to get performance without concern about whether the owner can pay for it because they are built for those who can.

Dealerships to the luxury car group cater to them with new loaners when repairs are being done and nice waiting room when you are waiting for repairs, not just a used car for the day or a van to the mall. Waiting for a repair for my BMW used to be a great experience in a room with fresh coffee, big screen TV and plush seats. I knew the work would be done quickly, otherwise that gave me a very nice car to tool around in for the wait-time; but I was paying for that in the repair costs.

I agree that much of the work can be done at home, but if you decide to go that route you better be scrupulous and mechanically able to be certain that it is done correctly. My wife had a BMW318 some years ago that had 200K on it and it drove like the day she purchased it because of the maintanance performed on it, not just the design.

Face it, the MINI is a high end car and that is one of the reasons that most of us drive them. If you want to drive a performance car you have to pay the piper or be willing to perform work on it without complaining.

Maybe some day someone will design a performance/luxury car for the common man, but the MINI certainly does not fall in that category.

 

I've scoured the internet and compiled a lot of information about aftermarket parts that I use here

 

Most "cars this size" are cheap econoboxes. I think of mine as a really inexpensive 911!

 

Nice collection of links! Thanks!

 

[quote=thecigarman;2601166]I agree.

If I couldnt't afford the repairs and ongoing maintenance then I would buy a Toyota Corolla. As it is I worked on my own cars for years and years and have given that up of late. For one I'm too lazy now and have other things to do besides maintenance my car. Two, I can afford to pay to have someone else do it and I know it's going to be done right with a warranty. But, if I could not afford to pay to have the work done, I'm still too lazy and would buy the Toyota. I'm done getting my hands greasy. I just don't enjoy it anymore. I do enjoy detailing my cars though. Keeps the resale value up.

I won't do any mods I will just drive it.

 

You're not shopping around, or you just don't know where to look. I just put CarboTech pads on the MINI and it was $219 for both front and rear.

And as everyone else states, learning to do the maintenance yourself is the key. I found the MINI no more to maintain than any other new vehicle. All cars require maintaining (Brakes/tune-ups/tires/etc), therefore I think the playing field is pretty level in that regard. Volvo, Infinity, and Saab are really expensive to maintain in comparison. You didn't buy a VW you know, the MINI is a quality auto; look at the vendors list here on NAM and you will find many great deals on parts that are every bit as good as OEM or better.

 

The maintenance issues are why we ended up with new MINIs. I wasn't expecting maintenance to be cheap once the included work was used up. Also MINIs have some of the best depreciation around, so buying new and selling it once the included maintenance runs out works out pretty cheap, particularly now they're selling extended maintenance programs.

Its pretty cheap to own a new MINI.