Hi,
I was wondering what kind of mileage / life people can expect out of their mini's? I had 94k miles on my 2004 mini before the engine hydrolocked and now requires replacement. That being said, had this not happened what kind of mileage could one reasonably expect on a mini cooper with an automatic transmission. I had 250k on my toyota corolla before a had to give her up. 300k on an AMC Hornet (believe it or not!) and 175k on my Mitsubishi. What is the history with mini's? I have found them very expensive to maintain with pretty dumb engineering gaffes. The power steering pump needed replacement, the power steering pump fan replaced twice, the catalytic converter collapsed internally requiring replacement, brakes and rotors replaced twice, run flat tires repaced twice. Just one thing after another, with all of them being expensive. Now the motor and of course just around the corner I'd expect the transmission will follow. No doubt this is one of the cutest cars on the road (which is why my wife is so attached to it, and why it has such a cult following) but she just drives it and is not the one maintaining it. My first question is how good of a car is it? Secondly, at this point should I even consider changing the engine or just getting rid of this cute little thing? I'd like to hear from you all. Thanks.

 

http://dbmini.us/long-term-review-2003-r50-mini-cooper/
although:
http://dbmini.us/it-happened-again/

 

I expect mine to last quit a bit longer

 

200+ damn nice : )

 

maybe you can hit 1M miles with that little guy. like some of those VW beetles have done.

 

Definitely not without issue, but this recently happened.



Just passed 276k and the clutch decided it was due for replacement. On the rack now getting done!

 

I'm at 102k and no problems. Had to have the head rebuilt, new thermostat and water pump at around 74k. That was due to previous owners, we had only had it a few months before that happened. And it was not cheap. Nothing is cheap for these little cars. But I love them.
My first car was a '91 Honda Accord, and the day I totaled it (got rear ended by an F-350) it had 515,000 miles. Do I expect my Mini to last that long? No. But I'll enjoy the hell out of it while it's here and be heart broken when it's gone. But every car is different and every car is different...you never know.

 

Cars these days expire when the owner is no longer willing to spend the money on repairs, not when the entire car is worn out. Spend the repair money, and there is no reason any Mini can't go 500K miles or more. But the cars are at the upper end on maintenance requirements and maintenance costs, so you're going to have to spend some serious coin to keep a high-mileage Mini on the road. (May still be cheaper than a new car though.) Most owners "give up" somewhere between 100K and 200K.

Short answer: indefinite.

- Mark

 

Back in the day (dating myself here) Mercedes-Benz owners used to say their cars would last forever. Then they'd laugh and say that you have to buy them over and over again.

I think the MINI is that way. We're at less than 70k miles on our 2006 MCS (bought new in Fall of 2005) and have followed the maintenance routine rigorously except for changing the oil every 12 months instead of waiting for the service indicator. However, between the chewbaca clutch, the steering pump (and the high-pressure and low-pressure lines), replacing the radiator, etc. etc. etc., it's hard to recommend these cars to people who are used to Hondas and Toyotas. Unless you really love the way a MINI drives, there's not much incentive to keep one beyond the factory warranty. Wait . . . . that's what owners of BMW's other products say. Go figure.