Sorry if this has been posted already, but I just happened to browse this today and noticed that they really nailed the Mini on reliability.

It is grouped among the top 3 worst cars in the "Sport Coupe" category (or something like that) and the review ends with the sentence: "Reliabilty has been poor."

Ouch. Accurate or not, my sense is that this publication has a huge influence on the used car market. I was feeling pretty confident about resale value, but now...

 

Son of a.... I've been screwed twice now on poor retail values.. This will be the third if these are real accurate. I had a 2000 V6 Mustang convertible, lost 10k in 3 years, which isnt to bad. Had a 2003 SVT Focus for 3 month and lost 9k, traded it in on the MINI. I really hope the MINI keep's it's resale.

 

If this is the result of people whining about their damned cup holders... :evil:

 

>>If this is the result of people whining about their damned cup holders... :evil:

===>^^^ ^^^

 

Complaining about cupholders? I don't think so. Take a look again, it's also about leaking coolant tanks ("Cooling&quot, stress cracked windshields, squeeky interiors ("Body&quot, wacky electrical bugs such as wiring harnesses and airbag lights ("Electrical&quot and other well-documented 2002 problems. Also note that the engine, brakes, and handling have always received excellent marks AND that most of the ratings that could improve did improve between 2002 and 2003 model years.

Being an owner of a 2002 MCS, I know that smart consumers will think twice about buying my car used...should I try to sell it when there's any real residual value (i.e., in less than 5 years). But since I intend to try to keep it for close to 10 years, I really don't care about resale value. That's not why I bought the car.

And that's my story as I set out to the dealer this morning to get my airbag light reset for the FIFTH TIME!!!! :evil: :evil:

 

Ha! I was 35th on the waiting list at my dealer, could've had one of the first ones. But, I waited. And yes, Consumer Reports does have an impact, but I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Face it, cars make pretty crappy investments.

 

>>Son of a.... I've been screwed twice now on poor retail values.. This will be the third if these are real accurate. I had a 2000 V6 Mustang convertible, lost 10k in 3 years, which isnt to bad. Had a 2003 SVT Focus for 3 month and lost 9k, traded it in on the MINI. I really hope the MINI keep's it's resale.

All you have to do to restore your confidence is look at the resale values of late model VWs. These cars, especially the 1998 and up new Beetle have been full of "reliability" problems but still hold some of the best resale values. Reliability actually has very little to do with resale value, which is mostly driven by consumer demand. The MINI is a pretty limited production vehicle and the demand for it on the used market is excellent, therefore it holds it's value well and I bet it will continue to do so. The MINI's no investment, but you won't lose your shirt over it.


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[img]/albums/album04/gov.jpg[/img]
Alta pulley, Stebro exhaust, Pipercross intake, progress rear anti-sway bar.
Visit Vince's MINI page

 

'02 Cooper CVT = 18.5K troublefree miles
'04 MCS = 2,500 troublefree miles, solid as a bank vault and not once back to the dealer in 3 months of ownership.


Screw the ***Commies*** at Consumer Reports! :evil:

 

I have to agree with jsun here - I have 28,875 miles on my 02 Cooper, and it has had wacky little things go wrong - ooverheating issue, little fan replacement, sunroof problem, some bearing seals, fog light out. It's an inconvenience more than anything else, but I still enjoy the car immensesly.

When people say trouble free, I expect that to mean NOTHING has gone wrong whatsover, NOTHING. No stumbles, cooling tanks, whatever. Only goes to dealer for service check up. I've seen too many posts that people say their MINI is trouble free, except for the coolant tank, or rattling hatch. Anything that requires one to go the dealer, or fix on your own can cause frustration in some owners. Not every owner is an enthusiasts who visits these boards, many are just folks who want a reliable car that gets them from point A to B. And I suspect that Consumer Reports reflects the opinions of the average owner.

 

I kinda like the whole deal. It'll keep the fence-riders away, and true enthusiasts already know that these past issues are no longer relevant. (now if they could only get the ECU software right again :evil: )

 

consumer reports is crap. When the 97 Preludes came out they stated
that the car looks like a piece of sh*t. then by 01, they said that the
car looks fantastic. their reports and comments are very biased...to
a point, maybe someone's getting something under the table.

 

Consumer Reports is an excellent publication if you are looking for a vacuum cleaner or blender, however they never have understood cars.

They consider any mid=engined car unsafe as in their little minds it will spin.

It doesn't surprise me that they don't like the Mini.

Do they say that the cord is too short? :smile:

 

Consumer reports was never meant to take into consideration the "fun factor" of an auto. They are mostly considered appliances to get from one place to another, even the sporty ones. I am pretty sure there are many sporty cars that are more trouble free than the MINI. This is what Consumer reports is reporting.

The fact that I love my MINI doesn't discredit Consumer Reports objective opinion of the MINI.


R.E.

 

I bought my MCS FOR ME not the next owner.

Yes trade in value will be important at sometime in the future but will worry about that then Anyway i've done springs/swaybar/short shifter/pully/ecu so who, except an enthusiast, is going to buy it anyway?

 

>>Complaining about cupholders? I don't think so. Take a look again, it's also about leaking coolant tanks ("Cooling&quot, stress cracked windshields, squeeky interiors ("Body&quot, wacky electrical bugs such as wiring harnesses and airbag lights ("Electrical&quot and other well-documented 2002 problems. Also note that the engine, brakes, and handling have always received excellent marks AND that most of the ratings that could improve did improve between 2002 and 2003 model years.
>>
>>Being an owner of a 2002 MCS, I know that smart consumers will think twice about buying my car used...should I try to sell it when there's any real residual value (i.e., in less than 5 years). But since I intend to try to keep it for close to 10 years, I really don't care about resale value. That's not why I bought the car.
>>
>>And that's my story as I set out to the dealer this morning to get my airbag light reset for the FIFTH TIME!!!! :evil: :evil:

Chry Cordoba - bad electrical problem - would start - wouldn't start - they could not fix it.

on to more recent times:

90 T-Bird super coupe - A real piece of JUNK -- I would take it to the dealer for one problem and when I would pick it up the service writer would hand me my keys and say, "See you in a week or two." TOO MANY problems to list.

Volvo S80 T6 - ate one turbin then another, key locked up and could not be turned - in shop a week or two while they got a new ignition system from across the pond, tranmission problems, on and on and on.

And others

Earl

 

p.s.

back when VCRs were quite new they rated like five of them from best (BUY THIS ONE) to worst (DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT) and they were all made by the same company with different covers on them.

Earl

 

I am so not fazed by this Consumer Reports review. I bought my MINI to be driven, as many of you on this board have. CR giving this car a worst rating in the sport coupe category because of electrical or coolant problems is like telling people not to buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini because it gets bad gas mileage and has no space for luggage and you need to replace tires every 5000 miles... Geez...

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<IMG SRC=http://www.digitalgypsy.com/images/nam_rune.jpg>

 

Actually, one thing that seems to have been largely overlooked in this discussion is that in all likelihood, this bad rating by CU is a matter of concern to BMW/MINI. I very much agree with the comments that a bad CU rating shouldn't be of much concern to enthusiasts such as those found on NAM. But on the other hand, like it or not, the MINI is not a car that is targeted squarely at enthusiasts. In fact, the case could be made that the sports car enthusiast market has been courted to lend a cache to BMW's real target...18 - 25 year-old, upwardly mobile, buyers for whom the MINI fits a lifestyle image. These are the folks who would be particularly enamored with things like the "free maintenance" package (and who really do not change their oil more than once every 10,000 miles). For these folks, a "trouble free" car -- or at least the reputation of being a trouble-free car -- might be very important. Not that these hipsters are big readers of CU, but if the bad quality rep starts to build into the more mainstream media, that could be a problem for the brand.

 

Are MINI's targeted for 18-25 year olds? I thought
it was more for the older generation. Like over 30. I
don't think I can appreciate my MCS as much if I never
played around with modding Honda's and Subaru's...

most (i'm not saying all) 18-25year olds like Civic's, bows
to WRX/STi, EvoVIII, RSX, SRT, Camaro's, i think.... no?

Or maybe im just in the "30+ poor" crowd who can't yet
afford a brand new M3. hahahaha.
mini-no-dinero

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03MCS IB/Blk: 123, Aerokit, R90 17x7, TK5 16x7, 6CDMP3, and a few more.

 

the older generation. Like over 30.

LIKE OVER 30 did you say 30. I'm over twice that number.

when your 8 12 is old
when your 12 16 is old
when your 16 21 is old
when your 25 40 is old
when your over 40 112 is old!

Over 30.......

Earl
>>_________________
>>03MCS IB/Blk: 123, Aerokit, R90 17x7, TK5 16x7, 6CDMP3, and a few more.
>>
>>

 

>>when your 8 12 is old
>>when your 12 16 is old
>>when your 16 21 is old
>>when your 25 40 is old
>>when your over 40 112 is old!
>>
>>Over 30.......
>>
>>Earl

I hate to pick on an old guy like you Earl, but I've heard so much
lately about how the education system has gone downhill from
the old days when kids learned proper Readin-Ritin-Rithmatic,
that I need to point out at the end of this incredible run-on sentence
that you should have use the word you're 5 times in the above message.

 

>>that you should have use the word you're 5 times in the above message.

===>It's "used", not "use"

 

>>>>that you should have use the word you're 5 times in the above message.
>>
>>===>It's "used", not "use"

Too funny.

And yes I like my MINI, but its very unreliable. My Civic had 170,000 trouble free miles. Cant beat that on the reliability end.

 

>>My Civic had 170,000 trouble free miles. Cant beat that on the reliability end.

===>My Civic had 150,000 trouble free miles before it got stolen on the West Side of Oahu while surfing. Cracks me up now but it sure wasn't funny back then ('96)