Hi everyone.

I'm the still-happy owner of an '03 R50 I bought early last June (six and a half months ago). When I bought it, it had 45k miles on it and had lived all its life in Miami (so none of the ravages of winter). It's super-clean. Peole think it's new and it drives as such too.

That said, it's about to go in for another repair; leaking axle seals at the transmission (5-speed manual) and while it's there, he's going to replace the clamps on the leaking power steering reservoir lines. This will be between $300 and 400.

That will bring me up to about $2,000 in repairs and maint. in a little over six months. That's a lot of money in six months/15k miles for a car which now is just over 60k miles.

Hopefully I'm not on track to spend $4k a year keeping this little car healthy.

I'd really like to know what others are spending to keep their first gen Mini's happy and healthy this far along in years.

Hopefully, I'll get a break from spending for a few months now (although I'm not holding my breath.

 

The better the upkeep, the less the $$.
I've modded a bit, upgraded a few things...but knock on wood, never broken anything...
Find a good semi local Mechanic...I drive down to
Greasy’s Garage
143A Hamilton Street
Worcester, MA 01604
The drive for me is about an hour...well worth it when I don't want to DIY something!!
Pete the MINI guy there knows MINI's...and can catch stuff before it causes more expensive $$ to go. His labor rates are great too!
The only odd thing on my car was my rear rotors corroded from the salt in the NE, and I replaced a PS fan...very common in snowy areas, and if you miss replacing it, a PS pump is like $500+!

 

PS sorry to hear that you have had some items fail/wear.....kinda sucks, but tons depends on how a car was treated by prior owners, and luck of the draw...some early MINI's were money pits, some were very solid!!
Good luck!!

 

Thanks, but I wasn't really looking for sympathy (I don't think). I was really surprised that after trying several searches, I could not find a single thread on annual cost of ownership, so I thought I'd start one.

I knew fully that buying an older Mini is assuming risk. Mine has had one owner and has been dealer serviced all along, so I thought it'd be a low risk specimen.

And much of the $2k I've spent has been routine things like a new battery and the 50k mile service.

 

duplicate post

 

Then I'd hate to see what it costs if my car had been poorly maintained!


None of my problems have been due to neglect. It's been a new radiator (and other cooling system gaskets and a thermometer while he was in there), one new motor mount, a battery (it was 5 years old), the 50k mile service and inspection (including a complete tune up, serpentine belt cabin filter, etc.) now these leaking seals and clamps. I don't think any of that is user neglect.

And I've found a place that's really great for Minis. It's Zblut Motors in Amherst. Luke knows these cars like a fanatic and is very conscientious about keeping them up 100%. (He's already checked by PS fan and pump and although the pump is whining, it's all still working to spec.) His rates are only $10/hr more than my marginally competent local generalists and he's really nice to boot! I highly recommend him for anyone else who's near or in The Happy Valley.

 

It's always great to know a great "local" guy who can work on a MINI.
It sounds like most of the stuff is pretty normal for any car...the Inspection2 can get kinda $$, lots of labor to check, lube, etc stuff. Still sounds higher than I would expect, but a radiator, inspection, belts, battery etc are all stuff that happens in a great while..so I think it should drop down in $$ for a couple years!! Look at it this way...less stuff to do next year!! Enjoy the ride!

 

I hope so, too. How's the clutch? How's the Midlands tranny? If those have been sorted you may be good to go with oil changes. I've had years where I spent $3K on my 1/03 build Cooper, but that was only to replace big things and it involved one-time, well-known failures.

Just do not drive quickly through any water more than 6" deep. The air intake will suck in water and there goes the engine...some SAs have gone around with MINI on this as they consider it a design flaw.

 

My '06 MCSc was also bought used with 28k on the clock. I've put 7k on it in the last 20 months. So far I've spent $310 on maintenance... oil, filters, wiper blades, car washes, service/maintenance tools and various other items that have not been used or used up.

(I've also bought a spare supercharger (with 15% reduction pulley) and a lower stress bar for $460... which I won't include as they are "mods/backup". I'm also looking to get a spare PS pump.)

During the last 4 years, the dealer repaired/replaced the following under warranty...

Motormount, LCA bushings, convertible top rubber moulding, manual trans fluid, door light bulb, thermostat & housing. They also did 2 oil/filter changes, 1 tire rotation, adjusted trunk light switch, replaced the front brake pads & rotors, flushed the fluid before I bought the car.

All this cost about $2700 to $2800 using various local dealer rates... plus the $310 on my part to a total of about $3000 for the first 4 years. This is expensive compared to my '01 VW New Beetle, which has cost $6225 over 10 years and 180,000 miles. The maintenance/repair has been done by me. With the Mini currently allotted to 5000 miles/yr, I've set an annual budget of $400 and see how that works out the next couple of years.

Although the items repaired are all minor, so far I'm unimpressed with the quality from Mini. However, I still like the car and its personality to keep it and see how it goes the next 2-3 years.

 

Ok, now you got me curious.. I've noted down all costs I've spent on my 2002 and 2003 Cooper, and I just totaled up my maintenance costs for the past 2 years:

2002 Cooper, 67K miles ~$4000 for 2 years

(power steering pump clamp repair, 3 oil changes- parts only, battery, exhaust system, brakes - parts only, tires, accessory belt, coolant flush, power steering fan + harness, control arm bushing, and a few replacement bulbs)

2003 Cooper CVT 26K miles ~ $1600

(3 oil changes, camber plates, CVT and radiator fluid flush, tires, and a few small parts) Will need brakes soon which will be another $600 or so.


Stuff usually seems to go bad in clumps with periods of no major costs in between.

 

I have an 06 MCS that I bought used a year ago. I have probably dropped $2000. Some are upgrades and preventative maintenance. Nothing really major up to this point. The problem is, I love my MINI so much that I am constantly looking for things to make her run even better.
If I had to guess, I would say my MINI will average about $1500 in maintenance a year.

 

I've had my 04' R50 w/ CVT for 18 months now. Changed the oil, tranny fluid. Tranny fluid is expensive as all hell. BC1 module needed to be replaced ($300 incl. labor) there is also some switch that needs to be repaired too (another $300)Not much else. Looking at some new tires, and maybe a custom rear seat delete. You know what I really want to see done though...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/9fc6/

Anybody want to try and take that on>?

 

Cadenza,
I drive 30,000 miles a year on my MINI. You have only driven it 7,000 miles in 20 months. What do you do with it? Polish it and Look at it?

 

You can save a lot by DIY.
I have never paid for an scheduled inspection/service on any car I have owned. Some of the things need to be done but there is a lot of inspection you can do yourself and save.
DIY is probably the best way to manage your costs.

 

Ha Ha...

I've only washed it every 2-3 months. No clay, polish or wax yet. It's my 2nd car, primarily used for tooling around the beach... but it has seen the occasional trip to supermarket.

 

Well, in some real way, time IS money. I used to do most all the work on my own cars and I really enjoyed it (usually). I still have many of the tools, but what I don't have is time.

I don't have time cook very often or to mow my lawn even once a week and I still have 4 cords of wood that need to be cut to stove length (and it'll be cold here in New England any day now)

So, I choose to pay someone else to do the work on my car so I can do other things.

The Midlands is nice and smooth, and my clutch is good, but my release bearing does the dry-rub thing for the first 20 mins in the morning (it sounds like a metal bracelet on a spinning shaft). Don't know what will happen eventually. I guess it will either fail or start rattling so loud I can't stand it. Then I'll be buying a new clutch, pressure plate and probably flywheel while he's in there.

BTW, after 15 months and 32k miles I'm up a little over $4k in keeping the Mini buttoned up tight. But I mean buttoned up tight. I like to keep it driving like new; no leaks, no rattles, no vibrations...

 

You New England guys might want to check in at http://NEMINI.org (The NE is for NorthEast, but there's alot of New England guys there too.)

There's also MassMotoringClub - http://www.massmotoringclub.com/

Never hurts to check in with more than one club, there's plenty of good MINI owners to help out...

BTW - for Velvet Red! I love that color...

 

I have an '02 MCS I bought almost 2 years ago with 73K, now has 83K and has been very dependable.
To date I have only spent ~ $1300 for repairs and maintenance. Tires ($700), muffler hanger ($50), front wheel bearings ($300), coolant tank ($40), serpentine belt ($30), spark plugs ($20), window switch repair ($0) and a couple oil changes ($100). I save a lot by doing all the repairs myself.

That being said I have spent a lot more money modifying my MINI to make it exactly the way I wanted it. Shock tower defenders and brace, all new stereo speakers, sound deadening (dynamat), HID lights, CF vinyl stripes and dash etc. etc. So... my total money outlay is much higher. Funny, I never spent any money on mods when I was driving a Buick Regal.

Guess it the cost of owning a MINI.

 

I have an '06 R50, I've had it for something like a year and a half. I had the leaky thermostat housing replaced under warranty, $0. I had Inspection 1 done, which was around $400. I had 32,000km on it when I bought it, and now it's around 45,000KM. Knock on wood, it's been solid. The only money aside from the inspection (which came up clean, yay.) has been for tires and mods. It will need another oil change soon, and a new battery.

 

Hmmm... depends on how I categorize my costs...

For the 8 years and 166k miles thus far, with regard to oil, filter, windshield, brakes, bushings, motor mount, O2 sensors, and heater coil I've spent $7,316 (which is $914/year, or if you like 4.4 cents/mile).

That leaves out the eight sets of tires - costing $2,371.

That also doesn't count the competition oriented work, including the Quaife, coil-overs, sway bar, camber plates, steel brake lines, lower control arms, header, cat, and then in 2010 an entire new Works crate motor including blower, axles, water pump, and various other odds and ends. That lot comes to $24,949.

Sounds a bit mad, but at the moment the car has only 34k miles on the new drive line, so I am expecting only brakes, bearings, tires (and probably a steering rack and pump) in the next few years. I do aim to keep the car as a daily driver and racer through 2014 and 240,000 miles.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Just want to point out that milage will have little to do with your issues. Time is your enemy. Seals and such dry and rot over time and things like batteries die over time as well. You may have low milage but she is still getting older.

I spent 200 USD last year on my 06 MCS with 79K on her.

 

This is a great thread, and I will be watching it. I don't have enough mileage on my '02 R50 to really contribute much. The car has 126k on it, but only about 4k of those are my miles. It was thoughtfully maintained by the original owner, then passed down to his teenage son as a first car. I purchased it for $1,500 with a blown Midlands. I went the hard way (not necessarily best way) and solved that with a Getrag 6-speed conversion. In addition to the blown trans, I had to address the following: Original spark plugs needed replacing. Two broken motor mounts. Seized PS cooling fan. Bad low speed engine cooling fan resistor. Tires seemingly never rotated (and car was driven with enthusiasm). Brake fluid was disgusting (definitely not replaced on schedule). Sunroof and door hinges / checks needed lube. O2 sensor(s) now need replacing. I always do all my own labor, but I still managed to spend $3,000 in parts in the time I took to put the car back together. This does not include the tires or O2 sensors, which I still need to do, but does include a nice set of used crown spoke wheels. So $4,500 got me a nice commuter car with all of the drivetrain after the engine (including flywheel and shifter cables) either new, or under 50,000 miles. In addition to the tires and O2 sensors, I have rear brakes coming up. After that, I'm thinking I'll be good for a good while. Given what other owners state, I might need to do a PS pump motor rebuild at some point. Probably should change out my control arm bushings (although to me it feels tight as a drum). I'm hoping to pass the 200,000 mark with just that. And regular maintenance, of course. For a car that gives me this much driving satisfaction with such a low price of admission, I spend time wrenching with a smile on my face. If I were paying a professional, however, the story would be quite different.

 

Bought my totally stock '03 MCS about 13 months ago. Stored for the winter and doesn't go out of rainy days! It now has about 18 k. miles on the clock.
I changed the oil/filter and replace coolant res.tank that's all it needed.

Needed....that's the key word as I've spent north of $4000 on mods/install on the motor. Now its time to look at tyres and suspension mods.
My Mini is one of my hobbies, cost per mile, would not be good for my heart
Now what sort of coilovers should I get???

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that sitting is one of the worst things you can do to a car. A number of seals will last a good long time as long as the car is driven on a regular basis. Sitting for weeks at a time will cause seals to dry up and fail prematurely.

 

Then I'm giving my car the double-whammy!

For the first 7 years of my car's life, its owner put an average of 535 miles a month on it (45k in 7 years)

I put nearly five times that on it now. (just under 30k a year, or about 2,500 miles a month)

So perhaps the $4k I've put into it in this first year I've owned it, is getting it buttoned up after years of low use. Now I expect to pay fairly rapidly for wear parts. I mean, I'm on course of 100k in 3 years!