hey everyone im lookin for a mini cooper type s. Ive heard alot of bad things about them such as; interior falling apart, maintenance problems at lower mileage, engine problems, reliability issues, timing issues. i would really appreciate the input from everyone esspecially those who have minis with over 90,000 miles. if im correct MCS use a timing chain which shouldnt have to be serviced like belts do. ive also heard the clutches wear out easily and the transmissions are always a problem. consumer reports even label the car as low quality. ive checked some car faxes on some of the cars and two that really caught my attention was a mini with 104,000 on it had like 5 things on the car fax and another mini had 50,000 and went into a dealership about 8 times for an "enigne check-up" also ive noticed people getting their rear rotors replaces at 18,000..really? input please.

thanks

 

This kind of stuff has been covered many times. Some of them have problems and some of them do not. I wouldn't say it's fair to assume the transmissions are "always" a problem. The earlier non-s models with the auto cvt or the midlands manual trans are known to have issues.

I would start here.

http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

Good luck!

 

Thanks. It seems as tho they start getting alot better in the 2004 models

 

I don't think I'd be looking to buy such a car, but apparently quite a few others still bought MINIs knowing their reliability history.

The newer MCs have finally reached average reliability, while the MCS is still below average. From what I've read, the '05s and '06s may be a little more reliable than earlier Gen1 MINIs. But there seem to be MINIs of any year and configuration that have been quite reliable, while others have been rotten lemons. Special care is advised if buying used.

 

Ya it also might be luck of the draw