In all honesty, a new or used car is not going to cut down on those "running" costs. A car just needs new parts and fluids every once in a while. Not sure if you can add that to the value of the car. If the costs to repair the car are going to outweigh the cost of a new car then yes, it might be time for a new one. (If that would be your only measure)

For me the breaking point is the reliabilty-risk of being stranded and not making it to work in which the expense could be more then what the Mini is worth - or if it burst into flames.

Previous owner had tajen care of most of the service that is needed around 70,000 miles including front wheel bearings and WP.

I have put on 14,000 miles since January only two oil changes, upper motor mount and getting the PS fan working again - all is well (except the airbag light) - and stay far away from the stealership.

Only other vehicle out there that interests me to replace the Mini is a 964, Cayman R or a Lotus Elise so it will be while before I switch out.

FWIW. Changing oil and driving easy don't save a car. The power steering pump or A/C compressor don't car how hard you go around corners. I've raced cars that lasted forever but now am concerned about broken CVT belts and leaky thermostat housings. However, it seems to me that the real issue is what makes more economic sense keeping in mind my personality. Regardless of reliability, I'm never going to drive a Toyota Yaris. Never. So the real question is whether it makes sense to get another Mini and hope that one doesn't have similar issues (except that I think the 2014 look ugly). FWIW.

Thanks all for the replies. When I posted this in 2012 we were indeed having somewhat of a discussion about selling the car. Now we still have it and it looks like if we are going to keep it that we'll have to fix all the oil leaks and replace the supercharger oil (preventive measure). Hopefully nothing huge goes and we can just keep up with the parts replacement at a few hundred dollars every few months.

Sorry for the prev posting, I was trying to start a new thread. I have an Old Mini too.

I'm grateful to have a place where I can read the posts about troubles or inquiry's and also for the posts of possible fixes, tips, joy or elation of other MINI-Mini owners.

Glad you decided to keep it and are happy with your decision. In fact it was this exact situation that led me to trade in my much beloved Range Rover on my Mini. There have been many thresholds for other vehicles, it is always painful to work the numbers on value, but for me every time it has been 'reliability". What road trips am I giving up because I cannot trust an old car, what compromises am I living with to keep the flame alive? For me, the answer has been to keep a high maintenance toy, and something to roll with everyday fair weather or foul, and for me the Mini is my daily driver. And the "Justa" fits that perfectly for now, with the 40mpg is a great bonus.

For me, in 2012 I bought a new Mazda MX-5, so anytime I need a reliable road trip vehicle then I don't take the MINI. The MINI is now driven by my son and soon my daughter, and services as our winter vehicle (the thing is a billy goat with 4 snows on it).

The thing is, anytime something goes wrong it inevitably goes wrong when it is freakin' cold outside, raining and muddy, or way too hot. Another downside of doing your own repairs!

Seems like typical European car problems. Every European car I owned or family owned was a ticking time bomb in regards to high maintenance.

After 5 years, I can tell you that I don't regret buying the car. I've changed the power steering pump, the fan, the alternator, leaky crank sensor seal, control arms bushings, etc. I like this car too much to care about this. It does help that I'm a mechanic as I don't pay for the time :p

Repairing the car you own is always cheaper than buying a new one. Yes repairs cost money, but to my mind those repairs are worth it on a car that is so darned much fun like my MINI.

Dave is my new hero!

My buddy has a '52 TD-phenomenal car!

My R50 just turned an interesting set of numbers and will keep rolling no matter what!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmy_racoon/12647996334/, on Flickr

Can someone PLEASE start a new thread (sticky) that tells everyone how long parts will last and how much parts will cost. For example.
Clutch R53 90,000 - 130,000 miles cost $400- 600 and maybe put the amount of time it takes to put it in. You could have people post the date their clutch went out, miles, year, what they drive on ( highway/city).
And do that with all the wear items. (Clutch, ps pump, fuel pump, windshield, supercharger, tires, etc).
And you could call it something like 50,000 mile mini cooper guaranteed or what ever you want. We need the best person that can get this done. Please make it happen.
So who wants to volunteer. More ideas would be great too we want this to be perfect.

IMO the biggest undoing of these cars as they age will be the owners themselves. I’m not going to deny how maintenance intensive they can be or how expensive that can become.

A perfect example of this is the belt tensioner. A new OEM Gates one is about $80 from Rock Auto, but a lot of people just don’t want to spend the money. I kind of cringed when I see some of the “fixes” for a worn out tensioner.

I’m by now means rich, but when something is worn out it’s going in the trash. When I bought my car I read about all the common problem areas and have been proactive about addressing them