After reading on different message boards and many, many reviews of the Mini Cooper, despite the numberous complaints of reliablility, I have to go for one! I've researched many other cars from the Subaru WRX, Acura RSX, to the Mazda 3 and the VW GTi. Everyone says that they have problems with their Minis but they still love them. Just when I thought I'd found a more choice car for myself, I will take one look at a Mini Cooper and my whole decision starts over again. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since I wrecked my Prelude Vtec in November. I have since gotten in contact with Julie at Classic Mini and have put my deposit down on a 2005 Mini Cooper S. I can't imagine a better car to fill the place in my heart that my Prelude had. Even though it's size is among the smallest, I think this car just might end up being the MOST car I've owned.

 

Boge -- EXCELLENT!!!

Details, please -- you're ordering an MCS - what color, what packages, are you getting the bonnet stripes??

Congrats on your order -- we'll probably be on the same ship when they start making the 2005s!

 

Congrats! Ans congrats on your patience as well! I could not wait for the 2005s - had to get a 2004.

ClassicMini is great. You made a good choice. Options? Color?

 

Many of us have a passion for our MINI's. Sounds like
you do too! It's about the driving, it's about the style.
It's about the feel, smell and sound. Excuse me, I gotta
go back outside and drive around the block again!

Godspeed.

 

Boge,

The problems you have seen or heard about are very minor and have significantly diminished each subsequent year. Almost all of them have been fixed by the dealership. The only on-going problem appears to be the Yo-yo affect but it is sporadic amongst the cars.

I think you will not find a better car for the money. The value and build quality far exceeds the competition. I have a lemon which BMW is buying back, but I still think the quality is above anything else out there. I drive my car very hard, with absolutely no problems (except the electrical problem that nobody can seem to fix). My problem seems to be isolated to a glitch in my car, everyone else I know has no problems with their Mini.

 

Good decision.

 

Boge-
It really pleases me to see that I am not the only one with a car decision making problem. I have talked my self out of the MINI at least 10 times in the last year. (obiviously not in a hurry to buy a car) Finally I rented one for a weekend in Vegas and every other car I was considering sucked in comparison! Just that simple. I worry about reliabiliy but 4 years 50K warrenty, If I have a bunch of problems at least the resale is great, might make a profit in Nor Cal.

Good luck and congrat on the order. '05 wow I couldn't wait that long

 

>>Boge-
>>It really pleases me to see that I am not the only one with a car decision making problem. I have talked my self out of the MINI at least 10 times in the last year. (obiviously not in a hurry to buy a car) Finally I rented one for a weekend in Vegas and every other car I was considering sucked in comparison! Just that simple. I worry about reliabiliy but 4 years 50K warrenty, If I have a bunch of problems at least the resale is great, might make a profit in Nor Cal.
>>
>>Good luck and congrat on the order. '05 wow I couldn't wait that long

 

Alright Boge!
:smile:

 

None, nada, zip problems with my 03 MC. They don't feel small when behind the wheel and they are small cars with lots of heart. In short, welcome to the proud, the few, the Mini owners! You will love your car.

 

There are several reasons to NOT buy a MINI:

There are a few reasons TO BUY a MINI:

 

coming from a prelude myself, i've been happy with the perforrmance of my 2004 mcs. however, the build quality is not as good the prelude.

i would say the build quality is good, but not excellent compared with honda.

for my mcs, i have poor dash workmanship or design, small tear in the rear carpet, loose threads(very small) on the driver cloth seat, slightly uneven height between the two rear seats. driver side door slightly lower than frame, etc.

OK, i'm very picky coming from honda!

still, i'm happy with the mcs because it is fun to drive, unique, and gives a good balance of price/performance/economy.

 

Do it! 1300 mi on my MCS and ZERO regrets...love every minute of driving it.

 

>>coming from a prelude myself, i've been happy with the perforrmance of my 2004 mcs. however, the build quality is not as good the prelude.
>>
>>i would say the build quality is good, but not excellent compared with honda.
>>
>>for my mcs, i have poor dash workmanship or design, small tear in the rear carpet, loose threads(very small) on the driver cloth seat, slightly uneven height between the two rear seats. driver side door slightly lower than frame, etc.
>>
>>OK, i'm very picky coming from honda!
>>
>>still, i'm happy with the mcs because it is fun to drive, unique, and gives a good balance of price/performance/economy.
>> the fit & finish on the MINI seems to be vary different from MINI to MINI,Mine is very good 16k miles in 9 months ,hard winter highway miles ,lots of gravel back roads,so far the only rattles I hear are stuff in the glove box,coins in cup holders.Leatherette feels great with warmers on ,cleans easy,and yea I just call it leather

 

Honda allowed the Prelude to die slowly. The Prelude was Honda's most popular car in the 1980's. the 1989 model even had 4 wheel steering, the Prelude Si 4WS. In the 1990's the car became heavier and not as attractive. In 1997 Honda made an attempt to revive it by bringing back the long hood, short rear decklid design of the 1980's, but the car was not good enough performance wise to bring back enthusiasts .


Sometimes I wonder what goes thru the heads of Honda's management honchos. This company is sooo out of touch with the performance market (At least in the US) that they have decided to cater to their main fan audience...the Civic and Accord toaster appliance drivers.


The Civic Type R and Euro Accord Type R (Acura TSX sedan) will not even be available in North America, only for local Japanese consumption. If Honda cares about capturing the performance buyer market, they have no choice but to bring the Type R models here (Like they did in the late 1990's with the short lived Acura Integra Type R 3 door hatch).

Too bad. once upon a time I used to be a loyal Honda/Acura customer but they lost me with thier boring cars. Now Honda seems to be worried about bringing silly looking trucks and SUVs. Even they will enter the pick-up truck market something unthinkable just 5 years ago.

 

yeah, i had a 92 prelude and that vehicle was great. not the fastest, but it handled the curves so well. nice blend of fuel economy/naturally aspirated power and nothing beats the buttery smooth shifter(not even mcs shifter compares).

too bad honda got away from improving upon the vehicle and has now done away with it completely. it certainly would've been on my list of consideration if it was still around. i guess the suv market is just too lucrative to pass on.

anyway, i see many of the same great attributes in the mcs and prelude. great handling and good mileage/power(both required 91octane).

to make a long story short, my prelude's engine gave out at 160k and now i'm hopefully a longtime mcs owner.