I would second this, as I'm second guessing why I didn't buy that 100k mile Mazda vs a 100k mile Mini.

 

The mother of the daughter would like a coupe, simply because if it's a hassle to get more of her girlfriends in the back seat, the better.

 

The entry cost is low.....and it's like $4000 to get them kept up for 100k miles.


It's not just the money to keep them up. It's the constant downtime and shop time. The problems don't happen at once. They will basically keep your car off the road for months. My bmw did.

I also got one with a bad paint job I didn't know about. A year later paint was peeling. I'm in the middle of a bare metal respray.

I want a mini.....but I would like to just drive it and enjoy it. I don't know if that's possible. My bmw was off the road for a month just doing preventative maintenance and waiting on parts....,extensive research.

One thing I have not seen much on here is diagnostic stuff. Not enough minis with those problems yet. Some of the e46 bmw crowd has a dedicated lap top with the best in software. If I get a mini I might buy it from here......where someone has already improved it. My bmw has been very improved with better than factory replacement parts......so much I can almost never sell it.

If you buy a mini. Buy it from someone who's threads show high maintain records.....already replaced the suspension with koni shocks and better harmonic balancer. Window motors are nothing. Is replacing bushings and crank pulleys.....engine and suspension work you want to stAy away from. Of course recoding modules......while it is easy to do and takes 10 minutes to reflash a computer.......it takes hours and hours of research to learn to do it. More hours to even find the software that you can rely on. The mini is no different than the e46. Bmw design work makes these things as planned parts replacement.

They do this because in order to compete.....they have to make the cars luxurious and cool....sporty. Then make money on parts, it's like buying a printer. The printer costs them more than they charge you. They lose or make no money on them....,.but charge you high dollars for the ink.

On another note. Get an elm327 blue tooth with torque pro app. You can diagnose your car a lot this way. $25.
Get the blue one.....it's small enough to leave in the obd2 port and not be noticed. Any questions post here or pm me.

Bmw dis v57 is factory mini software. That can be had for not much more. You must have a dedicated lap top. Buy it from the Russian.

 

Our 16 year old daughter got her license this past summer and is now driving my wife's former DD which is a '95 BMW 318i with a 5 speed. Prior to her getting her license she spent a great deal of time with me in the garage learning the basics of vehicle maintenance and the different systems that make a car tick. During this time she took copious notes so the learning experience really sank in. I started this procedure when she was 14 and before that she always helped with washing and waxing our cars. I would have used this same process if we had a son.

Although the law in Arizona only requires 30 hours of driving (10 of which is at night) while on a learning permit we spent at least 70 hours teaching her how to drive and having her practice in many varied situations.

The reason I bring this up is that if the teen is given the proper training and exhibits the maturity to be responsible then it probably doesn't matter what type of vehicle they have (within reason ofcourse) as long as it is affordable. Our daughter is thrilled with the BMW (which has over 200K on the clock) and is proud of the fact that she drives a manual...says automatics are for wussies! Would we put her in my wife's '09 MCS? Well, if there were a possibility to wrestle it away from my wife we would probably let her drive it with one of us going along for the first few trips to get her used to it. Would we consider it a good DD for her? Probably not, at least not at this time.

 

Leasing is the future, not just for cars but eventually anything that is constantly updated (electronic devices). First thing they do is raise the prices and make purchasing such a bad deal, which gives folks the reason to lease. The banks love it (financing) and the dealers love it because more cars get turned in and resold at a profit. The auto manufacturers love it too because they have an excuse to make less reliable cars. As long as it holds up for the original buyer and maybe 50% of CPO buyers to about 80-100k, there's no need to go beyond that. The powertrain doesn't need to break, just everything around it must.

Currently, 25% of all new car transactions are leases. (Table below is 2011.) The lease ratio on German/Euro cars are very high, especially in urban areas where they are most popular.

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...ctually-lease/

This is why you see those stupid MSRPs. The real prices of these cars are around the CPO price level, plus 10-15%. Why do people put up with it? Heritage, history, romance, sex appeal... oh yeah, for Mini it's driving dynamics and saucy-retro-coolness.

Rant over... now I need to go fix the AC in my '06 MCSc, which has only 40k.

 

If it was my kid, I'd get him/her the safest, slowest, and highly reliable car with a manual transmission, which is what some parents are doing to discourage their kids from texting while driving. An acquaintance of mine just bought a 15yr old 5-speed Honda Accord w/low miles for his daughter. Learing a manual is always good idea. Part of the deal was she works during the summer and part-time during school to help pay for some of the expense of ownership. She didn't make demands because the parents will be paying her tuition the next 4 years.

 

It's said the e36 or 95 style and year was the lest good bmw. The vanos is harder to rebuild on it and takes some more specialized tools....but other than that. It was said yo be a good car. I don't see as many on the road as they got older.

A mini might be a good car if the work has already been done. If your on this site.....a lot of times the people that into them will do the work to make them good. The problem for them and benefit for you is that it makes the car no more valuable than one that's been ragged out. Unfortunately....the miles determine the cost. The current cvt problem could drive the price down even further. The average driver doesn't know or care about stuff like this. They drive it till it gas problems and get rid of it.

Manuel transmissions are far more reliable.
The factories are making automatic prone to failure.

 

Never thought about leasing that way. But I agree with it.

Buy an older restored car. Costs the same. Same gas mileage. Cheaper insurance. They just are not anywhere near as comfortable.

Or just buy what you want and be highly mechanically inclined. My wife hates preventative maintenance so much. She's more of my problem than the car is. Her fuel trims in her rav4 are +10 ......needs a maf sensor. Cloths are more important.....pedicures.

She needs shocks too. So she wonders why the car vibrates and will not be happy when her $800 catalytic converter failed because she was too cheap to buy a $136 maf sensor. She has welcome to America written on her consumer forehead. Why don't I fix........I don't want to hear about how car parts are a waste of money. It got old with the bmw.

 

You're a wise man!

 

This is possibly the only forum I've ever seen that the people discourage a new buyer from buying their preferred car...and sadly, I agree with them.

I somewhat regret buying my Cooper, because I'm plagued with the convertible problems, but I really do enjoy driving it. It's a love/hate relationship.

It's gotten to the point where I'm seriously giving thoughts to buying an old mustang or charger or impala (65-75 for all car), restore it and then drive it.

In all honestly, I'm pretty sure that even if I buy and restore these cars, it'd still come out to be cheaper than my total cost with the Cooper.

 

E46 bmw forum looks like this one....love hate

Old car.....buy it finished.

 

here's a left field comment

teach her how, and buy her a manual shift car

few friends will be able to drive it making the 'loan out' a non-issue!!!!

 

Wow this thread is full of interesting opinions. About the prospective new owner; do they want a sporty drive or are they only interested in reliability?

I assume the blanket refusal to consider a stick shift suggests this car needs to be a kitchen appliance, not a motoring love affair.

I won't even touch the looks side of things, suffice to say everyone wants a cool looking car. You gotta earn that *****.

Buy Ford or Japanese or Korean with good crash scores and fuggedaboutit.

 

MINIs are not a good car for someone faint of heart or faint of pocket ... terrible idea for a first car for someone looking for reliability.

EVEN if you looked at maintenance costs alone:
1) Oil changes are about $50 dollars even if done at home - synthetic only and the filter

2) Fuel - if you get her a cooper S its going to need premium fuel 91 minimum

3) All the maintenance/prone to fail items: Lower Control Arm bushings: $700, power steering pump failure is now covered by mini -- but the wait is long. If you do it yourself to get back on the road be ready to spend $600 in parts. Upper strut mounts cost about $100 for the pair (they crack and fail) and only take about 45 minutes per side to install if you know what you are doing and don't encounter any stuck bolts (read up on the pinch bolt issue)

My advice - find her a CPO Fiat 500 (the new one) -- similar characteristics in size, somewhat in handling, and will be close to the price of a used MINI. It will have a warranty.

Good luck

 

Never seen this report before but, I totally agree with you. I am 52 years old and I learned to drive on a stick. Both of my kids learned on a stick (male and female). Both are very good drivers as a result, both are in their late 20's now and nether have ever been in a major car crash. My son just got his motor cycle endorsement and transitioned very easily because he already had the clutch/gear concept. All others who never drove a stick before ether failed or struggled. I also agree a Mini is not a good reliable first car. Mine learned an my old Civic pasted down to them. Let her drive a Civic, Corolla, Hyundai or something fro 2 years, sell it and put her in an 05/06 R53 if she still wants one. You prob wont loose any money and she'll have more experience. Good luck! I know based on my experience, its a real challenge when kids reach the driving age and not worrying about them. Also, don't just look at reliability. Look a crash safety as well. Cheers!!!

 

Still doing my research.....as of right now the mini with 100k miles on it.................$2500 to $3000 before it hits the road.

Changing super charger oil....whole front end of car has to come off.

Super charger oil.........................$30
Oil pan gasket
Cps o ring
Expansion tank
Water pump
Shocks
Spark plugs
Coolant flush
Oil change
Brake fluid
Belts
Idler tensioner
Crank pulley ati..............................$362
Fuel filter........................................$60
Crank puller...."..............................
Belt tool. $85
Tensioner stop..................................$30
Lcab
Upper strut mounts

What I have so far.....not put in the priced of all of them yet

 

What have I missed

 

You said idlers... Did that include the tensioner itself?

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-C...arger/ES21718/

On mine I know the strut doesn't have much resistance anymore. Thinking I should have replaced it ....maybe that's why my first belt replacement stretched to the point of pulleys slipping after less than 7000 miles on the new belt??? It was an OE Contitech belt. Stock engine, currently 85k miles.

Do you have brakes on your list? Mine should last another year (I hope, and I drive a lot of miles). I'm figuring around $700 for 4 new rotors, EBC Red pads, SS Lines and TyrolSport caliper stiffening kit. I tend to upgrade everything I replace/repair.... I think I read that these rotors can not be turned (wtheck?) (same with flywheel -no machining)

I love it though! Am I naive to think I'll keep it forever? I just turned 39 years old.

Edit: coil pack... Previous owner replaced mine already. Right front motor mount on your list too?

 

I was hoping for not replacing brakes but that's being naive.

The tensioner on these I read......breaks and takes out crank pulley.

Way motor works sells a stopper in case it fails.

The only reason I ever upgrade is reliability. At this point to me.....performance is a waste of time to attain a rush I just don't need. There are cheaper cars to upgrade to do that and get better results.

 

Oh, okay. I have and installed a WMW tensioner stop. I thought it was incase the belt failed. Good to know about the tensioner though. It's still on my list.

 

My son has my old '99 Accord (auto). It has 178K miles on it and needed its first repair ever this summer (alternator). Other than that, just maintenance for 14 years.

My '06 MCS has 77K miles on it and has needed three thermostat housings, two power steering pumps and a clutch. I've been told I'm one of the lucky ones.

My daughter drives an '08 Accord (auto). I've also had a '90 Accord (manual), an '89 Integra (manual) and an '82 Civic S (manual). Hondas have been very good to us. All cars went 150K+ miles and the ones with sticks were sold/traded with their original clutches.

Good luck.

Dean.

 

We have an R53 (2006), a Honda Odyssey (2002), a Honda Accord (2005), and old BMW, and a 17-year-old daughter.

We love our MINI!

Give her a Honda. They are much, much, much more reliable. Parts are easy to get and much cheaper and there are so many Accords that every independent mechanic can work on them. The Accord is what we gave our son when he went off to college and it has worked out really well for him. From our own analysis, and at your price point, I suggest looking hard at a 7th Generation (2003-2007) Accord with the 4-cylinder engine (the V6s with automatic transmission are problematic)--if you hunt you an find one with a manual transmission (great because none of your daughter's friends will ask to borrow it). The Accord is quite a bit bigger than the Civic and the mileage penalty with the 4-cylinder is relatively small and when they're that old the price difference is minor. If you live somewhere with snow, find one with the stability control ("VSA" i think) in addition to the regular traction control--it was being phased in over the 7th generation and a lot of the earlier, low spec cars don't have it. Also, the 2.4 liter 4-cyl engine is Honda's reliable workhorse and by the 7th generation Accord it has a timing chain instead of a belt.

Even an abused Honda will get to 150k miles, I have my doubts about the typical, religiously maintained MINI getting to 100k.

Lots of good info at driveaccord.net.

 

We have an '04 R53 ("S"). It has 135K and has been meticulously maintained. (I'm a retired auto engineer and restore old cars for a hobby.) The Mini has been my wife's daily driver. As much as it's fun to drive and as much as we like the styling, we wouldn't recommend a Mini period. Lot's of issues, some serious, some just a nuisance or esthetic.

Expensive parts and expensive to have repaired. Ridiculously complicated.

 

Wheel speed sensors fail at 50k, sending the car to limp mode on the highway. (Japanese) Transmission valve body fails at 80k sending the car into limp mode on the highway. Supercharger bearings fail at 80k, wheel bearings fail around 70k, power steering has been replaced 4 times due to badly designed tubes. Shocks fail after 50k and have to be replaced. A Mini is not a 16 year old girl's car. This car should belong to a 16 year old boy that is willing to read the repair service manual in detail and the forum, with $1500 a year to spend on maintenance to do all the work by yourself. If you pay a shop to do all the work, you're looking at $3000 a year.

I have spent weeks working on my Mini and replacing parts.

I would not recommend a road trip.

2005 Mini Cooper S - Automatic AISIN 6 speed transmission, Aftermarket ported supercharger with 15% reduction, drilled and vented rotors, hawk pads, custom front and rear bump grills, HIDs, LED plate lights, high flow panel intake.

 

If you look in the Haynes manual there is a drawing of the belt tool. Material is available at Lowe's/Home Depot.

I'm a retired (Engineer) and restore cars for a hobby. I have my own shop so I used some more "advanced" tools to make mine. But, all you need a hack saw, drill and a large (20 mm/ 25/32") drill bit. (You can order the drill bit on Amazon. I did.)

Also, buy the Bentley Manual and before starting anything, check the forum. chance are someone else has done it and documented their method. (Not everything in the manuals is gospel.)