Sorry I just need to vent rant about the repairs my 2006 R56 needs @111000mi
I went car shopping this summer desided I love the mini too much and would just keep repairing. Now it's randomly not started a few mornings. my mechanic couldn't diagnose but came up with a pile of unrelated repairs it needs
(Also listing replacement number not including the original)

Needs replacing
Oil pain gasket (2nd)
Upper engine mount (3rd)
Belt tensioner (1st)
Power steering pump (4th, 3rd has Napa lifetime warant)
Control arm (1st)

Unknown issues
Unknown small cooling leak
small power steering leak
On rare occasions cranks but won't start

Will need replacing
Clutch
Catalytic converter
Summer tires

Already replaced this fall
Alternator (1st)
Front wheel bearing (2nd but think this was a pothole or something that cracked my rim)
Dipstick (1st)

Non critical other issues
Rear wiper started making bad noises yesterday
Drivers seat cracking up
Lights out in the climate control panel
Sounds like the motor in the CD player is randomly doing stuff.
1 Summer wheel cracked

I may be going to test drive used brz & frs at a dealer tomorrow. I want to keep the mini till the wheels fall off but that almost littorally happend last week. The wheel bearing was pretty bad and I blamed worn tire that I wanted to get through to the winter swap.

 

Hmm a 9 year old English/German car with a 111k is falling apart color me surprised.

IMO a good number of these cars will be regulated to the scrap bin in the coming years. it won't be for a lack of parts, but it could, but sheer frustration. These cars were not easy to own while under warranty in some cases.

I like my MINI, but pretty much concluded this is not a car I want to hold long term.

 

Sacrilege - I can feel the darkness in you... You are starting to turn nice feet. But valid statement. If you don't have the space or skill to turn a wrench. These are not the cars for you..I haven't found parts to be that unusually expensive but 1-2 a month adds up. My wife jokes that there probably aren't that many original parts on the car

 

DIY repairs are a wallet saver but they've been slowing the progress on restoring my 72 bug. Well I've got the body off the bug so I'm not driving that to work and it's getting too cold to bike to work so the mini has to run right now. And Three cars is getting into cray territory

 

This is going to sound crazy, but I'm willing to bet that air cooled VW even when running will dollar you to death. I've been there done that about 16 times

 

Oh I hear ya completely. In my case with my mini the DIY took a $2000 repair bill down to about $300...if I didn't turn wrenches then this car would have been long gone. Also - I don't rely on or need the car available all the time so that helps. Jobs that take 4-5 hours I break apart into multiple sessions...and leave the car on stands for weeks on end

 

It's always something with these cars.

I did notice you have a 2006 that's having problems. Every "should I buy it" post people say you have to get a 05/06 or it's a bad car. Always bugs me.

Good luck, I hope your mechanic is cheap and good because my Mini would be long gone if I couldn't do the repairs myself

 

The Kool Aid was strong with the 2005-2006 crowd.. They bullshitted themselves into thinking it was the superior car.

The entire lot from 2002 to 2008 all suffered the same problems.

Sure there might have been a gear ratio changes, fan wiring update and some cosmetics, but the stuff that mattered didn't change.

 

Still on my original antenna!

 

LOL!!
I must be lucky.

119,000 miles on my 06 MCS

Gearbox replaced under warranty at 50,000 miles.

Water-pump and front wheel bearings at 75,000 miles.

LCA and sway bar bushings at 94K

Upper motor mount at 75K

Usual tire replacement every 20,000 miles and brakes pads/ rotors every 40,000 miles.

Plugs and wires at 90,000 miles

Crankshaft pulley, tensioner, belt, idler pulley at 95,000 miles

Coolant tank at 110,000 miles

Only issue now is the airbag module and PS hose seepage.

Clutch is still strong and the motor is still running strong; just need to add 1/2 quart of oil between 5000 mile oil changes.

I was considering the FRS but need a usable back seat and from reading on the FRS/BRZ forums the 1st generation Mini seems to be more reliable .

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11587

My replacement will be the Abarth.

 

The bug has a lot less parts to break and those parts are some of the cheapest car parts out there.

 

I'm sure things have not improved since I got out of that hobby 15 years ago. Parts are cheap because a lot of them are made in Taiwan or China.

 

Hmmm... I'm pushing 165,000 miles on my 2006. I bought it used in Dec 2006 with 13,000 miles. Replaced an electric cooling fan and rear window (for the defroster element having a couple of dead wires) when it was under warranty. Control arm bushings and the AC compressor couple of years ago (~135K). Only other items are routine maintenance, like tires, brake pads, fluid changes. Still on the original clutch! The only issue I have with the car is the rear wiper hasn't worked properly for the last couple of years, so I just don't use it anymore. I have to say it is the most reliable car I've ever owned. At least its one electrical issue is a constant, unlike the weird intermittent electrical glitches my wife's 2009 Civic comes up with (which we bought new).

 

Exact opposite for me. In 2 years my 02 Mini has had needed sc, head gasket, tension pulley, clutch, lca bushings, wheel bearing, ac, headlight ballast or ignitor that works sometimes

Wifes 99 honda in the last 8 years has needed new ball joints and a timing belt. Both maintenance items that go on every car

Awesome you got a good one though, I'm jealous

 

I won't bore you with the repair list from my wife's Volvo C70... plus I'm not sure I want to remember it all.

There's an old adage in the car business:

You can make payments or you can make repairs, but no one rides for free.

 

Until one wanders on to a Toyota or Honda lot and understands that it doesn't have to be this way.

IMO after a BMW, MINI and a few VW that euro cars are pretty much rubbish in the longevity dept.

 

Several of my family members have Hondas and Toyotas. They're better, but not hugely better than the VWs, BMWs, Volvos and MINIs I have owned.

Hondas and Toyotas are more tolerant of owners who ignore and neglect them. However, I find them incredibly boring to drive so I am willing to put up with more intense maintenance and repair requirements.

Bear in mind, I buy cars at 7-10 years old and usually over 100k miles. It would be foolish to think I could escape higher repair needs.

 

Or maybe we simply have had a different experience or perhaps more realistic expectations.

+1

These are not Honda or Toyota econo-boxes that are as fun to drive as watching paint dry. MINIs are more expensive to maintain, but if you do so they will last.

I drove my 06 R53 for 135k miles before passing it on to my son earlier this year. During the last 5 years I owned the car (outside of warranty) I probably spent $10k on expected maintenance. That comes to just $166 per month on a car I owned outright; and I did not perform my own repairs.

I told my son to save $200 per month to cover maintenance and then fix things as they come up. Anything left over when he finally does get another car can help pay for it. He has since put on another 10,000 trouble free miles.

As I have stated in other threads to prospective used 05/06 R53 buyers who don't do their own maintenance; expect to spend up to an additional $5000 just to make the car a reliably DD again (suspension, clutch..) and then save $200 per month for ongoing maintenance.

That's the price of admission, that should be your expectation.

 

do you just troll on nam to tell everyone that MiNI sucks because you have had some bad luck, or maybe your repairs/maintenance just weren't done properly? Our cars are driven hard, there's a reason things fail, and mostly they are maintenance items. If you don't want repair bills, don't buy a ten year old car and drive the snot out of it. Toyotas don't hold up any better if you drive them hard, actually quite the opposite. If you drive a Toyota as hard as a VW, BMW, MINI it falls apart, especially the suspension. My girlfriends 08 Jetta has 156k on it and has only needed brakes, plugs and coils, wheel bearings and a valve cover gasket.

 

“Our cars are driven hard.”

What does that mean? But nice assumption on driving hard. These cars are fragile and under engineered. There certainly is some reason why MINI and VW are bringing up the rear in every quality survey.

I know it cuts pretty deep. It’s almost like you kicked someone’s dog and slapped their wife, but these cars are pretty much a 120k throw away toy that becomes a hobby car.

I’m sure there are a lot of MINI owners that are in denial about the quality, but I’m not one of them.

 

I agree the quality is not the best, but I think calling it a throw away car is just wrong. A throw away car is a Taurus or Malibu. R53 Mini's are worth keeping and fixing.

Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I feel like my car should be good for another 10 years with minimal repairs. A lot of the major stuff went around 100k so I see no reason why it wont last as long the second time. The engine and transmission are very good in these cars, over engineered even.

 

There always seems to be a list. But the car has never missed a commute. Well I did have a coil fail, and a fuel pump, the power steering pump etc. But I have 240k miles and am in the middle of a rebuild to last me another 8 years. It isn't a garbage car. I think it will become a cult classic.

 

Well, if you do decide to keep the MINI and slowly work on the repairs let me know. I'd gladly help you put a parts list together. You can always work from most urgent to least urgent for fixes. When working at the dealer and a performance shop we would list recommendations for what should be fixed now and what could wait a little. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

 

I rescued my pair of MC40s...
#24 has 250K and I just replaced the wheel bearings and brakes, now it just threw an O2 code... oh, well.
#211 has 150K, and it throws a couple of MAP codes at 3/4 tank of fuel, but for the most part... they are keepers.

Yes, I have spent the time and money to get them back to looking and running like new, and as far as I can tell very few people realize they are 11 years old.

Motor on!

 

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