I've spent some time reading the posts in the forums on this website, it seemed that most owners were pleased with the MINI. Last week I ordered a '05. Today I came across the threads of all the aggravated owners of MCS with the ECU programing problems. I don't live in a town with a MINI dealer. The closest one is 150 miles away. Am I buying a big headache? Should I bail on my order?

 

You should keep your order, not all Mini owners post here, the only ones you are gonna hear from are the sqeeky wheels. Your car will be fine, I went through the same worry, then I remembered that the only threads you are going to see in most of the "Beanth the bonnet" style sub forums are going to be troubled owners.

 

I'd honestly say the ECU is the biggest cramp in the MINI. If you have a chance, spend some good quality time doing "normal driving" with an '05 MCS so you can decide for yourself if you even notice the ECU's quirks. Most of the things we're referring to are rather minor in the larger picture of overall vehicle satisfaction. We tend to nit-pick, because we love the MINI so much!

Every time I get behind the wheel, I'm still all smiles
Cheers,
Ryan

 

If you are having serious doubt just get a standard Non-S Cooper instead. Standard 5-speed MCs appear to have fewer problems then MCS and MC's with CVT's.

Before I got my MC I had a 320 HP Camaro and honestly I bought the MC for it handling characteristics and not its 0-60 speed because not even the MCS would be close to the 0-60 of my Camaro and there are alot of faster cars on the market that are around the price of a fairly loaded MCS ($24,000).

For $18,000 (the price I paid) I could not think of a car that is as much fun drive or as cool to look as a MC.

 

I won't paint such a rosy picture.

You'll need to make several trips to your dealer to get it "sorted". I can almost guarantee it. Some of my Mini's problems have never really been fixed -- they've just mutated into other problems via software "upgrades".

My nearest dealer is less than 20 miles away and it's still a pain -- service appointments must be scheduled weeks in advance, no loaners, no courtesy shuttle, problems are rarely fixed correctly the first time, etc, etc.

But, overall, you'll probably be able to put up with the annoyances and you'll really enjoy driving the car. But you will get to know those 150 miles quite well! :smile:

 

Get the MCS. No question.

Just try not to ***** with the car, there is nothing wrong with its stock form. It's only new once, and you get the rest of it's life to mess with it.

 

I've had my '05 Hyper Blue Cooper S since October 16, I ordered it on August 21. While my experiences with the dealership have left a little to be desired, I LOVE MY CAR. It's freaking awesome. I'd say buy it, if by 3000 miles you don't love it sell it. If you live in a city without a dealer you can probably get what you paid for it.

 

LeftS7 has been posting in the autocross forums, so I suspect he's gonna run it in GS and thus probably won't be doing anything to it - anything that would seriously mess with the ecu at least.

I also agree with 1johnsocal, for $18k, I love my Cooper

However, if I lived 150 miles away from the dealer, I would think long and hard about getting one. It is about 70 miles to my dealer, and even though it hasn't been a problem yet (and hopefully won't ever be a problem) I have decided that in the future, I will seriously try to avoid buying another car that I have to take out of town for service.

 

I've had my 5-speed MC for about 15 months now. The dealer is over 200 miles away. I've been back to the dealer twice, neither time was a real "have to" case. I enjoy my car and consider the inconvenience of the dealer location as a small trade off for such a great little car.

Don't cancel the order, you're just having the normal buyers remorse that occurs when making one of the more expensive decisions you'll likely ever make. This feeling will go away once you get the car and see how much fun it really is.

 

150 miles to my dealership... 56k miles on my '02 MCS... BEST CAR BUYING DECISION I EVER MADE!!! And I love the little quirks of this car!

Godspeed.

 

I'm not sure this is true. It depends on who is working on your car


Again, this really depends on what dealer you are using. I can only say that where I took my '03 MCS to have the power steering fixed paid for a rental for me until the car was fixed. And I didn't even buy my car there! Just had to make the appointment a wee in advance, not weeks


Now this is very true! Fact is that this car is SO FUN and the community is so great that most any problems are not a deterrent at all. You see VERY few MCS owners here selling their cars due to problems.

Go for it!

 

I too ordered a 05 Hyper Blue Cooper S in August (August 27th) and received it on October 16th. However, I only had mine for 168 miles total and just over a week! It was such a POS that BMW agreed to buy it back from me. I'm now waiting for my replacement MCS to arrive in February. Thus, I've been without the MINI that I paid for way back in October for three months now and it will still be another two months before I finally get to see/drive it.

I'm convinced that ALL MINI's are junk! You just have to know that going into it. It is an English built car after all.

Basically, you pay your money and you take your chances just like the rest of us.

 

Same story here, 56000 miles, 150+ to the dealer, (have only been twice for the scheduled services). By far the best car I have ever owned. :smile:

Just get it.

Nik

 

OH heck no.......................Just picked mine up (12-12-04) and about a month after I ordered it I had those doubts also.....but glad I stuck with it...Just can't drive it enough. Obviously you want to make sure you have the financial part of it taken care of before a purchase, but if you do then no worries.


Remember if you get and you can't keep up with it...you can always seel it for MSRP on Ebay...

ZM

 

I would assume that the '05s have had the ECU software already upgraded to meet current emission standards. Obviously that doesn't preclude MINI from wanting to update the software in the future, but it shouldn't be an immediate concern. We have a Nov.'04 MCS ('05 MY) and have covered 1500 trouble-free miles.........I'd say go for it

 

I don't have any problems in my 05 MCS as of yet and don't envision their to be any. My dealer is about 20 miles away but the car seems very solid. It's an awesome little car and honestly I couldn't find anything for the price that was more fun
Mike

 

I drive a 2003 mcs, had it at the dealer more times than I remember and more than any other new car icluding american built vehicles. The software has been updated a couple of times with good results but I'm running MTH software now. If you are afraid of the yoyo or the cold start issues people talk about here perhaps you are right to be concerned. You may want to send a private message to those who report the worst cases and have them explain to you in more detail what is so irritating about those cars. My car never yoyo once warmed up. The yoyo happens in first and second gear but it doesn't badder me, it is more pronounced with the new performace software but it goes away once the car reaches optimum operating temperature. I did have the cold start, it just took a little longer than I would expect keeping the key turned till the little fire breather came to life. I would just turn the key but back off too soon so I would have to turn the key again cranking the motor to live right away. The MTH software cured that. To me those quirks are nothing compared to the satisfaction I get from driving this car. I love my car, I love driving it, love the way it looks and everything else about it. I've driven 31,000 miles now and I could not be more happy with this car. If you are the type that loves perfection and have nothing to worry about in life then don't buy a mini cooper or a ducati motorcycle. The mini is a lot of fun to drive. Good luck.
:smile:

 

[font=Verdana]There is no car that does not have dissatisfied users, or has an occasional lemon leave the factory. Today's cars are extremely complicated pieces of equipment. My '05 has been trouble-free and I am about 120 miles from a dealer. My last car was another British car, Land Rover, and the dealer is practically on the same block, so I am used to long distance service. The Land Rover is the best car I have ever owned so far, and perhaps I will say that about the Mini some day.[/font]

 

I bought my 05 MCS in Sept. and Have already put 12000 miles on it. Except for my stupidity of breaking the glove compartment latch have had no problems. Keep your order, you will be ok.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I have two friends, locally, that have MCSs. One a '02 one a '03 and they have been trouble free. They love theirs. That's why I started looking into them.

None of the MINIs I watched on E-Bay went for MSRP. Most never reached the reserve price. There are quite a number on used car lots, locally, given that there is no local dealer, and all are asking MSRP, or greater for '02 and '03s.

The MCS is replacing a Caterham Super Seven so I'm trying to move away from "British". The new MINI is made in England but wasn't most of the design BMW (other than the Chrysler engine)?

Thanks, again.

 

I have an MCS 05 with about 4000 miles and no problems. Great to drive. I would agree that most post are about problems and seeking help. You dont see too many about the the good stuff. Unless you are chicken little keep the car.

 

I wouldn't be terribly worried for problems - things are getting sorted pretty well by now.

The distant dealer is a concern though - if you do have problems, you are running the risk of being in for a MAJOR hassle.

With all the good cars out there, I personally wouldn't consider any car such a "must have" that I would put up with a dealer not being at a reasonable distance. I'd much rather have a Subaru WRX, Mazda 3, or VW GTI with a dealer a mile away than a Mini with a dealer 200 miles away. But each person must balance their desire for the car vs. the hassle of a far-away dealer.

Just go in with your eyes open. It's unlikely, but there are some nightmare scenarios out there, especially if you have a busy job and are really dependent on your car.

- Mark

 

BMW engineering is not what it used to be. Apparently they've had to buy back (as in lemon law) a lot of their high end cars because of various electrical problems. The fact that they're up to Version 39, or something like that, of the Mini's ECU software (and it still isn't right) speaks volumes.

Still, if you keep your fingers and toes crossed, it'll be a blast to drive most of the time. Have fun with it!

 

I'm so happy with mine! And I've had lots of cars of differing power and handling skills. the Mini will be a blast you never will regret, if you want a car that really handles.

There are some issues to look for, but if you're willing to re-program the ECU, many of the problems are not a concern (there are a lot of ways to do the ECU mod). You get an added bonus of more power, for many mods, over quite a bit of the power band.
Also, many have found that resetting the ECU (it learns, and sometimes learns bad habbits) has effected some problems as well. This has helped many with the v 39 upgrade.

I have a 2002, and I'm doing the bypass valve ajustment (stiffer spring, and centered butterfly) to improve throttle response, and this has solved many yo-yo issues. It does cost a bit in gas milage (you basically turn on the use of the supercharger a bit more agressively). I also have the MTH software and some other mods. I'm going to a 15% pully next.....

I have no issues with yo-yo, stumbling etc.

Matt

 

I agree with Ryan....."it's only because we love them" My car is by far the most fun car I have ever owned including Porsches (911) and Jag (69 XKE.) The mods I have done while for the most part have integrated seamlessly. I do experience the "stumbles" but I am confident i will chase it down. I would stay away from mods for a while because while none have been a problem I have become hyper sensitive to the cars performance. (part of my Mini fun) I am pretty bold with mods because RSpeed is 5 miles away and Global Imports (dealer) is about the same.