R50/53 New Consumer Reports Auto Edition gives 02-03 MINI "used car to avoid" listing.......
My bads were minor, the goods are great!
Originally Posted by sndwave
OH YES. Another person who never says what's bad, but only what's good.
But these three comments carry the same statistical weight as a steering rack, a transmission, or some other really significant item.
Remeber statistics. While I'm sure there have been many cars with problems, don't project your experience onto others. I've had ABSOLUTLY NOTHING that would impact drivability or safety happen to my car. And I DID list the bad things too! And it was built in Aug of 02!
Matt
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,268
Likes: 0
From: Left Coast
Originally Posted by JPit
Consumer Reports really does like the MINI and along with the Focus it was their favorite sub-compact to drive. However, they will not recommend a car they feel may be unreliable. They believe that European cars have great designs and are well engineered but have become extremely complicated. They pointed out that on one BMW there were something like twenty servos controlling the motorized front seats. Because of this complexity more things can and do go wrong. I am selling my Passat to get a MINI and the Passat is a beautiful car. But the Bosch electronics are absolutely terrible and I have had some major problems. VW wants $2400 to repair the ABS system. When it comes to reliability the Japanese really shine. I imagine that BMW has an interesting time trying to assure that the parts they receive from twenty different countries to build the MINI are all first rate.
I second that.
I don't know how to quote more than one at a time. Consumer Reports has always pissed me off. But that is only because I always disagree with them on an emotional level. CR has lambasted my favorite cars since my 1965 Corvair. I don't blame them. CR may rate cars in a manner more agreeable to testing toasters, but I agree with OFIOLITI (interesting monicker there) that CR tends to be objective in the categories rated. Japanese cars may happen to excel in those, but probably not due to CR's favoritism.
JPit (above) states exactly what my mechanic told me. He is British and specializes in French cars so his bias is difficult to identify. When I asked him from a mechanic's viewpoint what cars he thought would give me less trouble over the long term he did not hesitate to recommend Toyota GTR (I don't even know what that is) and Honda S2000. He has been impressed by how the Japanese manufacturers use 2 or 3 parts to do something that a German car would require 9 or 10 for. He figured in the long run a car with less parts would have less to fix. He has worked on many old Minis but not new ones. He suggested I wait for the 2007 MINI because the present one seems an international pot pourri, but that if I wanted something almost as quirky as a French car I might try a current MINI. Coming from him it was sort of a complement.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
igzekyativ
MINIs & Minis for Sale
34
Jul 16, 2020 12:54 PM
arf88
General MINI Talk
22
May 31, 2016 03:07 PM
igzekyativ
MINIs & Minis for Sale
28
Dec 23, 2015 10:36 AM