OK folks- here's some background information. I bought a new BRG 2003 Cooper S a while ago, and ended up selling it because of various reasons...ran into a lot of little quality issues with the car, and also was purchasing a home and needed to cut back financially for a while.

Well, things have been stable, and I'm comfortably in my home. I'm sharing an Accord with the wife and would love to get into a 2006 Cooper S, but I have my eyes wide open this time around, hoping to avoid all the bugs that plagued my old car. So here are the questions- thanks in advance for your help!

1. Have the "Yo-Yo" and "Stumble" issues been resolved? These were the most annoying and potentially dangerous issues I had. Well, except for the next one...

2. Are windshields still cracking? I had a couple of them replaced...

3. Has the leather quality improved? I only had the car for 15,000 miles, but the leather looked three times that age, and I took good care of it too. If the leather is the same, I'll probably go with cloth this time around.

4. Are the runflat tires more compliant these days? If not, no worries- I will live with the ride as long as the handling is as great as I remember!

5. Sunroofs- do they still rattle quite a bit? If so, I'll do without it.

Thanks again!

 

I had to replace mine, but not because of stress fracture.

My '05 doesn't rattle.

Note: They revised/added a lot of large items like gearing, xenons, and anthracite headliner, but also a lot of small items. Read http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/08/...over_the_years

 

Great link- thanks.

 

04 here...


No yo yo

no windshield problems

No sunroof rattle

Still has

interior rattles even with non rfs

 

Arrrr me bucko

1. it's still off and on from car to car

2. Hit or miss again and I mean the pun. I have huge chips in my 02 windshield, but it just doesn't break.

3. I don't have leather so can't say.

4. Run flats are just that. A tire with very stiff sidewalls. They will always run more rough.

5. No sunroof so I can't say for myself, but the few people I know that do have them have never had any rattle from them.

 

I went straight from an '03 MCS to an '05. Here's what I've noticed.

The yo-yo and stumble seem to be non-issues these days. I think that changes in the gearing and ECU have minimized, if not eliminated those. I do notice some occasional hesitation or bogging, but only in very specific situations. (If I'm starting from a stop with the wheels turned hard, and enought of a dip or bump in the pavement to make the ASC think one of the wheels has lost traction.)

The windshields haven't really changed, they still chip.

I went with space cloth both times, but a friend just got an '05 with leatherette. His motoring advisor (a friend) recommended it over the real leather.

The runflats haven't changed, but the suspension has. If you had an early '03, you may have had the original sport suspension. It was stiff, held the car flat, and I actually liked it. This was softened, because of customer feedback. So you may notice a little softer ride, and just a bit of lean. If you liked the original suspension, I've heard that the JCW suspension replicates the original ride and handling.

I can't speak to the sun-roof, since I've had solid tops both times.

I will say that you'll probably like the new gearing, and the extra couple of horses they've added. Then really give the little guy some kick.

Enjoy

 

I can only field the question on the runflats. I've only had my car for a month, but i did do a pretty extended (6k) roadtrip and I didn't think they were bad at all! I have the 16" tires, so i think that might help as well.

 

Thanks for all the informative responses. Sounds like I should be headed in the right direction

 

I went from a troublefree 2004 MCS with 17K miles to a brand new 2005 MCS in late March 2005. I have had my '05 MCS for 6 months and 4,500 miles with ZERO issues to date and not a single trip back to the dealer for anything. The car simply put is: AWESOME.


Go for the 2006 MCS, you won't regret it!

 

1. No yo yo.

2. Windshield is fine, have heard of some cracking, though.

3. Don't have leather.

4. Runflats don't seem to be more compliant. I never had them before (first set) and I find them minimally compliant.

5. No sunroof, but my 05 rattles. And buzzes. Did I mention rattles?

mb

 

My 05 MCS now has about 3500 miles.

No yoyo, ma.

Windshield fine so far.

Leather fine so far.

Runflats, well, they're runflats.

No sunroof rattles, but the air noise is so loud over 30 mph that I never open it. I do like the light it gives into the interior (Panther Black, anthracite dash and headliner).

Rest of car mostly rattle/buzz free.

It's pretty clear that Minis are now much more trouble free than they used to be. Don't forget the new goodies you can now order: LSD, chrono pack, anthracite headliner.

Neil