I know this is a much talked about topic and I researched and read a lot about it but I am hoping to get some real life experiences and some subjective input as well.

I was mistakenly under the belief that the MC was very reliable and I am finding out otherwise. I am not disappointed in my car at all I just want to find out some of the things I should prepare myself for.

I have an 04 MC with 60K miles. It has the CW package and the Premium package plus a lot of inanimate stuff. The original owner did a miraculous job of taking care of it, it still look's brand new.

Tell me what I am likely to have to deal with please.

 

The '04s are pretty well put together. Many things COULD go wrong. There isn't anything in particular that is likely to go wrong. Perhaps you could expand on the phrase, "I was mistakenly under the belief that the MC was very reliable and I am finding out otherwise." What did you find?
Take a look in the 'Beneath the Bonnet' section and you'll find all sorts of things that have gone wrong. The Midlands gearbox has been an issue for some people. For most it (and the rest of the car) does its job as designed.
There aren't that many '04s in the 60k mile range, but '02 and '03 models should be well into that range.

 

As has been repeated so often on NAM, folks on enthusiast sites are more likely to post about mechanical issues and quirks than about how perfect their MINIs are. There are no 'known or to-be-expected' common problems other than with the original Midlands trannies on the early Coopers. MINI switched over to 5-speed Getrags (in '05, I think) in response to the Midlands issues. Are you having problems with your adopted MINI? Like Eric suggested, read the technical forums for more in-depth discussions of various issues and how folks have dealt with them. Happy motoring!

 

So far my 04MC is trouble free but I am only at 40K. I would wonder about the transmission and the seals if I had very cold winters. That is all I really would worry about.


Art

 

I thought the high resale value was based on reliability rather than limited supply. I thought I was buying Japanese type reliability. After hearing the typical problems with the MC I realize I was wrong. As I said, I am not disappointed at all, I love the car and I would give it back! I just don't think I will be getting 350,000 with little or no maintenance.........that's all.

I spoke to the current owner of my last Maxima.......387,000 and still runs like a top, I drove it for 245,00 and never spent a nickle outside of routine wear items.

Then again you could buy an American car and spend more every month keeping it running than the car payment!