Kinda new to the mini cars, but i recently test drove a mini with my friend, and the ride of my life. this car was amazing, and it could just handle like the beast. and i'm quite serious about buying a mini s, but just wondering about the problems of the mini, for example, has it ever left you stranded. also what seem to be a major problem in the mini's that show up on majority of mini's. ps: how many times have you had mechanical problems, and which one was covered by warranty. please advise. razz::sly :

 

www.edmunds.com long term report.

 

BEEN THERE ,DONE THAT,,,That;s pretty much it . I think all of us on NAM felt the same way...I can say that you really have not that much to be concern about...MINIs are great cars and their owner's loyalty is second to none... I just got mine this past Nov. ,the thing that sold me is the 4yrs,50,000 miles(bumper to bumper) and 3yrs /30,000 miles free maintenance(oil,brake pad,wiper blade ect.) As far as I saw it there's no better for the type of car you're getting....

 

Cruise around the forum, remember that every car has its quirks but what I've seen is that Minis are more reliable than most. Define also what you plan on doing with the car - track, autoX, commuting, foul weather, modifications, etc. The part I like is that folks 'round here are getting well in excess of 200hp out of essentially a stock MCS motor/trans... so my MCS stocker should hold up to its stock hp pretty well!

 

You really need to cruise around the forum. The Cliff Notes version is that there are issues with the car, but for the most part fixes (either warranty or aftermarket) exist for each of the issues. The new MINI (R56,or 2007+ models) is another story. It is an entirely new car, and there will be a time lag between when an issue is identified and when a fix becomes available from the factory or the aftermarket.

 

Just do it! I just put a deposit over the phone, sight unseen, on a new 06 at a dealer 3 hours away. I'll pick it up after I get back from a weeks vacation.

 

Buy OEM and keep it that way and you will have a car that easilly rolls well past 100k miles.....the known issues are minor ones and are not the kind of major systems failures that will leave you stranded

Furthermore a forum is not the place to do reliability research. edmunds, cosumer reports....etc is what you need to look at. You will always find more comlaints and problems then the boring my car is great, nothing left to say posts in a forum

 

What other people said ^^ Plus, if possible, try for an '05 or an '06 - they had a few years to refine the car and iron out some bugs by then, and they seem to have less issues. Of course, by now, mozt of thee 2002s and 2003s that are for sale have probably HAD those issues already and have been fixed, but you never know. In general I try to avoid ANY car that just underwent major changes on the first or second year, and that's whty I waited till '06 to get MY car, even though I was following them since before they were released in '02. I'm extremely happy with mine, needless to say.

 

i have an '06!! I LOVE IT!!! i have had one problem with mine, there was a ticking noise in the tranny... warranty covered it! i will not trade mine in for anything else. i say go for it! but like others are saying try for an 05/06 less buggs.

 

Overall I don't think there's been any significant problems with the MINI. We've had ours for only 2 months but it's been an absolute blast to drive. Only downside that I can think of is the limited number of dealers across the country. That could be a problem if your area doesn't have a nearby dealership and you're in need of warranty work.

 

Believe it or not, I'm on my 4th MINI. The two I currently own are in my gallery. So I guess it suffices to say that I believe you just can't go wrong with a MINI. Cabrio or tin-top, MC or S...they are all great!

Chuck

 

My car is NOT boring, but is great, nothing left to say!

AtoZ, you rock. Get that MC to Pgh and I'll buy you a round. That's inspirational.

 

I had LOTS and LOTS of problems in my first MINI... but EVERYTHING was covered by the warranty. (minus the flat tire replacement- i paid for that.)

Great service with ASK-MINI and their towing too! Its all done with AAA and while it may take a while, they always come get you and its free!

I'm on my second now, and this ones been problem free. Get one, you'll love it!

 

Ive had mine since 2002, amazing car! Get one! You wont regret it!

 

My major problem with my MINI is that it takes me 20 minutes to make a quick trip to get bread or milk because instead of the close grocery store I want to go to the one farther away! And now I use up MORE gas than I did in my old car cause I always want to motor around. And my husband will probably disown me if I say "want to go for a little drive?" even one more time! Go for it with the MINI, you'll love it!

 

I've had my 2006 for a bit over a year & 15,500 absolutely trouble free miles. Like Kate says, go get yourself a MINI & motor around.

 

haha awesome. yeah. i'm really set for getting this car. just finishing up saving for a year or two (yeah its kinda long) but for buying car, its worth it haha. so i'll soon be with you guys haha.

 

2004 30,000 miles. A couple very minor hiccups here and there (headlight flickering, OBC resetting itself) - nothing that has been serious or left me stranded anywhere, and ALL covered by warranty.