For many years I've leased cars, so after 50K-60k miles I've turned them in ... well before any mechanical issues reared their head. My 2007 MINI Cabrio Sidewalk is only the second car I've purchased outright in about 20 years. I love it and want to keep it for a long time! But, I want to always have a car that I can get in and take on trips anywhere in country without the worry of a breakdown. So my question is ... how many miles should I expect to get from my MINI before I need to be concerned about reliability? I'm not asking about normal maintenance (tires, oil, brakes, etc.)

 

A couple people in my cooper group have over 100k on the early 02, 03, and have not had any major issues with them. I have an 07 MCc and am hoping to keep the car for at least 20 years, want to sell it as a classic. I think that as long as maintance is done it should last. My other drive is a 00 Chevy s10 with 100k on it and it still runs like new, hope I can get another 100k out of it.

 

Preventative maintinance is key.
In a manual you may need a clutch as the first big item, but depending on how you drive that could be well into the 100k range.
Maintain it well. I had 85k on my 03 when I sold it and had no issues. I just hit 75k on my 05 Vert and has a small issue with the 02 sensors. Nothing major though.
both were/are S's


Sorry Blue Lightning, an S10 is not a mini. I have 230k miles on my Civic, but that says nothing about the Mini.

 

I've got an 06 (September build) with 43k on the odo. So far the only thing that seems to have not aged so well is whatever is causing the slow (tablespoon overnight) coolant leak. I suspect it is either the thermostat housing or the coolant tank, which should be warranty covered when I take it in next week. So far I have never doubted my MINI's ability to get me where I am going and I expect to aleast get to the 150k range before thinking about getting a new vehicle. Happy Motoring!

 

If you leave it stock, it will either be reliable for a LONG time (200K miles), or will fall to one of a few recurring issues - top mechanism failure, supercharger/water pump drive gear failure, power steering fan failure, etc. - but the things that fail tend to be few, and are pretty well known, so keeping an eye on the right things and servicing or replacing as a preventative measure should keep it reliable.

 

Aerojammin,

You leak is the thermostat gasket. Just had mine replaced under warranty. In fact, while I was there, a total of 7 Mini Coopers had the same issue repaired.

I am on the fence with this issue. I don't know if I should buy an extended warranty or not. I have about 5 thousand miles to figure it out, I guess.

 

Cars that "don't break down" don't exist. As long as humans are involved in the manufacture of cars they will experience problems regardless of brand, point of origin and price

I plan to keep my 2005 R53 S hardtop until at least 150K miles. The car is almost 4 years old, 51K miles, very solid only problem area has been the stock clutch and flywheel. Other than that, I see no reason why this car will not last a very long time with maintenance and quickly attending to the things that most folks tend to overlook in a car.

Go to MINI2.com and look up poster "HWS". He is an 88 year old fella from Wisconsin that drives a 2002 MINI Cooper R50 with almost 300K miles and no problems. He plans to put at least half a million miles in the car.

There is another gentleman in ohio that owns a 2003 MCS with 307K miles on the clock

Any modern day car is designed to last at least a quarter of a million miles. The problem is that people always grow tired of their cars and turn them in with just 50K-60K miles with the always unfounded fears of "problems down the road"

At 50K miles a properly cared for car is still pretty much a new car


The key to a long lasting vehicle is maintenance. That is simply your best insurance. Be on top of everything. Quickly tend to anything that goes wrong with the car before it turns into a major headache.

If people kept their cars longer, we would not see the record amounts of personal debt and bankruptcies that are plaguing citizens of this country

There is nothing wrong to grow old with a fine quality car and the MINI is the one that fits that criteria.

 

Don't waste your money with an extended warranty. Setup a CD or savings bank account and set aside every month $100-$200 for unexpected future repairs. Ask yourself what is the likelyhood your transmission or engine will experience catastrophic failure?

If you don't use the money, you'll have it available for other expenses, plus you get to keep the interest.

 

I understand your concern. So far (2.25 years and 30k miles) I've needed a new motor mount, wiper motor, oil pan gasket, radio, air bag sensor, and brakes, plus there are a few minor glitches in the electrical system that are intermittent. That seems like quite a few little things to fail in a fairly short amount of time, though the brakes are understandable as I drive mostly in town, with a lot of hills.... I'm leaning toward selling before it gets out of warranty.

 

Yeah... that's the concern though...

 

I tend to dump cars at about 6-7 years/100k miles because I want a new one. But that's about when stuff starts to go on many cars. Never had an engine go, but other stuff, $500 here $1000 there type stuff. I bought into the extended warranty pitch once. I figure it's either a good deal for them or it's a good deal for me, not both. And they're the ones sending me stuff to buy one, so it must be good for them. I did buy one from a dealer once and the brake calipers warped about every year on that car, and guess what? They wouldn't cover it. They said they didn't cover brakes. After I sold the car (Jeep GC) I get this class action lawsuit mailing about the bad calipers Jeep used. Uh huh, where's my extended warranty now you bozos? I threw the thing away because you had to have proof of this and receipts from that and proof the warranty didn't cover it. A classic example of a class action lawsuit: the lawyers get paid a ton, the customer gets nothing.

 

I'd have to say thermostat gasket