I would buy again (Cooper S Clubman) after 19000 miles since 11/08. For me the car is my daily driver, have taken it in for a few little things, dealers have been very accomodating. I also smile every time I drive the vehicle... Saw my wife smile,really really smile when she drove Mulholland Hiway. I don't have but two options,Roof Rails and English Oak Dash. Kept my costs down @ initial purchase. With Roof Rails, attachments are a snap and I've bought them as I need them.
I don't know which car nowadays would be the most reliable. I had my old 4Runner for 15 years and 317,000 miles. Cars are much more electronically controlled now and I believe most cars will have problems. We bought a Camry Hybrid for my wife's car. So far it is fine, but time will tell.
To sum it up, I would get another Clubman, and am really leaning towards a really lightly optioned JCW Clubman...

 

First of all, I haven't had any problems with mine. It's about 8 months old and has about 6K miles...never been in the shop. I changed my own oil and rotated the tires at 5K.

It's a fun little car to drive but I don't do much driving for fun. I use mine as a daily commuter and for that, it's ok. It rides rough (still have the runflats), but is reasonably quiet and gets pretty good gas mileage (29+mpg for me). It's ok in the comfort department (seats are too firm for me), but not as comfortable as my truck. The interior layout of the controls is ok (usable), but is mostly marketing, rather than function. It needs some basic dials to be a driver's car....and the speedometer needs to be a lot less ridiculous....

Stereo/Ipod/Bluetooth all work great for me. The stereo integrates well with both my iPod and iPhone, although controlling the iPod via the stereo ***** isn't as good as controlling the iPod directly. I have the basic stereo and have replaced the front speakers (my only mod).

I have the sunroof and would specifically NOT get that as an option again. The mesh screen is idiotic and open, it's noisy and, above 40mph, creates a pressure wave in the car I find annoying. Mine opens and closes fine and doesn't leak water.

We've had the opportunity to take it on 2 extended car vacations and have left it home both times, taking 1 of our other cars. It isn't an awful choice, it just isn't a great choice either. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country, though.

Would I buy another one? I might.

 

After 6 months and 4500 miles, yes. The car hits the sweet spot between fun & practical. I wish Mini would address the carbon issue, but I figure seafoam every 10,000 miles should handle it.

 

Next time I am getting an S, no moonroof, Crown web wheels, Xenon, and Cold weather pkg.

 

Yes, but I would've planned ahead so I could order my own vs one in transit. (my trade-in was 2k from 60k, so wanted to limit driving it - especially as I was taking a 800+ mile 3day weekend in the near term)

 

I drove my MCC thru all Texas, shipped it to Virginia and went on a round trip to Florida. What a drive it was. Love the MCC, except when the window dipper stops.

 

I agree with this statement. It's pretty easy to option up a MINI into stratospheric $$ territory - BMW is using the same ploy that they (and other luxury marques) have learned from their own cars to make a pretty penny on these cars.

It's a pretty useful exercise to jot down your "must haves" and your "just wants" and then calculate the difference. For me I was able to keep my S under $28k by just checking the essentials - in my case:

MFSW
Xenons
iPod integration
Auto (WAF necessity - I would have preferred a stick)
Armrest

I knew that I didn't want the sports/17" combo due to reported harsh ride, leather would have been nice but the leatherette is pretty damn good anyway. I didn't want a sunroof because I never use them and I'd rather save the $$/weight. The only thing I'm regretting not spec'ing is the homelink/rain-sensing wipers (not sure which package this is in). My wife's X3 has this and it's nice.

 

18 months 29000 miles, in a heartbeat

 

I should have picked the S, dropped the SR, and have the Xenon's. I loved them 17'' rims, any of them....

 

Yes without hesitation! I love my clubman S

 

Love our Clubman S. Over 20K miles, drive it daily (actually, 'fight' sometimes with rasputinj (spouse) as to who will drive it to work), manual with sunroof and wouldn't change anything about our decisions. After 17 months I still get tickled when I see other Clubmans on the road !

 

Ok guys/gals - thank you very much for the input. We have a brand new 2010 Laser Blue Clubman S in our garage right now (somehow the M5 is now sitting outside...). The car is a BLAST to drive! I appreciate all of the input. I agree that in terms of quality (at least build quality) this car is nothing to write home about. But oh man it is so much fun to drive!

We love the car - the kids are split on it - daughter loves it, son hates it (something about the headrests hitting him in the wrong spot).

Either way, what an amazing machine. My wife actually said to me "I like driving again!". She has a 2006 MDX..or should I say HAD because something tells me the Clubman is going to get the nod more than the MDX.

Thanks everyone!

Doug

 

what you were comparing the M5 to anything? what year is the M5, old enough to still get manual transmission?

 

The M5 was available with manual transmission here in the US from 2007-2010. Mine is a 2008 and I certainly would not compare it to the Mini - it is as different from the Mini as the Mini is from the MDX.

 

I received a JD Power survey about my new MINI, and I was brutally honest. After looking over what I had filled out/written, it made me realize that I likely would not buy this car again. It's incredibly fun to drive and all of that but it needs a lot of work in some areas such as quality control, the bump steer problem, reliability, etc.

On another note: even though the moonroof design clearly needs improvement, I can't imagine being without it.

We'll see how I feel when the warranty runs out. If the car has been even more unreliable up until that point, I'll sell it. Hopefully by then BMW will have stepped up and will make the MINI all that it can be.

Remember -- I'm not insulting anyone personally, so there's no need to get angry or defensive in response to this post!

 

HEADLANDS, HOW DARE YOU INSULT!!!
Nahh just kidding, same here with the JD Powers.
I will return mine at the end of lease to get me the MCCS. Unless the 3 series wagon is on sale then.

 

PRinTX, is that pic taken in S. Padre?

 

You bet!!

 

without a question, this is the most fun I've ever had with a car and no problems. Ours is a daily driver. Took a road trip last summer and what a blast 4000 miles and grinning all the way. People still stop and say what a nice looking car etc. ready for the next one which will be a JCW. Clubman is a definite winner!

 

I have an 08 and had many issues. The dealer has repaired them all. I've had the timing belt and the HPFP replaced. The barn doors would open by themselves so that was repaired. I've been to the dealer multiple times to have various electrical system issues fixed. Two days ago the driver side window refused to go down. I've spent way too much time at the dealer for these repairs. The HPFP took a long time to dx and repair.

I love the car but it is not reliable enough for me. I would not buy one again.

My car has 38K miles on it and I'm thinking of trading it in as soon as the latest window issue is repaired.

 

Yes, absolutely.

 

yes we would buy again

40,000 miles on our 09 S. The dealer had a sale [50% off] on a service plan that extends the warranty and service plans to 100K so we bought it about a month ago

 

I'm sorry...did you say FORTY THOUSAND MILES ON YOUR 2009 S?!!! Or did I mis-read something? W-O-W...

 

Would I purchase a MINI had I done it all over again, -YES, in a heartbeat.

 

tell him to try turning the headrest around. that seems to work for people with this issue.