Still contemplating getting a mini. I am used to stone cold reliable Japanese vehicles, and from my reviews mini appears not so reliable. I really like looks and handling, but I plan on keeping for long while, any comments on dependability of mini's??

 

I had an 04 drove it 37K miles. It was perfect. I bought a new 07.

 

They have one the Kelly's Blue Book award for best resale value 2 years in a row (I think, maybe just last year).

People don't buy used cars that aren't reliable.

 

Still contemplating getting a mini. I am used to stone cold reliable Japanese vehicles, and from my reviews mini appears not so reliable. Where did you hear this? Owner threads for 07 have indicated a few hicups but that's all. My 07 , bought in April, has had no hicups. Every car has its share of problems. Is the MINI as reliable as a Sentra. Maybe not. But who wants to drive a Sentra????

 

In general, the first year models are more prone to have problems than the following years. But if you are not so unlucky, like me, your MINI will be problem free. Mine has 412 miles on the clock and it's been flawless. (Actually, I found out the front screw on the side visor was loose, and I tightened it with a screwdriver. That has been the only flaw.)

 

I would also add that you probably won"t find many Sentra owners that are excited enough to be on the Sentra chat board, if there is one. The passion with Mini owners is on a different level from that of the owners of UJA (Universal Japanese Autos). I am sure Sentra owners and all others have issues with their cars, they just don't have a place to publicly post these items. Just my thoughts.
chuck

 

People aren't so quick to run back to a forum to write that they had no problems for a day or a week or a month, although it does happen. However, people are fairly quick to write, gripes and inquire about idiosyncrasies or possible issues, I have. The 07 is my first experience, so I couldn't comment on the past. I personally haven't seen more then expected out of hundreds or thousands of new owners of a new refreshed model of a car. Most seem that they are handled very well by Mini. My mini dealer has been working very hard to find the location of an unknown sound. It certainly isn't a reliability problem at this point for me. I've owned my mini for about 5 weeks now and have over 3000 miles on it. Very happy so far with all aspects of my new toy!

 

What are you finding that points to the Mini as not being reliable ?
Like you I have owned Japanes vehicles for many years. Currently have an 2005 Frontier with 28k and no problems so far.
I purchased a 2004 350Z and at 22k I traded it in on a 2006 350Z. The 2004 was constantly in the shop for mechanical,electrical, and front tire problems. I wrote it off as just one of a kind thing.
In June the 2006 Z had 18k on it and the clutch, release bearing, preasure plate fried in a matter of a 30 mile drive. I have been driving standard transnissions for over 40 years, from cars, to 18 wheelers and have never had problems. Nissan would not cover it under warranty, blamed it on mis-use and charged me $2,500.
The Z is gone and being replaced with the Mini, after 4 years and $80k on two Z's..........last of Nissian sports cars for me.

 

450 miles on the odo and no problems.

 

My previous car is (still have it) a 1990 Acura Integra. It was a first year for a model change and it had to go back to the dealer to sort a few things out in the beginning.

The MINI seems to have had some problems with getting production up to spec. A number of options were not yet available for those who ordered early. Dealers had to install them later (when that was possible). Slowly, more options are getting being offered as factory installs. My MCS was built in April. It arrived without Voice Activation working. Needs a software update to fix it.

Otherwise, it has been working perfectly. I've got a something over 2,000 miles on it and all is good.

 

Brought my MINI home on 4/26 and now have over 5000 miles on it. Bought it right off the lot. Had nearly everything that I wanted, so i didn't want to wait and order No problems with it yet (except for a minor rattle or two that i will take to the dealer to fix when I get time. Over 80 miles back to the dealer)

 

I came from a 12-year-old Civic that I bought new and another before that. I had the same concerns you did. With Portland a drive of nearly three hours, I didn't want a car that needed to go to the shop often for repairs.

What threw me over the top was a summer 2006 report from Consumer Reports that said reliability had improved to the point where they could recommend a Mini for the first time, along with the 20 percent jump in gas mileage.

With the new model out, CR wasn't able to get ahold of one before the annual auto guide went to press, so it isn't check-rated. However, I was confident enough with the improvements BMW had made to put down a deposit last October and buy an R56.

I've had my car for three months and so far, everything has worked fine. I put on nearly 5,000 miles and am very happy with my MC.

 

3 months, 4,000 miles, and not a rattle or a problem. But it's a new car. I didn't expect any problems by now. But the car is a gas to drive. I expected that. One test drive sold me. And the looks.

 

I found problems the second day of owning my MINI. The auto lights didn't work they just stayed in auto mode no matter what setting the dial on the stalk was in. Couldn't access the programming features for daytime running lights, blinkers and the rest of the stuff, and the sun roof rattled. Brought it in for service was fixed in a day, so no big deal.

A few days later found oil leaking from one of the spark plugs, brought it in for service, they replaced the valve gasket.

Now the chrome on the lower part of the grill is loose on the passenger side, just needs some adhesive or something, so I'm going to wait until something else breaks and bring the MINI in and get that taken care of.

All the problems are pretty minor but still kind of annoying. Right now I have a little over 900 miles on it.

The BMW warranty is great and the car is a blast to drive, however because of my experience with the car so far I couldn't recommend this car that to someone that doesn't live close to a service center.

 

5K and no need to see dealer yet!

 

2007 Mini Cooper S - 4 months - 6,000 miles - no rattles - no problems .. No issues whatsoever.

 

Well, the report I read came from Consumer Reports, wasn't given much at all in reliability dept, electrical and body integrity were poorest, they gave convertible "worse than average" overall reliability and the hatchback about "average reliability", new car prediction rating was worse than average, as was used car prediction.
I wanted to test drive a couple mini's that had some miles on them, over 40k. Just so I could get a prediction for myself of how the car holds up. One, was ok, it had a lot of rattles though, and of course could be due to the cheaper interior of pre-07's, it was so out of alignment I couldn't believe they let me take it out, other than that, it was ok, but for only 40k miles it looked shot. The second had 50K miles, a little better, so that's why Iam asking on here.
I know it's hard to say with the 07's being new, but I do expect a new car to not fall apart around me and give me hassles with electrical, leaks, rattles, etc... I have an older miata, 126K miles, no issues, except one ball joint, plus I take it to track days occasionally as well. I want a fun to drive front wheel drive car, the mini fits it to a tee, but if I am going to spend 20-30K for a small mini, it better damn well be reliable, I live an 1.5 hrs from nearest mini dealer, I don't have time to run it back and forth. Keep experiences/ opinions coming. thanks

 

I am a first-time Mini owner, 2007 MCS; took delivery on April 28. I now have 7400 miles on the car, including a thousand in the Colorado mountains. It has run fun and flawlessly: zero problems. I am 250 miles from service.

 

"stone cold reliable Japanese vehicles"

more like stone cold boring.

 

My '07 has spent 25% of its time in the shop.
If I had the keys to the Way-Back-Machine, I would not have purchased it.
Stay away from the early-build cars.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=105153

 

I wouldn't call a mazda miata stone cold boring, try and beat one at a track day, better yet try and beat mine which has 126k miles on it. A car as pricey as a small mini should be reliable.

 

My 07 MCS purchased back in March just crossed the 8K mile mark last week. No problems. I thought it had some "problems" in the beginning (<1K miles), but they went away. So let your car's parts get a chance to break in.

 

Ouch.. In NC if a new car spends more than 30 days in the first year in the shop for repairs, the manufacturer is required to buy it back under the state's Lemon Law. Of course the owner has to pursue the buy-back, but the state's laws do protect the consumer.

Having said that, the owner's manual does have some break-in guidelines, and since you admit to racing the car, (including the day after picking it up after the rebuild ), me thinks that perhaps some of your problems might be self induced.