Quoted for truth.

 

Go figure CR gives 07 mini high marks. I suspect JD deals with final quality control at the factory making sure everything is just right as it leaves regardless of the design quality, whereas CR is going to be a more long term assessment which is more indicative of the design quality. In either case I've found significant flaws in the logic of both in the past, but tend to put more stock in CR than JD. All cars may have minor defects coming from the factory the important thing is how the car holds up in the long term, so I'm more interested in design quality, fit and finish than niggles from the factory which are repaired under warranty.

 

Initial quality? The only thing the survey shows is that MINI owners are more aware of their cars and speak up. It is all in how they want to market the numbers. Here is a thought - what happens if MINI owners don't answer the survey!

 

If you know anything about J D Power, you know that the more a company pays to have their products/services "reviewed" the higher they rank. Questions are typically written by the companies being reviewed in an effort to favor their strenghts. J D Power is a total scam. Consumer Reports is a much more reliable source IMO.

 

Let me get this straight...Porsche owners paying $80,000+ for their cars are not aware enough to notice defects in their cars which is why they report 1/2 of the defects per 100 of Mini owners who are a much fussier group.....right! Now, please step away from the Kool Aid....

 

I would not know about Porsche owners. My intent was to point out that it all depends on if you answer the surveys and how. Personally I don't think a survey that is that tight will give you any valuable information. Since I do not know the other variables, I would have to agree with the other who pointed out how meaningless these figures are. I agree with the Consumer Reports comment previously posted. My apologies to the Porsche owners, but if you pay $80,000 for a car there should be no complaints or defects.

 

I am still hoping that my Mini turns out to be a really good car. My guess is that things such as the sunroof rattle, the dash rattle, noisy ride from the run-flats, navigation interface, etc. are what is affecting the score. My X5 had a lot of little electrical glitches in the first couple of years, but after that it settled down and turned out to be a pretty god car.

 

I agree.. I don't need no stinken J.D.Power and his posse to tell me about my MINI.

I know I love it and you know you love your MINI and that's all that matters.

 

I happen to work for a vehicle manufacturer. I can say without any doubt whatsoever that both JD Powers and CR are taken very, very seriously by the manufacturers. Especially when results are less-than-expected. I received two letters from senior management yesterday that discussed this particular survey, and some of the details regarding individual models within brand that affected results.

Manufacturers know that both initial and long term satisfaction are critical to their success.

 

That's the thing...MINIs will rank low on initial product quality and very high on owner satisfaction. Go figure!!! Somehow their charming survey data isn't getting some major issues here.

 

In my opinion yes, there is an element of that. You think because someone spends $80K on a car that means they are car savvy? I think there is a considerable percentage of ultra high priced car owners that own what they own because their neighbor has one and they can afford it. I venture to guess there is a significant number of those buyer that don't have a clue.

Also, isn't it interesting that in the JD Powers "survey" that the upper group of cars contain so many really high priced cars. Is someone that just spent $80K on a car really going to "admit" they have a "mortal" car?

 

Haven't had a single issue with ours.
JD can call all the Civic and Prius drivers they want. Aint gonna change my opinion one iota.

 

I guess i am glad then I bought an '05 with low miles than an '08 (which arrives @ P&W today!) if this report is correct. I am going to go check out the '08 because of the poor ride quality on the '05, but I do not know if I can get over the great SC whine and the gurgle it makes during a downshift on my '05. PLus, the interior of my '05 is more appealing. I might get a second one and order a JCW '09 with the upgraded transmission, body kit, suspension and navigation. I am more about power, the wife can keep the '05 for the extra frills of Prem., CW, and Sport packages. I believe MINI is a great vehicle produced by BMW, do not let JD Power sway your decision to purchase the most fun car you will ever own!

 

statistics don't lie
but statisticians do

CROC member no. 411

 

Guys, get your head out of the sand. This survey matters, and it will affect the resale value of your car. Mercedes Benz was near the bottom of the list three years ago and they spent millions to improve the quality of their cars, now they are near the top. I compltely believe what jggimi said, manufacturers have to take this seriously. I'm glad you love your cars, so do I, but it does not take away from the fact that BMW has to improve the initial quality of the Mini. This is not some sort of giant conspiracy.

 

I agree with you. Fact is, somebody did fill the survey and did report the problems. Period. You can skate around it as much as you want, spin it, or justify it, but this just indicates that lots of people do have problems with the car.

You can still love the car and car still can have problems. Just ask any Alfa owner This does not deter me from purchasing one though (Mini)...

 

Exactly. Consumer Reports gets their money from the consumer. JD Powers gets their money from the companies involved in the survey.

 

My point is that we should always take everything with a grain of salt, because there's way too much spinning on polls and surveys, whether it be cars or politics.

Case in point, my company did an employee satisfaction survey some years ago when morale was really low, what with downsizing and buyouts and the competition hitting us hard. But this survey was spun in such a way that we employees were turned into being optimistic and happy to work for a company on the edge of emerging technology. The spin was not exactly accurate, as time and events subsequently showed.

I've had my '07 MINI for 14 months and have had no problems.
CROC member no. 411

 

The MINI may be at the bottom of the JDP list but it is at, or near, the top of the retained value list. The latter is far more important to me.

2003 MC, 3 minor problems in 4 years, 45k miles
2007 MCS, 1 minor flaw in 1 year, 10k miles

 

When I took my 03 in for the first service after I bought it. I had a dozen sticky notes all over the interior for minor issues, over the years I have had many MINOR issues like squeeks, rattles, rubs and service buletins taken care of.....I have had ZERO MAJOR issues. The MINI has always ranked near the top in satisfaction, so even though there are little things like rattles that I constantly have to track down the car has not left me stranded and I have never regreted buying the car over a diffrent brand....even to this day the other cars are simply inferior in the way they look and feel, there is not a car on the market I would rather have in the MINI's price range

 

That's the thing...I'm not sure I'd even assume that!! I guess that's the problem I have w/ the whole thing is that if you glance at the survey it says one thing to the casual observer, but the reality out there among owners (our own random sampling) is something very different. And even if there are "issues," they've certainly been no more severe than years past. Surveys can be helpful, but when they don't jive w/ what know to be going on, something is fishy.

 

Wait 'till you get and things start to go wrong. It'll lose some of that shine.

I still love Lewis, but I filled out my CR survey. I too work for an OEM and we take CR and JD Power VERY seriously - because consumers do. It's all about perception, plain and simple.

 

Aren't initial problems why we have warranties?!


I work at an Acura dealership- and if Acura is "below standards", I KNOW this research is useless. These cars are incredible- few to NO problems.

 

I don't remember where I read it but in the recent years JD decided that customer complaints should be factored into the initial quality. so when customers that didn't RTFM or didn't under stand how a feature works (ie, idrive) that would count as a quality fault.

 

Well it is quality fault either way isn't it? The manual is either not clear enough or feature is poorly designed so you need to read manual to use it... There should not really be a single feature accessible from driver seat that you would need manual for.

Every single German car I owned for example had electronics problems, from auto AC not working correctly to Bluetooth and iPod adapters.

Japanese cars I had, did not have these problems and worked great on another hand.

Most people are not enthusiasts and don't hang around here. When something does not work for them they say its a fault. Its a valid point.