I expect delivery of my "Justacooper", nearly base car in late August. I plan to use it as a daily commuter, and my ride is under 20 miles. Stock tires, suspension, manual tranny. Just added white stripes, and the multi function wheel.

After reading the JD Powers comments and reading the significant problems noted on this forum, I'm getting concerned that I may be buying into a car that needs frequent repair services (even if they are under warranty), lots of squeaks and rattles and other objectionable things.

My MINI dealer is 110 miles from my home, and I don't want to have a car that requires me to visit him often to fix problems.

Can any of you reassure me about my concerns? I don't want to cancel my order, but I also don't want a hassle.

Thanks in advance

 

Relax. My first Mini, a 2003 MC, went 45k miles with only a few minor problems: one dead window motor, a cold engine stumble, and a creaky sunroof. All quickly fixed by East Bay Mini. My current 07 MCS just hit 14k miles after a 3k roadtrip to Vancouver. No problems so far, it runs beautifully.

 

Every car has it's issues, but none are as much fun to drive as the Mini!

 

your worried about nothing, how many people even know how to do those surveys, I had a honda civic and it ranks near the top...It was filled with issues

 

I'm starting to have the same worries... my "just a cooper" should be coming in by next week (I hope). I currently drive a Honda with 130,000 miles on it. All I EVER had to do was change the brake pads and tires, nothing else.

My commute is about 25 miles total each day. Kinda getting worried...

Does anybody know if I bring my Mini do a different dealer than where I purchased it, if I would have any problems? Would I still get a rental?

Here on Long Island, I got my car at Habberstad in Huntington, but the Freeport dealer is closer to my house and I will most likely go there.

 

I love my Justacooper! No squeaks, no rattles, no warranty work needed so far. Its going on 6 weeks now.

 

I suggest watching the interview w/ the MINIUSA VP concerning this...also check the other JD Powers study here. Bottom line....relax. Especially w/ a Cooper!!!

 

Thanks to all for the replies, very encouraging. I especially appreciate the interview link.

I'm feeling better, but I'd also like to know if any of you have had problems in the first few months of ownership, and if so, were they resolved? Have you had more issues as time goes by?

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto issue shows MINI and the Prius as the two highest ranked cars - both had top scores across the board. I find that interesting for a car that JD Powers seems to knock.

Just so happens that I own a Prius, and that's what I'm selling to get the MINI. After 18 months of Prius ownership and 18K miles, I've had no issues at all. Averaged over 47 MPG since new - no special driving technique, and tires inflated to stock specs. Just changed the oil every 5K miles and had the tires rotated. Total cost has been $200. I'm selling because people are going crazy over mileage, and I will get back every penny I've spent on the car, including maintenance costs and sales tax.

It's been an interesting car, and I'd buy another at some point, but the MINI seems to be more engaging - six speed manual, go cart handling. As an aside, the Touring edition Prius will surprise you in a slalom where it's capable of very high speeds, but no acceleration. I've learned to keep momentum up, that's what I plan to do with the "Justacooper" I ordered.

If I can get a base MINI for less than the price of the Prius, seems like a no brainer to me. My only concern is the repair/reliability issue, and that's the reason for my post.

Thanks again.

 

I just celebrated one year with my 07 MCS and it hasn't made one trip back to the dealer yet. I'm glad I have the mini because my two year Xterra is at the dealer getting engine work done at 30k. Relax and just go for it you won't look back.

 

Honestly I wouldn't worry.
Besides you will have a 4/50K factory warranty along with a 3/36K free maintenance program.
Yes I have had several mechanical problems but they were all repaired under the warranty.


You can bring your MINI to any MINI dealership for service but from my understanding only the dealership where you bought your car would give you a loaner car if they have any in stock at the time.

 

I've had two MINIs and the script went pretty much the same for both....there few a few niggles that popped up after I got the car. Nothing serious, but I made ote of them. They were all cheerfully dealt with under warranty and the car has been rock solid ever since.

 

Here's another perspective: you'd be very hard pressed to find any enthusiast forum where passionate owners aren't being hyper-sensitive perfectionists, Prius forums included.

Also try this one: I've bought 3 MINI's new [about to be 4], and I've never been contacted by any survey company. If they had, they'd find that I had zero problems with two of them, and only had some minor non-stranded warranty work after 2 years on the 3rd one...and I got a free MINI loaner for my "troubles".

Bottom line: You have nothing to worry about. Just don't expect a perfectly squeak-free ride [after all it IS performance-biased] and don't expect the same fuel economy as your Prius! Expect to have a $#!T-eating grin on your face every time you drive the MINI though!

 

read www.motoringfile.com

 

Ryephile - Can you describe the squeaks a bit ? I absolutely HATE squeaks and rattles, so much so that I've sold cars because of it. Yes, the MINI is a fun ride, but if it become a "rattle-box" I'd rather pass on it.

Yes, that's a bit extreme, but I'm old and I like a quiet car. Road noise, tire noise, I accept - the rest I try to avoid at all costs.

 

The R53's, especially the old ones [like my '02] are a rattle box. When the 1st gen refresh happened in '05, most of that went away with new interior bits. My '07 R56 had no squeaks at all; it was comparatively a coffin inside . Even so, if you live in an area where the roads are as bad as they are here in Detroit, you'd be a fool to think ANY car won't have some sort of vibration or rattle when you come slamming into the constant washboard patch of asphalt shovel-fulls.

 

I've only have 3200 miles on my 2008 JustaCoop, ( picked it up May 26th ), but so far no problems or no rattles..

I think the 2008 model is dialed in..

Bill in P.G.

 

The MINI is not a quiet car, sorry to say. If you do not like engine/wind noise at all do not get a Mini, you will be disappointed.

I would at the very least recommend a test drive, definitely test drive the car before you commit.

 

Thanks again for the comments, again all are helpful and welcome.

I'm a member of several car and motorcycle forums, having owned a lot of motor vehicles in my time. In none of them would I get 11 replies to a post in less than an hour and a half.

Either the MINI group is incredibly dedicated to their cars, or like me, you like some quiet time away from the family.

 

Owning a Mini can be very dramatic, it's like no other car out there. If you get a great car then life will be great, if you get one with issues then your life will be full of issues. In the end, like any new car you just don't know what you're going to get and when it comes to the Mini, just be prepared which ever way the ball bounces.

 

Don't know about the loaner/rental thing but, when we had our '05 MCS 3-4 months we headed to Florida for the Mickey & MINI. Somewhere on the way down we broke the clip that holds on a turn indicator - we think must have been hit by a rock or something. We got to Furman MINI in Tampa, stopped in at service and had the whole thing replaced, under warranty, in less than an hour. MINI's got a centralized computer system so they were able to pull us up just like we were at home and, since we get down their way once in a blue moon it wasn't like they were trying to win our future business.

 

My 2007 is the best engineered, designed, built, performing car I have ever driven. No squeaks or rattles at 24,000 miles. I am 250 miles from my dealer. On the one occasion I had a problem, they sent a flatbed for my MINI and paid for my rental car. You will love your MINI. No regrets or misgivings.

 

I've put my MC through 100+ miles daily of backroads thrashing(meaning 4500k+ shifts w/ lots of curves) for 9 months now and have racked up over 37,000 miles(oil changes every 3K and a few sets of brakes) with NO issues at all.The R56 MC is a tank IMO.

No worries or hassles my friend!

 

DrewN -

Good advice, I took several test rides on Saturday before placing my deposit. The noise of the MINI doesn't bother me at all. Tried the base and S versions - even rode in a modified race car with loud exhausts and aggressive suspension. None of that bothers me. Squeaks and rattles are a different issue, and they do bother me.

I've driven several Lexus cars - about as quiet as you can get, and each one of them was as boring a car as I've ever driven. Great for quiet motoring, but not at all entertaining or engaging. As someone has all ready posted - I don't want a coffin, just a rattle free ride.

I've owned and enjoyed many fun cars, and several were not at all quiet. The sound of a well tuned engine hitting redline, exhaust blaring is fine for me, but I don't like the squeaks or rattles. I guess its age senility setting in, but it bothers me.

 

Excellent lencap, then judging by your post the Mini is what you're looking for, at least from a cabin noise perspective.

I'll add that I haven't had any rattles or squeaks in my 2008, and I have the sport suspension. I only have ~4k on my Mini, though. The whole R56 platform isn't that long in the tooth yet so you won't see many long-term experiences with it, but it's promising to hear what what was said so far.

 

Prius is a great car. My wife has a 2007 (Package 6), and loves it. Actually I love driving it too. The technology intergration in that car is fantastic. We were attracted to it initially by the high MPG, but have come to like it for all the other features.

But I do love my Cooper S. It is a drivers car!!