A QUICK, little tank! Mine, too

 

i'm never buying one again -- I did nothing wrong and the clutch burned out at 14,500 miles. Until that happened last week, I was very happy with my mini

 

Buy a Toyota or Honda and sleep easy .

 

Someone said those who have problems with their MINI dont post on NAM. I think this isn't true.

For the record my experience to date:

1. Carpet trim pulled out from side area - dealer fixed ASAP
2. Cold weather knocking issue - nothing done to date; problem logged w/ dealer
3. Sunshade pulling back issue - dealer fixed
4. Hood latch popped free requiring under the car fix via dealer

Other than cold knocking, no major mechanical issue.

The MINI is certainly no Honda and there is a reason why they fall LAST in initial build quality (new report released; read it in BMW CCA Rondel issue). BUT, there is simply no other car out there that is as fun to drive, gets great gas mileage, and has character. So long as the major mechanical issues dont surface, I'd take these mild defects any day.

My 2 cents.

 

I've been lurking here for some time waiting for the Mini dealership to open in Pensacola. Previously the closest dealer was 200+ mi away. I really think I need a Mini to replace my aging Miata but the J D Power survey doesn't exactly inspire confidence. I bought the Miata new and it's never been back to the dealer for service for any reason. The Honda CRZ will be out in 2010/2011; maybe I'll just wait.

 

That would be nice if BMW dealers would service a Mini, but here in my town, "NO WAY". That's their answer when I asked them. They tried to get a Mini dealership, but I guess there are not enough people in Iowa to be considered. Closest dealers are: Bloomington, MN (bad attitudes, Omaha, NE (won't deal at all), and Overland Park, KS. All of these are at least 2 1/2 hours from me. But, next year I'm still getting a JCW, red/black and no sunroof.

 

at 8k miles, had the a/c hose pop off. fixed at the dealer.
weird window-outside-the-car-issue when i closed the door- fixed at the dealer.

going 12k strong (knock on wood).

i think the issues you read about are the 10%. they seem like huge problems since we only really notice the issues. tons of happy mini owners with no issues. not a car out there thats not going to have probs anyways. it all breaks down sooner or later.

 

To re-post, almost 1,400 miles and three months with no issues.

 

Officially 2 years today, and 26,000 glorious, fun-filled, smile-on-the-face motoring. Sure, a couple of minor dealer items, but during periodic sevicing. Warrantee issues are fewer than for my 4 yr-old Subie.

 

LOL. I've followed a lot of your posts here OXYBLUECOOP and your Mini is far from the standard OEM Cooper. Like "way far".

Jim

 

Meanwhile, people that baby their cars....parts are falling off on their way to the supermarket going 20 MPH. That's life for you. Go figure.

 

65,000 miles and no problems!! Just lots and lots of fun driving!

 

It's kinda like a classic Mini. If you let it sit too long everything breaks on it but if you drive it every day it's fine.

 

Hey, I'm at 900 miles and no problems. My 2006 R50 had the DPSM shorts, and spent 4 months in the shop in less than three years. So this is great, hope it lasts.

 

10 months of hard driving and 14,000 miles with no problems. (Bigelow is garaged in the winter)

 

23k on my first MINI (2008) with zero trouble. No car I've ever had delivered that. Not one issue. Of course, I rolled her avoiding a deer. Have a 2009, now. Came back to the well, so to speak.

Note that bulletin boards tend to concentrate news, especially bad news. Good news is taken for granted, for the most part. Bad news gets posted quickly and often. There are issues and you may have one, but none of us can draw conclusions from such a skewed sample.

 

Update: over 1,700 miles and still no problems!! Murphy is one great little Cooper!!!

 

Update: Sad to report that at 38k miles the thermostat had to be replaced. Under warranty, so just lost an afternoon at the dealer waiting on the repair.

Still the best car I've ever had and absolutely love it. Would not trade it for anything else.

 

Such as brakes, oil and air filters, windshields? Are you saying no maintenance costs at all for the car? thats a miracle.

curious to see what costs regular maintenance has incurred over those miles. sorry subject should say 22000

 

8700 miles and all is well!

 

maintenance is free for 3 years/36000 miles. so, yeah, no maintenance costs!

I have 14500 miles, 13 months, and had a couple quickly resolved issues (cold start knocking, sunroof sticking).

 

Spend time on any car forum and you'll find a reason not to buy any car. The people with problems tend to be far more vocal about their issues than those who haven't had a single issue. Read any publication that statistically tracks new car reliability and you'll quickly find that the differences in reliability between the most and least reliable cars is marginal.

 

2600 miles and no issues here. Knock on wood of course but I'm not too worried about it. I drive it maybe 15-20 miles a week as I'm currently a college student but I try to drive it once a day to the grocery store or something haha. I do however enjoy the mountain roads surrounding Blacksburg, VA every once in a while

 

Mr Bonus,

YOu took the words out of my mouth. You ALWAYS hear from those that have problems, or think that they have problems. I don't care what brand of car you have, you will have rattles from time to time, even very annoying rattles. I remember a guy that had a AMG Mercedes that had a rattle in behind the glove box that drove him nuts. He never did get rid of it.
I'm not saying that some have not had issues, or that they imagined them, but some have to realize that this is a piece of machinery. They are NOT hand built, they don't cost $100k, although $30+ for a Mini does seem almost rediculous, it is still a mass produced car and you will have problems, at times. And, every car will be different. One annoying rattle seems to be in the rear hatch, maybe in the door. There are fixes for these. Someone said that their window motor quite, or the sun roof quit. Let me ask this question? Do these people live on gravel roads, dirt roads, or extremely bad roads? Dust and dirt will kill these motors very quickly.

A Toyota salesman friend of mine says that he has a Sienna customer with a $42K sticker, has replaced the motors in both windows twice, three times on the power door openers and hatch opener. But he lives on two miles of dirt/gravel roads. Yup, that's right, dust. Kelly told me the other day, that this customer either trades the car, or he lives with the problems, cause Toyota is done with it. So much for Toyota being perfect, as no car is perfect.

 

I've got an '07 with 28k. Zero issues (except the occasional morning chain rattle) and lots of fun.

Mark T.