I just bought an 07 Laser blue Cooper S with 71000 mi. on it, 80% of the miles were interstate miles. Price wise, too good of a deal to pass up. That makes me the 2nd owner. I've had it for about 2 weeks now. Loads of fun to drive. The original owner told me that the only problem he had the entire time he had the car was the fuel sending unit. Other than that he said that it has run flawlessly. Car with miles on it has been running, not having problems is how I look at it.

 

I have 07 MCSa (12/07 build). 46,000 mi. So far I have had the turbo replaced due to clogged turbo lines with slugged oil, Timing chain (cold start issue ) and fuel pump again due to oil sludge.

These three and only repairs occured within a 60 day period (03/10-05/10)

 

I have a 07 MC that was a lemon law mini out of Calif. I have put 30,000 miles on it in 11 months. I haven't had any problems and would buy again and not worry about the milage. I plan on giving this car to my son and buying another in a year.

 

2010 MCS delivered 01/10, with 1 intake manifold and 2 HPFP replacements in 5k miles, in the process of being bought back by MINI and replaced with a MC Mayfair.

Opt for the non-turbo engine if reliability or longevity are important (true for other brands as well). For fun lease material the turbo is hard to beat.

 

07 Mcs 13,000

 

10/07 build R56S and I just clocked 40,000 miles today!

 

I have 07 with 35xxx KM, so 22xxx miles.

Very low!

 

May 07 build date I've got 48K on it. Not a single problem except for the damn cosmoline dripping on the front plastic fender flares.

 

June 08' ...5,300 miles. No issues.
(I work at home and have 2 cars, hence the low miles on my MINI).

 

December 2007 (Turbo).
Just hit 20K (7/2010), Nothing major.

Replaced timing belt tensioner & belt (crappy tensioner), wheel well trim (Cosmoline stain) & wheel well liner (deformity).

As stated earlier, NO car is perfect. You'd think they would be, after 110+ years of development, but no. Sad fact. Of course, a manufacturer who builds a perfect car will probably have a short business life - who would ever upgrade? The MINI Cooper S is a lot of fun, with far more positives than negatives. DON'T abuse the car, maintain it properly, and it will last a LONG LONG time. Play boy-racer wanna-be, and your car will be a junky money pit.

That goes for any car; MINI, Porsche, Acura, Fricken' Edsel, whatever. Treat it well, and it will treat you well. If you want to race, buy a race car, not a passenger car!!

 

August 07 MCS. Just turned over to 41.000 miles. Just had the cold start fixed. I have had no issues with my go kart.

 

I have a 2007 MC with 80,800 miles! The Dealer replaced my water pump which failed prematurely at 25K miles, my husband just replace my fuel pump at 79K miles. No other big issues.

My husband has a 2009 MC with 15,000 miles. He had electrical problems from the end of week #1, some pin broke and it took them a month to order it and fix it. Every light in the car came on, he had no speedometer, odometer or gas reading. Now his ABS, Tire pressure, DSC and check engine light came on.

It's just a dissappointment when something like this happens with a new car. You expect quality with a Mini, especially a brand new one. No one should be replacing water pumps on a new car, or have everything fail within a week!

 

07 MCS, approaching 38,000 miles. So far only chain tensioner replaced for the cold start issue. Lets not jinx it.

Come on, these little engines love to rev. I understand that maintenance is very important, but you can't just baby the car its whole life, thats no fun.

Plus "carbon build up" gives me an excuse to run it to red-line

 

08 MCS recently bought used with 13000 miles. Sunroof issue and rattles galore but a fun car. I have no desire to drive either of my 911s anymore.

 

Ms Emily had 72k ('05)when I sold her; '08, Beau had 55k; my new love, Kit, now has 2k in 4wks. Really no problems at all. LOVE the car. Looking to add a compact air horn (Moss Mini catalog). Has anyone added this? Any problems? Ease of addition/replacement? I need a "get the hell out of my way" horn.

 

my $.02:

I picked up my 09 MCS convertible 03/2010 with 400 miles on the OD and just turned 7,000 on the way into work this AM and I've had the windshield, top and A/C compressor replaced. That probably sounds like a bunch but I'm not too concerned (yet). From what I've read here, the convertible top appears to be an unacknowledged issue on the 09 but the dealer didn't give me any hassle about it and the other two items I chalk up to growing pains! SJ is my daily driver with a 80+ mile roundtrip X6/week.

Hope this doesn't scare the OP away, these cars are just way too much fun!

 

07 CooperS just hit 30,000 miles yesterday!

I had the same cold start squealing issue on my 03 325, here's how I got the BMW dealer to fix it, since they too "could not reproduce".
Every morning for about a week I would pop the hood and set up my video camera on a tripod to record the first start of the day. Brought the tape in to the dealer and had one of the techs view it and in about 15 seconds he diagnosed it as my water pump. They replaced it under warranty and never had the issue again. It's worth a try, good luck!