After owning a few VWs (2001 Passat, 96 GTI, and 98 A4), my wife and I vowed never to buy a european car again. She recently bought a used 2008 base Mini from a Mini dealer for $17.5 with 1 year/14K miles left on the original warranty (it was a lease return), because she thinks Minis are so damn cute. I'm hoping BMW engineering is better than VW's.

 

My 2008 has been a great car. It has never had any issues. As a result I am currently looking for a second Mini. I drive 52 miles roundtrip to and from work and can not wait to drive there and back everyday. Sorry I can not talk you out of buying one. You will be sorry if you don't though.

 

I would agree that Mk4 and prior quality was not great. But the mk5 and up and B7 and up audis have a great engine.

the 2.0FSI and 2.0TSI are great motors, i had one for 2 years and loved it.

 

If you asked me 2 years ago, I would say Mini is reliable. Ever since my 2007 MCS hit over 50000 miles, all kinds of problem surfaced. And it is not just my Mini, I have 2 co-workers who got MCS and they got the exact same problems. Maybe I was lucky before with my other cars, but I never had so many problems with a car before.

Carbon Build Up: According to Mini, this is normal if you don't drive your car like you have stolen it. I use it for commute and I guess that's not the correct way to drive a Mini and watch out for carbon built up.

Fuel Pump Fails: Mini expected it to fail so they actually extended the warranty to cover it. So if yours fails, make sure you take it to dealer even though you thought it is out of warranty.

Water Pump Leaks: According to my Mini repair shop, it happens to tons of MCS. The water pump is not well made and they have replaced many.

Burning Oil: My MCS burns about 1 quart of oil every 1500 miles, and according to Mini, it is normal to burn a quart of oil every 1000 miles. I have never seen a car burn that much oil even with turbo. Again it is not just my car, my co-workers' mini got the same problem. It seems not normal that I have to add 2 or 3 quarts of oil in between oil change every 5000 miles.

Hood Scoop Melting: It is nice that they would change it out while it is still under warranty, but it just kept melting. You would think that they would replace it with something that does not melt? I could problem replace it with an after market one that does not melt, but why would I have to pay to replace a defective part?

I love the way my MCS looks, but it is definitely not reliable in my book.

 

The Mini has been great thus far... I am in outside sales, so I am in the car most of the day. It seems like any other car, if you take care of it, it will take care of you.

 

I agree. I spent over three months looking for my perfect MINI. Every one I thought was the right one, turned out to not be. I kept telling myself I shouldn't have to settle. I finally found the one I ended up purchasing and it is literally perfect in every way. Good things definitely come to those that wait As for the two you posted, I LOVELOVELOVE the pepper white one. The inside seriously takes my breath away! The low miles and cheaper price tag definitely don't hurt either.