In keeping with my tradition of posting good news rather than just coming to NAM for problems and complaints, I would like to announce my second year of catastrophe-free ownership. I have never experienced a single mechanical breakdown!

Since I drove the "Killer Roach" home on Dec. 28, 2010, I have logged 17k miles. Pretty low, I know, but most of it were from stop-and-go city driving, which is supposed to be rougher on the power train. Other than recalls, service bulletins, cosmetic repairs and a windshield replacement, I have never taken my 2011 R56 back to the dealer for serious mechanical problems. The windshield replacement was the most costly out-of-pocket maintenance expense (Yeah, yeah, I could've gone with SafeLite), so far.

I had a rough ignition (the best way I could describe it) once, accompanied by a yellow check light and a code, but it turned to be a fluke. I haven't seen it since.

The only headaches I've had with my MINI have been mod related. Other than that, I love this car!

 

 

Congratulations!!! December 31st is The Dread Pirate's anniversary and so far after 20,000 miles he has also been catastrophe free. The only real issue was the dreaded thermostat which was handled in the first month. Many extra parts later and more to come (plus an NM tune), he's still going strong!

 

I love you...but seriously good. I've had my share of headaches from 24K-27K miles but before and after that, only FUN


Keep motoring!

 

That's great! Cary is an '09 with 71K miles that's included the same stop-and-go city traffic conditions in addition to long motoring road trips (including some club events including a couple of Dragon events). Happy to report myself with the exception of standard scheduled maintenance Cary has not had one single mechanical problem! Motor on!

 

Congrats. Glad to see an uplifting thread than another "oh **** it's broken" thread! 17k miles is rather low, but nonetheless it's promising; I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. To add, I'm at 48k miles and ZERO issues. Replaced the hood scoop in the first year of ownership, did regular maintenance schedules and not a single issue. That also included 4 trackdays.

 

What wheels are those? BTW nice picture.

 

Whose wheels?

 

The OP

 

 

Glad to hear it! I'm at 31K miles after 2.5 years. Originally, I had a bad flywheel replaced under warranty, but have had no real issues since. I've been really fortunate, my MINI doesn't even eat oil. I check it once a week, but haven't had to add really anything over the course of my 2 years. I know it's still early, but hopefully this continues and my personal proof that the 4K oil changes I do are helping.

 

Thanks!

The wheels are Rota RB 17x7.5 wrapped in 215/45R17. A nice balance between fitment, performance and ride quality.

 

Thank you for chiming in!

Same here.

 

Yea funny how the more you tweak the car the more high maintenance it is. We'll never learn

 

December 21 marked the third year with our MINI, and with the exception of the auxiliary water pump recall and two regular maintenance visits, it's managed to stay out of the shop. It uses oil sparingly, and is still huge fun to drive.

Motor on!

Spridget

 

That is because more power means more crap to break. If you are worried about breaking stuff don't modify it. Not talking about you directly just a generalized comment.

 

That's great news! I did a stretch spanning a little more than two years and 50,000+ miles with no issues. Sadly, that came to an end in 2012, to this has not been a good year for the MINI. Still, the fun I have far outweighs the annoyances of the issues I have had this year.