Hello all, great board, love reading about all the trials and tribulations (and good stuff) everyone has with their Mini's. Thought I would lend a few thoughts after 1 year of ownership.

Bought a used 2009 MC (non S) last January with 100K miles on the clock. Car is loaded with premium package, lounge leather, cold weather,16" wheels, etc. 6 speed manual, British Racing Green, black top, black interior. Nice car, bought from original owners who garaged it. Looks like it has about 30K on it, paint and glass excellent.

Live in Baltimore City so it is a good around town car for the city. Fortunately it does not have sport suspension, as the roads in Baltimore resemble cratered out mine field. Still rides harsh, but decent on the smoother roads of the county.

Anyway a few observations that may be helpful to anyone considering a Mini:

- Perfect size for city driving and parking. Doesn't take up much space and can fit into all those difficult parking spaces. Don't have a parking problem where I live, but great city car.

- Power is adequate for around town. I run between Baltimore and Northern Virginia and usually see around 42-43 mpg on those trips. Around town in the low 30's.

- Drinks some oil, about 1 quart every 1000-1500 miles. I bought the Craven dipstick and that helps. Prior owner was former military mechanic and always changes the oil at 5000 mile intervals.

- Have put about 6500 miles on it in the last year and have had zero problems so far. When I got it I did the plugs, air filters, oil, etc. Put 2 new tires on and so far so good. Replaced all the interior and some exterior lights with LED's. So generally this car has been very reliable.

- Doesn't have the death rattle, engine is fairly quite. Perhaps that fact that it had regular oil changes that has helped. Oil seems to be a key factor in these engines.

- Does have a fairly loud rattle from the rear suspension or rear hatch area. Seems worse with cold weather. I suspect perhaps the rear bushing are shot and need to replace those. I thought perhaps something else was loose and rattling, but I haven't had any luck tracking anything down.

Overall I would say it has been a very good car. I hope to get many more good years out of it and love having something this small and fun to buzz around in. Having owned a CRX si back in the day I always liked something small and nimble. If someone asked me if I would recommend a Mini, I would say yes. The S models do pose more of a concern so I can't comment on those.

Happy motoring.

 

Nice to hear your experience has been good!

Is it a rattle or more like a loud clunking sound? I had an annoying clunking/clicking sound and it turned out to be coming from the latch for the hatch. I lubed the latch and it has been perfectly quiet since then.

 

Nice to hear a good report! I just celebrated 5 years with my 2010 S, and it's been a model of reliability. No problems at all, and still huge fun.

Cheers,

Spridget

 

Nice report. I might also check interior trim for the rattle, my mother's car already has interior rattles around 80,000 miles.

I would expect most if not all of the rubber in the suspension could be replaced at your mileage, but it's not urgent.

 

I have a clunking sound in the rear of my '07. I've tried lubing the latch, wrapping the latch in tape (as suggested by another person) and adjusting the rubber bump stops out. Doesn't seem to be my hatch.

Today I ordered a pair of rear sway bar links. It was the other suggested replacement item for this issue.

I have 128k miles on the clock on mine.

 

I don't think it is the latch. Almost sounds better when it is warm or I have a heavy load in the back. On cold days (like now) it is pretty loud. When I first got the car I thought maybe is was the spare tire but after after removing it and driving around it didn't go away. If it is old, tired bushings they might be contracting in the cold.

Most annoying driving on the cratered out roads here in the city. My wife just turns up the radio.....

 

Did you get a chance to put the car on a lift to get a better visual of the rear suspension?

 

No. Once the weather warms up out east I will jack it up in the driveway and take a look.

 

Could be either sway bar bushings or end links (links if original, bushings if aftermarket sway bar), or the rear shocks going bad. I have left rear shocks that starts squeaking when ambient temps drop below 25F. Shock still works just fine, just one of the inner seals is acting up in cold temps.

HTH,
a