There are a million posts on here about how people have their car breaking down on them. Well those can seem overbearing as people with working cars won't post about how their car is good. Take a moment to share your positive experiences with you car such as reliability, fun, new plans. Let's not dwell on the negative. Things happens. Motor on!

 

I smile every single time I start my car and hear the fJCW exhaust + catless downpipe purr. When I take 270 degree offramps, almost pass out from the G forces, and lose all the traffic behind me, I get a half chub.

Maintenance wise I've done oil changes every 3-5k miles and the timing chain tensioner had to be replaced. Serpentine belt and temperature sensor too. Most recently the oil cooler housing gasket. But other than that, the car has been flawless for the 37k miles I've owned it and I expect many many more miles and smiles out of this go kart. Especially with a Manic Stage 2 tune in its near future

If this one dies, what will my next car be? A MINI JCW for sure. Oddly enough, I'd rather have the R56 JCW than the F56 series. Something to do with less refinement I think.

 

Well, I don't want to tempt fate here (knocks on wood), but I have had 40,000 trouble-free smiles on my S. And it is heavily modified from head to toe. And I am not nice to it when I drive.

I have had over 20 different cars in my 34 years of driving (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Chrysler, VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Nissan, Subaru, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Honda, Eagle), and I liked them all for different reasons, but I love this Mini, and it is the first car I that I have ever owned that I haven't once contemplated replacing.

Eric

 

Once in a while someone posts with questions about reliability after reading all the tales of woe on the forum. The common response to those is that this and other forums are a thin slice of the MINI motoring public and as such the horror stories should be taken with a grain of salt. Close examination of some posts will reveal that those problems are often self inflicted.
I fell into that after acquiring our '06 R52. The first few weeks of ownership, I couldn't relax just driving a few blocks expecting something to blow up or fall off. Eight years later all is well and the 'zig-zag-zug' is still there....though headquarters is doing their part to quell the enthusiasm.

 

Fly in brick nailed it. I sometimes drive around fearing that the car will disintegrate on the way to my destination. Sometimes too much knowledge is bad.

 

ditto!

 

My 2005 r52 passed 261K and its so fun to drive. Hopefully with the top down soon.

 

I drive a 2012 MCS R56 and love it. It currently has 35,000 miles on it. When i bought the car the service records showed only regular maintenance on it like oil changes. I haven't really had any problems. I too fear by car will go to **** but that is mainly due to the fact that i stay on this forum all the time. People with car in perfect working order aren't going to post about it i feel like we all read the negatives and don't focus on how great these cars are. A lot of stuff boils down to how you drive it and take car of it like any other car. I currently have Invidia Q300 exhaust, NM intake, and JB+ tune. This is the most fun car i have owned and driven period. And the community is great as well. Thank you everyone for contributing to this. Hopefully we can get more people on here to help change the image of these cars so people ask about which model to get instead of when will it break. Mods should make a sticky out of this.

 

People come here to find solutions to problems, not to hang out and croon about how happy they are to have a trouble-free car.

So don't believe that all Minis self-destruct. My daughter's is running like a watch at 58K miles.

 

My '13 Justa Hardtop is coming up on 15,000 miles and it has been 100% flawless. So far not even a rattle. Things can't be more positive than that.

 

Ditto to those above. I've had and still have a fleet of cars including my 911RS, but other than racing some of my GP motorcycles my 2012 S is the most fun. You can pull well over a 1G almost anytime and you just can't beat that for fun.
No problems at 58,000km but I always change the oil at 6,500k

 

What?? Wait...are you saying the top goes up???

 

I've had $0 out of pocket expenses on my 08 clubman. It uses no oil and haven't had any problems out of the warranty period. It still pulls like a rocket with the factory JCW engine tuning kit.

 

Yep I totally agree and support the fact that this is a great place for people to find answers. Just thought that while new people are reading this it may be nice to have some posts about how well things can go too. Glad to hear about your daughters car!

 

Yea, i know , it was raining and i was driving slow in traffic. Otherwise top down. I tested the old driving in the rain thing and it does work in the r52 , but my roll bars get wet a bit. You have to be going fast.

R52 ad:



R57 ad:



I really like the older MINI ads.

 

I'm looking forward to a warm(ish) afternoon tomorrow to give my Mini a good after-winter cleaning and a fresh coat of wax. Sometimes you can enjoy your Mini when it's not even moving.

 

I will admit to 4 condition which will force the spread of canvas.
1: It's raining - hard
2: It's snowing - hard
3: A group of idiots are throwing empty beer cans in the back seat (and not sharing).
4: I can't hear the SC whine because my co-pilot is whining louder about being too hot or too cold.

 

" 4: I can't hear the SC whine because my co-pilot is whining louder about being too hot or too cold. "

LOL

Passenger complains: .. can we put the top up now ... its getting cold.

Me : you have heated seats on and the windows up with the rear wind deflector. How are you cold. ~ 40 degree

 

Love all the positive comments! As was stated, you almost always hear only the bad stuff on these forums, as they are where people go to get help with issues they are having, or just complain in general. My 2011 MCS was bought used with 21k miles on the clock almost 2 years ago. Now at 55k, love driving it even more, especially with the mods I have done so far. More to come! So far, any issues have been addressed by the aftermarket Hendricks warranty I purchased at the BMW dealer where I bought used. And, MINI of Escondido always gives me a free loaner car when it is in for warranty service! I do my own regular maintenance, as I am a mechanic by trade. Mobil1 0W40 and MINI genuine filter/oil changes every 5k, using less than 1 quart between. I live in the mountains, and believe me, I use the handling features to the limit! Engine turns 6k rpm plus several times per 60-mile round-trip commute. Thus, the reasons I get only 9-10k miles out of a set of 4 tires, with proper rotations. Yeah, I love to MOTOR!

 

These are the kinds of posts that I love to hear! Glad to hear you're loving MINI! I get excited everytime I get to drive and I've owned the car for a while now. The best times are when I decide to just drive down some back roads with no destination in mind. Gotta say there is nothing more relaxing. Every aspect of the Mini is fun and the mods make it better. The exhaust and intake are my favorite solely for the sound of the turbo blow off and the rumbling.

 

That is the spirit of MINI motoring! May I suggest a couple of books you might find enjoyable?
'Zen And the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' by Robert Persig
'Blue Highways' by William Least Heat-Moon

 

Bought 15 months ago w/108k. I've had it Manic'd to stage 2+. I've put 31k miles of which 90% is on twisty mountain roads where I live in N.GA
Just mounted a set of Michelin Super Sports, my first summer tire ever in my life and they're perfect with the modded suspension. I feel like an idiot running A/S tires last year.

I love this car more more every day

 

That's awesome! Glad to hear you're enjoying it! How do you like the manic tune? I'm really close to getting it done. What kind of power are you pushing from it? I plan on switching to summer tyres when I kill these run flats. I can't wait either. Hopefully it'll and let better and be less bumpy.

 

Right! I enjoy forums for the more technical and informative threads. This one makes me want to puke

 

I have not dynode the car. If I had to guess I'm up 40 hp and torque to match.