It seems that a lot of people have trouble with little things in the MC. Like sensor lights, a dask board noise, power window fails, etc. Is it just that this is a board just for minis and everything is magnified when in reality if this was a toyota board say for example, similar things would be said. Also, does anyone know if the longer you wait to order a 2007, will the next production solve problems. Many people say to wait to the 2008 production and if I order today, my car won't be ready 10-12 weeks which takes us into April or May+-. Like other cars, sometimes the next year comes out at the end of the previous year but minis seem to be different in this regard. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

 

Fear is the mind killer - Dune

There's nothing to fear but fear itself - Oingo Boingo

The longer you wait, the more production glitches will be worked out. Also, the less time you get to drive your MINI.
It's a tradeoff.

 

Like wiser ones than me have said before, most people post if they have a problem, not if they don't. Mine has no problems. If you do get one and it has a problem, remember you have more fun than anyone else when you are in it. If that doesn't seem like a fair trade, get a Toyota or a Honda. Bland is safer. As for me, I've been there, done that.

 

As with any board - you tend to see all the problems - people do not post when they are happy with thier cars - just when they are pi$$ed off at something -- normally

As for the 2007 MINI's - all new car intro's have thier little unforseen problems that crop up when the cars first hit the market - they are usually resolved ASAP. So if you want an 07 I would go ahead and order it - you have a warranty from MINI - if it has more problems that it should you can always get the extended warranty latter. As a rule I try not to buy first year cars , I wait till the 2nd year ( if I can ) - that way any little things hopefully get worked out.

I have been on the UK and Scottland MINI club sites - they have had the 07 MINI's for a month or so now -- no huge problems reported yet - just some delays with the S's ( fuel leaks ) and some MFSW problems - both have been resolved ( I think ).

So go ahead and get one --- you can say - I had the first one on my block - and I love it

 

06' MCS Just turned over 10,000 miles..zero problems!

 

The UK has had the R56 for months now, not just a month. Again, as has been said there could be minor issues and maybe the percentage of minor issues is greater in the first year of a model line than subsequent years. That being said the precentage is very very low. MINI has been very responsive to issues raised by those who had the cars in the UK. If you want to be assured you will not get a horse if you don't want rattles to deal with. this isn't a Ford build quality should be much better!
Remember you don't have to take the car when it gets here if you feel the bild quality isn't up to par.
It's easy to blow the issues you read in forums out of proportion.
Nothing I've read, and I have been very interested in the faults threads, has dissuaded me in any way. I have momentary fears but I've been able to put it all in perspective. All cars have issues, I consider my 1st year Honda Accord to have been a great built car. I did have some noise issues and a center console door was faulty but that is it. I could have lost my mind about these glithes but why bother. I got them fixed and that was that.
Horses don't rattle so there is another option.

 

Yep...

Take a gander at www.scionlife.com (an alter-ego of Toyota) and you'll see the same thing there, too.

That's just the way owners boards are...

 

I've had an R56 MCS for nigh on 3 months now. It's a great car, use info to decide what you want and then go for it. Every car has its features, few more so than a MINI.

 

Actually, that's attributable to FDR. Mr. Elfman & company just picked the phrase up well over four decades after the then President first said it.

 

Kind of like buying a new computer. There is always something faster just around the time corner.. Do you wait for it or do you start playing?

 

3 months. Any major problems for you?

also

Holy cow R56 - I noticed your were 6th gear and thought.. I wonder if he changed his name. Surely you couldn't make that many posts in 3 months.

then I checked your profile:

Join Date: 12-04-2006

Total Posts: 5,367 (78.56 posts per day)



You need to go driving some more!

 

I have had my MC for almost a year and knock on wood...no problems!

 

There is no better time than the present. If you want one buy it!

 

A bunch of people on Scion Life are a bunch of douche bag tC owners that like to fuss about stupid stuff. (I own a Scion xB. I don't go on SL that much because of the type of people described above).

 

LoL

[/thread]

 

+1

 

Sensor lights are NOT little things. They are potentially serious. MINIs do have lots of issues and most ppl dont seem to mind.

BTW, I do frequent Toyota boards and its NOTHING like this

A MAJOR complaint is ...

These cupholders suckkk!

 

I've owned 4 MINIs in 4 years, and yes, I had some sort of different issue with each one, but may I say 4 years of warranty plus 4 years of *free* service plus a loaner MINI each time you need to take it in certainly makes any possible issue much easier.

I also owned a 2006 Mustang GT, and when I had an issue I needed to find a ride, a definite PITA!! (and I preferred the MINI to the Mustang, BTW )

 

Not to start a flame war -- but I believe Toyota to be of higher build quality than BMW. That being said, it's a Toyota I'm selling when I get the MINI.

 

Agreed, I've owned a Chevy which didn't even get 80,000 out of the engine, an Austin Healy sprite where I set aside a monthly fix-it account greater than my savings, and then nothing but cars from Japan with rarely any problems. The Japanese make great cars for the masses. Still, the most fun car I had was the Sprite and that spirit is what I'm getting (I hope) from the R56 I've got on order.

 

Not even Toyota is immune to problems. Last year, about 7% of all vehicles recalled were Toyota and this year they've already recalled 533,000 trucks.

 

I suspect the Japan-built Toyotas fair better than the models that are built in other countries.

 

Toyotas are definately better in terms of reliability, but they are not near as fun to drive...imo (other than the supras). If I wanted a boring car that would last 500k miles with the proper care, I would get a Toyota. My last car was a 90 Acura Integra with over 200K miles. If you want reliability, thats the way to go. But to drive fast and turn at the same time, the car was all over the place. +1 on the chevys, I drove a friend of mine's Chevy Cavalier for a couple days and I swear the thing was made by Fisher Price. I was afraid that if I gave too much gas I would break the thing.

IMO, it is a major trade off to get a first year production model. I would not have gotten an 02 MINI. With first year production cars, you never know how much they rushed to get the models into production. Perfect example...insane amounts of tranny problems in the early models and many many other things.

That being said, I think they had a lot more time to plan out and execute the R56. It is not a first year production model, just a remodeled and changed model. Yes it is practically a new car, but built very similar. I hope that MINI took what they learned from the R56 predecessor and put that knowledge into the R56. They also are using a lot more of BMW's tested technology in the R56. I don't know who makes the new engines, but I'm pretty sure they are not using a Dodge Neon engine.

 

There are members here with utterly issue free 02s and 03s; I've got an 05 with more $$ in warranty work than the value of the car. It's a bit of a gamble.

Same brand previous generation as companies track record with build quality.

 

I have 63K on my current (late 05) MCS - not problem free, but I certainly have driven it hard and I still grin from ear-to-ear when I drive it. at 49K I had a couple of issues that resulted in the dealer keeping her for a couple of days due to their own incompetence and the power window regulators have broken twice (*sigh).

My Toyota on the other hand has 33K on it - of which I figure about 5-6000miles are track day miles !

The only issues with that car ? The stock clutch gave out at 25K due to a badly adjusted adjuster (dealer fixed with zero questions) and I have warped the front brake rotors a couple of times.