plan to purchase cooper S, ask for some suggestions: Maintenance fee, price, reliable
 

After comparing several small cars, 2015 mini cooper S is the best for me. Before I made this deal, I have several questions and hope someone could help me. Thanks in advance

1. Maintenance fee. I hear that the maintenance fee of cooper is higher than some level cars(maybe similar as luxury cars such as BMW). Is it true?
2. Price. My friend want a countryman and we got two quotas through autopriceshare program. For my 2015 cooper S, the price is 23779, 2371 less than MSRP. I don't add additional options. Is it a good price?
3. Reliability. My last car is Mazda. It always has some small problem. It is really annoying. are your coopers reliable? hope some current owners could share your opinions.

Sorry for bothering you, Thanks

I have a 2013 JCW Coupe I bought new 8 months ago. I don't have any mechanical problems after 4500 miles.

With the maintenance program you should be in peace of mind for the first 3 years. After that, they have the reputation to be expensive to fix even for regular maintenance.

not to be rude, but if you even have to ask about maintenance & repairs, mini is not for you. do some reading on this forum and you will see many, many posts about how finicky and expensive these cars are. yes there are plenty that run and do fine with no problems for years, but it seems that is the exception rather than the rule. if you want honda reliability, get a honda

discalaimer: the above text is from someone who does not own a mini, but has been reading this board for a couple years

IMO compared to a Mazda, the MINI's are about 10x worse in the reliability department. Maintenance cost is going to be 2x-3x and will have a lot more quirky issues popup every now and then.

Now for a new car, it's still very unreliable based on what I've read on here, but you're at least covered for the first 3 years.

-R53 owner that had small issues popup every week ($100-$300 ea) but they do add up.

As others have said, you don't buy a Mini expecting better than average reliabilty. With good maintenance and attention to details, they can be reasonably reliable, but the following chart, just published, is based on a lot of data. You current car is 2nd while Mini is down near the bottom. I owned a MCS for over 10-years and it never failed me, but it had a lot of niggling issues. And the maintenance costs at the dealer were outrageous - you absolutely HAVE to find a good, creative, independent mechanic to own one of these cars outside warranty. For these and other reasons, I doubt I'll ever look at the brand again. Great driving car let down by indifferent QA/QC and way-too-high maintenance costs.

http://blog.morries.com/wp-content/u...ards_04-15.jpg

Unfortunately you posted this in the wrong forum. The 2nd Gen Coupe is no longer being made. If you're looking into a new Mini you want the 3rd Generation F56 forum. That's the model currently being sold. As for reliability, you'll have a 3 year warranty. I wouldn't trust people on a forum like this to be of much objective help in terms of predicting reliability after that.

I understand he is asking about the overall Mini reliability history.

Honestly, it is not so good but as you said we have at least a 3 year maintenance warranty.

Fiat is the last on the report card and my 2012 500 has been flawless after 3 years so, go and figure.

Buy it and enjoy it. Lots of people go problem free but you don't see them posting looking for help.

Current 2013 S Coupe owner here. Got my bonnie fully customized and built, tracked it from the factory, on the ship, to the port and to the dealership :)

i'm at 31,000ish miles and so far.. (knock on wood) no issues at all. no oil leaks (i believe in a proper engine variable breakin, set the seals) and out of maintenance issues.

just a few rattles here and there but you can fix them pretty easily.

as for fun factor, still enjoy every drive in her.

bought it last week, thanks

Bought what last week...:)

I think the OP posted on this forum by mistake. He said originally he was looking at a 2015. I know, you could buy a 2015 Coupe, but the last one rolled off the assembly line in April.