I am sure you all have seen it in JD Power, Consumer report ...... The Mini as a brand is always near the bottom in reliability. What are the real life experiences out there? My wife is looking into buying a Countryman, any help would be appreciated.

 

It's the turbo models that have the issues. It just depends, you get a 50/50 shot at getting a gem or a "lemon" pretty much. Just keep up the maintenance that's for sure.

If you decide on a turbo model things you should watch out for are: thermostat, valve cover, rear sway bar endlinks(clunking/squeaking), solenoid valve, hpfp, and a couple of other things I forgot.

What other cars are you looking at just curious?

 

I'd say the odds of having trouble with a MINI are about the same as any other manufacturer.

 

The current motor is in in last year of use on most models...has been plagued by some issues....
The new generation (currently only used on the hardtop cooper and cooper s) is promising....
Me...I'd wait a year or two for the redesign....the new motors are getting tested by the early adoptors in the gen3 cooper/cooper s now....
Issues like timing chain stretch, oil use, carbon buildup is MOST acute on the S (TURBO_) CARS....

 

If you want a "drive it like you stole it and/or don't worry about maintenance" car the MINI is not for you.

 

^^^^^^^^^
This

 

Well, to be clear its the 2007-2010 N14 "S" engines. The later 2011-2014 "S" n18 engines still have some issues - but nothing like the older N14 design. The N18 has a new head, and several new parts to help restrict the carbon buildup.

 

For me the drive factor far outweighs any and all problems I've experienced so far with my 2008s. I am the original owner with 88k. Sure a few things have happened. I have had the carbon cleaning done. Timing chain fixed. New valve cover and thermostat. When it's time or when funds are available I am going to replace my water pump and oil lines. And I suppose it is about time to have the valves walnut blasted again after 55k. IMO this stuff is all maintenance. There has not been a day that I have regretted getting my Mini. To me it still seems new even though I have had it six+ years. Most of the complaint posts are mostly from owners who don't get it. And they only hang around for a couple of years.

 

Gen 1's have problems with Auto's. Bad Tranny repair costs. Huge. Basically stay away from pre 05 mini's. 05-06 are the best of the gen 1's. (Manual). I know nothing about gen 2's and later.

 

Your best bet would be to stay away from the turbo charged models if looking at anything earlier than 2014 and if your wife wants a Countryman with standard shift the clutches were weak in earlier models and improved in 2013 models.
If you can get an late model CPO with low mileage it's good to have the extended warranty a CPO provides but just be aware that Mini Cooper is notorious for not covering a bad clutch under warranty.

 

There is nothing wrong with the turbocharged models, they are just a little more fun to drive, and who is against fun?

 

I'll add that all the Countrymen had the "newer" n18 engine.

Early models had clutch issues (I believe this was all 4 models only..)

 

What is the fine print on those surveys? Do they go beyond just the generation or the model?

My '05 MCS had more than the value of the car done in labor only (not counting the cost of parts), under warranty, when going by the dealer's $80/hr rate of the day. Everyone said lemon law, around me that covered repeat with the same issue, not a new issue every time. Reliability had improved since then (mainly when I stopped letting dealers break 3 new items for every one that they fix), but I'm still seeing about $1k of parts per year failing and needing replacement, most due to poor design; and there is a laundry list of things that just went, but are either so frequently being replaced or unimportant that I just don't bother fixing them (rear wiper fluid pump I'm looking at you). Just chronic need for parts and installation means multiplying that cost seven fold to get things installed, or taking days of my time to remove large portions of the car to access what needs replacing, usually on the hottest or coldest days of the year. A number of the parts needing replacement fail because of poor design, which leaves one with the fix with OEM or spend more to fix with an aftermarket designed around the actual function; unfortunately I'm starting to notice that even some of those stop gaps aren't holding up as well over the years either; longer than the OEM but still failing. While much of the car may still be OEM, near half of the car is not original; almost nothing has been untouched for adjustment or to access parts that needed repair. And not all failures are trivial, when the power steering fan gets stuck on or the fuse from the factory is the wrong size there are major fire risks, and if the serpentine belt gets to where it can break the car can't go any further without a new one or it will over heat. It's had years of 30+k miles and it's had years of sub 5k because it was sitting in need of repair for so often.

Used to be a 2 MINI household, that was just one MINI, the other was an '06 MC had a CVT starting to go, MINI dealer service techs said just buy a new car; replaced that with a '10 MC (refusal to even consider other cars at that point), 3 years later disassembling half the engine to clean out carbon build up (which with 2 MINIs in the house, not quite an annual event, but not entirely unusual), and again hottest weekend of the year. It's a design issue, to meet US emissions a hose reroute was done which causes build up by side effect of design, usually not an issue until after warranty, dealers happy to fix it for $900; other manufacturers meet the same standard without the side effects because a solution is engineered into the design. 6 months after that battery goes, not unusual, place selling it did free install, 3 months later windows start getting use and are immediately acting up (only roll up when driving, must drop 2 inches before rising), got to check under the hood thinking battery is related issue, pull handle cracks and bowden cable disconnects from Y split, all because the hinge is corroded, supposed to be lubed from factory, never is some dealers will lube it during service most don't; corrodes sticks andmore parts need replacing, if you can access them to fix in the first place.

MINI #2 is in the household no more and as driver of MINI #1 I've been training on a bicycle for the last month to make sure I can still complete my commute when the car decides it doesn't feel like driving today. All 3 cars had routine maintenance done at half intervals to keep oil fresh air clean.

I have many friends, people I actually know (many I connected with through NAM in the first place) that have photos of their MINI being pulled off on a flat bed; and yes I'm a multiple time member of that club as well. When strangers or friends ask if the MINI is a fun car, my response is "when it runs". I know people that will own no other brand of car and I know those that will never return to it. With my personal experience, it's my first will be my last, and it's really put me off of ever considering a BMW with 4 wheels. I don't recommend them and help others that choose them make an informed decision, I'm sure most folks have had MINIs more reliable. I looked at several long term tests before getting my MINI, all had the 1st Gen MINI as being one of the most reliable that they'd had and one of very few never having to be in the shop overnight (one magazine it was a first); I don't paint such a rosy picture because of my experience, but knowing so many on the forums I do think there is a fair bit of luck of the draw as to whether or not you get one that just plain works. Myself and friends do also get torn between the guilt of letting the car sit stuck against the guilt that if you drive it something else is going to break.

The good news is mine is paid for and worth less than a tank of gas on trade in, so I've got no incentive to part with it once I decide to take up a car payment again. Speaking of gas, I currently get 14 city 23 highway for MPG, best tank ever was 35.5 when the car was 6 months old, in the mountain twisties, only ever broke 35 the one time. The ad agency had a meeting at a "local" dealer, they say their research has the MINI most often directly competing with the Toyota Prius for market share, the MINI is more fun than that. 8 years 10 months and 163k miles that's where my opinions are lying now, and the one supercharged with a manual transmission is still going when we've gone through 2 naturally aspirated MCs with automatic transmissions.

 

Man is once again seriously correct!!! I have had NO issues after a early on covered thermostat replacement and I have modded and DO "drive it like I stole it"! I have the bills for tires to prove it. Just got back from a 1200 mile round trip to Key West with much spirited driving and NO.... NO issues. If you don't have an N18 engine Mini, don't comment on them.

 

I'm not so sure. Just in my little corner of the world, my SA mentioned yesterday they have had 2 F56 JUSTAS and 2 F56 S models come in with reports of the motors seriously down on power. They gave an F56 loaner to someone last week. After driving it down to the Cincinnati area, they noticed a burning smell, and pulled over on the interstate. went to open the hood and it was smoking...they are not sure of the root cause yet, but the car was towed to the Cincinnati dealer.

There were quite a few folks singing the praises of the F56 as a truly "BMW" mini, and the quality would be vastly improved. The F56 is on it's 3rd recall notice that I am aware of.

My point is that Mini and BMW quality sucks as brands...always has. A new model isn't going to necessarily change that, unless processes and procedures change. If Honda and Toyota can make nearly flawless cars that are half the price of Minis and a third of the cost of BMW's, why can't BMW get their act together?

Regarding the OP's question. We have 17k miles on our CM JCW, and have only one problem. That crazy squeak in the headliner near the back sunroof area that you notice when you are going slow over a speed bump or something like that. Taking it in Friday for a factory-authorized fix for that. No question the 2011 and early 2012 CM's had their issues, but those were worked out by the 2013 model year.

My thought is this: we find our Minis to be the most fun cars around-just a kick to drive and their British-inspired quirkiness make them unique and like nothing else on the road. The trade off is a consistently high quality product. Honda and Toyota have the best quality in the world by a big margin, but every one of their cars is horribly boring to drive, IMO (at least the ones made available to us in the US). Reliable transportation, but not a moving experience.

 

im on 22k miles, no problems so far besides some in dash rattles

 

Come back when you're at 70k miles on an N14 or N18(I have an N18).

 

So far it seems like the reliability reviews are pretty spot on. The carbon build up problem sounds pretty serious, a lot of early BMW and Audi engines had the same problem, but have been rectified for the most part. Does the 2014 MC engine still have problems with carbon build up and timing chain? Personally, I do not consider walnut blasting the valves and intake as routine maintenance every 25000 miles. We are planning to buy new and keeping it for 5 years or so.

 

You'll be good with a NA MINI, but the turbo models are fun, it just depends how much you're willing to take care of maintenance and so on. And you don't have to walnut blast the N18 every 25k miles. More reasonable would be between 60-80k miles(I'm due in 10k miles). You'll enjoy the countryman that's for sure:-).

 

non-s R56s have been pretty much bulletproof in my experience.. you should check out all the problems the turbo subies (not just STIs) have

 

lease

 

With all due respect, I think the NA MC is under power. In my opinion, the countryman S or the JWC's engine match the sportiness and the vehicle's handling much better. Am I correct to think that Carbon build up is still an issue with the 2014 turbo charged engines?

 

depends which 2014 you're talking about. but yes, no getting around it. these turbocharged engines just seem to have problems, that's part of the deal that comes with more power, for the R56 generation anyway

 

The N18s 2011-2014 MCS are better cause it's slowing it down big time. As for a JCW countryman it got the N18 in 2013-2014. So you'll be fine if you consider the turbo models. Just keep up on maintenance.

 

What do you mean by slowing it down, do you mean the 2011+ N18 engines are detuned?