Only the facts....
MINI cars can be hit or miss...
Some owners do great....I was one...
But many cars have huge issues...
Lots of recalls...
Lots of days the car gets to spend the day/night away from the owner at the dealership's...
Consumer reports just uses math....
For years the MINI was rated high "in spite of average or less" reliability cause owners loved the cars....
But as the love has thinned, and issues mounted, things like timing chains, power steering pumps, thermostats, bad gaskets made out if the wrong material, failing transmissions, and carbon issues..
And that's the short list....

 

Since @GreatRiver never posted again, I think we can call this thread dead.

 

The thread has general value, even without the original poster.

Thankfully, our '13 is way more reliable than the '12 it replaced. I still won't recommend a mini for someone who needed a dependable car. It will take mini a few more years to recover from that.

 

Our '13 is also way more reliable than our '12 was. There's just no question they vastly improved the build quality along with all the minor changes they made at that time.

I have the utmost respect for Consumer Reports and I've been a subscriber for decades. But you have to understand their limitations and their viewpoint.

They don't HATE Mini's. That's nonsense. They tend to take a "mainstream" point of view, and they place a much higher priority on frequency of repairs versus sporty driving. They also point out that Mini's tend to be pricey for their size, and they are not wrong.

And they point out how expensive the optional equipment tends to be, and again they are not wrong. That tends to be the case with all BMW, Mercedes and Porsche products.

I think where they miss with the Countryman is that they fail to differentiate between the different model years.

I've been an active member of NAM since 2009, and I can tell you the problems with the first year the Countryman came out (2011) were just overwhelming. I know that some 2011 owner will post that his/her car has been trouble free, but just go back and look at the posts from that time period (they are still accessible) and you'll clearly see all the issues and how many owners were suffering from them.

If you have hung around this forum for any length of time it should be very clear to you that the frequency of repair situation has improved with each succeeding year, with one giant step for model year 2013.

I think it's quite clear the the problems that the 2011 and 2012 cars had are still haunting Consumer Reports thinking on the car.

 

Like many, before I buy a car, I spend endless hours reading articles and reviews and watching car review videos.... I change cars like some people change underwear. Sometimes, it feels like I start investigating into my next car before I get the plates on my new one. In terms of which reports are out there, Consumer Reports is obviously one of the best. I think their reviews are pretty fair and accurate for the most part, but I've also encountered times when I've gotten one of their new car buyers guides and the synopsis review is word-for-word IDENTICAL to the review the year before for the exact same car even if it got a refresh and/or engine tweak that improved HP and MPG.


Like any other review, I try to take it with a grain of salt... Everyone's experience with a particular car is prolly gonna be a little different. Some might have some troubles and some might be worry-free for 100,000 miles...


I will say this... Some of their reviews for the MINI have been downright lousy... That being said, I'm on my 2nd MINI and I really haven't had a single complaint with either of them.




Because the car is so customizable, I think MINI owners are some of the most loyal and most enthusiastic about their brand - That sometimes also means that they're the most critical and the most vocal when thing goes wrong. And rightfully so... Many of us spent hours... days... weeks... months... even years... designing and redesigning our builds online trying to find the perfect combination and then ordered it sight-unseen to be built overseas and then have it tracked here... I won't speak for everyone, but I know it's a little more personal and intimate an experience for me than if I just went to a car dealer and bought a cookie-cutter off the lot. Plus, you're also buying into the "culture" of MINI as well... So, when the car breaks down, your "lifestyle" breaks down in a way.... At least for MINI enthusiasts...


Back to the topic though... I think MINI owners take to the internets with reports, reviews, and complaints more than many other car owners. I also think that there's a lot of first time buyers that try to jump in on the MINI brand and end up finding that it just isn't for them. You do sacrifice some comfort and convenience for style and performance... It's for people looking for a driving experience... Not just a means to get from A to B.


At any rate, I would tell anyone buying a MINI to make sure that style and driving experience is important to them. As far as the reliability goes, I honestly haven't had any problems with either of my MINI's. And I think that most owners would say the same thing.

 

I certainly haven't had any problems with either of your MINIs.

 

This has been a great thread to read. I've read numerous horror stories on here and other forums about the first CMs to hit the market. I have greatly enjoyed my 2005 R50 over the last 7 years (I bought it used in 2009). It has been the most reliable car I've owned. The only major repair I've had to perform was a radiator replacement and it was on part of my own error from drilling a bumper mount screw into the wrong hole! I've also been one of the lucky guys to have a still functioning CVT with 120k+ miles on it and that's with a yearly 2,000 mile road trip on it too!

But it has come time that my wife and I are starting a family and I need to upgrade the mini. She loves driving it and we both have decided to stay in the MINI family and look at an option that will allow us to grow.

The new CMs seemed to have worked out lots of issues from the 1st gens and we are already convinced to buy a new MINI based on years of great motoring.

 

I think you'll enjoy a Countryman for your family. My spouse drives a 2014 (just before the 2015 mid-cycle refresh) and after ~25,000mi and 2.5 years it has been solid. While it is not as nimble as the R50 or R56 families, it's still a darn sight more agile and much more fun than any other cars in its class. She loves it. No problem fitting two kids' car seats and us in for long trips.

The one thing I would suggest would be getting a pair of roof rails and a roof cargo box for that annual road trip — it really helps to have some overflow space, especially if you're carrying gifts for extended family, or tent and sleeping bags and such. We got the MINI one, which (based on the hardware and design) appears to be made for them by Thule. Good quality.

My 2009 Clubman S, on the other hand, is about to hit the market. I love driving her, but the repairs are getting to be a bit much, even for me.

 

I understand this thread is quite dated, but I am considering entering the Mini family for the first time. I had a 2007 ML350 that was totaled after someone T-Boned my car as I was visiting San Francisco.

I am considering a 2016 Countryman as there may be some deals in December / January prior to the new gen coming to market in March. I am also considering a used CM on warranty / certified.

Mini CM's appeal to me aesthetically and from the short amount of time I have had test driving it, I seem to enjoy the ride. However, I drive an average of 55 miles a day and therefore reliability is a concern.

After reading through this entire thread, I am less worried. But I am still wondering what the general opinion of a 2015 and 2016 CM S is. I know they are more recent and therefore likely don't have as many issue, but has anyone had any bad experiences? Good experiences?

 

My spouse drives a 2014 Countryman S. She has had it for three years (as of next month, we bought in mid-Dec) and about 30,000 miles. Anecdotes are not data, but we haven't had any problems. MINI did recently apply a software update that addressed an occasional stall condition when pulling away from a stop after after a long pause such as at stop lights; there was a bug in how it was using the MAF sensor data. I don't really have a complaint about that, such is life with computer-controlled engines.

The N18 engine used by the Countryman S appears to be largely free from the problems of its predecessor, the N14. It has been in use since 2011, which should be long enough for any serious problems to come to light. (The N14 engine definitely revealed its flaws much sooner.) I would not have put the Countryman on the shortlist of cars for my wife to take a look at if I were not reasonably confident in the engine. I think it's a proven design by now; perhaps not perfect, but is good as a modern BMW design gets.

TL;DR: Buy it, it's as reliable as any other modern BMW. Which is, admittedly, a low bar to clear

 

Wife's 2014 CM All4 S automatic bought October 2013 has 77l miles and has been trouble free. We did have rabbits eat some wires though, not too much to repair.