I am about to buy a Mini Countryman All4; Consumer Reports' April Car Issue has nothing great to say about Minis.

Quick everyone, say something that makes me feel smart about buying a Countryman DESPITE all the warnings I am reading about reliablity.

 

Personally, I've owned the Countryman S All4, since 2011. (The first year they were produced). When comparing the performance against my 2005 Mini convertible S, the countryman has minimal loss of performance given the size benefits. Some MINI enthusiasts feel the 4 door introduction was going to curse the MINI sports tradition. I find the S model still very responsive and much more versatile as a day to day vehicle in all weather types, than the traditional MINI models. MINI continues to provide quality engineering. The extra 4 inches height is great for entry and exiting the car, especially as you get older. The longer chassis style provides a smoother ride on the highway, without sacrificing significantly on the cornering strengths designed in the smaller MINI models.
My concern about MINI marketing and new model introductions has me more concerned about the market shelf life and value of the current Countryman model you are considering purchasing.

The things which would concern me about purchasing the new Countryman, are as follows:
1. the new 4 door model releases
This model, as introduced, is a different chassis, and not the same size as the Countryman. It's offered as a more affordable 4 door entry model. In my humble opinion this new model design and market focus will dilute the differences of the Countryman value and design distinctions. There are no distinguishing model identifications between the 2 models. If you review the dealership market pricing around the country, for this year's Countryman models, there is great disparity within the MINI dealership network in both pricing and feature presentation; when compared to the lower entry price and features on the new '4 door model'. In previous years, since the Countryman introduction in 2011, there has been a well defined and high resale value for the Countryman.

2. This model confusion, appears to be intentional, on MINI's part, while they phase out the current model of the Countryman. As a current Countryman owner, this distresses me on the market message and market resale value of the Countryman going forward. One of the historical market standards and traditions, for MINI, have been there distinct model styles and expected market value because of the quality and distinct body styles and model identification. When I decide to replace my Countryman, for the first time since 2005, I will evaluate other car manufactures and vehicle comparisons, instead of going to MINI as my defacto vehicle manufacture.

Hope this helps.

 

Glad to hear of the positive experience you are having. And will consider both your points as I evaluate my choices!

 

my 2012 CMs has been towed out of my driveway on 2 separate occasions. prior to that none of my previous vehicles have ever had to have been towed out of my garage.

don't get me wrong, i love my CM, but it's the least reliable vehicle i've ever owned and i still make my monthly payment with a smile on my face.

 

I bought mine used off lease, so all the initial issues were worked out by the other guy.

People who started driving cars after the Japanese auto hit the shores have become spoiled by greater reliability of cars. Before that our US made and the British imports were more frequently down and out. We were always stranded somewhere with car issues, new or old cars.

The internet has opened up everyones awareness of every single problem, basically ignoring the greater percentage of people who don't have issues. Buy it and have fun.

 

No issues with my SDA4 in 4 months and 4.5k miles so far; no evidence that the first owner had any issues in the first 9 months of its life either. My drivers window switch is now a little dicky but thats probably due to excessive use (I drive through a security gate 4 times a day so the window gets used probably 40 times more than most users would)

I do expect issues, especially electrical ones as my prior experience with BMWs products of the mid 90s to mid 00s says electrical glitches will occur.

My previous Audi had a faulty CD radio head unit, replaced under warranty but then badly coded by the dealership.

VW Golf before had a high pressure fuel pump failure, leaving me stranded on a very busy main route.

My uncle ran a Lexus IS diesel, that ate its engine a week outside warranty, Lexus only covered 50% of the replacement cost :(

In contrast I've run two Porsches over an 11 year period and other than tyres and their 2 yearly services, they've not been anywhere near a garage.


The big issue with consumer reports is that certain brands attract different users to others, with very different expectations. In the UK Skoda aways used to come top of the surveys but their users were generally 50-60 year old retired couples who wanted affordable low mileage motoring. Now they have attracted more business users their ratings have dropped slightly - if Skoda sold as many cars to business users as VW do, then they'd drop further.

 

I'm buying mine for fun. If it breaks down, I can afford to fix it. If I decide I don't want to deal with it, I can sell it and move on with my life. If I were living paycheck to paycheck, I would probably buy something else. My husband says buying this car is "a poor financial decision based on emotion". He's right!

 

80% of the sold minis here are CM.Mostly Diesels because here in Belgium those taxes are low.The resale prices are very high. The most drivers are here NON DIY and the maintenance is strictly followed. I did never fill in a consumer report.I think that only 10 % do it and they have a bad car or attitude toward the brand.
If you like it then buy it.If you start with a certain paranoia you will here voices at the end.

 

Thanks for all the great information! I had a Subaru that had to get towed out my driveway AND I still loved it. Good reminder that buying a car that you love can carry you through the problems.

I have been driving a Honda for 12 years that never needed a thing other than oil and tires so I am crossing my fingers my new Countryman will be the same. And I am prepared if it is not. Glad to hear that not everyone had problems! I think I have been spoiled by the Honda maintenance free life. I am so ready to have a car that is fun to drive; the Honda has not been fun just very, very practical.

Wish me luck!

 

enjoy it !

 

CR doesn't "hate" the Countryman.... they are simply reporting that their survey is showing well-below-average reliability. Doubt their survey and surveying methods if you like, but it's the best predictive data by far that is available and after owning a lot of cars and watching problems come/go on web sites like this, I think their data is generally confirmed to be more/less accurate.

A car doesn't have to be absolutely reliable to be worth owning and a great-driving car can make up for some reliability aggravations. But don't kid yourself into thinking that a new Countryman is likely to be as trouble-free as most Asian cars or even an average car in general. Great driving cars that have more than their fair share of problems and very high-servicing costs come with the Mini territory.

On a new car, you're financially protected by the warranty and if the car is a lemon, you can unload it before it breaks the bank. But NEVER own a new Mini without a dealer reasonably close by.

- Mark

 

Normally, I have nothing nice to say about consumer report and their car rating system, but the Mini rated very low on JD Power as well. Keep in mind that the auto industry as a whole improved quite a bit reliability wise in the last decade or two. The worst rated brand today is probably the equivalent of the most reliable brand 20 years ago. That being said, we did not buy the Mini for its reliability, we bought it for its driving characteristics. If reliability was my first priority, I would probably buy a Toyota.

 

It gets boring , the two worst car I had were a Honda (by far) and a Toyota.I had 7 Honda bikes without one problem. With 4 Minis I never did strand.(even the Britsh Leyland horrors.
In Congo almost no one used a Jeep, Land Rover.All the "colons" used american big V8 cars.They were the best by far.

 

Consumer Reports could suck the fun out of anything, but not my All4.

 

I have never owned a car that has had as bad a reputation for reliability as my present Mini. I will also say I've never owned a car that gave me the most bang for the buck driving experience of any car I've owned. I'm lucky enough that I will be able to trade my '13 hardtop off before the warranty runs out perhaps on another Mini.

 

LOL. Too funny
we kind of felt the same way when we got our used CM S in Jan. We read, and re-read all the thoughts on MINI's, but once you take that test drive, WOW, you tend to forget all that. The Stripes, Black Jack covers and 18" Rims didn't hurt either....

 

Most people don't mind a few problems here or there as long as they are not "stranded on the side of the road" type problems.. The reliability problems with MINIs is why a lot of people buy the extended warranty either from MINI or 3rd party. From what I have seen with local club members a 3rd party is probably better. Dealer doesn't mind working with you more on problems when it is not MINIs money.. Also as the person a few posts up said and a lot of people do, trade it once the warranty runs out..

 

I actually have never driven any MINI, although I did briefly sit inside of one. My test drive will be off the lot and to my house.

 

2011 built, 75000miles, only thermostat replaced once, otherwise runs perfect

 

Initially, I was like some of the other posters, the good old days of "trouble free" miles. However, taking a cue from something I learned while I was in the Army, I set up a spreadsheet that was set up for data tracking in terms of maintenance, costs, mileage, etc. when I first got the car. Here's the rundown:

- Purchased in December 2012 with 53,445 miles from MINI of Wesley Chapel
- Driven all over Florida for school & other business, odometer now at 99,741 (almost 24k/year)
- Made the mistake of taking to the stealership for a water pump, bought the Bentley manual and got dirty ever after
- Spent $3,000+ in parts, labor, certain tools, and shipping for repairs, not counting about 5-6 weeks of sitting waiting for me to get time to wrap up maintenance/parts/search this forum for tips/hints. Labor was $487 out of that total (Don't buy a MINI if you don't like working on a car or don't have deep pockets)

Replaced:
- Battery (original lasted 7 years)
- Valve cover (current P1497 fault; lasted 100k = really disappointing)
- Water pump @ 67k (disappointing)
- Vacuum pump (caught this bugger before it seized and destroyed my valve train)
- Rear barn door lock (had to use ratchet straps on the door for a week until the lock arrived)
- Oil filter housing assembly to engine block gaskets @ 70k (that was fun dismantling half the engine) Preemptively replaced the turbo oil lines, saving a future headache.

Upsides:
- I've never been stranded, never needed a tow, and it always started. ALWAYS. The car has always gotten me to my destination, took my wife to the birth center, and brought my firstborn daughter home safely. For that, I'll tolerate the quirks.
- The car is quite easy to work on (most repairs are just time-consuming)
- The car is fun to drive...and although it's the least reliable car I've ever owned, I've not had anything catastrophic (like the timing chain or transmission, Thank God!)
- The car always seemed to go down with good timing on academic holidays (Winter break, Spring Break, Summer break - so I have time to fix it)

All in all, I like this MINI, and for the foreseeable future, plan on keeping it, but am not interested in another. I'll go for something which has a bulletproof drivetrain if properly maintained, and whose parts are readily available (i.e. Ford, Lexus/Toyota). I've replaced components in the MINI that are unacceptable, even with the high mileage...and I've never owned an Asian car. A Pontiac, then an insanely reliable Ford F150, and now this car. MINI just has some substandard design aspects, in both materials and structure. The valve cover is one area...

 

Consumers Reports sucks ***.

Ever notice they will rate a loaded Lexus in the same category as a basic Malibu, and then have the audacity to say the ride/handling/comfort is better on the Lexus. DUH!

I just got my 2nd CM ALL4S. I Loved the first one: 2011 Light White/Black The second is an eye popping 2015 Blazing Red / White. The 2011 had some minor issues I attributed to a new model, but nothing major. The only time I got stranded was with a dead battery that MINI replaced under warranty.

I traded the 2011 because.......I can. I get a new car every 4-5 years and I had the itch. The newest one is a looker......and still a blast to drive. Now I need to get thru that darn break in period so I can DRIVE it like it wants to be driven.

 

I've been a longtime member of the forum, and I've clearly noticed that with each succeeding model year fewer and fewer problems with the Countryman are reported. I'm also a longtime Consumer Reports subscriber and I don't think they have picked up on this with their surveys.

Yes, the owners of 2011's and 2012's have had widespread problems. Sure there are some owners who have had no problems...thankfully the failure rates never approached 100%. If someone tries to dispute that, all you have to do is go back to the posts on this forum during that timeframe and you can clearly see it. Or just take a lot at the results of the 2011 and 2012 owner surveys by JD Power and Consumer Reports. The results were nothing short of horrible.

But the good news is that the situation has seemed to improve with each subsequent model year, especially starting with 2013 when BMW made a bunch of updates to the CM.

We owned a 2012 that had kept blowing fuel pump and fuel injection fuses. The car had to be towed to the dealer multiple times. The dealer could never figure out what the cause was. We finally started carrying spare fuses...a laughable solution, eh?

Under threat of a lemon law action BMW/Mini replaced the 2012 with a new 2013, and our experience with the replacement 2013 (now at 38k miles) has been far better. After owning the two cars back to back, it seems to be very obvious that the build quality substantially improved in 2013 with the changes they made to the car (it's obvious in things even like the switchgear).

With the 2013, at 8k miles there was a noise coming from the front axle that turned out to be a cracked wheel bearing, and the drivers lumbar broke at 18k miles. The lumbar seems to be a common problem as several others here have reported it, and the fact that the dealer would keep these parts in stock seems to be another indication that the problem is common.

The good news is that we have had no new problems in the last 20,000 miles.

 

Great River,

Wanted a Countryman since I saw it at the NY auto show in 2010, however I was concerned about all the reports about MINI quality and reliability. In 2013 I bought the Countryman I had wanted. I opted out of the All4 to save weight and cost. I have it now for almost 2years and at 23k miles. I can not report a single problem. It has been rock solid, and the "premium ownership" experience has been great. My dealer and regular maintenance have gone off without issue. That's just my experience, but it has been very positive thus far

 

So I took Oscar in to the dealership for other issues and they found a leak in the valve cover. The extended warranty doesn't cover it because it touches a hose that touches the PCV valve or something like that. The dealership wants $4XX to replace it. What would be the cost and time to replace it myself?

 

An old thread but thought I'd update it for the benefit of any future readers..

Car now 33 months old, 37,500 miles

just had its second service today, first one was at exactly 18000 miles.

Drivers door window actuator was replaced under warranty summer 2015, has been ok since but it does get used a lot due to security tag operated barriers at my work areas.

I had no DAB signal when the heated rear window was switched on - rear screen replaced under warranty around the same time.

Just fitted two new front tyres, the other original pair are still on 5mm depth - i do use a set of winter tyres so overall the summer set (18" , Goodyear Efficient Grip runflats) has really only completed ca 28,000 miles (with some rotation front to back in the spring).

Can't really fault the car other than the odd niggle sorted under warranty - its not a particularly sporty driver, its not a great handling machine, the ride is a bit crashy and the fuel economy could be better (I think 17" wheels would improve all those aspects on the poorly maintained UK roads). It looks a bit more modern / trendy than my previous A3 Sportback, but its not built as well, its less economical and no sportier a drive.

I still think its overpriced (new UK retail) for what it is, but isn't a bad buy on the used market. It'd be a much better car if it just has a bit more of the go-kart feel of the R56/F56 models.