Well and to me it's not even about the consumers not demanding better...although with the level of issues we've seen with the R56 maybe something will change. To me, it's more about research. If you go out and buy a new model (or facelift) year car, you're asking for trouble. If you go out and buy a car and don't do some reading about the reliability of them, then you're asking for trouble. If reliability is something that's important to you, then you'd better have an idea of what you are and aren't looking for when you go car shopping, and that idea had better be something than "ooo that's cute!"

I don't know...IMO anyone who buys a MINI and then complains about the lack of reliability did not do their due diligence as far as research as far as I'm concerned. I knew what I was getting into when I bought my MINI, and when things break they don't stress me out because I expected them. Maybe that's crazy but reliability is just one facet of a car...and in the case of the MINI all of the other facets outweighed that one for me.

 

Another article (new today) which points out the difference between the concept of "reliability" (per Consumer Reports) and "initial quality" (per J.D. Power). You can judge the MINI on whichever you want, just understand that they are measuring very different things.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...-a-problem/?hp

 

I loved my TR-3 and Spitfire, worked on them all the time, but then I could. Not much to them by today's standards, but like the Mini they were fun...

Jim

 

It's kinda funny. Over at the Civic 8th gen forums people complain because there's a ***slight*** rattle on the dashboard, or the sub can't take a 30 Hz pounding, or wonder how long can they drive at 8,200 RPMs before damaging the engine.... they'd go crazy if they had to drive a Mini everyday.

We all like to complain.... although in the case of the Mini, I'd have to say we have lots to complain about. There's no reason why a $29K car should rattle all the time. There's no reason why a $29K car should have the worst stereo on the planet. No way it should be dead last on J.D. Power.

Then again, there's nothing else like it anywhere. That's why I got mine, and that's why I'm happy.

 

I agree, I (we) like to complain about our Minis but most of us wouldn't be caught dead driving anything else. I've thought about trading in my Mini, for no good reason, but the big question is what would I get? Other than my trusty 2002 Liberty, I can't imagine what I would replace my Mini with .

 

No Rattles,
No window dip problem,
No cold start rattle,
I can find nothing wrong with the quality of the fit or finish,
It shifts into gear perfectly every time.
I never got below 26mpg ( running it hard)
I usually get 29/32mpg most of the time. (normal sane driving)
I guess I got a lemon because I can't find anything to complain about at all in 4,600 miles so far.
I have to say that this is the best car I have ever owned as far as quality. The total performance is great as well as the fun of driving.
My guess is I just got a bad Mini Cooper.
Ronnie948

 

+1

My experience is almost EXACTLY the same as yours except for one thing: I have over 5,600 on mine.

 

mine musta been part of the same bad batch

 

+3 (9,424 miles / 48 mpg highway)

Jim

 

Send it back!

:D

My car has 400 miles and the hood is misaligned and the dashboard rattles as if I had a six-pack loose inside!

 

Why would you take delivery of a car that rattles that bad?

And the hood misaligned? That could have been fixed on the spot. Again, why?

 

I have two theories.

1) My dealer is an idiot.
2) I'm an idiot.

I'm sticking with #2 on this one.

The dashboard rattle began 3 or 4 days after I took delivery. No prob - I thought. I'll just live with it. But the rattle turned into something major and evil. I fixed it by taking out the panel on the drivers' side of the dashboard and sticking a rubber ball inside.

2 days ago, I was looking at my car's bumper, and I noticed the drivers' side of the hood is far higher than the other one. I opened the hood and closed it again - no luck. The hood is, indeed, higher on my side.

But hey - since I need to go back to the dealership anyway, because they forgot to install my white stripes on delivery (and they had none when I picked up my car), no big deal, right?

The bad thing is - I really need my car on an everyday basis. The dealership told me they needed to keep it 3 or 4 days in order to get everything right. So I don't know when I'll be able to get everything fixed. I'll probably ask for some days off at work and fix my car.

Back when I had the Honda, something like this would be the stuff of nightmares - right into the realm of impossibility.

But I've had so much fun with my Mini, I'm beginning to think this is the real cost of ownership of our cars.

 

If these things are defects and not your fault then why won't they give you a loner?

Jim

 

Well, another possibility is that, like me, you are a do-it-yourselfer who figured a little rattle was something you could fix. Sounds like you did, at least temporarily. I would go with Jim to say you ought to be able to get a loaner. Next time they tell you it will take more than a day to fix would be a good time to bring it up.

Good luck!

 

I had a Honda Element for 4-1/2 years with 70K on it. This is what I tradde in for the mini.

Not one "real" problem....but some owners did have issues, some very similar to these issues. In retrospect I did put up with some issues.

Anyway, if I can get 70-80K out of a car, I'm always pretty pleased. This is always 4-5 years for me

 

Take the empty Beer Cans out of your Glove Box. And if you stop drinking everything will align itself just fine.

 

I sold a 1999 Mustang with 200,396 miles on it to get my Mini. The rear end was starting to need some work, but then that was understandable. I wonder if I can get that many miles again?

Jim

 

I don't live in the States. That means a) no loaner car, and b) I pay for all services to my car (except those under warranty, my defects would certainly fall under it, but not having a car for 4 days is a bit difficult. I guess Minis are perfect second cars, but as a primary vehicle.. meh).

The only thing I can't live with is the rattle, and the little ball is doing a fine job taking care of it.

BTW - Add one more: my OBD II port was loose. I was able to figure out how it was assembled, and I snapped it back in. Still...

 

I don't think primary or secondary matters. These things can happen to any vehicle. Where are you and why do they not offer any of those things?

Jim

 

I bought a base Cooper with nothing more than the MFSW with the idea of using it as a daily driver and retiring my Vette to weekend use after she hit 100k miles. I took delivery of the Cooper on 6/20. So far it has been in the shop twice already. Once for a dead battery 2 days after delivery. The 2nd time for a high pitched whine that seems to come from the water pump or alternator that is loud enough for people to comment on and windshiled wipers that decided to stop working during a rain storm. The SA says the whine is " normal " for the car and replaced the wiper stalk. 3 days later the left map light came on in the middle of the night and wont turn off. SA says it is a roof module..part back ordered...so I popped the bulb out and it is now scheduled for its third visit to the shop. Car now has 400 miles.

I used to own British Leyland stuff so I am well aware of " Lucas electric the prince of darkness " but I had expected a little more from this car. I think I will have fun with it if I can just keep it on the road. On a positive note the car has zero rattles so far and seems tight with well aligned panels.

 

I live in Mexico. I knew beforehand there were no loaner cars or 3 years of paid service. The Focus ST I was looking at had both, but it was a Ford.

Seriously - I knew all about this. I already had a Cooper S (2005) which left me stranded twice of three times. And rattled like crazy. And the dealership didn't give a damn.

As someone very well said before, you have to know what you are getting into with a Cooper. High maintenance costs, rattles, lots of small defects. I have no clue why its not a perfect car - I mean, Honda builds those all the time. Toyota does the same.

I got my car because I wanted something fun. I already have a cumbersome Outlander for going out on long trips and hauling stuff. My wife and me love the Mini. We both agreed not to make a big fuss about all the small things. We both knew what kind of car (and car company) we were getting into, and we are fine with it! It's small, it's cheap on gas, it goes like hell, it's a very good looking car, and it has the best resale value of its kind. If it blows up on me during the 3 years of ownership, Mini will have to pay for it. If I have too many problems with it during the period, I'll sell it when the warranty runs out. If it runs fine for 3 years, I'll probably keep it for a while. I use the car for about 6,500 miles a year, so I won't spend that much in servicing it. No way I can lose.

The thing is, people who don't know about this may be disappointed about the car, that's for sure.

 

wronger than you imagine. Check out the honda and toyota trouble forums and you'll see they are far from perfect.

 

I had a Civic Si 2007. Mom had a Civic EX 2006. Dad has a 2009 Accord EX V-6. Before that, he had a 2000 Accord.

Total times ANY of our cars were at the dealership for anything other than periodic servicing: ZERO. Big, fat, round, zero. When I bought my Si, I told my vendor if I should get the extended warranty. She laughed and told me she'd make quite some money if I did, but I'd never use it, so there was no point.

There were never any rattles, spontaneous fires, manufacturing defects. The cars never left us stranded. The biggest issue we had with them was the paint - it was too thin on the Civics, and it chipped off very easily. That was it. Actually, my dad sold the Accord because there's a law in Mexico that forbids you from driving your car one day per week if its older than XXX years. He was really happy with it.

Minis are, quite simply, the worst built car I've ever had. I particularly laugh a lot when I read the stories of steering pumps failing and igniting, cars exploding, and laugh and hope that won't happen to my car. I'm not laughing at people with those problems - I laugh at myself for having bought another Mini, yet again. You don't read those kinds of problems on Hondas - as I said before, I'm a member of the 8thgencivic forums (IIRC) and the worst problem they had was a grinding noise when going from 2nd to 3rd gear. That was it.

Why did I get the Mini, then? As I said before, there were too many factors involved - mostly, their proven unreliability was the only thing I don't like about the car. Everything else is absolutely awesome. I can't believe how much fun I have driving my son to school - it's my own personal 3 km long Nurburgring morning race. No car I've ever driven feels the same as a Mini (except maybe for a 1996 Miata I drove for a while in LA). I'm love with my bucket of bolts, and accept it just the way it is.

There are no perfect cars, but Honda and Toyota, IMHO, are closer to that goal than anyone else. I'm talking from personal experience here, both with Honda and Mini.

 

"No car I've ever driven feels the same as a Mini (except maybe for a 1996 Miata I drove for a while in LA)"

Had to reply to this thread.....I visited here quite often late last year....my '99 Miata purchased new, autocrossed, tracked a few times and a 4 season daily driver was the highlight of most "work days". No problems other than normal wear and tear and routine maintenance.

Test drove the MCS and loved it..many of same fun to drive feelings but in a FWD version......

But in the end, it was exactly these reports of "expected" non-reliability coupled with 2+hrs to nearest MINI dealer that convinced me to be a "repeat" Miata (now MX-5's) buyer and purchased a leftover new '08 In January with the power retractable hard top option (4 season driver you know!) for many thousands less than a MINI. Now have 6,600 trouble-free miles.

I still look at every MINI that I pass and would genuinely like to own one (for a 3rd car perhaps) someday but in the end fun + reliability + local service won me over.

Best to you all with your MINIs!

 

A Mini is NOT for everyone any you seem to be one of those it is not made for. Have fun with your Miata and we will do the same with our Minis.

Jim