Why are Mini Coopers still junk?
 

My 06 S has become a POS at 67K miles. SC is garbage due to it "drying out" (bad seals) as is the water pump. I'm having to spend close to $2K just in parts to fix it. I was thinking of getting a new 2010 MCS but after visiting you guys on here, I've come to the conclusion that these things are just junk. My 04 had issues as well. Makes it hard to like these cars. :mad:

Buy a Hyundai they never break.:thumbsup: :nod:

It's not easy owning a unique British/German car, best thing to do is own it until the warranty ends and then get a new one and so on and so on... :grin:

Or, you find a good one, and keep it forever. At some point it will become a classic.

Did you purchase your MINI's New from the dealer or used from private party sale....

All I can say is that if you change the ALL the fluids When it's best for the car, ( not 15K miles on synthetic oil changes when the FILTERS are not designed to go that long...doh ) and change the wearable parts that can wear out before they do, you will have a better journey......

So could be the prior owners did not maintain the cars before you purchased them. I have some 85K miles on my 03, upgraded some parts designed for 05/06 models as my oem parts wore out, and I have no issues.

It was fun to drive but the cold chatter problem made me sell the car.
Go try the new GTI.

I ordered my MINI as a Cooper even though I could have gotten an S. I would love to have had the performance of the S but I don't want the headaches. Extra moving parts along with forced induction almost by definition will eventually cause problems. I'm sure most have no problems but I'm always the guy that will have the type of problems you currently are experiencing. I'm one of the first Cooper Clubman owners and haven't experienced any problems at all(knock on wood). Good luck!

Go to any car forum and I bet you will see people complaining about their cars. Most people will post about their most negative or positive experiences. (ie you won't see me posting about my uneventful drive to work .... or maybe I will :roll:)

Looks like you were giving MINI another chance by buying that 06. It is hard to wash away the taste of bad-car experience.

At 15,000 miles now, my 2009 Clubman has had no problems, no rattles, nothing but good motoring :)

I'm on my 3rd MINI. No major issues here. Every car has their problems.

my 05 S was junk but my 09 S is a solid car. I decided to give the brand one more chance because my dealer was so supportive in attempting to fix he 05s many problems.

Thanks for sharing. Thanks for taking the few people that post about their problems as the ONLY ones who own MINIs and are representative of ALL the owners (even the thousands and thousands of owners who have NO issues and therefore see no need to post about it). Enjoy whatever POS you buy next and will then whine about. I can't imagine any other car out there will require any repairs in the first 67k miles. :roll:

Sorry, my Troll Alarm is buzzing. A post in an enthusiasts forum like this one with an OP title such as it is, and using words like "junk" and "garbage" based on a couple of age-related mechanical issues with a four-year old car. I invite you to draw your own conclusions...

Another very positive owner here. The only issues I've had were because of me modifying the car out of factory specifications.

Then go buy something else and see how you do. Could it be you don't know how to take care of your car.

I agree with markusw...
 

you can go to any car forum and find people who are unhappy. This includes Mercedes, BMW, Porche etc. I had a 06 Mercedes before I bought my MINI and it was nothing but problems. At twice the cost of the MINI.

It's hard to fault someone who's actually had serious issues with the MINI for complaining, especially in the stock problems/issues forum. Let the man speak his peace.

That said, in any case it's all in the poster's perspective. He's had issues with his MINIs, he will move onto something else. Meanwhile those of us who have had positive experiences with the brand will continue to support it. The End. Unless there was something else in the post everyone else missed (?).

His post should be in the 1st Gen stock problems/issues forum.

Maybe he's confused. His problems with his first MINI were his first generation of problems, and now he's on his second generation of problems. :lol:

I like "JUNK"
 

I liked my 98 Corvette

I love my 1988 Samuari

I had a few Harly Davidson Motorcycles

Now I have a Mini Cooper

That just proves I like "JUNK":thumbsup:

1) I should have known better...no I'm not a troll. Good grief.
2) I posted in this section because (as I said) I was thinking about a new 2010 but wanted to see what kind of problems they have.
3) I already posted in the 1st generation problems section. If you would pay a visit to the 1st gen "stock problems" section you would see that the cooked SC seems to be a MAJOR issue, just like you guys' cold start, death rattle, smelly clutch (etc) problems.
4) I'm well aware that all cars have problems...I own 4 different makes and I regularly read all the boards related to them. (Jeep Rubicon, C6 Corvette, Ford Super-Duty and this MCS) I'm a "car guy" and have owned LOTS of cars. Nothing has given me such problems in such a small amount of time as (both) of my Coopers.
5) I was simply asking a question, I wasn't looking to get flamed. Let me re-phrase the question...

Is it an engineering issue with Cooper? Quality control? Supplier issues? I would just like a Cooper that hasn't had problems. After reading all the issues that you folks have talked about, I'm not to keen on buying another one.

With all that being said, it just makes no sense to me that Eaton (Cooper) could design and install a supercharger that goes dry due to seals AND on top of that, they claim that the SC oil is good for 100K miles AND they make it almost impossible to check the oil even if the owner knew there was a way! (Which I did not until after it was way too late).

If you want to get an idea for the kinds of problems a 2010 might have, you should try reading instead of posting. Or actually ask a question about people's experience (see below).

Why would I pay attention to that? I own a 2nd Gen and I'm interested in 2nd Gen issues. That's why this is the 2nd Gen section. Really makes no sense for other posters/readers, in response to your "question" to think, "hmm, maybe I should go over to the 1st Gen section and see what kinds of problems they have before I post something about a 2nd Gen."

I don't see a single question in your original post. I see a recounting of your history with your 1st Gen MINIs. And you state that you have already reached the conclusion "that these things are just junk." So, even if you had asked a question, I'm not sure what the point would be since you've already arrived at your conclusion.

Is what an engineering, quality control, or supplier issue? You'll have to be more specific than "it"?

Based on your posts, it doesn't sound like a good fit for you. I'd look at some other makes/models if I were you. As you've concluded, these things are junk and I'm not sure you would ever be happy buying junk. Kind of like me and Ford.

So, we are back to a rant about 1st Gen issues, superchargers specifically, which has no relevance to the 2nd Gen section.

Well a quick search on all posts from the OP and this is what I found.

The OP made an interesting post on 10-15-2008 about having to pay $2000 to fix a "squeel" and $700 to replace the front brake pads and rotors. And he was at 35,000 miles...he declared he was "done". It was determined that he had a dealership problem more than a MINI problem and he agreed but that being in San Diego he felt he had few options to find a better dealer.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...437-post1.html

He posted again in March 2009 due to a burrito hitting his MINI and then disappeared until January 2010.

Richard

Yep. If you want maximum fun, get the turbo/supercharger. If you want max reliability....don't.

AMEN. Thank you.