At 36,000 miles I had low coolant, so I replaced it and scheduled service. I found a small leak on the passenger side. Prestige Mini replaced the water pump, but apparently didn't test drive the car, because it overheated 5 miles from the dealership, as soon as I put the A/C on- it was 90 degrees out.
They replaced the friction wheel that drives the pump and the belt tensioner. I picked the car up again, as soon as I put it in Sport mode, it sounded like it backfired through the intake, and lost power.

It didn't go into limp mode, but I brought it back to the dealership immediately. Apparently a clip on the intake pipe broke, probably because it was weakened from being removed twice for this fix, and 3 times for when they fixed the high pressure fuel pump last year. Do Mini dealers ever fix things right the first time? Prestige has been very good to me, but when it comes to warranty service the only time I got out of there with a one time fix was when the headlight lamps were misaligned.

I'm sorely tempted to trade in for a Certified S Clubman, because my warranty is up in 12000 miles and I don't trust this car to last very long.

 

Your experience, like many others is causing me to consider an extended warranty, or just buy something else before I hit 50. Kinda like A3's. Still like the C30. Maybe Saab will build a Sabb again.

I am afraid it is not just Mini dealers who can't fix anything the first time. This is a result of training kids to read codes and swap parts. They are not trained as mechanical technicians. They are not trained for "feel and touch" or how to sniff out a defect that is not in the book. Not blaming them exactly, as the cars are SOOOOO complicated these days. I can draw the entire wiring diagram for a Morgan on the back of a napkin; the Mini is 50 or so pages. Funny though, I am a total amateur but I don't seem to need to fix things twice.

 

They have replaced the clip, but have noticed noise from the timing chain, and think an issue with it may have caused the water pump wheel issues, so they are replacing the timing chain. At 37,000 miles.

I'm waiting for a quote on Extended Motorer Protection for 5 years/100k miles from Morristown Mini, which supposedly starts at $1695. Not so bad. Cheaper than a down payment on a new Mini, for sure. If I spring for that I'm getting the JCW Stage 1 Kit as well, to distract me from wanting a new faster Valvetronic 2011 MCS.