2013 MCs, 18,5k miles, no issues - also knock on wood. Fact. Warranty until 2017.

 

2009 Mini Cooper S, 84K miles

1) Replaced clutch ($700 with labor)
2) Replaced clutch pedal ($225 with labor)
3) Changed timing belt tensioner (not needed but did it anyways just in case) ($20 did myself)
4) Tail gate latch replaced as it opened while driving ($100 did myself)

Other than that no issues, I do regular maintenance and minor mods such as
1) Mobile 1 full synthetic 0w-40 ($5/liter)
2) K&N oil filter ($14 bucks)
3) Aftermarket oiled air filter ($30 bucks)
4) Front two wiper blades ($14 bucks)
5) Racing stripes ($30 bucks)
6) Spare tire which I put in the trunk ($100 bucks)

No other issues thus far, the car seems to be running great. I do wonder if I should have the water pump and timing chain replaced as it seems to commonly fail however my mechanic told me not to mess with it if it has no issues.

 

Water pump at 45k
3 Thermostat Housing at 30k, 60k (myself) and 98k
3 batteries
3 sets of tires
Chain Tensioner 25k
power windows didn't close...50k
Brakes only one side rears warranty covered
sway bar bushings
3 windshields
both headlights burnt out


Wanna buy my piece of crap 2009 JCW Clubman?
Getting rid of this POS, Not soon enough
Don't buy

 

2007 Cooper S w/77K.

Replaced Items

3 Tensioners and 2 timing chains before I owned it.

Water pump (plastic housing)

Thermostat housing (plastic)

Warped hood scoop.

Valve cover leak.

Vacuum pump. (very small leak/preventative maintenance)

Passenger cowel panel (battery cover cracked apart)

Pending Items

High Pressure Fuel pump (cold start issues when below 0 degrees)

Lower Turbo Oil line (minor seepage at this point)

Oil Filter Housing Adapter Gasket (while I'm doing the Turbo lines)

Valve Stem Seals on Head (due to oil consumption)

 

If the rubber seal inside the crimped fitting is the culprit the whole oil line will need to be replaced unfortunately. 11657534454 HERE and lots of good info about the line at this NAM thread here. A good DIY here.

 

2011 MCS currently with 52K miles and I just bought it Sept 5, 2015.

According to Carfax
3/2012 - water pump replaced
9/2012 - clutch disc replaced and flywheel serviced
4/2015 - thermostat replaced
7/2015 - fuel injectors and spark valve gasket replaced

and now the car is in the shop to get the thermostat replaced 😟

I'm hoping the car runs fine after the repair and give me lots of miles to enjoy.

 

Started good and at 45K got my first warning should have run then.


Warranty issues

45K miles Vanos system went FUBAR dealer replaced all parts under warranty total cost to mini USA 2200.00


60K miles Sat Antenna failed on a three year old car (mini USA goodwill part and labor had to pay dealership 150.00 in evalution cost!!)


Spark plugs @ 80K due to random misfire at low RPM (2nd set since new as they were changed during vanos issue)

failed parts as of today @ 98K

Water pump
Thermostat
Oil pressure sensor unit seal filed
Oxygen sensor failed


Car is at dealership and they want 1K worth of repairs to see what else is wrong, Taking it today to get a 2nd opinion.

Might be selling car as is and going back to Toyota/Subaru as I understand the higher cost but I should be able to run the car to at least 150K miles without dumping 3-5 grand into it

 

2012 Cooper, ~45K miles so far.

Issues:
- Oil pump solenoid leak, twice. The fix for that required the thermostat housing to be replaced.
- Two random electrical glitches, the radio has freaked out three times, and the dashboard indicators once.
- The stock tire-changing jack didn't.

That's it so far!

 

Just bought a March 11 build Cooper S Hatch Auto with 59'000 Klm. I have been driving it for 2 weeks now and no issues so far. Prev owner just had all the injectors and timing chain replaced under warranty. The engine is an N18 however when I spoke to the dealer they said the chain was stretched so was replaced.

So far so good.

 

I was just shy of 130K when I traded it last week. Dealer replaced timing cassette at about 120K on their dime. I changed the t-stat, water pump, turbo oil lines, and belt pre-emptivley. Still on the original clutch.

 

09 Cooper S 54k

timing chain
thermostat housing
ac compressor 41k
window regulators 42k
engine driven water pump
replaced engine 40k
replaced steering rack 54k
warped scoop
fuel level sensor 28k
melted tail lamp

Maybe I've missed something, but those are the things I remember on top of my head, but somehow still love to drive it

 

2009 MCS 6spd. I purchased mine with 42k miles on it, completely stock from an individual. I'm at 50k now

So far I have replaced:

Battery.

Timing chain, including all the plastic guides and the updated tensioner. The top guide was shattered and the chain was slapping around. Timing was out, but not terribly.

Walnut blasted the intake vales/ports. It didn't need it as bad I thought it would based off of what I had read and seen online, but once it was apart did it anyway.

HPFP. The car was having trouble starting in the morning, or more technically I was experiencing a long crank on cold starts. This was covered by the warranty

It's a Florida car, and the windshield apron was battered to death by sun exposure so I replaced both pieces.

My hood release cable popped loose and I didn't have to replace anything, but I did have to repair it.

I now have a slow leaking axle seal, and will replace it this weekend.

 

2012 MCS w/JCW Tuning Kit, 77500 miles.

Temp sensor (15k miles, MINI campaign)
HPFP (47k miles, partial failure, warranty)

No other repairs.

Wearables: front brake pads, rear brake pads, tires 2x, plugs, air filter, cabin air filter. FSD shocks recently just b/c they're nicer, stocks were still quite viable, no leaks etc. Oil changes at 7500 mile intervals.

 

My 2008 non-s has 137000 on it. I too installed a set of Koni FSD struts because my left front suddenly failed. Sooo much nicer now. Oil changes every 3000 miles. Started consuming a little oil but overall it feel the best it ever has. Hard to believe I still love driving this car after driving it for 100000 miles.

 

07 justa mini cooper. Close to 90k miles. Recently oil filter housing coolant leak so far.

 

'12 Cooper S with 43K miles.

Rear mud flap that took 3 service calls to get it installed properly - incompetent dealer issue.

The rear brake light control board covered under warranty. The rear tail light showed blown, it was OK, replaced anyway new light would work intermittently for an hour or two then go out and show blown even though it wasn't.

Passenger side outside brake pad cracked about a third of it off. Pads were about half worn and I had to replace them at 41K miles.

34 MPG highway
28 MPG city

 

2010 R56S

Up to 50k, all it took was tires, pads, front rotors and fluid services

In the last 6 months and under 3k miles ( been in shop much longer than out)

Water pump
Cylinder head
Thermostat housing
Oil filter housing
Turbo oil lines
Turbo heat shield (recall)
Passenger occupancy seat deally (recall)
6 lifters
Alternator
A bunch of broken wires and failed connectors
Timing chain and all related bits
Valve cover
3 coils
All sort of AC components and fan

Around 16k in warranty work in 4 months, cost me around 2k out of pocket for deductibles, diagnostics, and non covered items.

In the past 4 months I have had a loaner twice as long as I have had my car.
Dealer suggested complete motor replacement and warranty shot it down.
Today they are installing a new cylinder head, and I am supposed to get it back tomorrow.
This is either going to be one solid car when this is through, or a big pile of crap that I have thrown way too much money at. Nobody in their right mind would ever buy this car from me for more than scrap value if they see the extensive work so far, and the fact the dealership suggested full engine replacement.

Oh yeah, the dealer really loves me... We have been at war for four months over this crap, and last weekend I had the pleasure of totaling one of their 2015 4dr S hard tops with under 2,000 miles on the clock. Yay!

After all this I still love that damn car more than any other I have owned in my 30 years of driving. I pray that this is all behind me, and she will be a reliable car for another 50k miles, but I've grown quite skeptical about 2nd gen Minis. I planned on driving it from VA to Colorado next month, if I do brave it, I'll probably add coolers for trans and oil and possibly radiator or fan upgrade and do a shorter shake down run (the Dragon is quite lovely in the fall.....) before braving the Co run. If she fails at that point, then it's rag in the gas tank time.

 

I can only answer half of the question. My Mini a 2008 Hatchback came to me almost two months ago well used and a little abused but I got it cheap. It had 120,520mi on it. We thought it had a blown head gasket that was not the case it was way over full on oil so much so it had 16 oz on top of two of the four cylinders because it had been sitting for two winters.

I have put 5000 on it since I started driving it around the 10th of August and no issues other that a O2 sensor code(0036) and a thermostat code(0599). I run with the Torque app and bluetooth device so I can watch the temp among other things. If you want extra gauges and the factory sensors is suffice then this is the cheapest way to them. I figure the factory sensor and torque is better than an idiot light.

 

'13 MCS (n18 engine)

30K miles - no issues , smooth as butter

 

2008 R55, N12 engine (non S), 84,000 miles

A few early hardware issues such as club door latch and drivers door opening with extra difficulty

Replaced run flats after 1 year with Michelin Pilot SS on new 17 in rimes+ Hakkapeliittas on the original 16 in rims

Thermostat housing at 40,000 miles $450 (fingers crossed on the current one)

I'm on battery #3

Shocks failed at 65,000 miles, replaced them with 4 Koni FSI

Spark plugs at 70,000 (probably didn't have to but it was hard starting last winter due to moisture)

Timing chain tensioner at 60,000 (chain slack was beyond spec)$300
New serpentine belt and timing chain & tensioner at 70,000 (pre-emptive strike) (about $1000)

All smooth since then up to 84,000, except that the driver door handle is still funky and sometimes you'd swear it's locked, but it isn't. I have F56 envy when it comes to door handles.

Other 'mods'
Chrome mirror caps that alternate seasonally with the blacks
custom arm rest
stubby antenna

 

2008 Non-S 137000 miles.

Thermostat housing at 40000 miles.
Struts at 135000 miles.
Rear hatch latch 100000 miles.
Brakes and rotors twice.
Sunvisor at around 80000.

This car has been very reliable and I expect 3x more mileage from it.

 

2012 R55 S - current mileage 34k

12k - coolant temp sensor replaced
20k - Control module for steering column (started the car one day ... christmas lights and abs kept locking up, car wasn't drivable, only time the car was ever towed to Mini)
27k - tuning **** on stereo broke, when rotated it had resistance - Mini replaced under warranty
29k - Clutch/flywheel replaced (warranty)
30k - While picking up the car after an oil change the car through a code and they replaced the thermostat. Went from picking up the car after routine service to letting them keep it for the weekend.

All in all ...not terrible though I was a little put off by the clutch needing replaced at 29k, when the car isn't driven very hard.

 

2008 R56 S- 66,200 miles

Replaced the thermostat housing and turbo oil line at about 55k.


Other than that just oil changes every 5k and regular oil top-offs. Brake/clutch fluid flushed at about 50k. I'll be changing oil and spark plugs this weekend. Also need a new battery, still on the original =].

I actually almost traded in for a 2016 GTI 4dr over the weekend. Nice car but not 100% better than the Mini so I'll pass for now.

*Edit* I also want to add that the window motors have been wonky for a while now. If one window is traveling and I hit the switch for the other window it will cause the first window to go back in the opposite direction and vise versa. Or if the windows are traveling and I open the door it sometimes causes them to go the opposite direction. Annoying, but not worth fixing IMO.

 

2009 Justa Base Cooper- Currently pushing 90,000 miles.
Only issues out of ordinary- Replaced Throttle Body @ 80,000 miles.
Replaced the windshield washer reservoir container @ 50,000 miles due to pinhole leak.
Other than that, routine maintenance parts.

 

My 08 MCSa was purchased in Oct 2011 with 49k miles on it. Warranty history showed:
new timing chain/tensioner
new turbo


Since I've owned it (not in any order):
Oil filter housing/oil cooler gaskets (leaking)
Oil pressure sensor (leaking)
Thermostat (leaking)
Water pump (leaking)
Coolant Tank (leaking)
Timing chain tensioner o-ring (leaking)
Valve cover (leaking)
Turbo oil lines (preventative)
Battery (preventative)
Spark Plugs (2 sets, preventative)
ATF change (twice, preventative)


Not counting oil changes, brakes, and mods.


Ugly list, but still love the car.


Have fun,
Mike