A bit over 3 years and 20,000 miles with no problems and lots of smiles.

 

Chow,

you still have your MINI?

 

2003 MC Owner. Took delivery 03/01/03. Has been problem free. Warranty is up on 02/27/07 hoping it remains trouble free.

 

I am right behind you. Took delivery September 2003 on my Cooper. 23,000+ miles and no major issues.

 

LOL. I have an '03 MCS and have had zero problems. The car now has 90K kilometers on it (55K miles), I've done all the usual mods (17%, CAI, exhaust, OCC), it goes like crazy and has been the most fun of any car I have driven over 40 years. It is my daily drive, winter and summer. Nothing but praise here, brother.

 

another '03 just over 74k and only had to stay overnight 1 time. Nothing to cry about!!! I love my mini!!!!

 

03 MCS bought in July 2003 and sold in July 2006. 9.5K miles.....

( 1) Faulty wiring harness (unresolved)
( 2) Broken power windows (two trips)
( 3) Cracked coolant reservoir (one trip)
( 4) Self ejecting #2 spark plug (one trip)
( 5) Faulty power steering fan (one trip)
( 6) Peeling steering wheel (unresolved)
( 7) Haunted glove box (three trips to fix)
( 8) 2 replaced throttle bodies (four trips)
( 9) Replaced TOB and reverse idler gear (one loooooong trip)
(10) Stumble (unresolved - 4 trips)
(11) AC wouldn't hold charge for more than 5 months (unresolved - 4 trips)
(12) A-pillar cover suicide (two trips)
(13) Countless rattles (unresolved - 4 trips)
(14) Unresolved cold start issues (unresolved)
(15) Disintegrating crank pulley (1 trip)
(16) Strut tower mushrooming (unresolved)

Except for the crank pulley, throttle bodies and the wiring harness, the majority of the issues were *ahem* minor. While my car did not catch fire, it spent more time at the dealership than any other car I've owned - in fact, more than the last three cars I've owned combined.

Alot of the trips to the local Mini hack shop were combined, but I am looking at 17 little white, yellow and black service folders here in my hands.

 

Lets keep this to the question and not turn this into ANOTHER list my car's repair history thread.

1. Notice that most of the people that have problems have LOTS of problems and those who don't don't
2. There is a thread on engine fires, It has happend like 6 times or something like that....I would bet that is a rate that is very normal, yes normal, no matter the brand you have some amount of electrical failure
3. Mushrooming....Most mushrooming is found on cars that have installed aftermarket parts....all these people go out playing with spring rates and dropping inches and adding 18" wheels like they are mr. engineer and it is no suprise that they are getting problems...Dont blame that on the car
4. Warranty service....see #3....Machines are extremely interdependant, even the team of engineers who designed your car cant predict what even the simplest change will have.....Thats why they do TESTING anfter every little change in design! Leave your car alone until you are out of warranty and you will have no problems
5. I have not seen but one wiper motor issue but there are valid window motor issues and windshield issues but those really are pretty minor and certainly is not a safety concern
6. Please remember that people here are hyper aware about things. I have had at least a half dozen things addressed by the dealer that I would never cared about if I was like the vast majority of people who just buy the cars and drive them and not waste hours in forums talking about the cars we love.
7. yo-yo and cold starts are resolved with a software fix

lastly......I grew up with carburated engines that would never start in the winter. The newest car I had before the MINI was 12yrs old and 125k when I got it! and most were much older. No airbags, no side impact safety beams, metal dashes. no isofix hardpoints for child seats.....shoot I grew up with no child seat period......So when you start wringing your hands talking about safety it begins to really show your age

 

No problems w/ my '03 Cooper.

 

No problems with my 7 month old baby. (Except a flat tire and that was really not her fault.)

9,100 miles and she is looking forward to her first routine service at the dealership.

 

No aftermarket springs, no 18" wheels.

If it's OK with you, I'm gonna keep blaming the car.

 

I've had my 03 for just over 4 years and 130,000 miles and I would consider it trouble free . It has never left me stranded, or been to the dealer for anything other than the first two oil changes.

There has been the maintenance that every car has - tires & brakes, then the mod bug - pulley, intake, wheels, rear sway, control arms etc, so I have seen the hood up on this car more than others I've owned, but its because I'm usually tinkering with something.... .

Nik

 

April '05 MC, 30,000 miles, no problems, very solid, i love it

 

06 MCS w/ 9K miles & no problems so far (knocking on fake wood desk). I was nervous about this too since I've always had Japanese cars (with mostly good luck) previously. I also agree that it's the few problems that you hear about, not the majority lack thereof (any car co. can make a lemon, my older brother bought his first japanese car (mid 90's Mazda 626) & had nothing but TONS of problems with it & now only buys American.

 

I read this somewhere, and don't have a source for it, so treat it like anything else you read on the internet, but it was along the lines of:

the least reliable car on the market today is more reliable than the MOST reliable car from 10 years ago.

And I think that makes sense, so I believe it. now, the MINI is neither the least nor most reliable car sold, but it is one of the most fun. I'll take my chances.

FWIW, though, I treat my cars harshly (autocrossing, spirited year round driving, lots of trips, etc) and I've had very few warranty issues on any new car I've owned. My first MINI did go in for some speaker rattling, but that was it.

 

2004 Cooper with 47,000 and no issues other than the ones that I caused - read put car in ditch and on it's side. Should be noted that it was a non-injury accident. And to briefly comment on the Honda Civic, my brother had one from 1991 to 2000. It went through brakes like a Ferrari goes through oil. It turned out to be 4 new brakes every year and new rotors every other pad change and it still took a mile to stop the car from 60 mph.

And don't believe anything that Chows says, they are nay say-ers, they say nay - to everything.

 

I happen to have a Honda and a MINI. The S2000 had 2nd gear replaced under warranty at 8000mi (it had an issue since new and was fixed per a TSB). An old guy at the dealer was kind enuf to curb the front of the car while moving the car and try to hide it from me. My '06 MCSA had a wheel bearing fail at around 25k mi, which caused the attached brake to be noisy (grindy squealy) and have horrible feel. Naturally, the dealer refuses to acknowledge the issue. My girlfriend who owns an '06 Cooper and a random valet guy yesterday have both remarked that my brakes "don't work". The tech at the dealer also left a huge greasy handprint on my A-pillar and broke the cabin air-filter during installation (of course didn't tell me) so the car whistles nicely on the highway and has a nice cool draft.

Summary, all cars have problems and all dealerships are evil. Also, I will shortly be selling the MINI and picking up a TL because I still trust Honda a heck of a lot more than MINI.

 

And civic brakes do suck...mainly the rotors which seem to warp every few months.

 

Sounds more like a case of bad dealer than bad MINI
Apart from a bad motor mount (which is a 1 hour swap out covered under warranty) I haven't had any mechanical issues with my MC over and above new car owner paranoia (SES light came on because gas jockey didn't tighten the cap properly).

 

My sold my first MCS after 37 months with 15,000 miles and the only problem and or defect was the H/K amp died at the dealership when picking up the car after an annual service and it was fixed before I left for home.

My current MCS has just under 5,000 miles and is 7 months old with no questions or complaints.

I did about a dozen track days, over a two year period, with the first car and have not as yet with my current car but I intend to do track days with this one as well.

Give the car a chance to prove it's worth and as one poster said the worst car today is better than the best of 10 years ago.

Hope this helps...

 

it's an economy sports car . stress on the economy . the 07's are meant to address much of the issues . but they're ugly as sin . so just deal .

 

Speaking of economy sports cars, I haven't driven the Pontiac Solstice GXP, but there was one at the local autocross last week, and he did *really* well. I looked up the stats, and they're impressive - 260hp/260ft-lbf torque, and a base price of $27,100, which puts it squarely in the price range of an MCS cabrio, with about 90 more horsepower.

Now like I said, I haven't driven one or even sat in one, so the fit/finish/reliability may be awful, but if you like the looks of it, I can see it being an attractive choice.

 

Almost 4 years and a.most 30,000 miles and no major problems.
A few minor things, none that required an urgent visit to the dealer,
or that couldn't be easily remedied by myself.
I've done a lot to/for the car just for the fun of doing it.

 

'05 MC, 32k miles, had a noisy belt tensioner replaced under warranty. That's all, 6 DE's and numerous autox, no real problems.

 

'04 MCS no problems. 46K and it's only been in for scheduled service.