Well, if you thought your MINI was unreliable: Why I would never by a GM car again.
My previous family car was a factory ordered Buick Century.
From day 1, the car had issues. The passenger door was misaligned and did not close without having to lift it a bit. I returned to the dealer 5 times to have it fixed. The fifth time, I went into the shop and showed the mechanic what I was talking about including what I had to do in order to just close the door.
Wheel bolts broke while driving. Had to replace them on my own dime.
Engine rattled when cold.
Car was recalled because the highlight bulbs installed were considered too hot. GM's remedy, replace with noticeably dimmer light bulbs.
Replaced battery every 2 to 3 years.
tailight bulb sockets melted. GM's remedy, keep replacing light bulbs (wear and tear items so I paid for them). Turned out the plastic bulb sockets wer melted. So I paid $50 each for new sockets.
Years 6 to 9 after the warranty expired, I was spending close to $5000 a year just to keep the car running. Year 9 was told my engine heads had cracked. Decided it was cheaper to own a BMW 5 series so got rid of the Buick as fast as I could.
In spite of the few niggling issues I had with my MINI over the 11 years I've driven it, it has been the epitome of economical to own and reliability in my books. Even though I think they should have done a better job with the top engine mount and the bottom mounted power steering fan, at least MINI extended the warranty on it and I never actually had the fan blow out on me.
and having this level of reliability and being a hoot to drive. It's been great.
