Most liked posts in thread: Thinking about a Mini what to "look" out for.

Once you drive an S that is it. You will not be happy with a non-S. I have 116,000 miles on my MINI & plan to drive it many more. Is it as reliable as some of the appliance cars out there? Heck no, but it is loads & loads of fun. Fun keeps me driving a MINI.

 

I agree N2MINI if I buy a current generation car it will be a non-tubo for sure. Just my .02. No offense meant to turbo fanciers.

 

The non-S is fun. The S is more fun. At least for me. We have one of each.

 

Welcome to M/A....

I see you are fairly local to central Ohio. Stop by at our next morning breakfast & talk MINI's with us. Next one is May 18th. Most folks arrive about 8:30 or so.

[ame="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Tim+Hortons+7400+Fodor+Rd+New+Albany+OH,+43054"]Tim Hortons 7400 Fodor Rd New Albany OH, 43054 - Google Maps[/ame]

 

I have put 116,000 miles on my non S MINI and drive it in a wide range of driving conditions. Daily driver, back road twisty blast, Dragon trips ever year, auto x, VIR track day, BMW Center days, and the only problem I have had to speak of is both axles were replaced at 100,000. Might have been due to car be lowered quite a bit for all those miles and axles not being in correct angles. Not sure if that has any bearing on that or not. If I do buy another mini it will be a non s car. Even if and or when they come out with a new engine I don't want to be the first one to be testing it out.

 

I joined the local guys a year ago. I had a WRX. They gave me a thorough education on MINIs. I ended up getting an 05 S JCW. The car is great. Come join us and we'll help you out.

 

Welcome to M/A! I have 3 MINIs...one, an '03 MC-cvt, and the other two are '06 MCSa. The '06es are supercharged, so if you are looking for a turbo, you need to look after '06. I bought one '06 new and the other used; the MC was bought used, too.

I don't put much stock in repair reports like those in Consumer reports, especially since I have had no significant problems with ANY of my MINIs.

Please come to the monthly meeting at Tim Horton's, in New Albany, as there are plenty of folk with all sorts of MINIs who can answer the questions you need answered.

 

:cornut: 1st Post, Welcome to MA! Please do meet with the above people to get info from 'the horses mouth'. If you need to haul 4 people then you're talking Clubman or Countryman and that rules out Gen 1.

Jason

 

Welcome to M /A .

 

Close to Mad River Mountain....come over to breakfast in New Albany on the 18th and kick some tires.

 

Every car make has it's problems, and of course you only read about the problems on forums, not the 100's or 1000's of happy owners that had their car perform perfect on the way to work. That being said I'd stay clear of the first couple of years of each Gen MINI.. in the "S" model. The non "S" MINIs seem to not have near the problems as the "S" cars have had here and there.. Good luck with your search..

 

You should look out for a good deal on a torque wrench.
Seriously wrenching this car is almost as much fun as driving it.

 

:cornut: An 06 R53 JCW that has been well maintained and is offered at a reasonable price is one of the best MINIs that one could buy. Years of motoring enjoyment there.

Jason