1st Gen R53 Cooper S Why is everyone's Minis Broke or breaking?

1st gen look for an 05 or 06

2nd gen 08 or later, the 07's had the usual MINI/BMW first year bugs.

 

Mine is a first gen 2006 MCS. To me it is the best of the breed. Others may have a difference of opinion. :smilewinkgrin:

 

2006 MCS for the win!

Another comment on reliability... MINI has been suffering as of late in the JD Power initial quality and reliability surveys, but you have to remember that one of the most common consumer complaints is wind noise. That's right - the car made it hard to hear their phone calls, so they complained on the JD Power surveys. :mad2:

 

Ugh. ut:

 

Poor MM, just doesn't get out much Rae. :nonod: :lol:

Jim

 

My '07 Justa has 49k miles on it, and I've had a couple minor problems fixed under warranty. It's been the most fun car I've ever owned, even more fun than my Miata (by just a hair!).

My SO's '05 Honda Element has 85k miles on it, and it has needed a few repairs as well, though not many considering the mileage. Is it reliable? Oh yeah. Is it boring? No question. Would I rather drive it over my MINI? Not a chance in..... well, you know where.

 

I have a 2010 MCS with 45,XXX miles. I daily drive the car as well as attend track-days regularly (about 1 to two times a month) and autocross. I would argue I am harder on the car than 90% of owners. I have had two issues:

1) Dual mass flywheel problem caused by poor assembly at the factory. I made it 34,000 miles on it. Warrantied and replaced whole assembly (clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, throwout bearing) in two days.
2) Timing chain tensioner bolt backing out. Bolt & seal replaced. Oil cleaned-up. Warrantied in one day.

This car is STOOPID fun to drive everyday. It's a blast on the track. It's certainly not the fastest thing out there but I enjoy myself every time I'm on track. (BTW, I am stock on street tires; no tune, no suspension bits, just the way the factory built it.)

 

+1

 

That number's closer to 99.5%. MINI delivered 216,000 cars worldwide in 2009 alone. 0.5% = 1100 cars. M/A has 4400 users. So people who track their MINIs regularly are in a very very small minority. People who care enough to talk about their cars online with virtual strangers are a slightly larger minority, but still a relatively small number of people.

So if you hear us complaining about something, that's cause we're the ones paying attention.

 

Consider that this is a concentration of people talking about issues with their MINIs; you aren't seeing all of us with no problems.

Just my $.02

 

...?! :eek6: I'll be honest but I've never done the math, so-to-speak. That's nuts. :crazy: I guess it's like 99.5% then. :ihih:

 

I've had 4 Minis and each one has been a ton of fun for me. I'm a bit older than most here and have owned a car dealership and even though my dealership sold high end Cerman cars i can honestly say in all those years I never really enjoyed driving any of the new or used cars we stocked. Then one day i made the mistake of driving a Mini and these have been the best. I've had my share of "issues" but the joy I get from looking at and driving them is well worth the price of admission.

 

Change your name to 2BEMINIfreak!:wink:

 

Yup my Civic may have gone 276,000+ miles (with no real issues), before I sold it. But it never made me smile the way my MINI does!!

 

Dont forget brake dust...just another silly consumer complaint that gets recorded on this survey.

+1 for the 2006's
I am on my second 2006 as I traded my Cooper in 2009 with 130,000kms on the clock for an MCS... which also now has 130,000kms on the clock...
Thermostat replacement on both, add oil when low (Don from WRR always says check it anyways) and enjoy many miles of motoring bliss

 

Love my '08. Fast as snot with the JCW upgrades...

 

Good luck and pick out a good one that doesn't have any problems....: D

 

My car is an '05 and didn't break for the 1st year of my ownership at 50+K and beyond. It's it the shop now (5 weeks) because a dumb broad ran a stop sign and hit me. I hope to get back behind the wheel tomorrow morning...