Hi all. This is my first post, first thread, and first new car. I placed a deposit for a MCCs a couple weeks ago, and it's due to arrive in mid-December.

I've long been an owner/fan of (used) hatchbacks and was casually looking for an update to my long-in-tooth Honda Civic DX. The new ride needed to be reasonably practical (i.e. with sufficient cargo room to accommodate my surfboard and mtb inside, which ruled out the MC), fun to drive & available in manual transmission (which ruled out the Prius), and fuel-efficient (ruling out the VW GTI, Mazda 3, and many others). Reliability and quality are default requirements... This left the Honda Fit, which I couldn't find myself getting terribly excited about.

A month or so ago I happened upon the MCC, which I had been oblivious to, and it seemed the clear winner. What was so surprising was that the S version traded off almost no fuel economy, and in fact beats the Honda Fit Sport for highway mileage. On the other hand, my Honda has treated me well for many years and I've always been a believer in Japanese engineering, whether in cars or motorcycles. Nevertheless after some deliberation, I decided to throw caution to the wind and follow my heart.

After finding no used MCCs in the area, I started pricing new models and soon found myself at the local dealer. Fortunately they had demo vehicles of both the justa and the S, allowing me to do a back-to-back test-drive in that order; afterwards it was clear which one to go with. After sleeping on it, I placed the deposit the next day. Past the point of no return.

I was very much looking forward to my car's arrival. However, in reading through this forum, I've come across worrying threads regarding the S and its reliability; the most notable related to the HPFP and carbon build-up on the intake valves. I did understand I was taking a step down in reliability going to a BMW-built vehicle, but these problems are both severe, and seem to have persisted through several model years. (In particular, the HPFP appears to fail without warning and leave one stranded road-side.) This would seem to speak loudly for MINI/BMW's attitude toward quality and improvement in these cars -- will the 2011 models be similarly afflicted? No one wants to drive a time bomb, whether on commute or a long road trip. Imagine missing an important flight because the HPFP gave out on the way to the airport.

Anyways, this has gotten rather long. I suppose I had to unload my thoughts somewhere. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading!

-HB

 

Actually, I had kinda the same feeling when I purchased my '07 MCS.I had already left a deposit. After finding out about this forum and some of the problematic posts 0f the 2nd gen ('07-10) I said UH OH did I by the wrong car.But let me say this, I have been one of the more fortunate ones to pretty much have a trouble free Mini other than a noise from my steering column as of recent.My only suggestion to you is change the oil more frequently than Mini states and keep an eye out on your oil level as some MCS's burn more than others.Change fluids/air filter and foremost use nothing but premium gas the higher the octane the better I use shell V-power 93 oct. unfortunately they all have added ethanol but I have found a local Shell with 10% ethanol and 93oct also I add techron to a full tank every 3000 mi or so,I'm pretty much a fanatic on car care and it pretty much speaks for itself

 

Worry not. Browse the forums for any other vehicle and find similar tales of collective woe. Then consider this basic aspect of human nature: we are consumers of information, but are only compelled to put the effort in to comment when we have a gratification, ie. The new cor delights, and then later, the complaints. There's nothing wrong about this. But you have a bunch of posts about a known issue ( and scattered random posts about unusual issues) which reflects a small number of the total MINIs on the road. We're in an enthusiast forum, a smaller selection set than the general MINI driving public. We commiserate and complain together, and we get things DONE collectively by bringing shared issues to the attention of each other and BMW / MINI. It's a good thing.

The indications are that the HPFP fail is behind us with the 11s but no one really knows. BMW recalled the pump in the BMWs and is handling MINIs as warranty repair items and boosted the warranty on them for good measure. That there wasn't a recall for us most likely indicates the numbers weren't there. Not as many failures as their other line. Again, we don't know. But this is the way of modern technology. And while we have all heard the stories about the unstoppable, eternal Japanese cars, and you may have had great luck with your Honda, I know many who have not. Honda and Toyota have each issued record breaking recalls and toyota have suffered financially considerably as a result. Having until recently owned an element in between my MINIs and as a result having spent the last year on the element forum, I can tell you they have their share of issues too
The key difference: the MINI has a fun factor and emotional tether than will all you to weather the inconveniences as they occur. No guarantees, but I think youlll have a great, adventurous future with your r55.

Speaking of, i just spent the afternoon wrenching on my one week old clubman s. I took a friend around in it who had previously been accustomed to my first gen S coupe and he could not believe how it handled, drove and accelerated. "this is the longer MINI?!?" he kept repeating, like a mantra.
It's a great car!

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences and for the reassuring words, minimize07 and thirdraildesignlab -- it's much appreciated.

I am curious, how easy is the MCCs to work on relative to other cars? I only have experience working on motorcycles.

-HB

 

Welcome to the forum, actually I don't think either the HPFP or the carbon buildup are widespread problems, take care of the car and it will take care of you.

 

I tend to think of all contemporary vehicles, especially compact ones, as more annoying to wrench on than older ones because of how everything is sandwiched together. But this is a layman's impression, as I haven't done much in the way of under the bonnet work, other than a CAI. But the best thing is we have a pretty comprehensively experienced community of NAM members to assist with questions once you get into it...