Hi all! I am considering to change a car and the mini is on my top 5, but the image of them not being so reliable is kinda off-putting for me. First of, I know the mantra "it's a money pit but it has personality"-I had two v-dubs Now my current car is a 06 civic which is about to reach 80k and it was not as mythically trouble free as the stories about hondas go. I had replaced the clutch master cylinder, transmission input shaft bearing, front brake rotors. Overall, with the 30k and 60k services and excluding oil changes this car cost me about $5000 in repairs/maintenance so far. Yikes. So, if I pick up a used mini (preferably a manual s) with 20k~30k on the odometer and keep it until it hits 80k-100k, can I expect it to cost less or at most as much as my civic? It would be interesting to hear the opinion of mini owners who drove over 100k miles.

Just for fun, here are the other cars I was thinking about: Fiat 500 Abarth(same, questionable reliability), Honda CRZ(I actually LIKE it, but the hybrid battery issues seem iffy), Hyundai Veloster Turbo(seems like hyundai stepped their game up, but driving it wasn't as exciting), Mazda 3 Skyactiv (seems to be the most reasonable but...)

 

Just on repairs I've spent about $3,500 in almost 130,000 miles. All of the repairs I had to pay for occurred after 100,000 miles, though I did have a couple repairs during the warranty period.

 

That sounds really good. What were these repairs? Also, the warranty is up to 60k, right?

 

Mesh learn to do the work yourself and save some money. Also if you are worried than stick with a reliable Japanese car. Euros are notorious for costing a lot to fix.

 

Well, I did all the work myself on the first vdub, kinda got tired of it haha. As you see my honda has not been terribly reliable(maybe because it was assembled in usa), so I was wondering if the stereotypes have been destroyed by now.

 

I almost didn't buy my 07 Rabbit due to.VW reliability concerns. It's turned out to be a very reliable vehicle. No out of pocket repairs in 107K miles (only two.while.under warranty). I had concerns about MINI's reliability but talked to lots of people and did a lot of reading and decided to chance it. Btw, have you test driven.the Mazda 3 with Sky Active? I did. Not impressed by anything except the mpg rating.

 

Biggest repair was the timing chain cartridge which had to be replaced - $1,700 or about half of my total cost in that one repair. Throttle body and some gaskets added another $500. I just had to get the water pump, thermostat, and oil filter housing gaskets replaced. That started out as a DIY but I ran into problems and ended up letting a shop finish it all for about $1,300. I did the turbo oil feed line as a DIY for about $100.

I believe the standard warranty is 4 years/50,000 miles. I had my heat exchanger replaced under that warranty and a couple minor items. My MINI was one of the units that had the HPFP warrantied up to 120k miles and I had that replaced at 118k miles under the warranty.

It was kind of interesting in that the two years from the 50k mark to the 100k mark were trouble-free and the MINI never saw the shop (all routine maintenance was DIY). The past year from 100k - 125k was the worst so far, first with the timing chain and throttle body problems last summer and then the cooling system failures just recently. I'm hopeful this next year will be a quiet one in terms of repairs.

 

DIY is a great way to go if you have the time plus you get to learn a lot about your MINI and feel great that you completed projects you previously thought were reserved for the service dept.

 

Mine has been more reliable than most Hondas and Toyotas I've owned. In over 10 years and 306,000 miles I've probably spent about $2,000 in repairs. Door lock actuator, window regulator, axel, and one super charger. Tires and mods, well that's a different story.

Nik

 

Thank you for the replies! You almost swayed me into it Again, I guess I'm not dedicated since DIY got old for me fairly quick. Any heads up on mini specific tell tale signs of previous abuse?

Oh, and I did drive the Skyactiv 3. I probably don't know anything about cars since I actually liked it haha

 

Consider an S with the fewest miles within your price range and preferably hasn't been modded.......yet!

 

If I were to do it all again, I don't know what I'd buy, mainly because the mini is becoming SO common here in Cincinnati. I do still get a lot of compliments, women in particular love them.

I bought my '10 Mini used 6 months ago. It had 36K miles, and has never been in for repair since new, at least according to dealer records. Now has 45K and still no repairs. The year and model you purchase have something to do with reliability. The '10s had no real issues listed on Consumer Reports compared to say earlier models. The S versions also appear to tend to run into more issues than non-S versions.

Personally, I do love the looks of my mini, but I am tired of driving it. It was fun for the first 6 months, but it I really hate feeling every bump in the road. Cincinnati has a LOT of potholes and I'm constantly on the lookout for every bump and hole, the car just picks up too much of the road for my taste. I have had to had my mini aligned twice this winter.

I do like the small size, it is so easy to clean, fits everywhere. The oxygen blue color has grown on me, it is my favorite mini color. Waxed it looks very slick and wet, and it gets it's fair share of admiring looks. I do hate metal flake paint, so the paint on my mini is a favorite feature for me.

Another down side to this car is I am cleaning it every day, I absolutley hate driving the car with dirty wheels or with any spots.

 

If you are into the Mini experience then it is probably worth your while. At least until you aren't into it anymore.

I have had an R53 for 5 years and 50,000Kms. There have been some mods and some problems but I am a DIYer and source my stuff online. Up till now it has been enjoyable. However, like yourself I am getting less inclined to get greasy plus the Mini experience has waned for me. So when I replace it in the near future it will not be with another Mini.

Part of my decision was based on a brief ownership of an R56 and interaction with the dealer. When Mini Canada ruled that melted hood scoops were a `wear item` and not eligible for warranty coverage, I realized just how bloated the whole brand has become. So for a first timer, the going price of admission may well be worth it but for me, not so much...

 

Your hood scoop melted?? what the heck!!! I just don't understand at all why that wasn't covered..lol

 

the design flaw prob that R56s have with the turbo being so close to the scoop so that it overheats and deforms.

 

We have a 2006 MINI Cooper S which we purchased new. The car currently has 52,400 miles and we are in the process of replacing with a more reliable and less expensive to repair ride. We have already replaced the following;

Clutch
Power Steering Pump (Fan failed causing the pump to fail).
Power Steering Pump Fan
Water Pump
Left Strut (Blew out on a raised highway expansion joint)
Engine Mount
Window Motor in Driver’s Door
Throttle Body

 

This is what I did. 2009 with 27k miles on it. Still under warranty which let me get a couple little things done (like the armrest top which prior owner had broken off), and a piece of plastic trim that had been damaged on my convertible top. Getting it with 9 months of warranty still on it gave some peace of mind in knowing that anything i didn't notice when buying it would have plenty of time to appear and get fixed by the dealer.

 

I got my 06 MCS used with 96.5k on the clock. A little over a year later, it's at 130.8k miles and I've only spent about $1500 in maintenance and repairs, with a third of that spent on tires. I don't think that's too bad considering the age of the car when I bought it and the fact that I did the bulk of the work myself helped tremendously, since the price of labor is the killer. If you're willing to do some wrenching, try to find a low - mileage specimen and get it inspected before buying. Minis are fun, but they can be reliable with a little care.