I recently took my 2006 MCS (23K) to an indy shop for a routine maintenance and the conversation I had with the mechanic was a bit troubling.

I've had my MCS since 04/06, and for the most part it's been a pretty decent vehicle. I've had to replace the clutch and the thermostat housing (typical) and the front brakes needed new pads at about 15K. Now the power steering has a leak and one of the bushings in the front end has a slight leak (taking it to the dealer for warranty work).

I love my MINI and expect that events such as these will be a part of life for the remaining years. I routinely read this BB and others and am aware that these cars are not without their issues - and I don't expect it to be like a Toyota or a Honda.

Here's what was troubling - he told me these cars are a total money pit and I should really consider getting a new car once I hit the 48 month mark! This from a reputable shop that works on MINI's!

I want to take this with a grain of salt and stick with my plan that I'll be taking care of the routine issues as they come up - but this has caused me some concern as I hope to keep the car for many more years and try to get it up to around 100K or so.

Do others wrestle with this? Would be curious to get your thoughts......

 

I don't agree that a well serviced MINI is a money pit. Like many cars, even the ones from Japan, if you don't take care of them, they won't take care of you.

One thing we see at the shop is older MINI' with low miles seems to have more issues then the same year MINI with 10-15K a year in miles.

Just take care of it and you'll be fine to 100K

 

Ours was manufactured 04/06 and has 22K on it - no problems whatsoever yet. It has had regular annual oil changes and routine maintenance at the dealer each year. As AutoXCooper.com says, "Just take care of it and you'll be fine to 100K."

 

My 05 MCS hasn't had any major issues. O2 sensor, motor mount. 92,000 miles and still on the factory brake pads and rotors.

 

What does your gut say ?

 

I see you went to a shop in Indy, We work on MINI's in Indy also. If you want feel free to give me a call and I'll see if I can help you.

WAY
317.201.8670

 

I personally don't consider 100K a long haul. Most any car will do that with a min of attention.

YD

 

I only have 59k but so far my 04 MCS has been about as good as the Honda's I have owned. I did have the window motors replaced under warranty but otherwise it has been trouble free.

I agree with the other posts, treat your car good and it is likely to last a long time.

 

I'm sure there are some MINI's that are money pits...usually cars that have been heavily tracked and often driven hard, and put away wet....but IMO it sounds like you bought your car new or nearly new....so it sounds like you know your car's history.....If you drive it extremely hard...might be time....but with regular maintenance, heck, 100,000 should be easy for most drivers...even ones who play with the red-line sometimes, and have some fun.....lots of the earlier, trouble prone cars have done it with comparatively few problems. If you drive it like you stole it 100% of the time....any car gets expensive!! You have to have fun driving your car, but most importantly drive it in a prudent manner...

 

Any car can become a money pit, and yes we would probably be better off to get rid of them at 50K. But there is no guarantee that it will fall apart at that mileage and no reason to assume that it can't do 100,000 or more if it is maintained properly. So I think one has to decide whether he wants a older car with miles or a new one? Take your choice

 

i'm would not call them money pits per se, but they are more expensive to maintain. i mean the parts are more expensive, mini labor rates are high (which is why you need to find a good indy shop), and doing a lot of the work tends to take more hours because of how the car is packaged. for example i just paid for the bushings to be replaced in the front and you have to drop a significant portion of the car's subframe to replace them.

MINI quoted me $800--which i think included about 5 hours of labor. i had it done at an indy shop for a $575.

another expensive item is the oilpan gasket, and they're known to need replacing before 100K miles.

so it really depends on what your threshold is, if you're ready to pay a few hundred dollars every few years to keep it going then that's the price to pay to own this car. at least that's how i look at it.

 

New parts are cheaper than a new car. View each event as a single event, one's decisions should be uninfluenced by past expenditures. Those are sunk costs.

 

I had an interesting conversation about our MCS with a mechanic at an independent shop. He said that the MINI differs from almost all other cars in an important way: with other cars they can guess by the make/model/year what is wrong with it when it comes in; with MINIs they can't.

Most cars have two or three common failures--after a few years everyone knows what they are. With MINIs, apparently lots of different things fail so the diagnosis process cannot confidently narrow down likely problems from the start.

He also said to change your oil every 6 months or maximum 7,500 miles "because oil breaks down, even synthetic". This is especially true if your car has a lot of cold starts.

Additionally, he commented that quality seems to vary a lot from car to car (as opposed to varying from component to component). They see 25k MINIs that are pieces of junk, and they service 150k MINIs that have seen no work other than scheduled maintenance. They work on mostly German cars and he feels that MINIs have a higher lemon ratio than other cars they see, but he also pointed out that there are lots of good MINIs out there.

 

Long Haul? Most people here are talking about reaching 100k - to me that isn't the long haul. If a car can't reach 100k (with proper maintenance) then it isn't really worth having. I don't think I have ever not had a car at least 100k. I just sold my 04 330i with 112,000 and it ran as if it was brand new - my point being that many horror stories are out there about e46 BMWs as well, but with proper preventive care you should be good (I still have my e30 325is that has 225,000 that runs awesome!)

I plan on keeping the MINI for the long haul for sure!

 

Long Haul?
Maybe, if the engine came from Honda - Toyota - Nissan.

Take the case of Lotus Exige and Elise, it's a Toyota version of GTS.
I know 3 owners in Florida hit 160,000 miles and still strong.

Mini Cooper engine? made in Europe?
I doubt it....pretty? Yes indeed.

 

99,700 miles and going strong... I intend on keeping my supercharged MINI for a long time. The '05 MCS is my daily driver, rain or snow and I LOVE it.

 

Thanks for the various perspectives.

I think this engine was made in Brazil (?) - Dodge Neon? if not mistaken the engine has proved to be fairly durable.

I guess for me "long haul" would mean about 100K as I drive about 6k miles a year - so that equates to about 17 years and that's a long time to hold on to any vehicle. I realize for those who drive 25K - 30K per year 100K is not the "long haul". I used to drive like that and took a few Toyotas close to 200K with little trouble. I guess my concern is that at 10 years and about 60K I'll start spending more time and money at the shop than I'd like.

I plan to keep my MINI properly cared for and will keep an eye out for the various gremlins that seem to drive some people away. If it gets out of control (like my '95 900 SAAB did) I'll either park it or sell it - although I don't think I could possible sell the coolest and most fun car I've ever had!

 

Your mechanics history of repairs may be on the first couple of years of production, rather than the 05-06, wich seem to be a little less problematic.
As the 05-06 start to accumulate more mileage we may get a little better data on the durability of that production year.

My 06 S build date of 10/06 has 41000 and only the thermostat leak has been an issue. My driving style and habits vary depending on my mood but I'm still on the original brakes and clutch and NO other issues.

Everyones car is a little different as are driving habits. Anything that is mechanical, has a potential for failure.

 

I have an 04 MCS with 85k on it and it has been really good to me. Granted I had the clutch replaced only because the throw out bearing was shot and it sounded like a diesel in the mornings, i replaced the front brakes only because I wanted the "Green Stuff" brake pads, not that it needed it rite away. I have babied my car for the most part, but now i did the pulley upgrade and like to push it a little more. i do all of the oil changes myself every 5k regularly too and like i said, the car has been great to me. i will not part with my car for another 10 yrs or so as it will be passed on to my kids when they go to high school and i get a convertible. You need to find a good mechanic and stick to him. Unfortunately, the "stealer" (dealer) is far too expensive. They wanted $200 for an oil change i don't think so. My mechanic did my clutch job for $800 on labor plus $225 for parts, the dealer wanted $3k-again, i don't think so. Find a good mechanic and keep up with the maintenance, you'll be fine.

 

My mechanic has almost 150k on his 05 MCS. Still has the original SC and clutch and has had both a 16 & 2% pulleys plus a Cosworth head for 120k of those miles No bottom end work done at all. These Chrysler designed engines are very durable can take huge amounts of power, 500-600whp only with pistons. Yea the Mini can start rattling here and there, but........no other car I have ever owned is near as fun as my Mini It makes me smile every time I get in it, draws compliments still. Yea you can drive a Honda or a Toyota, but.........it will NEVER be a MINI!

 

with that little of driving - you should have no problems as far as being a money pit - I would think.

 

The key thing to take away from a thread like this is that mechanics are often full of crap. They all have their own prejudices and pre-dispositions towards different cars. I'd try and find one that enjoys working on Mini's and sees their strengths and weaknesses in an objective manner. I would think it is difficult to get good service from a mechanic who thinks the car you drive is patently unreliable and poor quality.

- Mark

 

I can't believe what I'm reading here. People are talking about the Mini as if it doesn't compare to the Japanese cars. Are you serious?
My death by fire 03 Mini $22K had 90K miles on it in 4/06 and I received over $18K. for it. All cost/class being equal a Japanese car would not have given the same return. (Nothing against Japanese cars I loved my AE86 & Starlett turbo)

 

+1

 

I love my MINI and see myself still driving it 20 years from now. Don't let this mechanic sway your opinion of your MINI. All cars have their peculiarities about them, the MINI is no different. The big thing that sets the MINI apart from the other cars is the "fun factor".

I think you have a reliable car with the MINI, keep motoring!!