Do I drive the same car as many who posted here before me???
I am in my third MINI and found it great for quality and reliability... Yes, I had a death rattle issue with 2008 Clubman S and recall with 2011 Clubman S. so what? Every time the car was fixed! What I can not say for numerous issues and problems with fixing "domestic" cars (Ford and GM) at the dealer... Just for reason of warranty maintenance I am not driving American car ever again...

Yes, I am keeping my MINi pass warranty... That is when the real fun will begin...

 

Just picked up my MINI from the dealer for the second round of warranty work in the 6 months I've owned it. About 8,000 miles into it, I brought it in due to a vanity mirror that exploded the first time I lowered the visor, some missing nuts on the muffler heat shielding, and a minor (I thought) whine from the clutch when starting off in first or reverse. Turns out they replaced the entire clutch assembly-tech at my dealer said this is not uncommon-something to do with the clutch plates not mating up properly. Woulda cost me $2800 if not under warranty. So I get the car back and notice a front end creak when going into my driveway or over small bumps that definitely wasn't there before. Took the car back and it took them 5 days to diagnose and fix. Per their work order: "Noise is coming from front suspension. Swapped known good front struts and test drove. Noise is still present. Swapped known good control arm bushings and test drove. Noise is still present. Swapped known good sway bar links and test drove. Noise diminished but still present. Lowered front axle support. Replaced sway bar bushings and links. Torque suspension components and lubed bushings. Test drove vehicle. Noise is no longer present."
Yes, this car is fun, fast, and super cool looking but is this really the best reliability that BMW can muster? And it's not like this is the first year of this model. I drove my previous Mazda 6s and Acura Integra for 10 years each with nominal problems. This MINI scares the daylights out of me reliability-wise. But my girlfriend likes it so really, what else matters??

 

44,000 trouble free miles here.