I can't say I've been the most active member on here, but when I was active, it was nice talking to such friendly people. Unfortunately, it's time for me to move on .. I just can't keep this car in good conscious anymore. I've absolutely loved driving it for the past 4 years, but it has been the single most unreliable vehicle that I've ever owned. That's saying a lot, having owned various GM-built pieces of junk from the 90's. Let me vent for a minute.

<tl;dr>

I ordered my R56 brand new, just the way I wanted it. I've treated it with the utmost care, changing the oil at 1k miles, and then every 5k afterward. I've driven it less than 9000 miles a year. Don't get me wrong, I didn't baby it, but I definitely didn't abuse it. And yet, I'm repayed for this treatment with constant problems that marred my entire ownership experience. The majority of these problems required me to drive to the closest dealership (170 miles away). Twice now I've had to have it towed there, as it was so broken that I couldn't even drive it.

Timing chain rattle, "fixed" twice now. Leaking water pump replaced. Coolant temp sensor going bad. Multiple air intake sensors going bad. Power windows randomly going down. The hood scoop melted and was replaced, twice. Interior pieces rattling themselves loose due to broken clips from the factory. Now it's eating oil at an alarming rate, a quart over the last 1k miles despite having not consumed a drop over the past 33k, and the dealer has no idea. All this crap, in only 4 years and 34k miles? Are you kidding me, BMW?! The sad thing is that I've seen many people on here with even worse problems than I've had. Seriously BMW, stop letting drunken Englishmen build these things.

After having to have the car towed yet again to the dealership last week to fix the leaking water pump/timing chain tensioner/coolant temp sensor, I realized that I only have 2 weeks of warranty left. If I didn't have that, the tow alone would've cost me about 800 bucks, god only knows what all that service would've cost.

</tl;dr>

So yeah, it's just not feasible to keep this thing anymore, sadly. With my hectic work schedule and having to deal with my parents' estate (both passed away from lung cancer in the past 2 years), I simply don't have time to waste on a 6 hour round-trip to the dealership when something goes wrong. The shops around here just look at my car with a blank stare, so that's not very reassuring, to say the least. So, with that, I've got to say goodbye.

Look for me to post my DDM Street intake and Rota RB's with tires for sale soon. At least the MINI held enough resale value for me to get a sweet deal on a new Mustang. Ended up not having to pay anything out of pocket, and got a lower monthly payment than my MINI's to boot. It's time for a larger and more comfortable daily driver anyway, since I have a crotch rocket now to get my thrills on.

Anyway, you guys take care, and keep motoring on. Oh, and go buy an extended warranty.

 

Sorry to hear about your parents passing, my condolences.

As for the MINI, sorry to see you let her go. I'm sure it was fun, but I know the feeling of having a fantastic car and having to give it up because of all the grievances it has given you. In your case, it was definitely not worth it. Had that been my case, I'd be extremely pissed, but I've been lucky...

Anyways, happy motoring and good luck.

 

Wow, I am sorry to hear someone having so many issues. Certainly not the first case of troubles we have heard and I'm sure not the last, but at least you came away with a good financial situation.

Most of the trouble on the R56's has really been with the 2007's, the first run of the new model, so your 2009 having so many issues is more disconcerting to me.

 

So strange...my 2010 Clubman S with 45k miles on it has never had a warranty issue and continues to run well and has never burnt a drop of oil between changes (also 5k miles). It's crazy how different these cars can be.

 

Yeah.. I was hoping I avoided the quirks of the new generation by getting the 09 instead of the 07-08, but I guess not. The tow truck driver that picked me up told me that he's towed quite a few MINIs in the past few years .. including me, twice. Small world

It is. BMW/MINI really need to work on their quality control for these things. I know several people personally that haven't had a single problem. Most are fine I'm sure, but some of these cars sure do turn out to be garbage.. I guess mine was built on a Monday/Friday

 

My friend and I bought our MINI's in the same month, from the same dealership. He ended up lemoning his MINI within a year because of multiple fuel pump replacements.

 

I agree. It certainly seems there are "good" MINI's and "bad" MINI's. So far I have been very lucky with mine. My only issues have been tire and wheel related (no fault of MINI/BMW) as they seem to be nail and screw magnets. I just plugged my left front tire for the second time last night, after the tire place said they couldn't put a patch on because the puncture was too close to the sidewall. That's in addition to a previous patch on the same tire. I have also had to repair two of the other three original tires. They are RF's and I had planned to ditch them and go with regular tires once they wore out, but I am rethinking that plan. I have never had so many tire issues on any other car owned. I have 30K on them and hope to get to 40K on the set before I go with something else. That said, with all the issues I have seen reported on other folks MINI's, I will not wait long to pull the plug and get something else if mine starts needing a bunch of repairs / parts replacements. I love my MINI and think it is the best combination of sporty, "fun to drive", perfect size and fuel efficient of anything I have ever owned and of anything I see on market right now.

 

Mine has warrenty till 50k...and will be going up for sale, at 50k lol

 

sounds rough.. the S's seems to be much less reliable than the base coopers, etc.

 

I'm on my 2nd MCS after owning one back in 2002 I swore I never would again. Seems they are either good or a lemon, not much middle ground.

I still can't believe the wife talked me into getting another, but so far so good.

 

Your loss of family members: I'm sincerely sorry for that
You giving up the MINI: It's a vehicle and should ease your life, not worsen it. Giving it up is the right move. Like you said, some are great vehicles, others should not have left the factory. I've been lucky with my first(non-S Clubman) and so far so good on the new-to-me JCW Clubman. Both have been/are 09's so we'll see if I'll keep the JCW for long(no more warranty either). Crazy thing is, we pay a premium for these little fuggers and pour more money(easily 10k for some of us) to it in mods, etc. and we could very well be pssing it all away :/

I should have snapped up that M5 instead... :X

 

Out of curiosity, which car do you plan on replacing it with?

 

Mustang.

 

I know what you mean by pissing your money away part lol. I think I might regret or down the road but I'm babying her big time.

 

Our Mini is going to the auction when it's no longer viable, which may be another year. Passenger air bag light issue, but we still have a year on that with the inspection, if nothing else happens. I'm not holding my breath. Ours has been pretty much a disaster although it's never left us stranded. I have to say it's about the most expensive car maintenance wise and repair wise I've ever owned. And that's not what I expect out of a car, despite the hype. Warranty was a joke for us, nothing but double talk from Sterling if you can even talk to someone.

 

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I knew I wasn't alone in my troubles, sadly.. if there was a place I trusted to work on it closer to me, I may have just rolled the dice and kept it. The powertrain never really had an issue, it was just everything around it!

What InVisib0L said. Said my last goodbye to the MINI yesterday evening and took delivery of this "little" guy:



Talk about a night and day difference. My insurance agent laughed at me when I told her. "That's quite a change of pace!" she said, hah. I have to re-learn how to drive now, as the stang is literally 3.5 feet longer and almost a foot wider. From the driver seat, it looks like the passenger side front corner is about a football field away from me in comparison to the MINI It's a real hoot, though. Surprisingly competent handling for a 3500 pound car, and comfy to boot.

 

That's is a nice color. Did your insurance go up or down?

 

Went up about 300 bucks a year unfortunately. And here my monthly rate on the Cooper just dropped to 82 bucks.. ahh well

 

Thanks for the reply. Beautiful mustang.

I am considering a new SLK. I want to love the MINI, I honestly do. But damn, I have been gimped up since I bought it. The ride is just so bad. I just can't find anything that moves me and I am gun shy after buying a new car and seeing the 3 month depreciation.

 

I've been experiencing similar problems as well as similar frustrations with my 2009 as well. After I replace everything I look to driving it for just a little bit longer until I part ways with it. Looking to getting a Mazda 3 or a Honda Civic. I just need a fuel efficient and reliable car that'll keep me from reaching my savings to fix my car. :(

 

Wow! Getting rid of it just when you were getting all the bugs worked out! Appears you should definitely approach the "lemon law" route.

 

damn...I really wish I saw this thread before I bought my used 09. Definitely would've been enough to sway me away from it.

hahaha c'monnnnn Tues-Thurs manufactured day....

However, I WOULD like to add that the MCS has made my usually horrible 2 hr commute through DC traffic..enjoyable! I actually look forward to driving. Which is something I've never experienced before. I just hope I continue to enjoy this Mini. :/

 

I would have done the same thing if my Mini was as unreliable as yours. Good looking Mustang!

 

Pardon my Terminator French, but I venture to guess "You'll be back" once the BMW 2.0L has a few years under it's belt . Fun factor and hopefully reliability will both be turned up a notch.

How's the fun factor of that Mustang? Looks great!

 

One can only hope for the 2.0L to be better.