3 complete rear brake replacements, an assortment of nasty sqeaks and rattles, 2 right front axles and currently trying to diagnose a horrid syumbling/mis-fire at highway speed.

If BMW could blend the driving excitment with Honda like reliability, they would rule the earth.

 

When did your probs start? I gotta 05 MCS w/ 21k miles and everything has been great except the door not unlocking from the inside prob and the dash has a little rattle. I really hope she doesn't become a money pit down the road.. aside from mods that is.

 

At 90,000 miles: Needs a third windshield (admittedly, the previous replacement was made necessary by outside forces), 3 steering racks, 1 overflow reservoir bottle, 1 window motor, 2 window switch assmblies, 2 sets of front lower control arm bushings, 1 wheel hub/bearing, 1 upper strut mount bearing (taken care of when I swapped in the IE camber plates), 1 bypass valve, numerous squeeks and rattles.

Edit: Oh yeah, 3 motor mounts

+1 If I didn't love the car so much (I'm sure it's a dysfunctional relationship ), I'd have traded it long ago.

 

My '05 Cooper has almost 45k on her. I got the dash squeeks fixed for good and an engine mount replaced all under warranty. I had a stress fracture on the windshield (likely due to the Minnesota -20 degree temps and my need for enthusiastic cornering), but with my full windhield insurance coverage, it cost nothing to replace. I do mainly spirited driving in some extreme weather and could not be happier with the quality and workmanship that went into building my MINI. Motor on.

 

7 windshields in 82,000 miles. finally opened a file with BMW and called in the regional tech. the dealer was putting in windshields improperly. otherwise, it needs a new exhaust due to a hole in the muffler, a BPV and New tires. overall, very impressed with the ruggedness of such a small car.

 

At 105012mi I've gone through

2 Passenger seats (one for airbag one for heated seat broken after the airbag install)
3 passenger door internals
2 drivers door internals
1 set front brake pads
1 set rear brake pads
1 set rotors
1 Factory LSD
1 Oil Pan
1 Clutch
1 Flywheel
1 Speedo assembly
1 windshield
3 serpentine belts
4 H7 headlamps
16 tires
3 thermostats
2 housings
6 O2 sensors
There's more but I've got to get my full service history print out, those are all the OEM failures, factor in the accident replacements and failures in aftermarket addons (driving lights etc)

 

95k
2 front brake jobs and 1 rear
1 crank sensor seal
1 clutch
1 SC belt
1 set plugs
1 set struts
1 pair front CT bushings
5 sets tires
19 oil changes

 

I let go of my '05 MCS JCW a month ago with 43,1XX miles on it. It was a tough decision, and I still miss it. The first 30k miles were almost completely problem free, but its repair history and unresolved issues list after the 30k mark was alarming (it just kept becoming more and more frequent), and after my last dealer visit, it just became more than I was willing to put up with. My list of issues included (to the best of my recollection):

-3 motor mounts
-1 thermostat replacement
-1 sunroof cassette (dealer told me not to open the sunroof over bumpy roads)
-2 rear hatch struts
-1 throttle body
-1 set of Lower Control Arm (LCA) bushings
-1 set of brakes
-2 sets of tires
-1 replacement driver side sun visor
-1 replacement center arm rest cover
-1 replacement passenger airbag seat sensor mat
-transmission fluid flush (LSD noises)

Additionally, the unresolved things included:

-clutch rattling and squeeking issues (dealer argued that it was normal, even after the service manager heard it himself, and any abnormalities I 'may' possibly be hearing was probably my fault)
-rust formation in the door sills (dealer told me that pulling up the rubber seals compromised the paint integrity, thus causing the rust, and threatened to void my corrosion warranty)
-abnormal noises from AC (dealer denied hearing anything)
-1 front strut was beginning to show signs of leakage/wear

For myself, I calculated that the amount of money I would put into potential repairs/maintenance up to 120k miles (with a labor rate of @$95 quoted from an independent Mini repair shop), including:

-2 brake jobs
-oil changes evry 7500 miles
-brake fluid flushes
-2 supercharger belts (JCW)
-2 sets of spark plugs (JCW)
-1 coolant flush
-2-3 sets of tires
-1-2 more brake jobs
-2 more sets of LCA bushings
-1 supercharger
-1 clutch job
-driver/passenger door locks
-driver/passenger power window motors
-strut replacements
-at least one more thermostat replacement
-Misc. other possible unforseen issues

I have limited DYI know-how other than oil changes, so paying someone to do things right is important for me. Some of the things I listed above are what I would expect to deal with in owning a higher-mileage car, while others...not so much. I calculated that over the next 3-4 years/120k miles, I would be shelling out roughly $12k in repairs/maintentance. Pricewise, it was a rough wash between keeping it or trading it and buying somemthing new. My Mini was paid off,and I'd be carrying a $10-15K loan on a new car. Basically the deal-breaker for me was factoring in the added headaches I've alread had and what was potentially to come. It probably didn't help that my dealer was not exactly good (black & white (a bit shady too!) and to the point...yes. Customer friendly and technically knowledgeable...not really ).

I do hope that whomever owns my old Mini now has an enjoyable ownership experience and is not as "fussy" as I have predicted it to be. I hope that your experiences are better than mine (and my friend's '05 MCS JCW) turned out to be.