Does anyone have a feel for what the long term reliability of the Cooper S will be? I would love to order one, but I will need to use it as my primary verhicle and I travel roughly 30K/yr. Does the blower decrease the motor's overall longevity? Will it be a maintenance nightmare? Any of you Bimmer owners care to comment? I would really appreciate any input.

PS- My driving/owning experience has been with Honda's and Subaru's which have been rock soild and always ready to go. This is my point of reference and I am hoping the Cooper S will approximate the same level of reliability.

Thanks!

Dan

 

Let me ammend my previous post: I also owned a GTI, which was very cool and fun to drive but bled me dry with repairs.

Thanks again!

Dan

 

Hey Dan,

I hope teh S is reliable, 'cause I am anxiously waiting mine due in August. Conventional car wisdom has it that you shouldnt buy a car in the first year it is produced, but I did it anyway because I like th mini that much. In any case here are some facts that I gleaned from this site and elsewhere:

BMW really doesnt turbo or supercharge cars, nor have the done a front wheel drive, so Bimmer drivers wont be able to comment on the reliability of a turbo. The S's Turbo has a high boost as well...

The Mini had (has?) a noisy power steering pump that will be replaced if one complains at the first 10K service check.

Although the above may be a bit disconcerting, one thing to bear in mind is a BMW's warrenty is 3 years, while the Mini has 4. I gamble that if the the Bavarians werent confident in the Mini, they wouldnt expose themselves to a costly warrenty program. It would be bad for business. I do know one thing about BMW's, they run pretty solid if the maintenance is rigorously followed, but miss a few and it will turn on you and go for the jugular, thirsty for your blood.

By the way, I just sold off my girlfriends VW Cabriolet, it was a hole in the road so deep, it couldnt be filled it no matter how much $ got dumped in it.

The S isnt for the entirely rational, its for risk takers. Go for it.

 

Thanks for the info, I appreciate your input. I concur about VW's - they look cool and they are fun to drive, but the mexican editions ( which I had - a '92 )are horrible! As for the S, I wasn't planning on placing my order for another 6 months or so, and by then I'm sure many of the initial quirks will be posted on the board. Atleast then I'll have a good idea of what I'm getting into. Damn the torpedo's, full SSSSSSpeed ahead!!

Thanks aagin!

Dan

 

Don't worry too much. By the time you get your Mini it will be 2003 and most of the little misfits will have been fixed. Comparing the Mini to a Honda or a Subaru is very tough right now as they are proven reliable cars. But if you follow a good and rigorous maitenance approach this little car will do wonders to you.

 

Yes, I figured that by the time I take dellivery of my S, the bugs will be ironed out. Thanks for the feedback!

Dan

 

i guess i'm screwed... i take delivery in 3-4 weeks!

 

No, you'll be stylin'! Good for you that your getting yours so soon! Put some pix up so we can all drool over it. What color combo did you go with?

Dan

 

OK being a 2000 BMW 323i owner I can say that mechanically BMW puts out a superior product. The engine and drivetrain are amazing. However, some of the bits BMW decided to sub out to other contractors are very poor. (To my knowledge no recall has been made on this model.) I have been to the dealer 3 times to have window mechanisms replaced. 1st was sunroof button and two front windows, 2nd was one front window again and 3rd was one back window. After speaking to several owners this is a common problem with this model. Another trip was made for the A/C which melted it's computer board and blew smoke in my face while on a trip to the Keys. This the service rep tells me has been a problem in many cars as well. I am getting tired of missing work hours to get this damn thing fixed. I am going to trade it for my MINI. I sincerely hope that this type of problem doesn't occur in the MINIs too otherwise I will completely give up on BMW.

I know it is way off topic but if anyone else had similar experiences with their 3series send me a private message.
-J

 

We're approaching 4,000 mi on ours and everything is holding up great. It's still the same new car that we drove off the lot, basically. The only problem is the sit-for-awhile-start business and I'm not bothered by it much at all. I realize this isn't a long-term report but we have none of the squeaks or rattles as described by others.

It's a fantastic car, very well rounded while still looking very sporty. Every time I get in it I fall in love a little more. I'm getting to that, the car feels like an extension of yourself feeling and it's glorious. The thing is always begging for more when I think I'm going fast already. You set up for a turn at a speed that is fast but comfortable and when you get through, you realize the car acted like you were just cruising along. You could have definitely went much faster without even approaching the limits. I think it might just walk away from my RX-7 in the twisties if we ever get them out together.

One satisfied Electric Blue S Mini owner.

 

I am awaiting mine in August. I am concerned about the reliability too, but I understand that the mini has been produced and sold in Europe for two years before it was introduced in the States-- and the reliability in the first six months here has been very good (per three dealers I called). There were some problems with the early 2002 models (vacuum hose, seat latch) that have already been fixed in the late 2002 models (per 2 dealers). My concern is more the time that one may need to wait for a part, if/when somthing breaks. I have been told that BMW made a rule that there is no loaner program for the mini --