I wud like to keep the mini going well past 300,000 but its time for a change . the poor mini has had a very hard life drag'n 300kg loads round the uk , france etc . double set of ladders on roof rack and a large 4metre car trailer . I hit a bird last week at 60mph ! it done £600 worth of damage ! 3hrs later and 60 cable ties all done and fixed. the mini is now getting alot of wear and tear sign's now seat is sag'n gears sloppy wires breaking bits falling off. and thats not including me !

Sad to say but my mini days are over after this one I will not buy another new one . 2nd hand yes maybe ? I have had a lot of fun driving it , it still looks great and turns heads "just like me !"

Why not just keep it going John? It'd be great to see how high it'll go!

sometimes you have to let things go ..............need a bigger car work things getting bigger so am I ! middle age with a large frame !

Awesome mileage on some of these cars. I can only salute someone, that at the age of 84, is still enjoying driving as much as I do now.

250k in the UK is BIG mileage, especially on our crap roads!

January 2010 BRG/White Cooper 29,000 so far.

personally I do not think anyone will beat Harry's record.

it is a combination of factors such as location, respect for your car, attitude, age and experience. ( and of course driving pleasure )

more power to your elbow HWS.

Iain

January 2010 BRG/White Cooper 29,000 so far.

Is that miles or kilometers?

personally I do not think anyone will beat Harry's record.

it is a combination of factors such as location, respect for your car, attitude, age and experience. ( and of course driving pleasure )

more power to your elbow HWS.

Iain

I doubt anyone will get close either... However 29,000 miles in 5 months is some mileage (of course it could be km!)

Got to have some respect for him! Never met anyone who has so much confidence in a car and is willing to drive them so far :D I genuinely hope that the day comes when his speedo reads 999,999 and then 000,000 :D We know HWS can do it :D Keep on going :D

this topic is incredible, I cannot believe you have got it up to nearly 400,000.....absolutely incredible!!!!

Mine is 88,000 at present....an 04 MCS.....and I would love it if we manage to get to that far! :)

Sorry for my Absence and my Silence - but, I've been busy getting a 'different engine' - and then putting over 4500 miles on it in the last 3 weeks just to see if they did it right. Everything is behaving perfectly again! Not a Drip or a Leak or a Rattle or a Squeak that needs attention. Every Switch, Light Bulb, Window, and Door Lock - plus the Sun Roof, Air Conditioner, etc.. are all operating as nicely as their creators intended. I had a 2010 BMW 328xi 'loaner' with just 3300 miles for several weeks. That's a very nice car; - but, honestly, my MINI's steering and handling with its original suspension are still as solid, taut and precise as that loaner. I'm an old retired engineer, so, I'm constantly amazed at what BMW has accomplished with this design!

At 370,000 miles I paid International MINI of Milwaukee for a 'Valve Job' to cure Low Compression in one cylinder that had caused Misfiring which made the "Check Engine Soon" light come on. The Dealer said that repair, including four Valves, Valve Seats and Guides was guaranteed for 2 years or 100,000 miles. It ran like a new engine for 1500 miles - then literally 'totaled' itself at 72 mph when one of the new valve seats 'came loose' - stood on edge - blocked the valve - which broke thru the top of the piston - etc., etc. The off-site vendor who machined the head as necessary to install those valve seats and guides took full responsibility for the failure, acquired a replacement engine with about 320,000 fewer miles than mine, - and International MINI took care of all the labor - all at no charge to me. You can understand why I say nice things about this Dealership - and why they're as proud of this MINI as I am.

Me buy a New Car? Why? This is really getting to be FUN! Just think, - if I was a more normal, sensible, conservative owner who traded his car in every 80,000 miles - I'd be on my Fifth MINI by now! Can you imagine what that would have cost?

Shame its not still on the original engine... However all is going well :D Keep on going :cool:

I hope it's still 'truthful enough' for the sign in my back window to say,
"2002 MINI - 376,000 Miles".

After all, when people ask my age,
they don't seem to care if all my parts are original.
(Thankfully, they are - but 'they' don't seem to care)

Sounds like a nasty problem, but glad you're back on the road. :D

Glad to hear you're back on the road, HWS! :D

glad your back on the road HWS and sorry to hear about your mechanical problems which have led to a new engine being fitted...............hope everything has been put together properly this time and the miles just keep on rolling.

BMW/mini should be paying you for your long term road testing of their engines !!

lang mae yer lum reek............. as we say in Scotland

Iain

Sounds like a good result HWS :)

Hope this engine gives you as much pleasure as the original did and lasts at least as many smiles. :D

This thread has some impressive mileage in it's own right! I don't normally frequent this forum too much, and I was referred to this thread from NAM, just by chance. However I have to say, I pored over all 23 pages of this thread in one (long) sitting, and with loving interest!

My '05 MCS is at (or near, I'm sure) the extreme polar opposite of the spectrum, with reguard to this thread. It is still shy of 7K original miles.

I'm guilty as charged, as well, of recycling my cars way before their time. I usually just get bored with them, or I fall in love with something else... It has bordered on rediculous, but my wife quickly learned to accept it when I pointed out that it would be worse if it were women I was constantly trading... I bought the MINI to try and end the cycle. I wanted something that could suit my needs and not ever be boring. So far, my MCS is doing the trick.

But, this thread, more than anything else I've read anywhere, is inspiring me to try and keep this car for the long haul. Like HWS, I too happen to be fascinated with machinery that is well concieved and well built enough to to outlast an expected service-life 3-fold or more.

My biggest question is, I wonder if the supercharged engine can hang in there nearly as long as HWS's base engine...and that IS considering changing out the supercharger eventually, as a "normal wear item".

I've always admired German cars that would seem to keep running forever...the idea that these premium cars, with their premium pricetags, can be cost-effective in the long term because they're not meant to be "disposable". With dilligent maintenance, they can end up being worth every penny spent on them in pure value, when compared to replacing "lesser, disposable" cars every 3 to 5 years.

Even though it's a BMW product, I doubted the MINI was in the same league with these premium German cars, and as such, wasn't earning that kind of repect from me. The fact that this thread may be proving me wrong about this (more than "maybe", if you ask HWS, I'm sure), is a bigger surprise; has more appeal; and is worth more to me than any advertisement MINI could ever hope to come up with in a lifetime! The fact that the top dog MINI, mileage-wise, is also owned by one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever hope to come across, only helps...

BTW, I log roughly as many miles daily as well, but I do it in the head-ends of trains, as a Locomotive Engineer.

Thank You, EllCapitan for the kind, encouraging words. I don't believe we've heard from a MINI Driving Locomotive Engineer before - here in the USA or elsewhere. Switching those Driver's Seats must feel like quite a contrast!

In a big hurry now, but I just had to report that My 2002 MINI turned "8" today - and the Odometer turned over to 387,000 miles.
MANY Happy Hours of Delightful, Worry-Free Motoring; - More to come!

I have an 03 with CVT at 109,050 miles with no problems. Who has the most miles on a CVT?

Fabulous HWS. Great to read that you are back on the road again. Keep clocking up those miles.

morrisminiminor

i got 75,000 on my 07' plate cooper! all been done by me :D

Hey HWS, how about sharing some of your "tips" for long-life, like what kind of oil, what frequency of oil changes, how do you drive it, how do you warm it up in the winter, etc.

Mine has 14K and I would like to think it could still be here at 300K. (I drove a Honda CRX-Si over 275K, so I can truthfully claim that I keep my cars for a good long while).

My 2002 MC just passed 400,000 miles today on its 8 Year 2 Month Birthday !

Have you guessed I've been Very Impressed by this particular car?
What a joy to fill the tank, kick the tires - and take off on a 500 mile ride
through this beautiful world any time I'm not needed or expected somewhere
else. (Drove 470 miles yesterday in heavy rain and high winds - Beautiful!)

Have I ever mentioned it still has its original muffler, and shocks, and struts?
Not sure if it uses ball joints, control arms, etc. - but, if so, they're original too.
Still rides, steers and handles as tautly and precisely as the day I got it. FUN!
Not a squeak, or a rattle - or a spot on the garage floor.
Never had a knob, or a handle, or a piece of trim come loose.
Never had a switch anywhere that had to be jiggled or shook or coaxed to work.
Even that little 'window dance' still works perfectly every time a door is opened!

Excuse the car's appearance; -
that's how it looked when it hit 400,000 about 75 miles from home - and I do kill a lot of bugs!

great to hear from you HWS and that you and the car are still knocking up the miles !!

Iain

HWS that is excellent. And it just goes to show the the Daimler/Chrysler engine is bullet proof on the R53!

As BMW says; "JOY"

HWS, I just passed 99,000 yesterday, but I still have some catching up to do! :D Congratulations on 400,000!

Impressive but what parts have you had to replace and how many times? :)

Amazing news HWS :D Glad to hear from you :)

400k is an amazing feat, hopefully you'll get it to 1 million miles soon! Look forward to seeing 500,000 miles mind! If you're ever stopped for long enough you could treat it to a detail as a reward for being so good! :D Must be the highest mileage in the world now surely?!

Nice going HWS! Here's to many more miles of happy motoring. :D

Nice one HWS - and it sounds even better in kilometres - something north of 640,000.

Which is more than most taxi drivers get out of their six cylinder E class Mercedes Benz diesels round here

Happy Birthday, HWS! :D (over 400,000 miles and counting!)