Mini Cooper S Vs Reliability

[NSMG]

Cheers,

I was thinking of getting a MCS pretty soon ( model 2005 with 210HP ''Works'' kit ) or even wait for the 2006 model , but after carefully exploring this fantastic forum I must say that my enthusiasm about the Mini has slowly faded away as I became more and more badly impressed about the amount of discussions regarding MCS quality problems, even
on cars with delivery milage ....I used to regard the Mini as a solid car, but that impression has now long gone.
I could deal with Squeeks and rattles and even small trim defects (plastic bits falling off) but I wouldn't never ever tolerate mechanical defects in small car as costly as a MCS Works !!!!
Maybe other forum members could help me with some honest and unbiased opinions about the true reliability of the MCS.

Best Regards.

[dave316]

Keep in mind people only go to forums to complain about problems, no one goes to just say "hey i put another 200 miles on the car and have nothing worng". Any negative comments are posted by a small percentage of the entire community and thats only the people who use the board. So dont be mislead by people reporting issues. Given the fact that no car is perfect regaurless how much you spend, you have to expect things like rattles and little stuff, but even still you probably wont experience any of the problems anyone posted on here anyway.

[Berthil]

You must keep in mind that many post messages here who have questions, and not the other majority who have no problems.

I got a flawless 1 year old MCS imported from Germany because a new MCS with some options costs over 35000 euro's here in the Netherlands. I have it 6 months now and I did not have any problems with it, not one.

My Dutch BMW dealer knows my Mini comes from Germany. On the first 17500 km check he found about 6 minor points which I did not notice and replaced them under warranty without hesitation. Excellent service so far!

I have bought the MCS without driving 1 meter in it! This because I knew I would be very restless after a test drive because I wanted it so bad and I had to wait a few years. It is worth every second I waited!!!

[AidenL]

My car, May 2004 is perfect - don't worry, as people say, you only ever hear about the problems, but read all the other threads and see how much pleasure, joy and camaradarie is generated by owning a MINI..........

Order it, you won't regret it...............

[Babes]

I have a July 03 MCS works...not one problem at all. Had a rattly dash that was fixed without any hassle when I had the JCW kit installed. Got nearly 30,000kms of stress free motoring.

[Big Bob]

While my own S is only a month old, I can't say that it is/is not reliable at this point.

But, I did do a little research on the web about alot of other cars with a long history of reliability, such as Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans. No matter which survey I read which happened to include the Mini, the Mini scored highest overall in the similar scoring system when compared to highly reliable cars such as Accords and Civics, Camrys and Corollas, even Volkswagens. I was quite surprised at the high ratings that the Mini got against some great competition.

The one rating that the Mini ALWAYS got high marks in was Overall driving experience. Sure, there were a few Mini customers who had some gripes and gave the car low marks in certain categories (such as storage), but the Mini was a real hit with those who responded. Believe me, after reading about rattles and fit/finish problems with good cars such as Honda Civics, the Mini really looked pretty good.

BTW, I have 2 Ford Super Duty Diesel Trucks sitting out in the driveway which each cost well over $40,000 that have had their share of problems since new too. Little things like the throttle sticking, transmissions going bad, seats coming apart, switches not working, etc., so no matter how good the vehicle, they are going to have some issues. I actually bought the Mini to replace one of the unreliable Ford trucks!

Bob

[GBMINI]

Troll?

If not, you could peruse GBMINIs weblog - the story of my car, both good and bad.
You could search for "problem" if you are so inclined, and find posts such as this one and this one. Here is my 20,000 mile report and my earlier 10,000 mile report.

Or you could peruse all the good stuff about owning a MINI ... fun days out meeting other MINIs for example. There are few posts that simply say "today was fun in GBMINI" - but you can assume it was

[bass656]

I have a 2002 MCS with the JCW kit with 16,000 miles without any problems at all. I have recently owned a 2003 Mercedes S-55 AMG, a 1991 Ferrari Testarossa and a 2004 Chevy SSR. My MINI is more fun to own and drive than any of them. Buy the MINI and be prepared to feel like you are driving a skateboard.

[stephenjc]

NSMG:

I don't know how you can read these forums and not be even more impressed with the mini. You must be looking for and reading only about the problems. I have yet to receive my mini but am perhaps only a couple days from possession. I started reading these forums a couple weeks ago and it has done nothing but increase my level of excitement. My conclusion being the opposite of yours I think comes from the very obvious, without a doubt, absolute enthusiasm of mini owners. Ask youself if a forum like this exists for any other vehicle you are considering. I have also concluded that mini owners are nuts about autos and are very much perfectionists. You can tell how they are by all the modifications and technical talk most of which is over my head. Would all these perfectionists buy minis if they were not happy? And then see how many of these mini owners buy a second mini. When I ordered my mini there were approximately 6 used minis on the dealer's lot. Every single one of them was traded in for another mini (convertibles mostly). Bottom line is that the mini owners are a very demanding bunch and so the littlest squeak, rattle, tuning imperfection, tiny variation in horsepower or even stain on the carpet - well its a big deal to them and they want to make their cherished mini even better. Think of them as demanding parents. They love their kids but would do anything to have their kids get a little bit more ahead in school. Its not a complaint, its wanting the best for the one they love.

I think you can find even from sources outside these forums, as has alread been mentioned here, that customer satisfaction of the mini is unsurpassed. You need to start looking at the positive inormation in these forums and not dwell on the negative. Perhaps those more experienced than I can direct NSMG to the happy threads. One I can think of is the one word per post about mini at http://www.mini2.com/forum/general-discussion/46268-one-word-per-post-about-mini.html (I hope I did that right????)

Let's just see how many responses you get from mini owners saying that yes its a POS and they regret buying and wouldn't buy another one. I imagine it will be few, if any.

[CooperSAZ]

I agree with the above, it would be redundant stating something that every other MINI driver knows! That the car is a blast to own and drive! After only two months of owning my ’05 MCS, it is the best car I have ever owned. Not the fastest, but just an all around joy to drive! I am as close as I imagine I ever will be about getting excited to pay my car payment so that I can continue to own it! (not really, but you get the point!)

Regarding any quality issues, I have realized that they “appear” to be in the 02-03 MY range IF the MINI has a problem. But with that said, that statement is based on my impression and is only subjective. But you are going to find something, if you look hard enough, with any car. We also purchased a brand new Honda Odyssey (minivan) along with our MCS. At 152 miles, a fixture that secures the transmission coolant line to the transmission was faulty. Hence, it sprayed tranny fluid on the engine which turned to smoke and a pretty red puddle under the van. Mind you, this is not a cheap vehicle! And at 152 MILES! Not a happy camper! But they fixed it up in no time and sent me on my way!

In the aftermarket world, companies are slowly starting to get the MINI up to 300+ bhp, and so far the motors/trannies are doing fine. Which is a testament to the build quality from the factory. Take from that what you will, but for BMW to recognize a bump up in their global profit margin from these vehicles alone is a testament to what everyone thinks about them!

Best of luck finding your way!

[RedMini]

August 2002 build MCS, JCW 200bhp fitted April 2004, 210 bhp upgrade fitted October 2004.

Great far, 3 small faults, but none of them were dealt with properly by the dealers.

1. Alternator belt tensioner problem resulting in belt squeal, which was a common problem a couple of years ago. The supplying dealer ignored problem when I first reported it. When the noise got dreadful I booked it in again and they did the job - but even though I told them exactly what the problem was and they said they'd do it in an hour they had to order parts and had the car 3 days.

2. Gutter trim loose - took 2 visits to supplying dealer plus 2 more to the one that fitted JCW before properly rectified.

3. Headlamp aim too low - supplying dealer said it was fine so I adjusted it myself.

[GBMINI]

Looks likely NSMG was a troll - only one message ever posted and no response. But OTOH it is good to have all this info in a thread; when the next one comes, we can just point them here and get on with enjoying our MINIs

[VZZ]

i think it good

[Tit]

As everyone has said - there is no such thing as a flawless car....

Even if there are some small problems on your mini, it can't take away from the fact that the car is an absolute hoot to drive. I have mates giving me flak about buying a mini (they all drive huge crappy australian cars). One of which I hired a MCS over Christmas with - at the end of the three days we had the car he'd come a full 180 and was absolutely blown away about how much fun we had. When he was driving, he'd ask me to navigate him through the twistiest most remote sealed roads I could find on the map just so he could enjoy the car (to make it even nicer, we were in the Adelaide hills, Australia, driving from Winery to Winery! - don't worry...no drink driving)....

Anyway...once an ardent mini-basher, I think the look on his face in this photo tells you exactly why we love our mini's so much!

[NSMG]

First of all , I must thank you all for your enthusiastic replies !

Quote: Originally Posted by stephenjc

Ask youself if a forum like this exists for any other vehicle you are considering. I have also concluded that mini owners are nuts about autos and are very much perfectionists. You can tell how they are by all the modifications and technical talk most of which is over my head.

In fact there are forums for the other cars I'm considering and the owners are as nuts as MINI owners....but this forum is definitly the best I've ever seen.
One thing I've noticed is that most american owners are somewhat excited simply by the the compact size of a MINI, but I'm based in Europe so there is nothing new for me there...In Europe, there are other small cars as fast, but not quite as fun as a MINI

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI

Looks likely NSMG was a troll - only one message ever posted and no response..

Definitly not a Troll....but I reckon that if you want great handling (and noise...) with a spicy dose of small problems the MINI isn't alone...just look over Italian cars , my favorites after all these years