Midland vs Getrag

[Iamamini]

Hi, I am considering getting a 2006 Cooper Checkmate, I have an older Cooper with the midlands box. What is your experience of the Getrag box? I saw some discussions earlier about the Getrag being noisy. How is your Getrag box working after some use? Is it better broken in or do you have some trouble with it?

[Rakey]

we had over 50k miles on ours when it was traded in on Monday, no problems, no complaints about noise or feel, much better than the midlands box which is known for its issues

[Olly.]

Getrag wins hands down, a much better gearbox in my opinion

[*Vikki*]

it all depends on your luck , there are quite a few people on the MINI forum i go on a local club that are having a lot of issues with their getrag german gerboxes not going in to reverse or first gear and crunching etc. My midlands one is fine and hasent put a foot wrong. But the new ones on the whole are meant to be a LOT better!

[Iamamini]

....to all for the answers. I have had no problems with my Midlands box but since I did not quite like the 2007 MINI I am considering a 2006 instead since they are no longer produced (except the convertible).

[Widgey]

My original Midlands gearbox gave up on me at around 20K miles
The replacement has been trouble free since

[Root Ginger]

Put simply the Midlands gearbox is unreliable. The Getrag is reliable. If you're unlucky the Getrag may be noisy and have difficulty getting into reverse but at least you wont have a big bill for a knackered gearbox.

[Philr]

mine has been fine - it is not a refined box but it is ok.

[Lawrothegreat]

I have 40,000 miles on a getrag box and it remains as precise as day one, and has become a lot slicker too. The midlands box was too vague for my liking. BUT the getrag is not perfect. It is audible - but along with the power steering pump it is a nice characteristic of the car. Mine which is an early example (November 04 build) has become a lot better with age. Reverse is not a problem if you don't rush it.

[SimonTi]

forgive my ignorance (classic mini owner 19yr but MINI owner for only a month or so) but how do you determine which type of box you have?

My Cooper is Nov2004 and the gearbox rattles when in neutral with varying degrees of rattle and volume and I have crunched reverse a few times

Is this normal

thanks

[MINIAC]

Quote: Originally Posted by SimonTi (original)

... how do you determine which type of box you have?

My Cooper is Nov2004 ...

Coopers built July 2004 onward have a Getrag transmission.

[SimonTi]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIAC (original)

Coopers built July 2004 onward have a Getrag transmission.

Thanks for that MINIAC

[S33BBY]

At first I didn't like the Getrag, but it's grown on me and I prefer the notchy feeling now. I never had any trouble with the Midland gearbox my old One though.

[zyo]

Like someone has already pointed out it can be the look of the draw, apart from the difficulty with first and reverse that was prevalent with the midland box , mine was much nicer to use than my sept 04 gertrag box is, ( i'm on my third one). With my gertrag box there seem to be quite a lot of 'shunt' in the drive train, not dissimilar to the classic mini with a worn engine steady bar bush. This is only my opinion and obviously , irrespective of faults, some will prefer one and some will prefer the other

[nikis-mini]

Very Interesting!!!!! I have an auto Midland, had it for 3 months, nothing but trouble!! Just bad luck I guess, but I dont know whether to stick with it and get it fixed again, or replace with recon one, or change car and go for Getrag !!??
I absolutley love my car, but now I feel sick to the stomache when I look at it parked up and cant drive it. Its pure silver, 02, silver roof with panoramic sunroof, chilli pack and air con, black bonnet stripes!!! The best looking car, shame about the gearbox!!! Only had it back for 1 week from being repaird (was away for a month!!) and now its still got the same problem.?