[LOCHRYAN]

Hi i bought a Cooper 52 plate 2 weeks ago. My previous car was a VW Golf GT TDI a great car with very few problems and 120k on the clock.
I still have a BMW 320 tourer 19 years old and has never let me down and fly;s through its MOT year after year to my astonishment. The only things i have replaced on the beemer are normal wear and tear items exhaust,wheel bearing etc. An absolute credit to BMW.
I thought i was buying an other great BMW when i bought the MIni but i am horrified to see the amount of major problems listed on this Forum regarding Fairly new cars.
Are Minis a bad car or am i getting the wrong impression as i am starting to think i should have bough another BMW or VW Golf? I hope i am getting the wrong impression of the mini as i think it is a cracking little car apart from the rattles and creaks!

[minigolf]

In my experience, good and reliable. There's been a few problems, but given a few trackdays and the like, nothing too serious at all.

[Gromit801]

Remember, the people who post problems are a small number. The majority who are happy, generally don't post.

[LizzyG]

Speaking about my personal experience with my MINI, I have found it to be a good reliable car.

[DaFlake]

All car forums will be littered with people posting about problems because people generally don't come to a forum and say "gee my car is running great today".

Also, this is an enthusiast forum, so I am willing to bet that your results will be skewed. My advice,... Just enjoy it!

[3rdpillar]

love my car to pieces. its fantastic, it makes me smile and makes me feel good. If thought i had a problem I would post up here to get some sound advise from the likes of above. Would nt mean i as winging or unhappy. Id ask advise about the samllest thing.
Excellent forum , excellent car.

Enjoy!

[andrewcregan]

I love my Mini , but I remain unconvinced by its 'reliablity' .
My good lady, a pal at work and myself all bought a Mini within the space of six weeks (2 brand new Doopers and a 6 month old Cooper S)
Cooper S - been in main dealers for over a week in total, had visit from techie from Oxford, and has now had a replacement engine
Cooper D - been in dealers on 3 seperate occassions for various squeaks and rattles - over 10 faults found and rectified
Cooper D - suffers from the alarm going off for no reason (known fault - requires replacement JWE fuse box) and engine fan coming on for no reason (another known fault)
I joined Mini2 for the sense of community, and going to runs, but unfortunately find myself in the fault forums far too frequently.

Come on BMW/Mini, sort it out . . . . please

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gromit801 (original)

Remember, the people who post problems are a small number. The majority who are happy, generally don't post.

Quote: Originally Posted by DaFlake (original)

All car forums will be littered with people posting about problems because people generally don't come to a forum and say "gee my car is running great today".

You know, it was -3.5 degrees Celsius this morning and the car was encased in ice when I got to it. But, to my astonishment, I was actually able to get in and start the darn thing! I mean really, it started - when I wanted it to. Absolutely amazing.

Admittedly, I've had my fair share of problems, but these were sorted out during the warranty period - thankfully! Since these were resolved (and then the warranty expired), I've not really had any problems to speak of - touch wood.

Apart from the fact that my interior handle on the passenger side isn't working (it has been abused by passengers who didn't know how to unlock the door to get out and damn near ripped off the handle) everything is running just great.


So hopefully that provides a little bit of reassurance.

All the best,
Andrew.

PS:
~42,600 miles covered from 26 March 2004 to now.

[ALD0]

Newer cars these days aren't made as good as they use to be, more electronics with more things to go wrong.
Cheaper materials used, will equate to more rattles etc, like others have posted on here, enjoy the car

[Gristy]

Ive had my 03 Cooper now for 13 months - done 21,000 miles in that time and its been on a couple of tracks including the Nurburgring

Had no issues, had 2 new tyres and a sevice that was on the orignal TLC - still no issues with the gearbox

I also have no rattles etc

Has been a good reliable car and definately agree with the comments about people mainly posting issues rather than "My car did not breakdown today"

[JAMIE1131]

My car did not breakdown today!

I'm not going to vote on this yet, only to say (as some will know!) that I'm on my second MINI in twelve months due to a large number of breakdowns/warranty repairs in my first MINI. The second MINI had a minor fault 4 days after being picked up in October but nothing since. I love the new car and hope it will be reliable but for me the MINI brand still has a little more to prove before I'd say it was reliable.

[Buffster Bird]

I've had two MINI's over the last four year's and have found them to be generally reliable. The first MINI had a couple of minor problems, but so far the second one has been very good.

[kertjycoth]

OK here. 1 Mini Cooper S 28000 miles of faultless driving. Now on a Dooper and so far so good, could I be lucky?

[Bilbo Baggins]

Generally reliable.

My '02 MCS had over 37,000 miles on it when I traded it in on an '06 MCS.

The '02 had a few minor squeaks and rattles that I was able to get resolved thru my dealer before I traded it. However, at no time was I forced to alter my plans for going any place or returning home. The car was 100% reliable. The engine, transmission, and the whole drive train were brilliant. All of the warranty issues that I had were taken care of during normal scheduled maintenance appointments. Again, the issues were minor in nature.

The '06 MCS is a much better constructed car and it seems that the changes that were made in the dash area have eliminated an annoying group of rattles from the earlier cars. In general, most of the little problems from the earlier cars have been eliminated. At 27,000 miles everything is still tight and rattle free. The drivetrain seems to be every bit as brilliant as the former one.

The main reason for upgrading to the '06 was to get the factory installed Limited Slip Differential. This has proven to be a wonderful addition, greatly improving the winter traction on snow and ice. This winter is proving to be a very icy one. Glad to have the LSD and my winter tires.

[merv]

Have had Mini's for 5 years, very very reliable in my opinion (have I just cursed myself?)

[oldnell]

While my car, in 5 years and 85,000 miles of ownership and better than TLC servicing, has only once failed to get me to where I wanted to be, it's not a story of reliability by any stretch of the imagination.

Over the last 6 months I've had power steering failure (very dangerous), leaking radiator, rear calliper binding and an unresolved suspension/steering problem that I'd about to chuck some serious money at (even though my dealer tells me there's nothing wrong).

Now we don't yet know what the long-term reliability is like for the current generation, but I won't be finding out.

Oli