[brycem]

Last week I ordered Silver/Black Mini Cooper with sunroof, asc+t, single cd player, front foglamps, heated mirrors and a storage compartment with 8 spokes and tartan red cloth. I then discovered this excellent site but its contents raised serious concerns about the general build quality of the product. Can anyone reassure me that a car being built for delivery on November 25th should not contain the niggling faults which seem to have blighted many of the earlier cars.

I would also appreciate views on sunroof.

[wainair]

I had the same concerns after wathcing the boards over the summer while I waited for my CR Cooper/ Tartan interior. Mine was a July production, and it arrived flawless. I have had zero problems of fit, quality, or craftmanship. No rattles, or loose parts. No cracking windshield, releasing shifter linkage or left pull. All these things seem to have been resolved before my build date. Hell, it even starts in the cold! I'm sure yours will be fine! Now, I've got to go and knock on wood for and hour or ten! LOL

[KenL]

My car was built in July and is fantastic.

I think the faults that are likely to cause real concern like left pull and gearbox probs are all gone.

Small slight niggles for me:

My car has the odd rattle but they seem to come and go.

The seats squeak every now and then but adjusting all the moving parts makes that go away.

The dash creaks for a while going over bumps with the heater on until the temperature stablises.

My boot started to rattle and I fixed this easily by adjusting the rubber dampers and putting some tape around the latch loop for good measure.

If anything else bothers me I'll have it looked at when the first service comes along.

The only problem it came with was the steering wheel slightly misaligned. The dealer (Western MINI - Edinburgh) sorted this no problem.

Have confidence in your decision. I'm sure you will be delighted with your car when you get it. Silver/black looks superb - even better with bonnet stripes.

Did you order the Pepper pack or 8 spokes, fog light etc individually. It may have been cheaper to order the pepper pack. Remember you can change your spec up till a certain time before production.

On the sunroof I didn't get one for two reasons:
1. Very expensive
2. I had one on my previous car which I almost never used.

For the cost I'd order AC before the sunroof but my budget was tight so didn't get either.

Did you order the spare wheel? Are you aware that you don't get a spare automatically but a tyre fix kit comprised of a can of glue and a compressor. I ordered the spare as it's only £35 extra.

Cheers,
Ken.

ps I'll wave when you get your car

[Hat]

mines on order so i cant reply regarding the faults but someone on here did mention that they get a few 'moaning minnies' on here who complain about anything & everything. the number of faults is still very low when you consider the number of cars sold (38,000?)

id go for air con over sunroof any day:
open sunroofs sap power & fuel consumption due to drag
wind noise drowns out the stereo
an open sunroof in hot weather just lets hot air in
an open sunroof on a really sunny day = burnt head
air con is invaluable for demisting on wet days & really cold weather
air con can be used to supply de-humidified warm air on cold, wet days

dont forget, you live in scotland - count up the number of wet days v's sunny ones!

[chiph]

No problems thus far in the first 5 days of ownership. I would say they've pretty much got things sorted out.

Chip H.

[stuartkey]

My Cooper was ordered in July and arrived 8th October, and again, I've had no problems (touch wood!) save the same steering wheel alignment issue KenL mentioned.

The dealer (Cotswold BMW) are sorting that out tomorrow, so hopefully that will be that!! They've been great so far...

[uua]

My July02 mcs has zero build quality faults that I could see.
I don't usually hang out on car boards, but this car is different. So many turning heads, comments from strangers, and fun driving have made it the most interesting vehicle I have owned to date.

As for the sunroof, I've got it and climate control. If youv've got plenty of money, go for it. But I agree, first priority is AC.

[catalyst]

brycem -

I'm very pleased with the build quality of my Cooper. No rattles, no squeaks, no vibrations through the first 2000 miles. The car is very solid, and the fit and finish are excellent. I've had only one *minor* problem (water/condensation in the passenger side tail light cluster) and that was repaired efficiently.

I'm also impressed with the quality of the sunroof. It offers an excellent view and it operates smoothly and flawlessly. Another very attractive aspect you'll notice will be how seamlessly it integrates with the black roof.

Cheers,

catalyst

[brycem]

Thanks to all of you who have given your perceptions and personal experiences of build quality. My concerns have been allayed and the general message appears to be that the cars are now very well built perhaps even to the standard one would expect of their teutonic parent company.

I think I will stick with the sunroof as I like the additional light it potentially lets in to the cabin (front and rear). In a grey town like Edinburgh you need as much light as possible although KenL will confrim that we have better weather up here than you would perhaps imagine. The east coast of Scotland has a relatively dry climate so there should be plenty of opportunities to open up the larger than normal sunroof.

Roll on 25th November

[KenL]

Quote:

Originally posted by brycem
[b]In a grey town like Edinburgh you need as much light as possible although KenL will confrim that we have better weather up here than you would perhaps imagine. The east coast of Scotland has a relatively dry climate so there should be plenty of opportunities to open up the larger than normal sunroof./B]

Since I grew up in Glasgow (where it's really wet) I agree with you but not in the last two days when it has been p*&£ing down. So bad in fact there were loads of road problems today and even worse the river at my golf club burst it's banks and flooded 5 holes on the course

Not toooo long to you get your car, please post pictures when you get it.

Cheers,
Ken.

[GAJ]

This thread has made me feel a lot better. I've been reading about too many people's problems on this board.

One week to go and counting...

[minirossa]

I ordered my Cooper in March & got it in July. The build quality is excellent.

Have put 4,000 miles on the car & have only had two minor problems. The passenger seat gets stuck sometimes & the sunroof shade popped out of it's track once.

The faults & fixes forum really freaked me out for a while
too. I was reading it while waiting for my Cooper to be delivered.

My impression is the build quality is improving. People who
got their cars in April or May have more complaints than those who got theirs in July or August.

[stevos]

Good luck with the car, i got mine in December last year, and it has had none stop problems since then. However that was almost a year ago and i am sure bmw/ the former rover people have sorted them all by now.

However even after the car going in atleast once a month, I still love the car.

[BillK]

I just took delivery a few days ago, but I am happy with what I have seen. Remember that looking at boards like these you will see ALL the problems and they can seem magnified.

As to the sunroof, this is my forst car with one, and I have resisted until now for all the usual reasons: How much use will it really get, rattles, wind noise, etc. I am glad I got it tough. No rattles (yeah, I know, it's new) I vent the sunroof when parked and the interior remains relativly cool, and I enjoyed the rain more too. It does give a nice light inside, and the sun screen does its job well in the sun.

Here is Sothern California we have had very changable weather the last few days: Hard rain when I picked my MINI up from the dealer, then it dried out and got warm, it is pleasently cool and sunny today, so I have tried out the sunroof in a variety of conditions.

[XZQTGO]

My brother own a Cooper, WITH sunroof AND AC and both are fantastic in every way. Best of both world really.

Two minor problems: trunklock broke of / little rattle at front driver door. But you have to take in consideration that the ratteling is normal for a car that has such a stiff suspension.

[NEMINI]

My MINI, born on 12 Oct. 2002 is absolutely perfect, I've looked high and low and can't find anything to complain about, I even drove 20 miles without the radio on just to listen to see if I could hear anything .... nothing .... and I must say this little car is amazingly quiet, Far far less road noise then I would have expected for something so close to the road. Ride quality? Heck this is a step up from my Minivan I drove for 3 years. I don't get what people are complaining about, maybe its me? or maybe I'm just blessed with the best damn car.

For those who have had faults stick with it and hang tough ... you'll never regret it in the end.

Quote:

Originally posted by brycem
Thanks to all of you who have given your perceptions and personal experiences of build quality. My concerns have been allayed and the general message appears to be that the cars are now very well built perhaps even to the standard one would expect of their teutonic parent company

My opinion has swung back and forward about the build quality issue - the general public and motoring press believe the car has 'impeccable Germanic build quality' etc etc... but most people on Mini2 would disagree with that. I think things are undoubtedly getting better, and maybe it's just a case that our expectations were way too high? Maybe? I've had a stack of faults with my current Cooper (see thread links below...

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=14915

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...602#post161602

... but it didn't stop me trading mine in for an S (which arrives in two weeks today, woo hoo! ).

I think that's the thing, this car really gets under your skin, and you can forgive BMW a lot when the car is generally so good at what it does. I think you can also worry too much, especially if you spend a lot of time on the boards (I know I do!). If your car has niggles, try and keep them in perspective, enjoy the car, be firm and assertive with your dealer and you'll have a lot of fun.

All the best, DBK.

[R1]

Quote:

Originally posted by stuartkey
The dealer (Cotswold BMW) are sorting that out tomorrow, so hopefully that will be that!! They've been great so far...

Same dealer as mine. You wont have any problems there! They really are excellent!

[Paul]

Our family has had problems Abi's March build MINI One, with my May build Cooper and we've also had some problems with a June build MINI Cooper S. BUT, the One is a bit of a lemon, the Cooper has had probably 2 'serious' (but not dangerous) faults, and the Cooper S was mostly due to either the dealer or the factory being a little 'careless'.

In general however, the board member numbers are ever increasing, but the number of complaints seem to be staying level or possibly decreasing, which seems to indicate the chances of something going wrong are ever decreasing. Which is nice.

[Ginger]

I'd agree, with all off these. I've had my ONE since April, and apart from minor trim and finish faults everythings been fine. I'm sure you'll love it when you get it.