[Antranik]

Well i know it's gotta be GOOD but the topic sure makes u wanna see what i have to say about the mini's (great) quality, dont it? Well anyway, i am waiting for my mini to come by end of january and in the mean time a friend of mine asked me where they are made, and i said i think it is created in oxford. And then he went.. british? oh good luck, i give the car 4 hours till something breaks. I told him he's being an idiot, hehe, but why would he say that? I do not know the history of british cars but i assume its not that good? Is the mini influenced under that assumption?

[KenL]

I'd be more worried if it was an American car

Are Aston Martin, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Bentley bad cars - I don't think so. British cars were poor in the seventies but not since in my opinion.

MINI has had a few annoying faults as it is a complete new product but things are improving all the time. Mine has had a few niggles but nothing that would put me off buying another tomorrow.

Enjoy your car when you get it. The most fun you'll ever have sitting down

[R1]

Wait till MiNiGuY writes his book!!

[MiNiGuY]

Quote:

Originally posted by R1
Wait till MiNiGuY writes his book!!

He,He!!


Actually, the production facility in Oxford is essentially exactly as BMW would have built it if it happened to be in Munich!

Most of the line equipment,tooling,materials,computation and automation etc,etc is exactly the same, sourced from their trusted industry partners.

The processes used in building the car are airtight with no room for influence by line workers.
Indeed the workforce itself is highly multi cultural and I'd have to say that 'British' people are probably outnumbered at the factory.

The car has its issues, but I doubt they would be sorted any faster or any better if the factory itself was located elsewhere.

[vegan]

I think the average car today is made with 12,000 parts by 2,000 robots, 2 workers and 5 managers.
The robots are all made in one factory in Taiwan.
So when one car has higher quality than another, it is a pure accident.
Getting a well made car today is like getting a winning lottery ticket. It could happen. Somebody will probably get one soon. Maybe tomorrow.

[Antranik]

Wow, this is some information i haven't heard! Keep it coming

Miniguy, you really writing a book? Now i gotta do a search on some of your posts

[BillK]

British cars have a reputation for being finicky and having bad electrical systems. The latter is related to what used to be the ubiquitous Lucas Electric electrical systems, blessedly NOT used on the current MINI.

(I always wondered about an electrical company named for the Prince of Darkness )

As noted here and in numerous threads, there have been issues with the MINI, but nothing I would call extraordinary for a new design roll-out. With a 4 year warrantee, I figure most of the bugs can be worked out before the warrantee expires.

Of course, I did have a trim piece fall off the seat a couple of weeks ago. My cousin, who works for a Range Rover dealer said: "It's a British car, get used to it." But actually, I think the MINI is quite solid and a great deal of car for the money. I think the historical "finickyness" of British cars is not really a factor these days. Overall, I believe the quality of the MINI is far better than most, certainly better than the GM products I seem to get as rental cars when I travel. I once found a factory kit bag with fasteners in it (rather large bolts) stuffed in the glove box of a new rental I was driving. I have always wondered what did not get bolted on to the car.

[cooper4us]

I have a 2001 Chevy Impala LS....18,500 troublefree miles in almost 2 years, not a single problem. Has never been back to the dealer for anything other than oil changes and tire rotations. I think GM quality has improved greatly and this year, GM placed 3rd among all manufacturers. Interesting to note that almighty Nissan fell to 4th place and Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen have all the quality and reliability of an early 1990's Hyundai product.

I am very impressed with the build quality of our MINI Cooper and continue to look forward to future MINI Cooper variants.

BTW, my Impala hasn't had any 'missing' pieces, great solid and reliable car.

[Antranik]

I agree with you there cooper4us. I am not fond of american styling and design and i'm not sure if i will ever be but one thing is for sure, their improvements on reliability have really shot up, finally, hehe. All in all, they aren't bad like they used to be. As for mercedes-benz, i am just appaled at the direction they are going. Their new c-class models have been getting many, too many for a MERCEDES, bad reliability comments I have a vw passat and it's a wonderful car but the car lost it's rigidity after 2 years time and it is full of creaks and rattles now. The chassis is just not RIGID! The motor (1.8t) is very strong though and gets you going.

I think it's rattles/creaks that drive me mad the most because it is a sign of weakness and things failing. If my MCS stays rigid and "tight" the way cars are when new, i believe that will be the best sign of its quality in the long-term.

[Booger K.]

Hi, Antranik. I'm also expecting a cooper around Jan or Feb. I'm so excited I'm about to wet myself!

I wouldn't listen to the naysayers. I had a friend email me over this recent crashtest, trying to pop all my balloons! Some people are just plain jealous!

It sounds like styling is as important to you as reliability, and the MINI is the best thing going right now in that regard. Seriously. I've driven a 1960 impala for the last eight years because I couldn't bear to drive around in one of those Taurus-like cars with the overly-molded, aerodynamic, pooped-out, stool-sample look. The rear bumper area so over-sized it looks like a giant $130.00 basketball shoe. Boring colors. Yuppie-ish, ego-boosting names that end in "a": integra, acura, maxima, altima, etc. Beige, pooped-out, extruded dashboards. Annoying chimes or scolding voices if the door's open.

Actually, the Passat's kinda nice. Somewhat squared-off design. My roommate has one and it seems super well built.

It does seem like the MINI has some quality-control problems. Oddly enough, everyone I talk to in person that owns one reports no problems.

[thegrommit]

Antranik - be aware when you're reading the board that like any new car, the MINI had it's share of teething troubles. My July 02 build hasn't had any of the problems that had been reported up to that point - it's quite possible yours will be fine too.

Enjoy the wait

[eBrit]

I've concluded that my MCS has the true gritty/eccentric spirit of a Brit, the engineering innovation and precision of a German, and the pizzaz and carnival character of a Brazillian on holiday !!!! By the way....I've called it "Fritz"

eBrit

[JiminVirginia]

I have an MCS now, but I also owned several Triumphs in past years--a Spitfire, a GT-6, and a TR-7 (what was I thinking when I bought that one?).

Anyhow, the MINI is a very solid product, as near as I can tell, and definitely not in the troubled tradition of British Leyland, if that's what you're thinking.

And I agree with others that I'd rather chance a MINI than most American cars. I've got three cars, German, British, and Japanese. None American. (A sad commentary, I admit.)

[zgokart]

[quote]Originally posted by MiNiGuY
[b]
He,He!!
Actually, the production facility in Oxford is essentially exactly as BMW would have built it if it happened to be in Munich!
_____________
MiniGuy, sorry to hear about the unhappy circumstances of your departure from the Oxford plant. Keep us posted, now that you are more free to talk.

PS/MC, Sport Package, MFSW, Chrome. 6000 miles and nary a problem. (Must have been built on a day when Oxford qualified for the FA Coop playoffs). Go Gunners.

[minirossa]

My Cooper has 4,500 miles on it and I have had only two
minor problems.

Mind you most of those miles were driven in San Francisco city traffic; up & down steep hills.

Based upon my experience the build quality is very good.

I took part in a focus group last month with 9 other Cooper
owners. Most of the people in this group were also pleased
with the quality of their MINI.

As a matter of fact, dealers & dealer service were the source of most the groups' complaints!

[chiph]

Quote:

Originally posted by Antranik
<snip> As for mercedes-benz, i am just appaled at the direction they are going. Their new c-class models have been getting many, too many for a MERCEDES, bad reliability comments <snip>

As a former owner of a ML-320, I can testify to that: 20 warranty repairs in 39 months of ownership. Some of the problems were repeats, and a few of those I gave up on ever getting fixed (like the transmission hunting for gears). At turn-in, I told the dealer that they should wholesale the thing, as they wouldn't want to see it again.

Besides, my MCS is *much* more fun to drive!

Chip H.

[NED]

My Dad works pretty high up in Quality control for BMW GB and before that for Rover for 30+ years - he tells me the MINI is leagues above any previous car he's worked on in terms of quality.

BTW - this is my first post, picked up my new silver MINI One 10 days ago. Should have some pics to post soon!

Cheers

[KenL]

Welcome NED.

A silver MINI ONE - top choice mate

What's your spec???

[NED]

Pure Silver One, Salt, 15" 8-spokes and that's it so far. Interested in Superchip (stage 2), cold air filter and maybe exhaust upgrade. Any advice on all this would be appreciated - I've been browsing the forums and it seems there is an answer for just about anything here! Glad to be a member of MINI2!

[KenL]

Superchips has been discussed a lot on MINI2.

If you haven;t seen it already check out:
http://www.mini2.com/news/news.php?id=83

I'd say you've ordered the essesntials, i.e. SALT and alloys.