[StephenR]

A friend of mine works for an International market research company, this company does a lot of car market research, so far the mini is doing badly.

82% of mini owners have had problems with there cars.

28% of this 82% appear to have problems the dealers can't fix or are not fixing properly.

[cmt]

why does that not surprise me?
Great car but still in its early days and dealer communication with BMW / Vice versa seems to be a problem.
Col.

[Spectra]

Mini has an above average "1st year" model syndrome. Not to be a broken record but that's why I'm seriously considering leasing it as opposed to buying it. Long term (or even short term), it's a big question mark as far as how it'll hold up. After the lease, if I truly like the car & it's reliable then I'll buy it. If not, I'll get another Mini or something else. I crunched the numbers (opportunity cost, NPV, etc...) and it made sense.

[HarryHBMCC]

I was worried about the long-term too and chose a lease instead of an extended warranty. I can still buy it at the end if I still like it or I can return it. I had to have one but repair costs of old european cars are notoriously high, even without a first-year model.

Harry

[Armand Tanzarian]

Two things occur to me:

1: A lot of people complain about MINI problems that they wouldn't if it was made by Ford rather than BMW.

2: BMW dealers (at least the one round here) are complete c*&^s. When I took my BMW in for a service they broke the air con (and then denied it) and told me that the brake pads needed renewing urgently (they lasted another year before the wear light came on). When I went to look at a MINI they couldn't be arsed to even talk to me.


Frank

[PigLick]

Quote:

Originally posted by Armand Tanzarian
Two things occur to me:

1: A lot of people complain about MINI problems that they wouldn't if it was made by Ford rather than BMW.

Frank

I'm not so sure about this one. I'm no fan of Ford, but I've ridden in quite a few Fords both old and new, and never have they pulled to left, had squeeky seats, "christine syndrome" electricals, or spontaneously cracking windshields. These are problems which would garner complaints no matter who was making the vehicle, because they are basic problems that even the cheapest most base-model economy car makers have been able to get right for years. Why they are suddenly appearing on a $20k BMW made car in 2002 is bewildering. I can almost understand some of the more complex things such as electriclas having "teething problems," but squeaky seats? Come on, how basic is that! I've never owned or been a passenger in a car with squeaky sets, and I've been in a lot of old, crappy cars.

PigLick

[Marts]

I also have a friend in the market research business...
and I would like to know how up to date this survey/research is? Do these figures include current Mini builds/purchases (ie last 6 months)?

As for FORDs ......?

[thinkinboutit]

ahhh yes, MINI...nice on the outside, scary in the inside

[Skinnyrunt]

Are there any figures on how much MINI owners love/really enjoy their cars compared with owners of other cars?

[Ady]

The seats in my mini classic squeek so maybe its just another "feature" that MINI has added to the automotive cocktail that is MINI.

Ady (R50)

[thinkinboutit]

that would explain the left pull and everything else wrong...hehe

[rasp]

Could anybody here tell me what the delivery pack is that ive been charged £250.00 for.

[oilman930]

Every car made has some sort of problem,the trick to it is,how to catch the problem before the car is sold to the public.Honda is very good in this reguard,Ford is not.As time goes on,the problems with the MINI will be fewer and fewer as the quality issues sort themselves out.The problem is,the MINI(this version of it)will most likely be around only until the the 2005 model year.2002 year cars will be the worst,by 2005 it will be a great car.Everything in between,buyer beware.