[mace]

I was wondering is there any reliability issues as MC-S ages? My coworker was saying that MC-S was rated pretty high in terms of mechanical problems in the Consumer Reports. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports requires that you subscribe in order to view their reports, so I can't verify that. Thanks for any advice.

 

[indimini]

It's kind of difficult to say what the long term (i.e. > 5 years) reliability will be because (a) the brand is only about 4 years old and (b) there have been continuous and significant changes in manufacturing to address quality issues. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the newest ('05) builds are much better than the early model years. Personally, my 02 MC has been as reliable as any car I've ever owned (comparing w/ Honda, Acura, Volvo, BMW). While I eagerly await my 05 build, I will miss the MC - it has been a great car.

IMHO, Consumer Reports is a pretty soulless organization that tends to evaluate cars as mere appliances. Their assessments don't address the intangibles of owning a Mini.

The other thing to consider is that manufacturing quality is increasing in the industry as a whole. So, statistically there will always be cars that are only average with respect to maintenance/repairs, but even these cars of "average" quality will be as good as the "best" cars built 10 years ago. The trend towards ever increasing quality favors the purchasers of newer vehicles.

Not sure this qualifies as advice, just opinion

 

[RickB]

I've had a bunch of niggles with my car, in the two years I've had it, but the car has never stranded me, and service has never taken more than a half-day. So, while it's not nearly as reliable as the fifteen-year old Honda it replaced, I'm not rdisappointed with it, because all of the problems have been fixed quickly, to my satisfaction, at no cost.