Are modern mini coopers reliable?

Just wondering since early 2k's are fairly priced.

Thanks

As long as it isn't a auto.

Has lots of problems with the CVT trans ('06s and earlier I believe). I will admit I don't or never have had one, but did lots of research when I went through my last car buying moment. Almost pulled the trigger on a '07 5-speed but alas I went another direction.

I've got an 06 S and it has been pretty ok. The only real complaint (besides crappy BMW plastic trim clips that break) has been what sounds exactly like a bad throwout bearing. Dlr has changed the clutch, tranny, flywheel, trowout bearing, etc. With the tranny swap the noise went away for about a month. BMW claims it's the 2-piece flywheel and that it's not a problem. Seems a bit like bs to me since I haven't heard of others with this issue. On the up side the car is a hell of a lot of fun!

I remember a readers' survey of them (Car and Driver IIRC) that basically said something like "buying one that is out of warranty is a bit crazy"--apparently a lot of little things go wrong w/ the early ones.

The manual trans on the early cars is almost as fragile as the auto box and even more expensive to replace if you throw in a clutch job too - that's how my brother's $5,000 MINI became a $8,500 MINI.

My tech support guy bought an early one (new). He's had tons of problems with it. ~Trans died at about a year (warrantee). ~Oil drain plug got fused into the sump and wouldn't come out (apparently, this is not an unusual problem even if torqued correctly).~He has had overheating problems with it for the last two years. Apparently, it's very hard to bleed the cooling system properly.

We have two - an '03 MCS and '07 MC convertible. Both purchased new. The '03 has been reasonably reliable for the past 90K (the g/f's daily driver). It's been typically modified (15% pulley; intake; JCW exhaust and various suspension upgrades). The 'vert is stock, is a 3rd car and doesn't get driven much, so it's had no problems.

The '03 had an annoying cruise control glitch that took a dealer many times to fix back in '04. The xenon auto-leveling system is currently on the fritz and I haven't had time to investigate it. Otherwise, the g/f loves the car has no plans to replace it. It actually replaced her '97 M3.

It hasn't been as reliable as my '03 TDI (currently 232K), but it hasn't been unreasonable. I've spent a great deal of time working on these cars and find them pretty easy to work on. I'll take wrenching on a MINI over an E30 any day. In comparison, wrenching on the E30 is pure torture.

The CVT and the Midlands 5spd in the base model are known to be problematic. Parts are expensive and there are several common failures, like the PS pump and window motors.

Cooper S with the Getrag 6 speed is the one to have.

I think the cross-section of MINI owners still consists of folks that are more interested in applying vinyl than picking up a wrench, and that problems get dramatized on the internet. This will change as they get cheaper and more DIY'ers pick them up.

I would disagree about the DIY thing. These cars have one of the best DIY resources (NorthAmericanMotoring.com) I've seen for any car. Guys have been ripping them apart and putting them back together again pretty much since new.

Paying the extra for a well cared for example is the only way to go. Much like BMWs they don't react well to typical owner neglect. I'm sure thats why every one I've worked on has been a steaming pile of poo. Then again I wasn't thrilled with the way they drove new so maybe I'm biased.

spritedriver28, it sounds like the noise you're hearing is the "Chewbacca" sound that many owners have experienced. Mine does it,especially from cold. The North American Motoring site has a fair amount of discussion about it, and the common answer has been the 2 piece flywheel.

I wore out about every suspension bushing in my '05 within 2 years. Take that with a grain of salt, as i was not your typical MINI owner :)

Other than that it was a great reliable car, even with quite a few upgrades and a 15% pulley on the SC. Never broke down on me.

Never had a problem with the wifes', other than the damn thing likes to eat brakes for some reason, I attribute that to her driving.... and she's not allowed near the ms3.

in the 5-6 months I've owned my '04 Cooper S, it has been quite reliable, apart from stuff outside of my control (deer strike @ ~65mph last saturday night, waiting on State Farm to get off their ass and tell me what to do as far as getting a claim started so I can get it fixed). granted, I got mine from a mini dealership and it was certified to be in as good condition as it could be, considering the age, but still.

I did have the usual issue with the tops of the front strut towers due to the relatively thin metal they are stamped out of, but a set of strut tower reinforcement places has solved that. I did have the passenger side window motor start to act up a few months back, but the usual solution of banging on the door panel roughly above the door has solved that and it hasn't acted up since

True... the front LCA bushings are junk and usually puke their oil within 10K miles (I've seen them leaking in less than 5K). PowerFlex makes a poly version that seems to work well.

We have Craven top plates on both cars and IE fixed camber plates on the MCS. If the mushrooming isn't too bad, fixing it isn't too difficult and often doesn't require any new parts. However, I've seen one car where one of the strut mount bolts was at nearly a 45 degree angle... that's bad.

I was talked out of buying one by a MINI tech if that means anything.

My 06 Justa Cooper has been very reliable and I track the piss out of it. The only problems I've had is 2 front bearings went bad and a thermostat housing leak. The thermostat housing leak seems to be a regular problem as I've heard a number of MINI owners have had it. Mines got 89K very hard miles and still going. I've heard the supercharged S model is reliable until you really start cranking out the HP then drive it hard. Then they tend to break big.

I had an 03 S five speed for three months and the car spent SIX weeks in the shop the car was a blast to drive (When it was not broken) but I needed something that would not require me to work on it all the time, Traded the car in for $2K than I paid for it and all has been well with my GTP Comp G.

Paul B

It's a BMW, so the cooling system and suspension are made of butter. The valves are made out of styrofoam and the head is cardboard, so valve jobs and cylinder heads should be bought in bulk. The pulley/harmonic balancers fall apart and cause all sorts of mechanical and driveability problems. Clutches don't hold up to great either, but that's probably more of a driver error issue. Some of my customers only have to do routine maintenance, but even more of them are in need of expensive repairs regularly.

The further away from the first years the better. Are there even any 02's left on the road?

There are, they pop up from time to time in used car lots. But you're right, stay away from anything before 2005.

my 02 Launch edition was the 125th car off the line and ate transmissions like tic tacs NOM NOM NOM!!!

Wow! Thanks. It was actually an 02 S model that caught my eye. It did have the 6spd.

Datsun1500 wrote:

Bababooey wrote: I was talked out of buying one by a MINI tech if that means anything.

Not really, Most techs trash the cars they work on. Ask a BMW tech and BMWs are junk, ask a Ford Tech and Fords are junk, etc. Makes sense since all they really see are broken ones...

And the broken ones usually have the same issues.

Bababooey wrote: I was talked out of buying one by a MINI tech if that means anything.

gary, is that you?

Datsun1500 wrote:

Bababooey wrote: I was talked out of buying one by a MINI tech if that means anything.

Not really, Most techs trash the cars they work on. Ask a BMW tech and BMWs are junk, ask a Ford Tech and Fords are junk, etc. Makes sense since all they really see are broken ones...

We see un-broken ones too. I specialize in BMW, Mini, Audi, VW. Know what I own? Nissan, Lexus, and Acura. I make my money off those money pits, not spend money on them. I will be owning an e36 track rat eventually though. They are the "Ultimate Driving Machine" after all