Yes, yet another thread to finish up what on earth I'm doing.
We kinda want a Mini 4-door Hardtop. It's got a bunch more je ne sais quoi than the Impreza which is its sole competitor at this point. It's also something like $8k more. (yes, I could get that down to maybe $5k, but if we went for the Mini we'd probably option it as we want it, not just try to make it close to Impreza money)
The hard part is convincing ourselves that it's not intrinsically dumb to spend a bunch of additional money for a car which is a bit more cramped inside, and which is probably(?) the worse of the two in terms of reliability. Which brings me to my central question:
It seems like Mini reliability has improved with each generation, but how true is that? With only two years of the current 3-cyl version running around out there, is it better than the previous one, or just a roll of the dice? Is my impression that Mini reliability was "bleh", and then "pretty good" but now "insufficient data" in the ballpark? (EDIT: Okay, I think I wasn't in the ballpark, so I just changed the latter two...)
The hope here is that if we continue to like it, we could keep this car for the next decade.
I like the Impreza. I just like the Mini better, in a way that's pretty much irrational outside the better MPG. While I can tell myself that it's worth the difference to have the main car be something neat, it's not like I'm going to stop playing with project cars to get my kicks, and we really don't want to regret our choice while living with it five years from now...
T.J.
UltimaDork
10/13/15 7:45 p.m.
Oh, you mean MINI (or BINI as some like to call them). I don't know anything about those. From the thread title, I thought this was going to be about Minis.
Fair enough. I have trouble typing in ALL CAPS because of someone's marketing campaign. Too bad we can't edit titles; I should've put something in there about it being a current-gen Hardtop, which woud've been way more useful...
I have been wondering similar in search for a fun, tiny FWD. I just don't think I can go from "Honda reliable" to FWD-BMW/Fiat. Maybe if Honda makes a non-hybrid CRZ...
Duke
MegaDork
10/14/15 8:42 a.m.
My brother-in-law just bought a used 2012 Cooper S with something like 50,000 on it. I urged him to buy an extended warranty. He did. It immediately had a misfire code that they couldn't fix, and I think it's getting either a headgasket or a timing chain/belt. At any rate, it became undriveable shortly after he bought it. I'm not sure what the outcome was, but I can find out.
I have an R56. All the normal BMW stuff breaks. Then stuff that should never be a problem breaks. Cooling system and fuel pump problems followed by timing chain, clutch, suspension bits, turbo oil lines, significant oil consumption, etc before 100K miles. I am guessing the new one isn't that bad.
That being said they drive great and the interior becomes normal in a few weeks.
In my experience dealing with this on the used market: If you're buying new and not keeping long term, go with the mini. It's a great driver and gets good fuel economy. IF you're keeping it long term, don't buy the mini. It's a typical german money pit that will destroy your wallet.
I have no input on the 3rd generation cars, but the specialty shop that maintains my 1st gen (R53) MINI will tell you that the 2nd generation cars are their bread and butter. The employees favour 1st generation cars as their DDs. I wouldn't buy any MINI if you want Honda reliabilty. My MINI is far more fun though, so do want an Amish girl or the last Playboy centerfold ?
That's a rhetorical question. I don't need it answered.
They're fawkin horrible cars at least up to the new body style. The new ones aren't old enough to be money pits just yet.
<--- replaced more Mini engines/turbos than all other makes/models combined over the last 10 years.
I am not a Mini tech, I work all makes and models.
Get used to this level of teardown if you DIY:
Chris_V
UberDork
10/14/15 12:12 p.m.
As I've said in every MINI thread, the '2010-2013 N/A MINIs tend to be quite reliable. My '11 model base w/6 speed manual was leased, but it never went into the dealership except for scheduled maintenance (oil changes) during the lease period. My 2014 base with the turbo 3 cyl and 6 speed manual has been good other than a few recall notices. It's been from Maine to Florida, just like the last one, and according to internet lore, it shouldn't have been able to do that, as some will tell you they break just leaving the driveway.
S models with the automatics are the most problematic, and the Countryman model is the most troublesome of all of them, dragging the ratings for the brand down with it (the engines are the same as for the regular MINIs and thus are way underpowered for the larger cars).
I think it's a no brainer..Impreza!
A friend's boss has one of the new 3 cylinder MINI. Some catastrophic failure occurred in the engine and the dealer gave him a new car and sent the broken one off for further research.
Chris_V
UberDork
10/14/15 12:30 p.m.
clutchsmoke wrote:
A friend's boss has one of the new 3 cylinder MINI. Some catastrophic failure occurred in the engine and the dealer gave him a new car and sent the broken one off for further research.
Find out what that was, because it's exceedingly rare, and I've never heard of it happening in the year and a half that they've been out.
I've said this in every MINI thread as well, but my old '06 R53 was extremely reliable. I have a friend with an '09 NA automatic, and she has had zero issues as well and has owned since new as her only car.
From the various MINI owners I know, the only ones with issues that I know of have ones that have modified theirs. They are BMWs and have the same issues, so if you could live with a BMW, you can live with a MINI.
As a generally useless but kinda funny idea, I looked up the Consumer Reports (yeah, I know, I know) on the previous TDI Sportwagen for comparison. So it kinda looks like we were all keyed up to buy something quite happily which doesn't really appear any better than the Mini on that front.
I did find a funny thing out about the Impreza; I was wondering why the online configurator didn't give me any option packages, or even significant individual options (e.g. Moonroof). Turns out Subaru thinks if you're doing a manual trans that you're a cheapskate, and they just don't offer any of the extras.