MINIs - are there any that aren't a PITA to own?

Judging by this thread and this thread too, and my BIL's experience with a moderate-mileage used 2012 Cooper S, I'm learning that MINIs are an expensive and difficult ownership experience.

Are there any that aren't? I ask because DD#1's boyfriend is looking for a used car and likes MINIs. He's not mechanically inclined and likely to be somewhat financially challenged on a chronic basis. When she asked me to start keeping an eye out for one, I told DD#1 that it was probably a bad idea.

But if there is an era / model / trim that can work as a regular, reliable car, I'd like to steer them in the right direction rather than just shutting them down hard. If there isn't, I'll reinforce my initial warning. Thanks.

Yes, the early ones where only the "M" is capitalized

The modern MINIs are a result of BMW still having a few crusty old engineers who are angry about losing the war- it's the only way to explain a German company buying rights to a British icon and utterly ruining it.

I hear they're way more reliable if you cram a Celica GT-4 drivetrain into one. In just 14+ easy steps.

As far as I know the late R50 (Cooper non-S), specifically manual transmission '05-06s (when they ditched the self-destructing Midlands 5-speed for a Getrag unit), are about as solid as MINIs come.

Any of the non-S versions should be fairly reliable. It seems like the headaches are mostly involving the forced induction.

I'm on my second. My first was an '06 S and I had no real issues out of it. I sold it at about 100k miles to a friend's wife, and she has put another 30k plus miles on it and drives it everyday. She had pulley seize a few months ago and had it replaced for a couple of hundred. It's the only failure the car has ever seen.

My current daily driver is a '12 S. I had to replace the struts due to a rather large pothole incident, but that's not the car's fault. So far so good on this one too.

They are no Honda for sure, but I find them no worse than any of my BMWs, and much better than my '92 325 experience back in the day. I've said this on here many times, but you can see the exact same failure list on a BMW and people say it only needed a few things, but the same list on a MINI puts it into it's "on fire, run away" category.

Having said all of that, if he has no money and no ability to work on them, I'd point him into a late model Civic.

In reply to red_stapler:

I can't speak to the later models, but even without forced induction the first-gen cars with either the CVT or the Midlands manual gearbox should be avoided at all costs. Absolute piss poor quality, you might expect a CVT to fail but for a manual gearbox to fall apart like the Midlands is inexcusable for any car made after the 80's.

One of these probably isn't too bad.

Thanks for the responses so far.

I don't think DD#1's boyfriend drives a manual. At any rate, I don't know that he does, so I'm assuming he doesn't. His willingness to learn is unknown. How are the non-CVT automatics?

Closest thing I have to first-hand experience is BIL's 2012 Cooper S. Bought in early 2016 (? or so) with 75,000 (? or so) miles in it. Even with Carmax's super-duper extended warranty, he's had whole months without the car. It's got some persistent misfire issue, and maybe a headgasket failure too.

Definitely not a car for the chronically poor. They can rack up 4 figure repair bills on a regular basis if you're not able to DIY.

Oil leaks

Valve cover/PCV assemblies

Ignition cols

timing chains/tensioners

thermostats/water pipes

water pumps

harmonic balancers

valves (especially first gen)

I really liked them when they first came out. I had a hard time deciding between a GTI and a Cooper S when I was cross shopping 10 years ago. Now that I specialize in them I feel I made the right choice with the GTI.

Toyman01 wrote: One of these probably isn't too bad.

Oh yes it is. By an incalculable magnitude. Of the top of my head...

The engine and transmission share the same oil, so it essentially needs to be changed every 1500 miles - assuming it hasn't leaked out by then.

See the grill? Right behind it is the distributor. You know what happens when it rains? The distributor gets wet. A distributor sealed to British standards. Oh yeah, it's wonderful. There is a plastic panel to protect it. It kind of works. Sort of.

The Mini is a fun car, but make no mistake it was a cheaply built car. The parts are cheap - for a reason. They break. Often. And many components are not easy to get to. The engineers left as little space in the engine bay as possible.

And I haven't gotten to the horrible ergonomics, off-the-charts NVH numbers, and the crash-worthiness of a balloon made of tin foil. Seat belts exist mainly to make sure your bloody carcass stays inside the car so there's less the officials have to collect.

Seriously. After extensively wrenching on both, I want a R53 again because it's easier to work on.

This situation screams EP3 civic to me, 1st gen RSX type-s, Focus SVT. Probably nothing German.

penultimeta wrote: This situation screams EP3 civic to me, 1st gen RSX type-s, Focus SVT. Definitely nothing German.

FTFY

My local euro shop had an earlier S on the lift. I poked my head in because I've always like them.

Me: "why is their a fan behind the oil pan, pointed UP?" Mech: "Oh, that's to keep the electric power steering pump cool. When it fails, the pump overheats and fails. Nice, right?" Me: "Huh, you'd think all this oil leaking over it would be enough to keep it cool"

The automatic in the first generation S cars is also to be avoided due to early valve body failure.

A well cared for 2005 or 2006 R53 with a std. that has already had: new LCA bushings, oil pan gasket, power steering pump and fan, crank sensor gasket, new crank pulley, new serpentine belt, new struts and new exhaust might be a pretty good car. PS make sure the supercharger has no issue too.

No broke-ass millennial has any business owning a German car with the parts so tightly packed together that disassembling the whole front end of the car is a common first step in many repair jobs. An original Mini isn't nearly as much of a terrible idea, but I'll +1 penultimeta's suggestions. Unfortunately he's not from a "choosing a car based on aesthetic preferences" generation...ask me how I know.

If they want small, inexpensive and cute they should look here:

^Good idea. Looks like the earlier models have fallen well into the 4 digits already.

I despised my 05 s. Granted it went throughyou ex wife so it was far from a cream puff. As much as I hated it, I sort of wamt another one. As long as I don't have to dd it that damn thing was a giggle box unlike most of what I've driven.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

There are a few by me for about $7000. As well as my wife's has been holding up if I didn't need a bigger trunk I would have bought a second one for myself.

The guy I used to go to a lot when there was work I couldn't/wouldn't do on either of my old bimmers, I ask him, "What's the deal on these MINIs, everybody raves about them. Are they reliable?"

"Like any of these cars, figure a couple grand a year habit."

blah blah blah....no. No there aren't. Even basic maintenance items beyond oil are more expensive than they should be. For your description of him, MINIs are not even a remotely good choice.

In reply to RealMiniParker:

What can I say? I try to work with understatement.

My advice would be to get a Fiesta, Focus, Mazda 3, or Protege instead.