MINI's Buyer Guide

I really hope I overlooked this in the article, but seriously...

You guys didn't mention once the strut tower mushrooming issue. At best, there was a mention of adding camber plates due to the rubber strut mounts not surviving under racing conditions.

That is a HUGE concern, probably (IMO) one of the most important factors in buying a MINI, an issue that BMW typically doesn't warranty. Nice of that to be glossed over though... makes me think of the Corvette GS review you guys have with one of the editors crapping on it why the rest waxes poetic. This is not the GRM I am looking for

No, I didn't see it either. I'd have to go back and look at the article again, but I seem to remember a couple of other potential concerns were missed as well.

There was enough bad news without that to convince me my used car dollars are better spent elsewhere. The MINI is an unfortunate disappointment. Like the car, not thrilled with the construction.

It's not that big of a deal. Pound it back into shape and put a strut brace on it. Similar problems are seen on many types of cars---the MINI is no exception or outlier.

I hill climb with a guy that swears there's steering rack issues with the MINI. He claims it's all over the internet and I have not seen it mentioned on any of the half dozen MINI forums I subscribe to. All I can say is I have 180k on my '04 and I still smile when I drive it. I've had issues that I've fixed but nothing that most cars with her mileage don't experience.

I like MINI's, as long as they are blue, red or white.

I've had mine for 4 or 5 years, and while it's entertaining to drive I'm not terribly impressed with some of the engineering. Front control arm bushings ripped at 70K miles and you have to drop the cradle to change 'em ! My electric power steering caught fire, but was still under warranty. Little things that shouldn't be on a "premium" priced car, like the exhaust system rusting out. My old Chev Astro still had the original stainless exhaust on it at 265K miles, 15 years old in Michigan salt, while the MINI's is holed already. Not impressed. Good thing I have a Miata!

I've replaced front control arm bushings that had a lot less than 70k miles. I've seen them leaking oil in less than 10k. Fortunately, there are some tricks that allow R&R without dropping the subframe.

I've been less than impressed with the engineering but we still own it and I still enjoy driving it. Stuff breaks that shouldn't.

When people ask me about it I tell them I love it but can't recommend that they buy one. So a buyer's guide in my mind is pointless anyway.

ultraclyde wrote: I've been less than impressed with the engineering but we still own it and I still enjoy driving it. Stuff breaks that shouldn't. When people ask me about it I tell them I love it but can't recommend that they buy one. So a buyer's guide in my mind is pointless anyway.

Yeah, that. It's a love-hate relationship with my '03. It's an absolute BLAST to drive, but when something breaks, it's expensive to fix.

I've got headlight leveler issues right now. It's a ~$400 module that controls it. Sure, I could buy one and swap it myself, but I'd still have to take the car to the dealer for them to program it.

Last summer, the BCM puked. $1700 to have it replaced, and apparently, the dealer couldn't program it to work with the key fobs, so I have no keyless lock/unlock capabilties.

Headlight leveler????? What chew talkin' about Willis?

In reply to DeadSkunk:

The MINI has a servo or something that adjusts the headlights, as payload increases. Absurd, if you ask me.

I'll have to see if mine has that. Another reason to sell it and buy another $4000 toy.

If your car has xenon headlights, then yes it has levelers. If just standard halogens, then you're safe.

You''l know it by the way the lights "flip up" when you first turn them on. Mine don't do that anymore.

Phew. Lucky break. Mine's just got regular halogen lights.

Rant: headlight levelers are just another example of how the manufacturers are ruining entry level cars. The consumer doesn't give a E36 M3 if the headlamps self level or not, yet they are cursed with the unnecessary expense of that technology breaking at some point. A car like a MINI should not have luxury car level gimmicks on it. All it achieves is driving up the cost of purchase and, when it fails out of warranty, helping that car on a speedy slide down the resale value hill. I expect silly toys and overpriced geegaws on a high end luxury car; I don't want nor expect them on what is essentially an economy/sporty car.

In reply to ddavidv:
It's a premium car, so that kind of geegaw is going to be available. My issue is the geegaws ought to be robust enough to last a reasonable amount of time. I can buy a Kia that won't have the issues my MINI has had, because it's a better built and engineered vehicle, which ticks me off. BMW needs to do some better durability testing on their designs. A car priced like my MINI should not have torn suspension bushings, a faulty window lift, a faulty manual door lock,and a fried power steering pump and wiring harness all before it hit 75,000 miles. It needs shocks, but that's a normal expendable IMHO. When I get rid of this thing I'll be looking at Fiestas,Kias, etc.

There's that good ol' German 'engineering' again. Also, the MINI is a basic transportation device in just about every market except this one where it's considered more of a 'toy' so we get all of the useless garbage.

The levelers are a side effect of the xenon HID lamps and are required. I believe the theory being since they self-adjusting, they are less likely to blind oncoming drivers.

The other half's MCS has them and when we ordered the vert, she specifically didn't want them, so we now have one of each. I have to admit the xenons are a lot brighter and work better. Replacement cost, however, is brutal - about $900 ea from the dealer (occasionally found online for less) when she had a hwy retread mishap. The levelers had been wonky on her car as well. She's considered converting to halogens.