What is the reliability of Mini Coopers?

[Nick1994]

I have a question. What is this extra maintenance that some of these cars need?

Maintenance is scheduled in the Owner's Manual and is completely separate from repairs in my definition.

But maybe I just have a different definition.

 

[macarose]

Google long-term quality and click on the first listing which is dashboard-light.com .

Thousands of MINI Cooper models inspected by professional mechanics all over the USA and the final score is.... zero!

That's not to say you can't get one to 200k and beyond. But you will have issues along the way and a solid enthusiast forum with other MINI owners is an excellent way to educate yourself.

All the best.

Steven Lang

 

[fdcg27]

I always see them ¨parked or sitting on the side of the road. For the last twenty years. So small and compact it looks like anything you hit will cause major damage.

I see lots of cars left by the side of the road and most of them aren't Minis.
The most common feature of these stranded cars is that they have temporary tags.
I don't own a Mini but have had BMWs and found them to be as reliable and cheap to own as anything else.
I have no doubt that a Mini with proper maintenance would be about as much trouble as any boring and ugly Toyota.
We get hung up here on reliability issues which don't exist. The worst car of today is better than the best car of thirty years ago in this respect.

 

[wings&wheels]

If you are asking the question, you probably have a good idea of the answer, but plastic coolant fitting longevity and CEL's aren't the point. The real question you need to answer is; Are you willing to trade some reliability for a whole heck of a lot of fun in a car with some character?

I know my answer; always!

 

[MCompact]

If you are asking the question, you probably have a good idea of the answer, but plastic coolant fitting longevity and CEL's aren't the point. The real question you need to answer is; Are you willing to trade some reliability for a whole heck of a lot of fun in a car with some character?

I know my answer; always!

I believe that the absolute worst sin that a car can commit is to be boring. It’s something I refuse to tolerate.

 

[drtyler]

Camry TRD is just what the doctor ordered here. It even has a spoiler to help with something.

 

[jeepman3071]

I have a question. What is this extra maintenance that some of these cars need?

Maintenance is scheduled in the Owner's Manual and is completely separate from repairs in my definition.

But maybe I just have a different definition.

In my mind the extra maintenance would be parts that would need to be replaced, or service that needs to be performed which on a performance car is crucial, but any other car could be ignored and likely you would get by just fine.

 

[Bailes1992]

My Wife has an F56 Cooper and it's an absolute hoot to drive. I'm genuinely kicking myself that I never bought one to daily years ago.

Anything BMW is generally considered bulletproof over this side of the pond. But of course, you Americans only get the ones built on a Friday afternoon.

 

[odie]

Know someone that had one . Said very problematic .

 

[MCompact]

My Wife has an F56 Cooper and it's an absolute hoot to drive. I'm genuinely kicking myself that I never bought one to daily years ago.

Anything BMW is generally considered bulletproof over this side of the pond. But of course, you Americans only get the ones built on a Friday afternoon.

I haven't had a lot of issues with my BMWs and Mini, and I believe that's due to the fact that I'm obsessive about maintenance- using the correct lubricants/fluids and changing them at reasonable intervals.
Of course I've actuality owned the vehicles I'm discussing so by BITOG standards I'm an unreliable outlier.

 

[CT Rob]

I see lots of Mini's on the road here. Cant be all that bad. I actually like the looks of them and have thought about a Cooper S Countryman awd.

 

[vavavroom]

In my mind the extra maintenance would be parts that would need to be replaced, or service that needs to be performed which on a performance car is crucial, but any other car could be ignored and likely you would get by just fine.

Just one concrete example would be helpful in supporting your hypothesis.

 

[DrummerOld55]

I’ve owned three first gen MINIs: Two JCWs and one S. Never experienced problems with my JCWs but the S had the class action lawsuit automatic transmission. I noted Consumer Report magazine historically listed MINIs as not good in the reliability category until fairly recently. Now they like them! Their reporting is primarily based on members annual survey responses. Bottom line for me: I would buy another first gen JCW convertible. Great fun!

 

[Nick1994]

I haven't had a lot of issues with my BMWs and Mini, and I believe that's due to the fact that I'm obsessive about maintenance- using the correct lubricants/fluids and changing them at reasonable intervals.
Of course I've actuality owned the vehicles I'm discussing so by BITOG standards I'm an unreliable outlier.

The thing I still don't get is what obsessive maintenance has to do with it. It seems a lot of these European cars need quite a bit more repairs. But not necessarily on parts that are maintained. Things like electronics, suspension, that sort of stuff. So whether it's owned by someone who absolutely loves and adores the car, immaculately details it, maintained to the T and someone who buys one and takes it to Jiffy Lube every once in a while, it wouldn't matter. Radio failure, fancier cars with air suspension problems, sensors etc.

Although I do admire yours and @slo town's attention to detail and good experience with them.

 

[MCompact]

I can't think of an electronic or suspension failure on any of my BMWs or Mini- although I did fit Bilsteins on the Mini. And I spent the princely sum of $125 replacing the Mini's four coils and plugs.

 

[double vanos]

Made by BMW. Break. My. Wallet.

Or if talking about boats it’s Break Out Another Thousand….

 

[CarDoc66]

Or if talking about boats it’s Break Out Another Thousand….

Hey we gotta spend it on something we enjoy, right?

 

[IndyIan]

3 out of the 4 people I know that have an older MINIs have had a few problems of significance, 2 steering racks, a turbo, other smaller stuff, no total engine or transmission failures but more issues than "average" I would say. Newer ones seem to have less problems so do your research and figure out what you want in terms of reliability and price.

 

[MCompact]

I forgot about an expensive electrical failure on my Club Sport- a bad brake light switch, which cost me a heart-stopping $18...

 

[jeepman3071]

Just one concrete example would be helpful in supporting your hypothesis.

German cars due to their complexity are just not as forgiving when it comes to maintenance. If you have a mid 2000s Honda Civic with a 1.7L engine, and you don't change the oil when you should, it will get sludge in the engine. The valve seals will get hard, the piston rings will get gummed up, and it will start burning considerable amounts of oil. The car will still run just fine, but it will burn more and more oil. As long as the oil is kept full the car will generally live on, which is what happened with my sister's neglected Honda.

If the same treatment is given to a BMW, it will cause issues with the variable valve timing (VANOS), the seals will get hard and it will leak from every orifice on the engine, some of them can be catastrophic leaks, like on the N52/N54 engines where an oil leak can turn into a degraded/shredded serpentine belt which then by the magic of dumb engineering can get pulled behind the crank pulley and in through the crank seal, all because of neglect. Keep up with the maintenance (change oil, keeping oil leaks in check) and there are several documented cases of the N52 engine going 400k+ miles on the forums.