Why I don't post about my DD mini

"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
07/25/2017 at 13:41 • Filed to: plastic

I have a love hate relationship that is slowly devolving into a hate/hate relationship.

So my mini is a 2010 cooper s, bought with 30k on the clock, now with 47k. I saved up every penny I had working for three years. I have been fortunate to have some decently paying jobs during school. The idea, at least, was to buy a gently used car to get me through school that I could also have fun with. It would also be responsible enough that I could safely spend my remaining money on a project car, which I did. Mind you, this was after I had had an accident in my first car (a porsche 944) and I was scared off of RWD. At the time, both the focus st and the fiesta st were brand new, or I would have gotten either instead. My options for what I could afford were pretty limited. After sitting in a mini I decided it fit perfectly. I figured I had it covered, the model had been out for awhile and most of the major problems had been dealt with. Bought the car, got the warranty work done, put some light mods and started to enjoy it.

Car handles nice, reasonably peppy with the stick, and is much more comfortable than many other cars I have driven. I can’t get the FWD to hook up properly and it spins all the power it has away. This is with all seasons mind you, but they are expensive ones.

Then the problems started. Some of the quirks I can live with (which I won’t bother mentioning) but some border on ridiculousness for me as a car with this few miles that I have taken care of.

Cheap plastic pieces are a requisite on compact cars, but not something that costs as much new as this. Minor niggles:

Plastic vanity mirror hinges. I would buy new ones but those would just break too. So what?

Plastic battery door hinge. not even a regular style, just a thin piece that bends. this is exposed to the elements now. If i cared to own this car long term I would also fix this, because this is asking to rust out.

The other hinge, over the brake fluid. Good thing I don’t need to get in here.

Then I found out this car burns 1qt of oil every 15oo miles. This is within factory specifications.

Then, I blew a valve cover gasket, causing a vacuum leak. Internet said I would probably need to replace my valve cover, as they are plastic and tend to crack. ok, how much? 300$. For plastic. As much as an xbox. For plastic. Fortunately, the gasket was enough this time.

More recently, my a/c broke. I have been waiting for some spare time to fix it, since I prefer windows down anyway. After opening my hood in the parts store parking lot, I couldn’t identify which side was the low pressure side. So I drive home, and my hood release snaps.

suffice to say, this is another cheap plastic piece. THAT IS CRITICAL TO THE OPERATION OF MY CAR given it burns more oil than saddam in the gulf war. At 47,000 miles.

I was.... upset. I made sure my window was rolled down (frameless goddamn windows) and slammed my door. Now the door glass is pushed to one side, impeding it’s travel. no amount of adjustment has entirely corrected this problem. My fault, right?

sort of.

The heavy metal and glass window regulator........ mounts to the plastic inner door panel, not the metal door frame.

I got my hood open, and I was hoping that I just needed to recharge my a/c. or at the very least, I could discover if it is leaking. My a/c shows over pressure even when it is running. I kinda need my a/c, because now my drivers window doesn’t work. 47,000 miles.

I hate this car.

DISCUSSION (8)

Slant6 > My bird IS the word
07/25/2017 at 15:38

Thank you for talking me out of a Mini. I’d imagine it still has some good value in it, being under 50k.

It looks pretty contemporary for 7 years old now.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > My bird IS the word
07/25/2017 at 15:49

The rover shop I worked at years ago also did a small number of minis. The quotes we would put together for 4-8 year old minis would often equal or exceed the quotes we put together for rovers twice that age. R50/53 mind you, newer gens were still under warranty at the time.

My bird IS the word > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/25/2017 at 15:52

I had read some problems with the r53s, but the forum posts I read at the time indicated they had been corrected for the most part.

What drives me crazy is no matter what problem I google every forum posts lists these as “common problems”.

My bird IS the word > Slant6
07/25/2017 at 15:53

I still like the idea of the car. It is useful, practical, comfortable, and the actual materials quality of the interior is quite nice. It is not a sports car and it is not well made.

Levitas > My bird IS the word
07/25/2017 at 15:56

I believe it was an R50/53 problem but I’d check both the power steering pump fan (I think this is the one that’s 50/53 only) as well as radiator fan. On my r50, the low speed resistor blew so it only ran in high speed which is only kicked in when the coolant is hot enough. When A/C is on, it only uses low and also showed overpressure until I fixed the resistor issue.

And yes, these are ‘common problems’ because that’s what MINI people call them to keep convincing themselves to keep the car instead of selling it.

Also, for the oil: on my R50, if I used Mobil instead of Castrol, it stopped burning oil and some valve noise went away. YMMV.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > My bird IS the word
07/25/2017 at 15:58

Bimmer stuff

My bird IS the word > Levitas
07/25/2017 at 16:11

Maybe I should try that. Mini recommends castrol, maybe that is part of the problem lol.

My bird IS the word > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/25/2017 at 16:34

I’ll definitely never make that mistake again lol.