Teach me about modern Minis please!

"Bandit" (2bandit)
10/27/2020 at 12:54 • Filed to: None

The f iancee is looking for a new car to buy outright for ~$10,000 that “isn’t big, gets good economy, is automatic, has a backup camera, and heated seats.” I know a used C amry would be the sensible choice, but I would like her to have something that isn’t a penalty box on wheels in terms of being fun to drive and I think sedan s lack utility and are generally ugly .

Mini’s look like they depreciate to an amazing level to where you can get ~2015ish S spec cars for around her budget. Are they still as unreliable as the early 2000s models? How is DIY maintenance and parts support? Any other car suggestions? I’m accustomed to working on American RWD body-on-frame trucks so I realize most things will be more difficult than I am use to.

DISCUSSION (30)

Boxer_4 > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 13:13

DON’T DO IT!!!

Do still want to have a fiancee after this purchase?

I’m sure others will chime in, but I have friends that owned an R56 Cooper S. They liked it, but sold it shortly after the extended warranty expired. The replacement car, a ‘99 E36 M3, has been much more trouble free as far as I know.

camaroboy68ss > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 13:13

The newer the better with mini’s. Avoid early Mini automatic cars. The transmissions will fail and they are expensive (they are CVT’s). I forger when the changed. S spec doesnt have the issues the non s cars have. Put they are a decent car. My parents just bought a new one and its a great car. Its more fun to drive than the 2015 Miata they had.

Cash Rewards > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 13:24

My understanding is the first gen (ending 2007ish) is perfectly reliable. The second gen was a shit show. Third gen onwards is much better?

wafflesnfalafel > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 13:45

My wife’s aunt has a first gen mini with the manual and it has been rock solid, she loves it. But a guy I work with bought a 2017 lease return a few months ago , (2dr, automatic) and it’s been in the shop three times already for goofball electronic stuff...

MUSASHI66 > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 13:55

Have you seen a single post here from a happy Mini owner? Buy the newest Camry or Corolla or Civic you can. No modern cars are penalty boxes, and 99.9% of people won’t care about perceived better handling.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 14:00

I dro ve a few, don’t recall the year but probably 2010ish, and found them utterly unpleasant . Imagine minivan steering feel with 1995 economy car suspension.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Boxer_4
10/27/2020 at 14:03

But this wont be a R56...iirc the 2015 models are supposed to be more reliable.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > MUSASHI66
10/27/2020 at 14:04

I've been a happy Mini owner for a while now and have posted as such...mine is an 04 tho which is probably the most reliable gen

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 14:05

I *think* the 2015 should be reliable? Iirc anything between 08-12 are hot garbage and then they improved...

MUSASHI66 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/27/2020 at 14:10

Ok, one and counting.

My bird IS the word > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 14:11

Unreliable garbage. Had a '10 r56 cooper s. Just don't.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > MUSASHI66
10/27/2020 at 14:13

I think aperson is pretty happy with his too...

MUSASHI66 > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/27/2020 at 14:18

Are you guys enthusiast happy, or “ I just want a cute cut that runs” happy?

I’m super happy with my Tundra, after I paid $1000 for the timing belt installation, and after it failed emissions so I spent 8 hours wrestling with a f*^%*ing oxygen sensor, and I scraped all the surface rust and painted the frame twice, and I spent half a day cleaning the interior, and $300 on CarPlay stereo and... you get the point.

If I was just looking for a car to go where I wanted it to go, I’d probably be a bit peeved.

CompactLuxuryFan > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 14:18

This last gen seems to be fine except for the very early ones. Car and Driver had a long term one with issues galore but by now they’ve worked out the kinks it seems. So basically I wouldn’t shop the bottom of the market since I’m guessing that will be the early ones.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 14:28

I’ve test driven a 2012 Cooper S and a 2014 Countryman All4 the last couple times I was car shopping and although I didn’t find much in the way of horror stories in my research for failures ; each felt like they weren’t aging particularly well for their age and miles which was about 60,000 for each. I bought an X1(based on the E90) instead of the Countryman which had 30,000 more miles and my wife said felt like it had half as many miles in terms of interior wear, squeaks/rattles, and overall feel. I know the used markets a little crazy right now but X1s with the 28i engine might be available near around $10k.

I’d be inclined to look at some of the Kia/Hyundai’s with the sportier trims- 1.6T and DCT.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > MUSASHI66
10/27/2020 at 14:46

A bit of both for me, but more leaning towards enthusiasts. I want a fun daily but also not one that keeps having issues and needs big money/effort repairs.

To put that into perspective, my original plan was to sell my Mini after a year and get a Miata, but the Mini was more fun and a fairly reliable DD too...so here I’m.

My car has failed almost all the commonly knows weak points and nothing else...only weird thing I had to replace was a high pressure power steering hose coz it was leaky, but it was at 210k miles so ¯\_()_/¯

SpeedSix > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 15:04

The ones to avoid seem to be 2007-2013 R56-gen models, with the older and the newer ones seeming to be typical for German car ownership - perhaps more expensive to maintain properly than other mainstream brands, but not fatally flawed.

That said, I would not consider a car requiring dealer programming after a battery replacement to be DIY friendly .

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 15:06

Another happy R56 owner, I LOVE my 2013. It’s nearing 100k and has been one of the most reliable cars I’ve had. Not sure about F-series cars though.

Kinja'd!!!

TylerJ > SpeedSix
10/27/2020 at 15:48

If it’s like the BMW battery replacement, you can just use a bluetooth OBDII dongle and an app on your phone to “register” the battery without going to a dealer.

benjrblant > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/27/2020 at 18:02

whatever happened to aperson? haven’t seen him in a while.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > benjrblant
10/27/2020 at 18:36

Idk...he posts sporadically i guess.

OldElvis > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 21:58

I bought a 2011 in 2015 for about 11K. It had 53 K miles on it and I have put about 100k on it. I work on my own cars and it’s been relatively trouble free. I like it so much I bought a 2013 automatic and it’s been great. Both cars are naturally aspirated

functionoverfashion > MUSASHI66
10/27/2020 at 22:40

My wife loves her 2015 and we’ve had very few issues. She puts on a lot of miles, ~500/wk and it’s been great.

MM54 > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 22:43

My friend’s needed a new engine at 24k miles. Brief research into this revealed this is not an uncommon theme.

functionoverfashion > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 22:43

My wife has a 2015 Cooper S 4-door, automatic. It’s been fantastic. Been to the dealer for some weird thing only once, otherwise routine maintenance. Oh, rear pads and rotors at 45,000 miles but I did that myself. Seems very early for that but it was under $200 in parts and dead easy.

Zerrrr > Bandit
10/27/2020 at 22:47

I currently have a 2003 and 2013 mini cooper. Great cars if you find a good one and do your own work. Just be patient with the cars and they’re fun and girls like them . Yes they break down more often and you need to disassemble most the car to fix anything so just be aware. But it’s not as bad as people say, they sell cheap used because of the stigma so just research the model you’re interested and find one that hasn't had any issues .

MUSASHI66 > functionoverfashion
10/27/2020 at 23:24

Ok, #2 reporting!

Cash Rewards > MUSASHI66
10/28/2020 at 08:52

The first gen that aperson and italianjob have, I also had a while back. Took it to 98,000 miles with not one unscheduled service visit. And I pushed that car, hard. Autocross, back roads, Pike's peak before it was paved, all of it. Best car I've ever owned. The second generation ruined their reputation

Matts > Bandit
10/28/2020 at 10:12

I currently own 3 Minis, a 2015 mini cooper 2dr hardtop with the 1.5l turbo, a 2017 clubman s All4 with the 2.0 turbo, and a 2018 countryman SE All4 with the 1.5l turbo.

I’ve also owned 3 in the past, 2006 cooper, 2012 roadster, and a 2013 Paceman s All4.

You never once mentioned you were looking at the R-class minis so not sure why everyone is talking about those. They are rough, but that is mostly thanks to the crappy engine that mini was still forced to use per the contracts when bmw took over mini. When it ran out is when the better quality models were created and released, all the F-series.

By far the newest models without the 1.6l engine are better. The 1.6l lacked basic power and I had issues especially with my roadster. I’ve put 64k miles on the 2015 and haven’t had any issues. It’s a 6 speed manual too.

The Clubman is about to turn 50k miles and it is by far the champ of the three. It’s amazingly quiet and smooth handling. The countryman is rolling to 30k miles, the only issue it’s had is the rear hatch opened while I was in the McDonald’s drive thru, it popped out about 9 inches then started chiming. Don’t know why, but the dealer did a calibration on it and did a software update and it hasn’t happened since.

With this being said though, I think most people who own minis will tolerate some issues because overall it’s a fantastic car to drive and people who drive them can usually see past any quirks, especially on the newer models, because they aren’t that expensive for repairs, and the dealership experience has always been great. All these posts about Camrys, that’s just stupid. If I reach a time in my life where I wake up and hate everyone, then I’ll buy a Camry, because no one wants to look at those let alone actually confess to own ing one.

MrSnrub > Bandit
10/28/2020 at 11:57

Consumer Reports gives these average or better reliability after 2014 , which surprised me. Sounds like they’re much more solid than they used to be