Wonderland
5/4/2008 3:50:52 PM
I'd like to hear from some owners of high mileage MINI's as I intend to keep mine for well over 100K miles and am going I am going to be living in Asheville which is 80 miles from the nearest dealership. Up untill now I have owned mostly Hondas and Nissans which have routinely delivered unparalled reliabilty even when poorly maintained and at well over 100K. Can I expect the same kind of quality with a MINI? I have heard electrical problems are common, any truth to this?
Please advise
Blue100
5/5/2008 8:41:48 PM
Asheville, NC? I have family there. Nice town.
I owned two Hondas before I bought my '04 Cooper. '89, '97 Civics. Strictly on reliability the MINI cannot compare. You WILL spend $$$ just to maintain a MINI with BMW service rates after your warranty runs out. Just the hard truth. It also never helps to have only one dealer to go to. If they suck where do you turn??? I live in NJ and have 3 dealers within 1hr of my house to choose from so your situation is a lot dicier.
Now the good news.....
My '04 Cooper has over 114,000 miles on her and I still love the car as much as the day I picked her up! Sure she shows her age a little bit and has some battle scars, but everytime I drive another car it only reminds me what a great car my MINI is. Driving anything else just doesn't compare. For me that's been worth the $$$. I've never regretted buying her.
I've had repeated problems with the power window motors, but other than that it has just been normal wear and tear.
Good Luck!
chris410
5/8/2008 9:20:28 AM
Good topic, I have been wondering this myself. Thanks for the inputs! Anyone else have similar experience with high mileage MINIs??
mpblaho
5/20/2008 6:52:03 AM
I am new to the mini world. do you have to take the car to a mini dealer after the warranty runs out? there are 2 excellent mechanics specializing in foriegn cars nearby i was thinking of using after my warranty runs out. my dealer is 50 miles away so is ia a concern
Shorin
5/20/2008 5:31:28 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: mpblaho
I am new to the mini world. do you have to take the car to a mini dealer after the warranty runs out? there are 2 excellent mechanics specializing in foriegn cars nearby i was thinking of using after my warranty runs out. my dealer is 50 miles away so is ia a concern
no, you own the car, you can do what you like with it. I do not plan to take it to the dealer after the warranty is up due to cost of repairs and the 3.5 hour drive to the nearest authorized dealer.
Eagleman
5/25/2008 4:51:56 PM
I too would like to know about the longivity of the Mini Cooper. Thanks for starting this. I have a 93 Honda Accord EX with 321,195 miles on it and feel it should go to above 500,000. I am really looking at the 08 Mini Cooper Clubman S and really want to know if that super charged engine can handle that kind of mileage. Does anyone out there have any information on this? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks......
Eagleman
froglips
5/26/2008 11:25:52 PM
The bottom line here is that MINI's are NOT Nissans, Toyotas, or Hondas. They are MINI's, and they will cost much, much, more to maintain than one of these other cars.
You can not just take your MINI to a 'Firestone', or one of those other vehicle maintenance shops, and think that they will be able to do maintenance on your MINI.
The biggest issue is not just anyone can work on a MINI. Sure they will say they can work on imports, and will probably lie to you and say they have actually worked on MINI's before... But the reality is that if you do not trust your non-MINI technician to do the job correctly the first time, you will be paying to have it done twice.
If you have an automatic MINI, you will not be going through clutches every 30k miles, and this is probably the single most important option to consider for the long term. The clutches cost about $2,400.00 to replace each time. The performance run flat tires are about $360.00 each, so you may want to consider getting the all weather tires instead.
They will not be a cheap car to maintain, or get repaired, after the warranty is up. That is for sure! If this is what you were looking for, you may want to get one of them other cars I mentioned above, or the new 'Smart Car' instead.
Either way, have fun!
