Mini Owners

[marcv68]

Hi all, was wondering if any of you owns a mini or knows a person who owns one . Reason im asking is I am contemplating getting one as my next car and wanted some opinions. I know some have turbo on them, some are bigger than others and they r real good on gas! My new job will entail me travelling a lil farter than my last one, so as one who is kinda frugal I was looking for some opinions or suggestions on Mini,s or any other car that is good on gas. Thanks all!

 

[JRod]

I don't own one but I wouldn't recommend one either. I work on cars for a living and wbile these are neat little cars they are expensive to maintain and finding people with the equipment and knowledge to work on them properly is difficult.

 

[Trout Bum]

I have an 06 and love it, I get about 400 to a tank of gas, it moves, handles well, and has tons of room for my bag and shoes. It is expensive to have work done on it, and it is hard to find a good Mini or BMW mechanic as jrod said. An oil change is about $50 bucks, brakes are anally high! but it's a cool little car that does what it's supposed to. Mine is the non turbo model.

 

[DevRickus]

I have an 06 and love it, I get about 400 to a tank of gas, it moves, handles well, and has tons of room for my bag and shoes. It is expensive to have work done on it, and it is hard to find a good Mini or BMW mechanic as jrod said. An oil change is about $50 bucks, brakes are anally high! but it's a cool little car that does what it's supposed to. Mine is the non turbo model.

Part of me hopes that was a typo and the other part of me hopes it wasnt! Not to pile on, but my friend has had his for a few years now. Really likes it but like others said, they are expensive to maintain.

 

[Jugger18]

Maybe not what you are looking for, but for a fun little car that gets good mileage, reliable, clubs fit etc. We have a Scion XD (toyota). My wife drives it as she has the longer commute and gets real mileage (mostly hwy but with some city as well) of ~36mpg

 

[Trout Bum]

Every time you do a brake job you have to buy sensors with the pads and it's really stupid, they're only like an additional 6 bucks but it pisses me off lol.
Poor choice of words on my part, but it does hurt when they need something.

 

[Jjmorris]

Looks are good but interior space and safety concern me. Saying this, I wouldn't mind one if I had the extra funds some day to putz around in

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

Every time you do a brake job you have to buy sensors with the pads and it's really stupid, they're only like an additional 6 bucks but it pisses me off lol.
Poor choice of words on my part, but it does hurt when they need something.

I have a friend that had one and she absolutely loved it, but had to trade it for a family ride before her son was born. The big problem for her was that the nearest Mini dealer was almost 4 hours away and the BMW dealer (1.5 hours away) wanted twice as much $ to do any service on it.
Like Trout said, the brakes are one of the things that I really disliked about the Cooper. The pad wear sensors are just a money making joke in my opinion. If I recall correctly, the Mini dealer wanted $300+ for a front brake job. Like most other stealerships, this is pretty much highway robbery in my opinion.

 

[JRod]

I have a friend that had one and she absolutely loved it, but had to trade it for a family ride before her son was born. The big problem for her was that the nearest Mini dealer was almost 4 hours away and the BMW dealer (1.5 hours away) wanted twice as much $ to do any service on it.
Like Trout said, the brakes are one of the things that I really disliked about the Cooper. The pad wear sensors are just a money making joke in my opinion. If I recall correctly, the Mini dealer wanted $300+ for a front brake job. Like most other stealerships, this is pretty much highway robbery in my opinion.

This is commonplace in the industry these days, and the times of doing brakes yourself will soon be gone. They make cars so lightweight rotors cant be turned and with brake pads being semi metallic or ceramic you no longer have rotors that last more than one brake job.

 

[BigLeftyinAZ]

I used to own one.Had an 08 mini S,but traded it in last july and would never own one again. Sure ,it was fun to drive,but wasn't worth the money i spent to buy.It's a rattle trap and I felt the folks who worked at the dealer were jerks.

If you want to read what others have to say go to http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/ .

I'd pick a higher mileage car over this car. Check out http://www.fuelly.com/car/mini/cooper s and see the mileage isn't all that. Not that I bought one,but the Hyundai veloster would achieve the same mileage for far less money

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

This is commonplace in the industry these days, and the times of doing brakes yourself will soon be gone. They make cars so lightweight rotors cant be turned and with brake pads being semi metallic or ceramic you no longer have rotors that last more than one brake job.

That's a pretty good point about the rotors. It started with cars and is alreayd working it's way into the truck world. My coworker is already needing her 2nd set of rotors replaced on her 2010 F150 at less than 60,000 miles.

 

[Schanker]

This is commonplace in the industry these days, and the times of doing brakes yourself will soon be gone. They make cars so lightweight rotors cant be turned and with brake pads being semi metallic or ceramic you no longer have rotors that last more than one brake job.

Why is doing a brake job at home a thing of the past? Rotors are very easy to replace. I will almost always buy new rotors when I change pads. There not that expensive. $30 -$50 each. It will usually cost you $15-$20 a piece to have old rotors turned.

As for buying a mini I think there fun cars. I test drove quite a few before I purchased a VW GTI a few years ago. I went with the GTI because it was cheaper and a little bigger. I kind of always regretted not getting a mini. However I'm a BMW homer. I also do all my own maintenance.

 

[Spicy Faiz]

Mini = BMW = big bucks for service

If you are looking for a pocket rocket with no boot space, check if the Abarth 500 is available in the US. It's 1.4 turbo version of the Fiat 500. You can even order the 'esse esse' kit, this will give you more power and modified brakes.

 

[bmwnola]

Mini = BMW = big bucks for service

If you are looking for a pocket rocket with no boot space, check if the Abarth 500 is available in the US. It's 1.4 turbo version of the Fiat 500. You can even order the 'esse esse' kit, this will give you more power and modified brakes.

Service cost still tends to be the biggest stereotype on BMW.

Did you know that all Minis and BMW include free comprehensive maintenance? That includes oil changes, brake pads, rotors, all filters, and wiper blades. Mini is 3yr/36k mi and BMW os 4yr/50k included.

That means 0 out of pocket. Obviously, if you keep ot beyond that term, you will pay. Who keeps cars that long nowadays?




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[stroud]

i build them for a living!! well i manage a team that builds them! they are great cars!!

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[Schanker]

Mini = BMW = big bucks for service

If you are looking for a pocket rocket with no boot space, check if the Abarth 500 is available in the US. It's 1.4 turbo version of the Fiat 500. You can even order the 'esse esse' kit, this will give you more power and modified brakes.

I haven't checked Fiat dealer rates. But I really doubt it's less than BMW. And dealerships are few and far between.

 

[lefty]

Mini's are a hell of a lot of fun to drive,
I was very close to ordering an S not that long ago, but the price point was just too close to the BMW 1 series due to some factory deals going on the BMW that weren't available on the mini

the interior being weird is a big knock on the mini to me as well, that pie plate speedo is just annoying

the interior legroom for the front seat passengers is great! better than many cars that are way bigger than the mini, the rear seat legroom however... not so great


The mini is very fun, the reliability knocks in survey's are generally due to the interior weirdness rather than it being a poor car. BMW stuff is built very well and will last a long time. As much as I do like the Mini though.. it is a poor value for money... but I do like them


the regular cooper is the only way to go, the clubman is just weird looking, the coupe is even less practical and not any sportier, and the countryman is too big.

 

[JRod]

Why is doing a brake job at home a thing of the past? Rotors are very easy to replace. I will almost always buy new rotors when I change pads. There not that expensive. $30 -$50 each. It will usually cost you $15-$20 a piece to have old rotors turned.

As for buying a mini I think there fun cars. I test drove quite a few before I purchased a VW GTI a few years ago. I went with the GTI because it was cheaper and a little bigger. I kind of always regretted not getting a mini. However I'm a BMW homer. I also do all my own maintenance.

Do you have a scan tool to back off the parking from from the new cars with electronic parking brakes? This needs to be a bidirectional scan tool not some 50$ code reader from Autozone. Do you have the scan tool to calibrate the steering torque sensor after removing the wheel? It's only on luxury cars at the moment, but all of this will be standard soon.

Car manufacturers insist on trying to cure stupid and in the process are making cars expensive to maintain. If you have a car that is a MY2008 it is required by federal law to have TPMS, once again do you have a scan tool to re-initialize the system after rotating and or changing tires?

 

[Schanker]

Jrod, you taught me something today. I guess I'll have to stick to older cars. Or will have to buy the scanners as needed ( if there affordable). There will always be DIYers that will figure out solutions to these problems.

Shop rates are just too expensive and that's why older cars loose there value so quickly. Nobody can afford to maintain them.

 

[JB]

Reading this thread reinforces why I trust JRod with all things automotive. I would rather drive my car to him in Iowa then deal with someone else.

 

[JRod]

Jrod, you taught me something today. I guess I'll have to stick to older cars. Or will have to buy the scanners as needed ( if there affordable). There will always be DIYers that will figure out solutions to these problems.

Shop rates are just too expensive and that's why older cars loose there value so quickly. Nobody can afford to maintain them.

They arent affordable. You're talking average of 6500$ each and need seperate ones for domestic/asian and European. The cost of running a shop is skyrocketing and unfortunately will be passed on to the customer.

Reading this thread reinforces why I trust JRod with all things automotive. I would rather drive my car to him in Iowa then deal with someone else.

You are too kind. I just wish there was more knowledgeable people out there in this profession. It's completely changing and not enough people are keeping up with the technology. They rely on TSB's and the engineer's of the OEM to figure out the problem. I never imagined my degree in electrical engineeri.g would help so much in this field.

We really aren't mechanics anymore per say, we are trouble shooters. All cars are logic controlled devices with morw than 20 on board computers. It's no longer powers and grounds.

 

[Schanker]

Reading this thread reinforces why I trust JRod with all things automotive. I would rather drive my car to him in Iowa then deal with someone else.

Agreed. Wish I would I know him when I was in Iowa.

I consider myself a pretty competent mechanic (mechanical engineer by degree)having done engine swaps, timing belt changes and such, but JRod just put me in my place. Guess I should have been an EE.

 

[JRod]

Agreed. Wish I would I know him when I was in Iowa.

I consider myself a pretty competent mechanic (mechanical engineer by degree)having done engine swaps, timing belt changes and such, but JRod just put me in my place. Guess I should have been an EE.

I come across as snide and I apologize but nothing is worse than fixing something someone has already fubar'd.
I'm all for saving money but I see people get in over their head all the time and end up costing themselves 5x what the job would have cost originally.

I just want people to realize things are changing.

 

[marcv68]

Thxguys and especially JRod. I,m off the Mini track now, didn,t realize the upkeep costs were ridiculous. Looking at a Scion or maybe Kia Soul. Also, may try some Hyundai models. Thank you for an education.

 

[bmwnola]

Thxguys and especially JRod. I,m off the Mini track now, didn,t realize the upkeep costs were ridiculous. Looking at a Scion or maybe Kia Soul. Also, may try some Hyundai models. Thank you for an education.

Im very impressed with Hyundai's warranties and they have some good lookin cars. Biggest thing is the driving characteristics btw the Mini and a Hyundai/Asian manufacturer.

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