What should a person look for when evaluating a used new MINI - both Cooper and Cooper S versions? Trouble areas, best options, long term reliability, stuff to avoid, etc. Not really looking right now but I had my first drive in a 2010 John Cooper Works version yesterday (crazy fast little car) and well, you know...never hurts to know what to look for.
2005 or so they did a nice upgrade to the first gen. The second gen needs some adjustment time, so be careful about those years. They had and might still have a problem between the oil, pcv and the valves; the dealer are trying to blame bad gas....but that's a little tough with direct injection. Other than that, I don't know. I am sure others will pipe in. Just be very very careful about buying a car that needs a clutch from the first gen, replacement is not pretty. Also watch for the front and rear control arm bushings, replacement is SPENDY.
I've got an '03 S and I generally like the car. They are expensive to fix if you go anywhere near the dealer. Mine's starting to make squeally noises when I let out the clutch on cold days (release bearing). I'm told the job to remove the trans and fix the clutch and bearing will be $1500 or more. Ouch! I have done the brakes myself and the parts weren't all that expensive. Most of the online community in the Detroit area uses a local MINI specialist and avoids the dealership when possible. My car hasn't been a problem since the warranty ended, but it had problems with the electric power steering and the driver's doorlock while on warranty. It currently has 65K miles on it. Lose the runflat tires because they ride like a buckboard. The early cars tend to suffer rattles in the dash and lots of creaks and groans from other areas of the interior. Even the seatbelts squeaked when I first got it. I made sleeves of fleece to put over the inboard end of the belts to get rid of that.It's a premium car, with premium costs to repair, so take that into account. The local dealership here is pretty arrogant, IMHO, but that surely varies with locale. While there are a lot of little negatives, it sure is fun to drive the crap out of it, though.
The only real problem we've had with our '05 was the door pulls.... the door pull covers have broken on both of our doors, twice.
Late last year when I was car shopping I looked at MINI's and did some research. After reading some horror stories about the first gen (01-06) and their CVT transmission failures I decided against looking any farther. Of course if you are looking at five-speeds or newer (07+) this is a non-point.
CVT boooooo. 6 speed manual and buttery clutch? YES.
Early models have a lot of issues with head gaskets and burnt valves. Electric fans/modules also fail regularly (power steering and radiator).
As mentioned earlier, I've noticed all of my customer's MINIs with higher mileage have lots of squeaks and rattles.
They are similar to other German/Euro cars...expensive parts, somewhat needy, intolerant of poor maintenance.
I've got a well-cared-for example of an '03 MCS with 92k and a Dinan S2 package.
Fun car.
Watch out for mushroomed strut towers...the surfaces should be perfectly flat and the strut mount bolts should be parallel, not pointing away from each other. Solution is aftermarket strut mounts, strut tower reinforcement plates, and some quality time with a BFH and block of wood to knock the strut towers back flat.
Later Gen1 cars had leaky passenger-side hydraulic motor mounts.
Electric power steering pump failures.
Crank pulley / dampener failures on early cars.
Crankshaft pos sensor o-ring oil leak.
HID failures on early cars. The ignitors are integrated into the $900 headlamp buckets and aren't replaceable separately.
Water pump is gear-driven off the back of the supercharger. Gear is sealed into the SC housing. SC oil isn't serviceable without removing/disassembling the SC. Some have had the couple of tablespoons of oil in this gear housing seep out and the gear grenades. =no waterpump and SC rebuild.
Clutches last about 80-100k. The flywheel is a sprung, dual-mass design. Feels great, but the clutch/flywheels is expensive and tedious to replace.
The Midlands 5spd in the non-S and the CVT have had some bad reports.
That said...the engines and transmissions (Getrag 6spd is the same unit as the Focus SVT I think,) seem to be solid.
I haven't seen many reports of engine or HG failures. Go over to NASIOC and you're read all kinds of doom and gloom stories of spun bearings and other engine failures.
Did I mention how much FUN it is to drive? I get about 32mpg mixed, with 205hp.
It isn't a Toyota, but I think lots of people treat them like one and flock to the internet to complain. If you go into it with the expectation of a Volvo-VW-Audi-BMW ownership/maintenance experience, you'll be delighted with it.
CVT is horrible and should have been called the deathtrap transmission; I'm amazed no one has been killed trying to turn across traffic with this crap box of a tranny.
Coolant leak, the 02-06 Dodge built motor uses plastic thermostat housing with integrated bypass, its held on with 3 bolts and over time it warps and leaks.
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