This is by no stretch, the worst car on the face of the planet. I say this in all fairness to mini and BMW. I had to have the engine changed four times. The turbo changed 3 times and the transmission changed twice. All with less than 85000 miles on the car. I have spent over $50,000 on this car because my wife loved it and wanted to keep it. I currently still have the vehicle. It still runs after repairing it last but, I paid more to repair it than it is worth (blue book). So I will drive it till it breaks then scrap it.I bought her a brand new Nissan. It has had no issues nor do I expect it to in the near future. I just spent another 2300 on the car to have other Plastic components fixed to repair the car to make it usable. However, if I had thought it through I would have taken the car to a scrap yard instead. If I could have given Mini a negative star review I would have. The kicker here is the fact that they Mini knowingly sale crap vehicles to the public. Knowing the issues exist but failing to accept responsibility for the shortcomings is truly the real issue that makes me hate them.I feel there are a few things everyone should know. Yes, the mini is a very fun car to drive when it works and while it last. However, this is few and very far between. The cars reliability rating should be sitting in the negative range. I say this because as long as I have owned the car it has sat in the service department more than it has been on the road. I have had lots of awesome rentals over the years though. Thus the reason for the purchase of the new Nissan. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this company that fails to own their mistakes. Instead, you will be left to pay for them if you make the purchase. I recommend any other manufacturer over Mini. I dont say that lightly. I havent seen one that would provide such an inferior product all while failing to uphold a warranty. Take my advice and RUN from Mini. It is truly a terrible company to deal with. Worst reliability of any car I have owned.

I have a Mini Cooper 09 FOR 5 years with 51,000 miles. Just a couple weeks ago as I was driving home the engine light came on along with the temperature coolant light on. Right as this happened, I headed towards the next freeway exit when my car slowly started to slow down and came to a complete stop. My engine had died. I towed it to the dealership and told me that I needed to do a diagnostic test which I did and found out that my coolant had been leaking but later informed me that I need to do a engine tear down to see the core of the problem and figure out if this was the cause of a faulty part. Couple days later I found out that the dealer did not do the breakdown because Miniusa had told the dealer that a claim cannot be filed because through a remote, they said that since I drove 8 miles after the warning light, this is a case of negligence and nothing can be covered.Would anyone just stop there and then in the middle of the freeway when the warning signal comes on? Because the first thing on my mind was safety. Now I am stuck with a bill and a car without an engine which is going to cost me $8,000 to fix...when the car is worth only about $9,000 if it was running. Do not buy a Mini. It has too many problems which they know but would not acknowledge. Mini USA is even worse when it comes to customer service. All they say is that this is their policy and decision is finalized.

Bought my Mini in 2004 by doing the design it yourself on the Mini website and waiting months for it to arrive to the BMW dealership. There were no lots full of Mini Coopers at the time. Ive taken it in for every service (now to a Mini dealership, previously to BMW) and the only expense that has been irritating has been replacing windshields, since Ive had three of them. Eventually, at almost 100,000 miles, I had a big rattle and I needed to replace the exhaust manifold and gaskets and that was only $2025. I have enjoyed every year with it. I dont know if anyone still builds your own Mini Cooper of if they are now only stocked on the lot. But I still remember how much fun it was to go pick up when it finally arrived (ordered on Labor Day, delivered on December 27) and it still makes me smile, years later.

On February 3, 2014 I took my car in to have the key checked out because it was not releasing when the car was cut off. This has been happening for over a year and reported to my service guy at the dealership on my last visit for appointed oil change, etc. I was told nothing was wrong. On this appointment, with 16,000 miles on a 2011 Mini Cooper, and one month before the warranty expire because of the length of the warranty, three years or 39 thousand miles, I was told that the cup holder had leaked coffee or something brown into the computer and that had caused the problem. I was told that the warranty would not be covered for that problem and it will cost me $1200 or $1300 to repair. I just read another complaint and the customer was told that you should only used cans in the cup holder!!! Why are the customers not told this and why do they put the holders on top of the computer if this problem occur??? My car cost over $30,000 and something so harmful should be taken care of by MINI COOPER, NOT THE CUSTOMER!!!!!

I drive a specific number of miles to work each day and the miles are doubled from what the actual mileage is.

Purchased a 2006 Mini S last year with 67,000 miles. Have put another 1000 miles on it... until it stopped working. Last week I drove it around town to do several errands. Got in it to go home and turned the key, it cranked but wont turn over. Had it towed to a mechanic who three days later said come and get your car. We cant help you. Towed it to the nearest MINI dealer. Theyve had it for two weeks and cant their diagnostic equipment to work on it. Said they created a case file and asked for advice from a corporate engineer. Called yesterday and asked about progress. Still working on it. They asked if I had any ideas. Ah ha ha ha.... Really? Like the look of the car... am not trusting the BMW engine. How can they be proud of their product?

Bought my MINI Cooper S hardtop new over 3 years ago, and so far no major problems. It has been my favorite car I have owned after the x 1/9 I had many years ago.

Ferman Mini in Clearwater Florida has had to redo most repairs they have done. So unreliable and they asked ME not to come back... HA! ALSO my 2005 lift back was elevated one day and randomly came down and cracked me in the head. Terrible that the engineers never thought to put a safety catch on the elevated door but instead they all say I should expect it from an end left vehicle. Now tell me that is a dependable manufacturer/dealer when your customer got cracked in the skull by your inappropriate design. Shame on them for trying to humiliate me telling me to never come back. What losers.

So here is what I think should be taken care of under a recall for my 2006 Mini S: 1 ) coolant tank - Should be molded from one solid piece; too close to the heat shield. Thats what makes it crack. And they all do it. 2) transmission - Thing is made to break. There are over 1000 complaints on this problem. And nothing has been taken care of. Big problems. Other than those problems. Love my car.

So I bought this Cooper second hand from Carmax and not even two months after having it, the transmission has given out in it. So tomorrow will begin the journey into having to find out how deep this rabbit hole really goes.

Three years out of college and gainfully employed I bought the cutest used 2009 S with 67K miles for a reasonable price + 1 year warranty. First off - I only use MINI service centers. The run flats are the least of my worries. I started to get my moneys worth on the extended warranty right off the bat, repairing oil leaks/pressure issues at least 4 separate times in 6 months. 2,000 miles past the extended warranty we started hearing the death rattle on the front passenger side. The plastic guide had cracked and I was moments away from a busted timing chain. After fixing it ($1500) the service advisor at the dealership instructed me on the importance of oil changes every 5 thousand miles, (EVEN THOUGH Mini suggests you can go 10K/once a year!) and of checking the oil level every 400-800 miles or so.Three months later I was back at the dealer for the rattle, my chain had already stretched again, but not enough to cause concern ($500 just to look & measure + a few spark plugs). 10 days later I was in for rough running due to carbon build up ($700 walnut shell blast) typical around 100K. And then, three weeks after that I was in for continued roughness and rattling much louder than before. I am now on my second timing chain in 4 months. There is no way that is normal, but at least they covered the full cost of this one due to parts warranty.Thankfully I am OCD and insisted on service because at no point in this first year did a warning or engine light ever appear. The service advisors at MINI have been extremely helpful and taken pity on me, they are painfully aware this car is flawed. Every moment I am on the road and I hear a new whine/rattle/thump I am overwhelmed by sheer panic and see only $$$$. At first I thought I was going to be a MINI lifer, but I clearly cant sustain this kind of maintenance.

I owned a 2007 Mini Cooper S with many expensive options and the engine failed at 73,000. The dealer (New Country MINI - Hartford, CT) would not do anything even though I needed to buy a new car so I had to junk it. I believe the MINI warranty is 4 years or 48,000 miles. Meanwhile many less expensive cars have 7 year/100,000 mile warranties.

I loved driving my Mini Cooper, but could not take the chance of it breaking down out of warranty. I bought a 2008 Mini brand new. with the only mileage on it was my test drive mileage. I was back at the dealership within the first two weeks, because the windows would go up and down, of their own accord, and didnt always do so when I wanted them to. This problem took three tries to fix. It seems Mini likes you to return several times for each problem you encounter, before theyre willing to authorize the fix that will actually solve the problem. The gearshift was my next replacement. I took the car in numerous times, because the low tire pressure light came on every other day. That problem never was really fixed, and I owned the car for almost four years. I wont even go into what a pain the tires and their cost is, nor the fact that I had to rent a car for two days, because I had trouble getting the run flats for it. The check engine light would keep coming on, and I was continually told that I should just drive it that way, because they werent finding anything wrong with it. As it turns out, it was the engine after all. Mini finally had to replace the valves, head gasket, timing chain, 02 sensor, and whatever else went along with that (after telling me the light was on because my oil was low, so theyd do an early oil change on it). This was all before the 30,000 mile mark. About six weeks ago, the check engine light came on again. I got the same old story oil was low, well do an early oil change, and we think theres something wrong with some kind of air intake sensor, which is then replaced. Two weeks later, the check engine light came on, and when I took it in, I tell them its idling rough on start-up, and when I have my foot on the brake at stop lights, and its starting to make the same noise it did when they had to replace the valves. This time Im told, before they even put it on the machine, that theyd noticed one of the cylinders wasnt firing right, and theyd check that a little more closely (why cant they just fix things the first time? Over the last four years, Ive spent at least three weeks of my vacation time sitting in their waiting room, and theyve given me loaners four times in four years). So, they cleaned out the carbon buildup in the cylinder, and put on a new tensor/tensioner (beats me, I know little to nothing about cars, so I hope Im explaining things correctly) on the timing chain. I drove it home, and its still idling roughly. The car actually shakes when youre sitting with it idling. I finally decide that with only 200 miles left on the 50,000 warranty, I need to buy a car that will hopefully be much more reliable. I now own a Subaru, and I am truly hoping that the curse of my Mini is history. Its really unfortunate that the Mini has so many problems. It is the most fun car to drive ever! I did notice that after my last fix, I did not get the usual email inquiring about the service I received. I did, however, get a call shortly thereafter, asking me how the service was, and when I stated that I felt needed to get rid of the car, the comment was made from the salesperson that generally her customers trade their Mini in on a new one, after two or three years at the most. I wonder why that is. Apparently, this car is not made to drive for more than two or three years? Fortunately for me, except for time and aggravation, this car did not really cost me anything out of pocket. If your Mini is starting to have problems, even little ones, you might want to start thinking about getting rid of it soon.

2005 mini. In August 2011 at 74,000 miles the electrical fan stayed on after work the next morning the battery was dead and the dealership wanted 5k to do the repairs of the power steering pump/fan, radiator fan, and new battery. I could not afford that so the car sat in the driveway until I decide to attempt the job myself. Well $500 later, and two weeks. I completed everything the dealer ship said was wrong. EBay man’s best friend new radiator fan $180, Rebuilt pump (send yours in the rebuild yours) $250, new battery $85 advanced auto parts.January 2012 the transmission starts to slip. Seems like it is going from second to third gear. Seems to be getting worse. For as expensive as these cars are you think they would be a little more reliable. All the reports I read online say the same thing these issues all start between 70-80k. Come no MINI / BMW fix these on your dime, you know there is problem quit sucking our pockets dry while you are getting stacks of cash from people buying these cars and paying these ridiculous repair costs.

First I have to say it is a fun car to drive, love the looks but... I bought this car with 60,000 plus miles, and I purchased the platinum warranty because I never owned a turbo. Glad I did. Other than the car driving nicely, it turns out this engine needs a quart of synthetic oil every 800-1000 miles. Kind of expensive when you need to put Castrol synthetic at $9 a quart. They changed several oil lines, valve cover and gasket, a leaking solenoid, and the turbo. Now I must say the service experience is not bad, but it seems they are fishing. After the turbo replacement and valve cover replacement, I thought that would have fixed the problem. A week after I got it back, I am paranoid about losing oil. Lo and behold, it’s already low on the dipstick by an 1/8 of a quart. So guess I’m taking it back... Now the service guys at Mini do tell me that this is common for this engine to use that much oil. Sorry that’s a cop out for a bad design by Mini or shall I say BMW. Never in a million years would I have thought this was losing oil, but one day I turned into a store, and my oil light flashed. I stopped immediately and checked the oil which the level never registered on the dipstick. That’s how I found out. After that due to the low oil, I had carbon build up on valves, which caused it not to start one day. Other than a fun car, all I can think about how many people had to replace an engine due to an engine failure due to no oil??? One test they wanted me to do was bring it in so they could top off the oil, then drive it for 1000 miles to see if I was losing oil. I lost about 3/4 of a quart and that’s when I found out I needed a new turbo and valve cover.I think Mini needs to step up and fix this problem! It must be a poor design. I am seriously thinking of selling this car and would never buy another if I have to put more money into it. Unfortunately the fun factor goes out the window when you have to keep putting money into it to fix it. I can only speak of my experience so far. But after reading other reviews of this car... not sure I should have purchased one. Could have gotten the experience if only I could have rented one. You live you learn. BMW should stand up and do the right thing... from what I can tell due to their poor designs it creates a lot of problems and angst for their customers. Step up Mini and BMW and do the right thing!

I recently brought in my 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible for some jerky shifting issues about three weeks ago. Mini told me that they connected it to a computer to modify the timing of the shifting and sent me home after telling me that they fixed the issue. After a few days, the jerky shifting returned and I drove the car back to Grand Rapids Mini to have it checked again. I was told 45 minutes later that I need a new transmission. My car has 68,000 miles on it and has been services consistently at Mini for ALL maintenance issues, during and after warranty. The cost, $10,580.00 with parts and labor. After doing a bit of research, I found that there was a class action lawsuit settlement regarding the CVT transmission in the older model Mini Coopers, of which my particular mini falls under the category.After posting a complaint on Minis Facebook page, I did receive a phone call in reference to my issue. Tina, a Mini Cooper motoring relations team member, called to tell me that she was instructed not to discuss my case with me until I have received information from Grand Rapids... A very unproductive discussion. Grand Rapids called to offer a whole 25% off the cost of parts and labor with the new $10,580.00 transmission. I declined and told them that the offer is unacceptable and frankly, disrespectful. I called Tina back to discuss this case with her further only to be told that the offer from Grand Rapids was the only offer that could be made. After requesting to talk with a supervisor or manager THREE times, I was forwarded to Simon ** at Mini Corporate.Simon talked over me several times, told me that there is no record of my car being serviced at Mini of Grand Rapids, which it has been serviced there and ONLY THERE since 2008, for which I have documentation, and told me that my car is too old to fall under the category of the class action lawsuit, even with only 68,000 miles on it. He stuck to the 25% discount on parts and labor and that was it.I cant believe that BMW/Mini Cooper can really pass by without a recall of this transmission considering all of the well-documented material online regarding the lawsuit. How can we get a recall? Does it take death? Are faulty transmissions not considered to be a safety issue? This is ridiculous. I will NEVER purchase another Mini again and I will advise my friends and family against it. Customer Service is horrible and not taking responsibility for your own manufactured issues is disgusting. Mini sucks.

I am writing because I am shocked at the terrible reviews I just read. I have owned my 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible since November 2005 and have never had a single problem. Of course some of that may be due to the amount of miles I have on it (about 38,000). We drive it from N.C. to Fl and return once yearly. Although there are only a few miles, the main thought I have is, why havent I had any problems in the 12 years I have owned it? Anyway just want to share my good news after reading the previous ones.

I have never felt so disrespected, unappreciated and taken advantage of by a company in my life! Minis recent decision to extend the warranty on the faulty power steering pump for models between the years of 2002-2005 as well as some 2005 Mini convertibles has caused there to be literally no replacement parts available in the North Texas area where I live. I happen to be one very unfortunate 2005 Mini convertible owner who has had to pay an inordinate amount in repairs on the car, such as paying close to $8,000 for the CVT transmission to be replaced after only 70,000+ miles, having to get the control arm bushings replaced, and so many other problems that should not have happened with the car considering how cautiously I drive it. I am being told by local dealerships that I can expect to wait up to a month before my car can be fixed. Until then, however, my car cannot pass state inspection with its current lack of power steering. I have now been left without a car and no options that I could feasibly afford to get into a temporary vehicle. I have received absolutely no help from Mini to assist with temporarily getting into a different car until mine has been repaired. Again, I only have to wait because Mini does not have the parts available, not to any fault of my own. I am left to decide whether I want to break state law by driving without current inspection and risk getting more citations for it, or dropping out of school as I will have no way of getting there. I have been completely screwed over by Mini, and it appears as though they couldnt care less that they have left me and possibly others in distress.

I have a mini cooper 2007 with less than 67,000 miles that has given me many mechanical problems. Just a few months ago $6000 was spend on mechanical issues. Once more at the shop, but this time Mini Cooper wants to charge me $3000! I cant believe Mini Cooper doesnt give a warranty on parts being of such good standards!

It is 2 years and 2 months I have a new Mini Cooper S coupe and it is full of problems. Started with overheating issues which took 3 multiple day visit to the dealership to finally get the right fix. The issue was documented by multiple technical bulletins which referred to 3 fixes overwriting each other. However bmw was only addressing one bulletin at a time, making the problem an ongoing issue. Another problem is the smell of unburnt gas when I start in hot weather. Bmw never been able to resolve this, telling me there is no problem. This is my 3rd Mini and I know that something is wrong there with this one. Finally, now it is the radio that keep playing even if I press the power button, turn off the engine, remove the key or lock the door. I had to remove the fuse to stop it. Now I will have to spend more personal time at the dealership to get this fixed.The car is now close to be off warranty because of the mileage, and it seems that problems are far to be terminated, cause huge inconvenience and soon huge cost to resolve out of warranty issues. Any problem discovered during the warranty period should have extended coverage so bmw would be forced to fix issues and not wait the end of warranty to charge the client.

Bought my Mini new in 2010 and absolutely loved it. Always had the dealer service done to schedule. Had very few small issues for the first several years. I had approximately 36,000 miles after 4 years then took a couple of cross country trips and added a quick 20,000 miles. I love good road trips and my Mini is plenty fast and fun. With the over 50k on the odo my engine had an oil leak. Got it fixed pronto for $300, shop never did tell me which cover blew out. Just that it was a cover on the side of the engine??! No problem they fixed it. At about 64,000 miles I noticed my coolant pressure tank needed coolant. Not much but enough to know I had a coolant leak somewhere. I did a search online and found my water pump was still covered under a 7 year 80,000 mile special warranty so I took it to the dealer for the work. Well the water pump is bad but so is the thermostat and hose. Pump covered, thermostat not!!! The dealer wants $800 and change. I cant afford the 800 so Ill have to keep a close eye on coolant levels. I think Mini Coopers have an ongoing issue with water pumps and thermostats, wouldnt you think the thermostat would also be covered. Crazy! So if you buy a used Mini with 50k or more miles make plans to cough up big bucks for repairs that should be considered defective and covered under warranty.

2012 Mini Cooper Convertible. I love the car but a problem developed over a year ago. The problem is the fuel gauge. It is entirely inaccurate. When it reads half full for example, there are just 3 gallons left. The dealer has tried several times to fix the problem without success. Anyone out there that has had this same problem, please post your experience.

Bought a 2002 mini type s in 2012. Had 29000 miles on it. Not even a month later exhaust right at the flex pipe ripped. Took to the dealership, wasnt covered under warranty. They pointed me to a mechanic who could fix it. Cost $1600. Lasted about a month. Broke again. Took it to a different shop. REPLACED it. Spent $1600. Lasted about a month, broke again. Brought it to 3 other mechanics who all could not even begin to tell me what the real problem is. Barely driven the car since 2012. Waste of time and money.

My wife and I purchased a 2010 Mini Cooper convertible at Greenville, S.C. in Sept. of 2010. The vehicle was fun to drive and could easily bring out the teenager in you. After over 5 hours of being brow beat in the dealership, we left with what we were led to believe was a 5 year, 100k, extended warranty. We sadly found out that it was an extended service contract. We also found out that, at this dealership 2 hours from us, there always happened to be over $100 in work needing to be done that wasnt covered. This quickly rose to $500-600 each visit. When we took our first trip of over 2 days or went to buy more than 2 bags of groceries we quickly learned the best way to put items in the rear seat was to lower the top. So much for the $500 rear seat cover I ordered. We stopped using the rip off artists in Greenville, finding a repair facility locally that is reputable and does fantastic work, though the expense of service was still high due to Minis pricing.Recently the engine light has been coming on and the vehicle began skipping. Our repair shop did all they could, sometimes at no charge to us, to repair the vehicle. They suggested we take it to a dealership. There was a new dealership that had opened closer to our home. We took the vehicle there and it took them a week to call me to report that the #1 plug was fouling and the suggested repair was to replace the engine.The vehicle was serviced regularly with all recommended services being completed locally. The vehicle was not abused, driven by 2 60-65 year olds. I think it is very poor workmanship when a vehicle with under 120k miles has to have the motor replaced. I was told by the dealer service manager that this was high mileage. Basically got the same from Mini corporate and that this may also be the norm on BMWs .If you have a Mini get rid of it before 100k miles. As far as the manufacturer is concerned you have a disposable car.

My husband bought a 2010 Mini Cooper two years ago. Thought we were getting a great car, not so much. It is a money pit. He kept up on all required maintenance, but it didnt matter. Three weeks ago it was leaking coolant like crazy and there was oil in the coolant, of course an $800.00 fix between the thermostat and whatever else they did. Now this week the check engine light is on again and the car is misfiring. Changed out all the spark plugs and the coil and doesnt fix the problem. Take it in today to the shop and its the motor. Needs a new one. So now we are left with a car, that we are still paying on and doesnt run, that we can spend $6,000 to get it fixed or $7400.00 to get fixed at the dealership. Not what I expected to happen with a car with 62,000 miles.

I love the car and I have always wanted one. Its small and compact but plenty of room. Its excellent on gas too. You can go two weeks on a tank of gas. But I dont like that its a 2 door. When trying to put something in the back seat its hard to do. Ive had the car 2 years and the thermostat sensor has went out on me 2 times. I recently had to replace the thermostat and you have to replace the whole housing unit. Overall the car is fancy looking and if I was to buy another car it would probably be the same model with a little more options to it.

Before purchasing a Mini Cooper, make certain that you will never have any need to contact their customer service, because they will do nothing. I received a letter in 8/2009 stating that the O2 sensor is showing a problem. The letter stated that it would be warranted for 10 years or 100,000 miles. My 05 Cooper had 58,000 miles. The O2 sensor failed this past July 2011. I had it replaced for $232.35 + tax. Mini refuses to pay for it. According to the customer relations supervisor, I was compelled to bring it to Mini for the service. On the letter, it states, Please feel free to call the nearest authorized Mini dealer for an appointment. The supervisor stated that they cannot warranty labor done by a 3rd party dealer. I stated that I was not asking for a further guarantee, just the reimbursement for the Mini parts and labor, which was $232.35 + tax. It is not a huge amount of money. It is an amount which should have been covered.

Thank you Mini! Mini has contacted us directly and we are very satisfied with our resolution.

My 2007 clutch had to be replaced on February 2012. I had to replace the valve cover, gasket, and hose at 37,500 miles. It cost $718.00. Then in March at 40,000 miles, I have to replace the timing chain at $2200.00 and a thermostat at $675.00. I have to pay out of my pocket for all the repairs since February 2012. I think that Mini does not built a car to last longer past 35,000 miles before you have serious problems. I am getting off the car and buying an American-made car. I have contacted Mini, and they said theyre sorry and that they will not do anything to pay for the repairs.

If I could give negative stars, I would. After owning this car barely 4 years, and JUST as the warranty expired, the engine pulley had to be replaced. Lights came on Battery Malfunction Engine Overheated- turn off car, do not drive, etc. Mini changed how they made this part in 2016 but have failed to recall it in this model. They only recalled the S Cooper. In spite of this part being a problem, they refuse to reimburse car owners for the very expensive repairs. Courtney from Mini USA called to give me her speech on this not being a known problem, even though they changed how they made it the next year. She also said it was too bad for me since I agreed to pay the service department for the repairs. I told her I was stranded at the grocery store when the lights came on and had to have it towed to the dealer. Was I supposed to walk to work? She said the warranty expired and I shouldve bought the extended warranty at purchase. I said the car shouldve lasted more than 4 years without an engine issue! Obviously, BMW USA AND MINI USA couldnt care less about standing behind their cars once they have your money. Your only recourse is to spend more money for when they break down. IF I CAN GET RID OF THIS LEMON, I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MINI EVER!!!

I like the Mini Cooper a lot. It stood up to a wreck but its pretty worn down now and its very expensive to fix. The drain for the oil pan somehow has become stripped and its a custom ordered part. So its not an easy fix. No money is tight and I havent been able to fix it. So Im worried for it.

The 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible, with 64,000 km that I purchased in October 2009, had a transmission failure! They wanted $9,000 to replace it (just past all warranties). They then did something to it for $900.00. I babied it until February 2012. At 112,000 km, it failed again! This is not something you would expect for $40,000!

Purchased the car new in 2007 for my wife. First NY winter, the car was towed to dealer twice for a frozen throttle. Same thing the following few winters. Lots of other little recalls and repairs. The dealer always had a must be something your wife is doing wrong attitude. Then at 67,000 miles, the engine died on the highway. Towed to the dealer and waited more than a week for a response. Diagnosis: complete engine failure. The dealer wanted $8,000 to put a new engine in the car. I fought with the dealer for weeks and they finally offered a reconditioned motor and I would pay for the labor to install ($1800). Immediately after the car was running again, I sold it for below book value just to get the thing out of my driveway. Waiting for a class action lawsuit.

I purchased my Mini from a Mini dealership four years ago. It was a used certified car. In the time that I have had it, I have replaced every major part, including clutch, alternator, water pump, thermostat housing, all coils, timing chain, cooling fan motor, blower motor, both rear electronic locks, headlights, brakes, and even the passenger seat (the airbag detection sensor went out). Even though I did most of the work myself, Ive spent over 6500.00 on it. If I had a shop do it, it would have been well over 10,000.00. I DO NOT recommend anyone buy a Mini. I am paying it off and selling it. Im done.

2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible - I havent even had this car one year - the turbo has been replaced and now the check engine light wont go off and they are saying it is carbon build up... but the In Drive that I utilize with State Farm says Power Train failure.

I purchased a used 2002 Mini Cooper S from Mini of Knoxville with 70,000 miles. I thought I was purchasing a great car from a reputable dealer but it turns out that I was not. After just a day, the clock stopped working and a screw fell out of the lower dash trim a week later, and in the following month my windshield trim began pulling away.Within the first month, my power steering pump went out nearly killing me and my wife. I tried to work through Mini USA and I was told to take it to a dealer who preceded to tell me that I had a whopping $3400 in repairs! I told them I just bought the car a month ago from them!The car needed a P.S. pump ($1400), front control arm bushings, total shot ($900), crank pulley, balancer and belt which were warped ($500) and that the brake fluid and coolant were in terrible shape (remaining cost). Oh, and by the way, the tires were the wrong size. This is the way I was sold the car. After fighting with the dealer, they replaced the pulley and belt and thats it. They told me sorry, you bought a used car. Where is honesty? I thought we had a lemon law, it turns out not so much. I removed the p.s. pump and had it sent off and rebuilt for $225 and replaced it 30 minutes total. WHY is MINI so EVIL?

I bought my 2007 Mini S brand new. At 40,000 miles I was hearing a loud rattling noise. Ended up being the timing chain and the tensioner. Then: Valve cover assembly, thermostat housing, cleaned intake solenoid, cleaned valves and ports, replaced turbo coolant pump, second valve cleaning, spark plugs, catalytic converter, oil pan gasket, valve cover, ignition coil, second timing chain, intake valve cleaning, wiring harness. A total in excess of $7,000.00!! None of this was preventive maintenance. This was all done because its the biggest piece of Crap Ive ever owned. Thank the Lord, I just sold mine. Finally I am stress free!

We bought our 2009 Mini Cooper new, and enjoyed it for the first 20,000 miles, or so. Problems so far are: 3 trips for Oxygen sensor. Fixed on the third trip when I suggested the Pennsylvania Lemon Law, gave the dealer three attempts to repair. The next: Aluminum brake rotor replacement. Who knew that a complete four-wheel brake job would run over $2,200?! Then: At 47,000 miles, water pump needed replacement ($900.). Now, at about 48,000, we have a transmission shifting hesitation and lurching. Happy Motoring is being an oxymoron. Oh yeah, the passenger window would go down on its own, like a ghost operated it. It took dealership over 3 hours hooked to a computer to upgrade the software.

I had fallen in love with Mini Coopers while stationed overseas, and finally got one for myself in 2016! I was so in love with that car and excited! For the first 5 months I had no problems! Put Blizzaks on it for winter and off I went. Then summer came and I found out that I had no AC in 95 degree weather. Then the bearings went out. I went to the dealership and from the get go, they made me feel like they had no interest in dealing with me at all. The guy who had been my salesman walked by me like he didnt know me when I said hello. Then, after driving 2 hours to their dealership, they tell me that they didnt have the part they thought they had for the AC and made me come back the NEXT Friday, AFTER I WAITED FOR 4 HOURS for them to tell me that.Getting the bearings done on it was a nightmare with them. The mechanic didnt know I was the owner of the car and came in and said to the guy at the counter, I really hate her car, its terrible. I couldnt believe it! I immediately walked over and said, why is that? They had no clue what to do at that point. The service and lack of professionalism and customer service was the worst Ive ever encountered in all the years Ive been purchasing vehicles. If I had been smarter, I wouldve read the reviews prior to buying, but I was so excited about owning a MINI, that I didnt bother. Lesson learned. I will NEVER buy another Mini Cooper again, or anything to do with BMW for that matter.

Dont ever buy a Mini Cooper new or used. Awful awful awful. I purchased a new Mini Cooper S in February 2007 and just recently traded it in for another car after driving only 85k miles. A partial list of what was replaced or fixed - two timing chains, two high pressure fuel pumps, two engine computers, two thermostats, two sets of spark plugs, one water pump, two walnut cleanings of the intake manifold, turbocharger oil line + other nightmares that I would just as soon forget. Not to mention bmw brakes having to be replaced every 20k ($800.00 per axle) and clutch (it was a manual) at 50k when most for me last >100k ($2500.00). It is critical if you own one of these to check the oil periodically as it will use some. Many of the engine failure problems that happen are because all the oil goes and the vehicle dies. The vehicle will give you no warning of low oil. It is the owners liability.I traded the vehicle to a dealership because I could not in good faith inflict it on someone directly. Fortunately, between factory and extended warranty did not have to pay that much to repair BUT no car should have this many problems. Engine warning lights would keep coming on than going away and after a few years never could trust the car to not breakdown so stopped driving it long distances. The mechanics has a hard time diagnosing these random failures so had to wait till could hold the code for them to fix. This is not a car that a regular repair shop could easily diagnose. If it was complex or an engine code, had to go to the dealer. Have owned regular BMWs before and really liked them. Do not understand how BMW could attach itself to a product this bad.

60,000 and I need a new engine. Had the car 1 1/2 yrs. Mechanic told me damage was done BEFORE I bought it. Timing chain, oil, etc just like all the other complaints and Im getting the run-around. Thought BMW was a great product.... Guess not.

My 06 Mini Cooper convertible transmission died in 08 @ 28,000 miles. Mini replaced it since under warranty but now it is dead again. Not sure under warranty any longer. There is a class action lawsuit in California for mini owners there with faulty transmissions.

I have less than 65,000 miles on my 2006 Mini Cooper Hatchback. I took it in for an oil change and my air conditioning stopped working. I was told the air conditioning was due to the compressor failing. So, $2000 later, I have air conditioning. However, on the repair order, I am also told that the strut mount ($645), Engine fan ($985) and some misc. things like a side axle seal ($347), crank sensor o-ring ($349) muffler bracket ($260) also need to be done.My question is, what is the muffler bracket made of for $260(?) and who has to replace a engine fan in less than 65,000 miles on a car? Ive driven some old vehicles and driven them for a long time but never had the engine fan go out. I cant believe after 6 years that my car should need almost $5000 worth of work! I should also mention they found the O2 sensor was out, again. This is the 3rd time that has had to be replaced. Thank God Mini gave me a lifetime warranty on that - but the dealership wanted $140 to diagnose that it was needed again.This is the 2nd incident I have had with the a/c - the last time it was leaking (thankfully while under warranty). Ive also had the thermostat replaced already. I feel uncertain that I can afford to drive this car another 2 years. The parts seem to go bad so fast I cant imagine what another 2 years will do to my wallet!

Never, never, ever buy a used Mini unless it has bumper to bumper warranty. They are junk with no resale value! My 09 Clubman with 67k miles had the water pump replaced that cools the turbo. The octopus thermostat water pump which was leaking had to be replaced. Clutch which is normal to go, rear wheel bearing which was howling, and 2 weeks ago a VVTI actuator motor at a cost of $1,117 and a towing bill of $400 from Savannah to Jacksonville. Can you believe there is no Mini dealer in between Jax. and Charlotte?! I dont want to add up my repair bills over the last year because I might throw up! Thank GOD I found a sucker this week to buy it after I detailed it to the MAX! I love the Mini but Im not about to pay mid 30s for a new one, and lose 5k leaving the driveway, and another 5k plus a year later! Thats my take on my Mini.

My name is Chuck Conway. I’m investigating consumer complaints regarding the premature failure of BMW Mini Cooper CVT automatic transmissions. If you’re interested in possibly joining a class action lawsuit and would like to share your experience, please email me at **. Please include contact information (phone number, email address and state of residence).

I have the 2.0 Mini Copper S Petrol, well built and well finished. Beautiful to drive and great fun. However the most annoying thing for me, is the use of extremely cheap and discolouring plastic trim on the outside. My car is a very late 2017 and the plastic is marked and get, I have tried all sorts of plastic treatment including the one in my mini pack but nothing really restores it. Compared to my Wifes 2016 Mazda CX5 which is still perfect and any plastic product makes it look like new. Before the Mini, I have owned BMWs since 1999, never experienced this problem before, its very poor and lets the whole car down.

In September when my engine temp light went on, I took my 2007 Mini Cooper S with less than 50K miles on it to my local repair shop since I live in Columbia, SC with no Mini dealership. A cracked and leaking thermostat housing was the diagnosis, but there were no parts available... None anywhere. I called Mini, they told me to call dealerships, which I did. I called Charleston, Greenville, and Charlotte. I told everyone this was my only car and needed to drive it. They put me on a waiting list for the part... A month later, Hendricks Mini in Charlotte called to tell me they had a part! YAY! I had been barely driving my car and filled it with coolant every time I took it out. But when I got up there, I was told there is engine damage due to an overheated engine. A week later, Mini refuses to pay for engine repairs caused by the broken and unavailable part because they had told me to take my car to a dealer when I called them! WHAT?!?! If the part I needed was available when I needed it, my beloved car would be in my garage with me now, not 100 miles away broken! This will be at least $3K to fix and I really do NOT believe its my fault or responsibility to fix!!! Make this right MINI!! I am already not going to buy Mini again, something I never thought I would ever ever say... Make this right!

Gee, I almost hate writing. Im so sorry for all who are having troubles with their Mini. I bought my 2012 in March of 2014. Only one problem so far; the 3rd door had to have the closing mechanical parts replaced. The thing was when I took it into the dealer in Los Angeles for an oil change, I had not had a problem with the door prior to entering the driveway of the dealership. Go figure. So the oil change was going to cost me under $80.00 and I left paying Over $300.00. Not happy. I love the car and the gas mileage. But now all the reviews are scaring me. Ive driven from central Calif to LA three times in this year and I drive from my home to town 21 miles one way, once a week. Hopefully Im good till its paid for. Ive always had a Chevi which we drove for forever.

I bought the 2007 Mini Hardtop at 61K. Within one week the timing chain needed to be replaced along with the valve cover and leaking oil, it ran poorly and stalled out at lights. The cost to me was $3K. I cant afford a car like this. Who can? I want to sell it and Ive only had it 4 weeks.

I bought a mini cooper s clubman 2008 model in September 2013 from a private seller financed by one of the major banks in South Africa. The car had only 58000 km on it. In Jan 2014, only after travelling 3000 km the engine light showed. Took it to bmw for inspection and I was told it needs a new turbo. Called mini South Africa and even sent a mail and I was promised feedback. To this day, they have not come back to me. The turbo was replaced and to my horror when testing the vehicle, the turbo blew again. I was told that the thermostat housing is faulty and has to be replaced. I had to fork out R4500 to get that. I was also told that that the water pipe needs to be replaced as well. Another R1000k. I am currently paying an installment of R4800k on this car every month for the next 5 yrs and within the 7 months I had to replace such expensive components and the manufacturer was not helpful. This morning I phoned the technician to find out how its going with the new turbo and I am told the oil pipe now has a fault. I am of the strong opinion that Mini/BMW should be taken to task as these are their products and why should it be the consumers problem to fix faults on their products. I say a lawsuit should be taken on against mini/bmw as I am extremely frustrated with their product and I am losing money everyday with all the problems that keep cropping up not budgeted for and especially with warranties that only cover certain aspects and not others of the same component.

2008 Mini cooper S - First off this was my grandpas car and it was lent to me for a Grad present last year and let me tell you that car had so many issues and repairs I couldnt afford it at all. Just to replace the battery they had to take apart the engine to do so which cost 700 dollars. The car died on me 4 times in the middle of traffic and took it in and they said it was just because of the heat (lived in AZ at the time) then it happened again. BTW I only drove that car for 2 and half months. I now bought myself a Lexus and it runs so much more smoothly and no issues with it at all so if you want a mini just make sure you have a few thousand dollars hanging around.

One star for the Mini dealership, four stars for the car. I own a 2007 Mini Cooper S that I have owned for three years with just over 100,000 miles. I absolutely love it. The car did have a major oil leak, but my boyfriend (who is a trained mechanic but doesnt work for a garage) and I bought a kit from Detroit Tuned and rebuilt the turbo ourselves based. Using Mini forums for people who had a similar leak was a huge help. We repaired it for a tiny fraction of the cost it would have been at the mini dealership. Its not perfect, but the leak is fixed. Oil leak aside, this car does consume a lot of oil and you need to keep an eye on it. There have been a couple of other minor issues, but paying close attention to the car made it easy to nip those in the bud.I dont trust the dealership at all since I went in for a quote on the oil leak and they quoted me five grand for that repair and a bunch of other repairs I didnt need. For example, I had a faulty brake sensor and they quoted me all new brakes despite the fact that they were brand new and Id just replaced them. If you get a Mini, I highly recommend NOT getting your repairs done at the dealership unless its totally under warranty. Youre paying for the brand with them, not the repairs. Despite all of this, I love the car. Not a day goes by that I regret buying this car. It fits me, its fun to drive, I enjoy how compact it is but I can still haul tons of stuff. Im looking right now to trade mine in for a newer one, simply because its getting older and I might as well upgrade to some newer features while there is still a strong trade-in value.Moral of the story, this isnt a car you can just drive and ignore between oil changes, but a car that you need to pay close attention to otherwise it can become high maintenance. And find an independent shop or friend who knows auto mechanics, and know what the common issues are with these cars before you buy so you can anticipate them. That may sound like a lot of unnecessary work, but this is more of a little novelty sports car than your run of the mill family car. It needs a little extra love.

2008 JCW Mini Cooper S convertible with 33,175 miles. Clutch has gone out twice; the throttle twice. It brakes once. It was an unknown problem where they pulled the engine. I went to trade it in. When it was new, it was $39000. Less than three years later, they will only give me $14,000. They know what the car facts are. I got $14000 two years earlier on my 2002 Cooper S that was 6 years old.

Since March, 2018 I have been attempting to resolve an issue with the timing chain in my 2008 Mini Cooper S. The timing chain failed while the vehicle was in motion on the highway, causing the vehicle to lose power. A dealership has confirmed that the timing chain is in fact the problem with the vehicle (it may also be the case that the timing being off is causing issues with the valves). Conversations with the Mini USA customer relations and even BMW North American (their parent company) lead nowhere, and the manufacturer refuses to take any responsibility for the defective timing chains in these vehicles. There was a class action lawsuit regarding these timing chains, but Mini somehow got away with not having to issue a recall despite the obvious safety issues caused by timing chain failure when a vehicle is in motion. It is criminal that Mini refuses to issue a recall and refuses to assist customers with necessary repairs associated with their defective manufacturing. These cars are fun to drive when theyre operating properly, which isnt the case most of the time. I would rate them lower if I could, but 1 star is the minimum. Buyers beware! Mini is a shifty and dishonest company that will not stand behind its product.

2009 Mini Cooper S owner - In 2014 It was love at first sight, so much so that I flew to Colorado to Ralph Schomp Mini to pick up my car and make the drive back to Texas. A real beauty - pepper white with blue racing stripes, a blue jean style convertible top, gorgeous black rims, paddle shifters, heated leather seats, and only 30k miles!! I should have done my research. This year is a lemon. There is a huge class action lawsuit where Mini admits the Timing Chain is defective. Shortly after buying my car (in 2014) I received a notice in the mail regarding the lawsuit. Of course, I panicked and went to the nearest Mini Dealership, Momentum Mini, who calmed all my insecurities stating the timing chain was replaced and handled by Ralph Schomp Mini.Funny thing is in February of 2017 my car started the famous Death Rattle (go ahead and google it). The class action lawsuit was good for 7 years of 100,000 miles for the noted years with the defective timing chain. Here I am with my Mini in the dealership, around 2.5 years after purchasing (and after the timing chain was replaced) and Im told the entire part was not in fact replaced, only looked at, and Mini decided the entire timing chain kit did not need replaced. Mini has DENIED any liability in this defective part of in the improper replacement. My bill is now running well over $2,000. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MINI... and I was the owner of two. My mistake. Mini has soured me. Do your due diligence and read the reviews online. Many people this year are experiencing multiple timing chain replacements among many other repairs. Its not worth it... and theyre not a company that stands behind their product or their customers. Awful.

I bought a 09 Mini Clubman s and at 53k the turbo oil line started leaking. Fought with dealer to repair and dealer just played games. Mini America didnt seem interested in helping. This oil leak is a known problem and Mini should have recalled this. Now it failed completely and I had to pay to have it fixed. Mini knows its an issue by they put a cheap heat shield over oil fitting to stop the fitting from failing! But wont acknowledged this is faulty and dangerous. When it finally failed and started spraying oil all over! My brakes were soaked and couldnt stop fast enough! Not to mention the smoke that overwhelmed the cabin and windows. Anyone who has had this issue needs to make a complaint and get together to make Mini pay. Another issue is the carbon build up inside intake that makes your Mini have horrible acceleration before 3k rpm. You have to have it walnut blasted and buy a delete plug to stop the returning of emissions being put back into intake.

Well before I owned a 1995 Honda accord and the catalytic converter went out and it was a 200$ repair, bought it used AND THAT WAS IT! It was a 19 year old car with 200k miles on it. It was a God compared to my 2012 brand new off the lot German made piece of junk mini cooper S, four days after I bought it the crank shaft pulley fell off. Fell off? yes, fell off. Along with my passenger window breaking; shortly after my clutch went down, my radiator gasket broke, battery went out, the brakes, and now the high fuel pressure pump is going out. I have 37k on my car and every last mile I have had to pay for in some way, thanks the legalities and fine print that you agree to buying the car. Keep in mind Im still making payments on the thing. All the while the big wigs at mini could care less. Im 100% for a class action lawsuit against Mini. Worst car/experience of my life.

I have been burned twice now from the exhaust pipe on my husbands Mini Cooper S (2010). I was taking groceries out when my right calf brushed up against it! They need to change the location of the exhaust pipe!

My daughter and step-daughter both bought new Mini Coopers in 2003. They drove them and loved them until 2013 when they both bought new ones - then my daughter gave me her 2003 because my Kia SUV was a repair nightmare. I have had nothing but good luck with the auto... And I do maintain it as Im supposed to. Last year my power steering pump went out - cost $808 to replace. Then I found out Mini had a recall on it so I sent them my bill and a letter. Now, remember, the car at this point was 13 years old, and they refunded every penny of my repair. Now how can you beat that? I get great mileage, everything works great. Yes, Ive had normal repairs done, but the only complaint I have is there is a lot of road noise which has been corrected with the newer Minis. PLUS... No one realizes this car is now 14 years old - looks like the new ones.

I bought my 2005 base Mini convertible with around 35K miles on it. I bought at a BMW/Mini Dealership where it was first purchased. I was told I would be the second owner and that all services were performed there since new, including the first power steering failure. OK now, the certified vehicle they sold me had a throw-out bearing noise the day I bought it. I heard it at night with top up and windows up. Same thing with the power steering; it was failing when I bought it. I am sorry, but how can a BMW/Mini tech certify such vehicle? They had had to know it had these issues. Not to mention, the seat memory function was also broken from the day of purchase. All the issues were done under factory warranty. I also bought mercury platinum extended warranty. Now moving on, around 50K, the throw-out bearing noise is back big time. Power steering is noisy again. Once again, theres warranty on the throw-out bearing. No luck with power steering; I had to keep bringing it back and was declined every time until it actually started going out while driving! No power steering! It was replaced at that time under warranty, and the new pump was so silent at first. I was thinking hmm Im still upset they sold me a certified car with major money issues but this time the power steering is fixed good.The vehicle now has approximately 75K. All services are up to date, including resealing the oil pan and the third valve cover reseal. But what the salesperson never told me was that the interval for resealing the oil pan is every 40K as normal maintenance! And the clutch is shuddering; throw-out bearing is about to fail, getting really, really loud knocks with clutch out squeals if I push it all the way down. I have to push it down and let up around 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch to stop the squealing, but its still making noises always. So the clutch components are no longer under warranty. Great. And the power steering that was so quiet a short time ago has a crazy loud noise again and the fan is staying on after the vehicle is shut off. I can make it stop by turning the key on and off a few times. I should be covered for this power steering unit with a deductible through Mercury, but they seem to ask for mega diagnostic tear down money. Its like pulling teeth to get them to even act human. I will do that for the power steering, because its bad and I know it will be covered. (crosses fingers)I was told that the noise of the clutch components may be internal in transmission, so I should authorize a lot of money, so they can tear down the transmission and see. Really?! its the throw-out bearing again. Im not authorizing that obvious leap of faith/ripoff. Did I mention I have records from the first month I owned the car about it not going into reverse unless I for up to 3 full minutes mess with the shift left through all gears and let clutch out in each gear and a little trick I learned while being honked at because I wasnt backing up fast enough? The trick is hold the lever towards reverse and ever so lightly release the clutch pedal a tiny bit. It will go into reverse that way, and it may do so with super sweet sounding ultimate grind, which it does all the time even when not forced to use an awful trick to get it moving backwards.The last time I brought it in, the service writer, whos always so full of tech wisdom, actually duplicated the problem. The service writer could not get the vehicle into reverse, and after fiddling a while, it went in with an ultimate grinding experience. But now, this tech savvy writer has forgotten everything, and it seems all that schooling (self-proclaimed) and BMW-awarded service training has slipped the highly trained uber techy service writer into saying that he wrote on the repair order duplicated in service drive. But I still have to pay $1000 plus for tear down to prove to Mercury what I have been telling them has been happening since it was under factory warranty! I could duplicate it everyday, every time they said cannot duplicate.Well, they could have if they drove around more till they did duplicate it for not long rather than sitting in their service bay shifting the lever around! Both window regulators are starting to fail. I loved this car. Its fun. it looks great, but I would not recommend one to my worst enemy. Oh, thats BMW/Mini. Hmmm. Well, you know what I mean. I will never recommend BMW or Mini without saying They drive great, but youre gonna pay.I tell people if they must have a BMW or Mini and dont mind being in the shop a lot, lease it. Never buy anything from BMW! They are literally spot on to provide you with the ultimate repair bills as soon as warranty is out. BMW is criminal in this kind of treatment of their customers! I mean, really, its pretty well-established. The clutch components suffer from poor/weak/cheap design and parts. Its 2012, and BMW still doesnt even offer a superseded part number for clutch components; no upgrades for you! This is the absolute end of my time with BMW. They can keep their cars, until they fix whats wrong and stop covering up long-standing design flaws. Oh my God, some give them Japans phone number or even GM for that matter for a little updating on their still being filled with really bad electronics from silly connectors long obsolete to flat out... Really, you havent stopped those light from flashing yet! Which ones you say? I say pick anything. BMW electronics and Mini are in need of some updating.Lets say bye BMW/Mini. Never again. I cant wait to get rid of this nightmare that could have been so nice a car if they finished it. Too late trading it in on anything nice, even nicer not made by your dishonest bloated overrated company that smiles at you while lying and... I cant wait for my Lexus or Acura or Infinity. I just cant wait. Own up to the problems. And at least, if youre going to charge for a repair that is due to your cheap poorly placed parts in a nice car, offer a fix. Its called a fix! You know, like when you dont sell a Mini owner the same ** part. Why just fix it!

I have a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. I love my car, but now she is costing me a fortune. First, the power steering pump went out and I had to replace that at $1,100 (that was going to a certified Mini mechanic, but not the dealer). Since this is a problem with Minis, why is there not a recall? Now, I am having problems with my convertible top, (also a problem with Minis). The dealer wants over $800 for the parts and $520 for labor. But they only want to warranty it for 2 years. So I have found someone who specializes in convertible tops and is doing the work for half the price.There are other things that I am having to replace all at once. But my issue is, Mini has recognized most of these things being an issue in just about all Minis and refuse to recall these items. I bought my car used, because I saw what other Mini owners were complaining about and I was not about to buy a new Mini and have to always go to the dealer for repairs. This will most likely be my first and only Mini unless something is done. I love my car, but this is getting to be ridiculous and with the price of gas going up and our economy coming down, you would think that Mini would start taking some responsibility.

Wow, where to begin. I purchased my 2005 Mini Cooper S convertible in July 2008... It only had 38,000 miles on it. Now it has 61,000 miles. I have had recurrent convertible top problems (going into the shop again tomorrow for another top failure issue); a broken glove box door (just fell apart); wiring issues; valve cover gasket, drive belt and tensioner; wheel bearings and many recurrent grinding sounds, squeaks and clunking sounds that the service folks can never seem to duplicate? Since purchase, I have spent more than $7000 in repairs... and certainly expecting another large invoice after tomorrows visit! I guess I should be thankful the transmission hasnt failed yet. Anyone want to buy a cute little lemon?

This is the worst car Ive ever had! I was so excited when I first purchased this car. I felt like a celebrity because kids would run up to it and hug it. I just loved the way the wind felt against my hair as I drove with the top down. We all know this car kills you with cuteness. Dont be blinded by its adorable exterior, its super sensitive money-eating machine. The first year the dashboard was lit up with issues. The first two years I drove a loaner and Mini Cooper employees knew my face very well, and I should have moved right in. Anyway this car has steering wheel issues that will cost you thousands of dollars. An airbag recall that Mini will repair but leave you to any other airbag related issue thats probably related to the stupid recall, but they want you to pay for it. I had plugin problems with the cooling system, whatever that means... The car would be shut off and it would sound like its still on trying to cool off.One issue that drove me crazy was you cant bring this car to any mechanic because this is a foreign car, they have no clue what to do with your car. Ive had mechanic break parts on the car doing a simple oil change, so I was a slave to MINI Cooper. I couldnt take it anywhere else which is super annoying. MINI isnt trustworthy either though. I went in and asked them to check my engine because the light was on. I specifically asked them to check my fluids. They didnt and later my car overheated and was smoking everywhere. They came and served it but I was a scared mess after the experience. Overall I wouldnt recommend this car to anyone, and if you want to spend money on two cars to keep one cute one go ahead. I drove around anxious all the time worrying about what light will come on next and how many thousands of dollars will cost me when the next light comes on. Not a way to live.

Mini Cooper S 2010 problems -- I got this car from my niece with only 17000 miles on it. Since then, my car has spent a lot of time on local dealership. I had to replace following things: Faulty High Pressure fuel pump, Torx Bolt, Pressure hose assembly, Turbo heat shield, stabilizer link, steering box, brake pads and sensors, vibration absorber, Timing chain tensioner leaking, aux water pump. They also serviced my car for carbon build up in the intake valve. Well this was done in last one year. Last week my car stopped at the freeway and I had to get it towed to Mini Dealer in Gaithersburg, MD. They told me that it has missed the timing which could be due to slipping timing belt or loose timing belt tensioner. I am waiting for this phone call and heavy bill they are going to tell me about. Since the car is just out of extended warranty with 27000 miles and little over 4 years, MINI will not cover the repairs.

I bought this car from a Mini dealer in June 2011, supposedly to have a normal years warranty and full service when required. Within a couple of months the cam chain snapped on the M25, breaking the casing, which drained it of all oil. The Mini was repaired under warranty, and I was told that there would be no further detriment with the car. Within a few months, a leak appeared within the car and damaged all the upholstery, which again was cleaned under warranty, but has subsequently reappeared after the warranty expired. The car was recalled for a part replacement whilst still under warranty. The car had been burning oil at a phenomenal rate which it still is. I was told that this is normal and generally have to put two liters a month in the car, despite not doing many miles.Within a month of the warranty expiring, all four tires needed replacing, despite having only done 4000 miles since the purchase. A fault light appeared regarding the wiper reservoir, which will not reset. Then after only 39,000 miles, the clutch started slipping and needed replacing which cost over £1000 to replace, which seems to be standard as I know two other owners which have had to replace the clutch at such low mileage. Since having that done within a month the front two new tires have had to replaced at a cost of £150 each as a result of the suspension bushes wearing, and which this is going to further cost more money to rectify. All I get from the dealership is literature on new Minis and as yet they havent even offered me the service as promised. Buy a new one, no thanks.

I bought a used 2009 Mini Cooper in May 2013 and have been out it since August 23, 2013 and it is now October 27, 2013. My Mini Cooper had a coolant leak that caused my engine to blow and was taken to three shops before any one would even fix it. A newer engine was put in as well as a new radiator which cost about $3500 on top of needing to be taken to a BMW shop to be reprogrammed which took two weeks for them to do. The day I should have gotten it back a sensor went out and am still without my car. It has been over two months with my car. The shop it was taken to has now fixed 6 Mini Coopers with the same problem. I will never get a Mini Cooper again once mine dies on me again.

A while ago, my MINI power wouldnt shut down when I turned the key off. Dash lights would stay lit, etc. I had it in to the dealer and they couldnt find the problem. This went on for months. I started having to disconnect a battery cable when I shut the car off. My husband prayed, God, show me the problem. He put his hand on a long plastic wiring box on top of the motor. When he did, it shut off. He opened the box and the wires were bundled together too tightly, were corroded and shorting out. There were cracks in the plastic wiring. He cut the zip ties, sprayed WD-40 on them and it worked. No problems since!

I cannot agree more with previous poster. I have a 2003 Cooper S with 97k miles. I have not touched clutch or transmission. I have only machined front rotors, no work on rear, change brake pads every 30k, change oil, rotate and align regularly. Over the life of the car, I have replaced the power steering pump, heater core, front and rear bushings, and a computer issue with ABS/traction control system. That was it in over 8 years total.Your Cooper is a fantastic car, if you drive it properly and maintain it regularly. It is a foreign sports car and as such, its going to cost you a premium to get maintenance done. Parts are generally more expensive than youll find in a GM or Toyota. You should know that going in. Learn to drive properly and dont beat on it, maintain it regularly and most importantly, find a mechanic who works on minis because most local guys will not understand the car as well.

I bought the car with 28000 miles. Ive had two sets of tires, strut tower replaced, valve cover replaced, timing chain replaced, two thermostats, re-programmed, battery, window re-programmed twice, auxiliary fan replaced and now the ac compressor is out. I have spent three times my payments on this piece of crap. I will never buy another BMW product again.

The Clubman is a good entry model for first Mini. Ive owned mine for over a year with no issues to date other than regular maintenance. I use my hatch like a compact truck. It has power enough to carry 10 40-pound bags of wood pellets. I would only consider the 6 speed manual as it makes the car a hoot to drive.

The car is scheduled for yearly oil changes. Because it was 2000 miles over the oil change time when it was changed, they refused to honor the new car warranty. I could not believe it and went to corporate, to no avail. The turbo went out and they refused to fix it on a 35K mile car purchased new from them.

I have had two Mini Coopers, one the older model 2005, that everyone so loves to complain about, and the second a 2009 Mini Cooper S. I know several people that have Mini Coopers and love them. If you look on the internet, you will see countless websites for Mini Cooper fans; there is nothing wrong with Mini Cooper or BMW. These are singular issues. I think it is unfair for consumers to complain about a company because they made a poor and/or ill-informed decision when buying a car.

I bought a used 2007 Mini Cooper in July 2010. At 69,000 miles, I was driving it home from work which is about 40 minutes from my home when it started losing power. At that time, the engine light came on and I just didnt have the time to get to the side of the road before the power completely went out. It was unable to restart and there was an earthquake type of rocking/knocking in the engine area. Upon having it towed away, there was dark oil on the pavement. The mechanic that I took it to was unable to diagnose the problem but stated that there was an oil leak that seemed to start from the gasket area. They quoted me $8,600 to repair and I owe $8,300 on it. I have never in my life had such a lemon of a car. Even in high school, my junky $200 car lasted longer than two years! There is no recovery per my insurance or through Mini of Louisville. They basically said I am SOL due to the warranty being over at 50K miles. It was nearing its next oil change but other than that, no warnings. There must be something illegal about a company that sells such an overpriced product that doesnt meet up to the standards of what the product should do.

2006 Mini Cooper S Transmission Issue - The transmission on my Mini went out. The car is six years old and has 68,000 miles on it. It’s certainly not old enough or driven enough to have this kind of problem. According to the dealer, it will cost $8,600 plus tax to fix. I have seen a number of comments online that suggest this is a common problem with this make/model, yet the dealer will do nothing, except take my money, since the car is no longer under warranty. It seems to me that if this is a common problem, there should be a recall or some kind of compensation for this problem.

My car (Mini Cooper) presented an issue related to breaks. After 7 months the disks and pads are so rusted that affected and damaged the both rear disks and pads. I sent my car to Dealer’s facility and they informed the warranty wouldn’t cover this situation. The price to fix this was USD 547. There is no strong arguments, only the description in the service order in this way: CORROSION DUE TO AMBIENT ELEMENTS. I didnt agree with this situation, and wrote to them and the response was “I’m sorry about that, we will register your concerns” and that’s’ it. This is not a response/action that a customer want and wait from a trustable brand. Maybe this issue is more related to Mini cars not well acclimatized to Florida’s conditions and/or poor material used to construct then (I visited several forums where Mini’s owners reported same issue) and if is the case, the solution from Mini was a ridiculous. Living in Florida, I had some different cars from different brands, all of them with very same way of use, parked in the same way/place, exposed to the very same conditions that the Mini was exposed and I NEVER had any issue like that. Who expect to have to pay for change disk breaks in a new car in 7 months, covered by warranty? More than that, what if the same issue appears in the next 7 months? As my leasing is for 36 months, this means that I will need to change the disks 5 times?Maybe Mini is using poor or defective material in their cars to reduce its costs or maybe their cars are not well prepared or acclimatized to Florida’s condition. In both cases they should inform the situation to the customers in order to them make a decision considering spend a lot of money to fix disks breaks after 7 months, since they refuse to fix this issue using the warranty. I hope that everyone looking for a Mini to by/lease can check this review before do that and change mind about this worst deal ever. The Brand does not look be concerned about construct a long-term relationship with the customers but only sell cheap cars.

My 2006 Mini S is clearly not meant to a quality automobile. Now even the radio/CD player is malfunctioning. The bargain basement way BMW built the engine is self-evident when you consider that parts of the timing chain assembly are made out of plastic. Yes, plastic as an internal engine component. Even a lawn mower engine doesnt go that cheap. But the worst was when a shallow puddle in the middle of the road destroyed the exhaust system. Good thing my step-son is a top notch welder. When the mechanic got the exhaust header off the engine, he showed me the collector all four cylinder pipes go to, which then goes the cat converter. My step-son showed me the cheap robotic weld between the collector and the cat. It was like two tiny spot welds. Im surprised it lasted as long as it did. The temperature shock of the cooler puddle water hitting the hot collector shattered those two spot welds easily. So suddenly, Im going down the road sounding like an old bulldozer. Mini wanted to sell me a new pipe because it was my fault for running into the puddle!! I can only imagine that cooperate meeting, No, they are not allowed to drive these cars in the rain... My step-son put a beautiful weld around the entire circumference and the mechanic put it back together. That was my introduction to Mini quality, and Minis philosophy towards customer problems.

I really loved my Mini Cooper Clubman S. I bought it brand new in 2009. It was fun to drive and looked very unique and cool. I always got compliments on it. However, I can honestly say that I have had at least one major repair every year since owning it, even though I regularly maintained it at the dealer. Of course more issues creeped up after the warranty expired. To make matters worse I finally paid the car off last March of 2013 and since then, major issues keep coming up including carbon build-up on the engine, crank shaft oil leak, thermostat housing leak, and an oil leak from the turbo charger. This cost me a few thousand dollars worth of repairs within the matter of six months. Now I am practically afraid to drive it not knowing what else is going to go wrong with it. Anyways, I thought I would be saving so much money every month after I paid off the car, but am now realizing I am paying more in repairs now than I did on the car note. I am going to sell it soon and get something known for reliability like a Toyota or Honda. However, I am going to feel kind of bad selling it to somebody knowing how prone to problems the car has. Anyways, I would get another Mini Cooper If I was really rich and could afford to have an extra car on the side as a hobby or something, but definitely not one that I had to rely on long term.

I bought a used 2011 MINI Cooper S in 2012. One year old, 11K miles. Although fun to drive when its running properly, this car is a LEMON. Im currently at 62K miles & change, and have had to replace the ignition coils twice, spark plugs, a cracked hose, brakes, pieces of the interior and am now facing a major engine repair. Oh, and the pin holding the rear windshield wiper fell out, and the emblem on the hatchback fell off. This car is a CONSTANT source of frustration--and a very expensive one. Out of warranty, but at the dealership every other month for some repair or another. Its infuriating. As soon as Im able, Im trading this car in and getting a Honda/Kia/Hyundai, something reliable. This has truly been the worst ownership experience Ive had in 27 years of driving. I HATE THIS CAR.

I bought the car for my daughter and I to share after the death of my wife. The 09 Mini S in laser blue was the car of her dreams which turned into my nightmare! I purchased the car used with less than 40k miles and purchased an extended warranty for almost 2k. The car has since had a blown turbo and failed vacuum pump with almost 6k in repairs after the warranty ran out! I have done all the routine maintenance myself and brakes, rotors and tires. I replaced coils, plugs, CVV, and vacuum myself. I didnt have the tools to replace the turbo. Now looking at fan assembly replacement and have the timing chain death rattle. You wouldnt believe the run around you get! I am saving every penny from my second job to pay down the balance to trade it in for a Toyota! I only pray it runs for a few more months until I get rid of it. I tell everyone that asks or looks at the car at the grocery store... Never buy a BMW or Mini Cooper. They are engineered to fail! Run from this car! If it still starts... trade it in. Mini refuses to stand by their product and only until their sales drop to zero will they learn that they cannot abandon their customers. Tell everyone you know about your bad experience! I go out of my way just to tell people never to buy BMW products. I thought all these people were just bad owners that never checked their oil or coolant and that I would have better luck through superior diligence... Dont be fooled! If it looks like a **...and smells like a **... Then its a **!!!

I own 2005 Mini Cooper S with 55000 miles, just had engine failure. There is small kicking sound from the timing belt area. I contacted Mini USA, they put me on 5 months of investigation by me providing all my maintenance records, which were up to date. And after all that wait, they refused any help.

We had a 2016 Mini Cooper S, very zippy and responsive, stereo was wonderful...BUT it is horrible in snow, the seats hurt your back and neck. It rides like a potato cart. We traded it in for a Ram truck. We spent 40 days, with over 5 hours on hold WAITING to get confirmation of payoff. They lost the first check even though it had proof of delivery. After 3 weeks of no check, Ram stopped the first check, REISSUED another, more proof of delivery, they lost that one too. The local consumer advocate, and threat of lawsuit inspired them to locate the 2nd check. They were rude and short with me, the customer, because I was weary of no action, and NO answers, and NO RESULTS. MY ADVICE dont spend the money on a Mini Cooper. If you do, good luck. Lynae **.

I bought my Mini used with 39,000 miles on it, the dealership I bought the car from offered a 90 day 3000 mile warranty on everything and thank god because 75 day and 2500 miles in the timing chain and tensioner had to be replaced at cost of $2300 .Since then I have had a recall on the cooler for the turbocharge, just recently I had my thermostat housing and sensor replaced. Now Ive been dealing with major power lost as if the turbocharger isnt working at all....I bought the car to save money and it has been nickel and diming me more than my 15 year old Ford F150... And the car uses more oil than any car that I have ever owed and Im pushing 50...BMW/MINI needs to fess up and fix these design flops because its a reflection on both companies....

I have a 2008 Mini Convertible S. NO ONE wanted to love her Mini, like this girl, but... its been one expensive repair after another. The latest was a WIRING HARNESS. Really? On a car with 75,000 miles? I have owned a lot of cars, and even on my really OLD ones, I never had to replace a wiring harness (I had thermostat issues and intake hose issues at less than 30K miles). It turns out MINI re-engineered the original part. So there was no replacing it. I had to had a new throttle valve (nothing wrong with the existing one) in order to make the NEW harness design work. The cost was $1850.00. I argued, like mad, and Mini agreed that I shouldnt have to PAY for their shoddy design. Thats ONE point in their favor, but their reaction is one that suggests, You should be FINE having to completely rebuild this car after six years. I DISAGREE. That, to me, is a recall item. I also think about the HUNDREDS I put in to replacing a faulty thermostat at 20,000 and an intake hose that must have come from the factory with a hole was money I shouldnt have had to come up with.This car is made by BMW. I, frankly, expected better quality. TWICE, (first the right and now the left side) rear window pulleys have just SHATTERED when I raised the top. I swear, I thought someone had SHOT me. I looked for shattered glass. My husband is handy and can repair that, but he has to take the door apart and its a big PAIN. Its a cheap, plastic $248 part. I dont know how much it would have cost us with their labor. Also, the cup holder was placed right in front of the stereo, so when I hit a bump, my Starbucks went in to my stereo, burned it up, and that had to be replaced (Live and learn. Ask for a cup plug). Oh, and my convertible top is pulling apart at the seams now, and I was told its about $4000-5000 to completely replace it. I wanted to be a generational LOVER of the Mini. I wanted to buy my kid one for college, and maybe even treat my mother in law to one. As fun and sexy and cute as it is to drive, it hardly makes up for its expensive breaking ways. I almost traded it in on a second Prius. Emotionally, I am bonded with its cuteness (I dont really like the new models. They dont look cartoon-worthy like my year, but I GET that they want it to look more like a BMW) or I would trade it in on another car. Its like a BAD BOYFRIEND you just cant bring yourself to dump. I wonder how many more thousands of dollars I need to pour into it, before I can break up? Hubby is SO over this car, and vows NEVER AGAIN. He would have bought me a brand new one, this year too, had this one not given us such a headache.

I have put less than 7000 miles since my lemon was purchased used. Over 2,000 dollars in repairs so far. Mini Coopers should be made obsolete because of unreliability and bad engineering. The salesman I dealt with do the two step and lie by omission. Buy anything else!

Timing chain broke 30 days after I bought the vehicle @ 59000 miles.

I was riding my old BMW R80 down the interstate when a lady in a beautiful MC passed me on the 4 lane interstate. As she pulled back into my lane a large cloud of oil fogged me and my aging bike. She exited the interstate and was stopped by the failed engine. Again, this car was beautiful with 12,500 miles on the odometer. My grandson and I stopped to assist the lady (in her late 60s) and we were met by the sight of a well ventilated Mini engine when we opened the hood. The oil pan had been ventilated by two connecting rods that were found on the edit ramp. She was quite pleased that werent burned by the oil coming from her car. Or worse yet, had crashed in the oil slick from her car.A month later while riding on the same road, a BMW SUV pulled in front of me (I saw his SUV in my mirrors) and was met by yet another fog job from another BMW product. My R80 has over 100,000 miles on it, I rebuilt it from a basket case and this old scooter has what was once known as BMW quality. I lost a trans in my R100 back in the 1970s and BMW took care of all costs even after the bike was out of warranty. What has happened to this once proud mark? After those two incidents we bought a poor mans BMW. It is known as the Mazda 3. Fun to drive and easy to own. It uses no oil between changes and gives 43mpg on the highway at 70 mph.

2006 Mini Cooper S- Absolutely loved the Mini Cooper look and driving feel from the moment I saw it! Bought a brand new 2006 and excitedly waited for it to be built and shipped to the U.S. I knew going in to this purchase that minis had their issues and was willing to deal with little problems for a sweet ride. My mini finally arrived and for the first 6 months the mini was everything I could have dreamed of!!! 6 months in I heard a chatter and had to have throw out bearings replaced...ok not a problem I knew they had problems. 12 months throw out bearings replaced again and window wiper solution tank replaced..ok all under warranty but honestly this is getting old. 24 months throw out bearings, clutch has issues (really! Ive driven a manual car my whole life 300,000 miles with no issues) and the window wiper tank needs to be replaced but we need to take the bumpers off to fix it... Of course you do cause it’s out of warranty and it’s going to cost me 300.00 for the window wiper tank, and I didnt even wait for the other estimates. I walked out saying “Ill sell the car before I give you another dime!!” Walked out and bought a Subaru. Not the same fun :( but I can get up my driveway in the winter and no maintenance issues. Love the peace of mind! :)

2nd Post here - venting out frustration of owning 15 Cooper S. Late 2015, was looking for a sporty car for office commute. GTI, WRX and Mini were my shortlist in that order. Test drove MINI. It spoke to me and with all excitement I bought it. This was the only time when I had excitement buying a car. I was very much skeptical about MINI’s reliability – but learned that with 3rd generation it’s all good. Even the dealer assured me.Day of the purchase drove home and parked with a huge grin. Only to find white smoke from the hood. Called the dealer, they said it might be water evaporating after the wash. Since I knew better, I took it to the dealer next day and they diagnosed that it was oil leak. Brand new car with oil leak!! Dealer was intending to repair. Being frustrated, contacted MINI (corporate). They were awesome. Felt me valued. Gave me free extended warranty or return the car back. Seeing how I was treated, I didn’t return it. It was absolutely awesome customer experience. Things like these can only be found in marketing text books. Already started planning for next MINI then – Clubman or JCW or perhaps a BMW? Who doesn’t like a M3?All well. Until one day check engine light came ON. Panicked, stopped the car. Called the dealer. Luckily there was no power loss. They insisted me to send a photo of the light – to make I am talking about the same. Took to the dealer, they didn’t find any issues. Returned the car back. After a week again the light came ON. Took back again, they said they have to replace environmental sensor (along with radiator). This was a moment where I was very glad that my car had problem on the first day of purchase – extended warranty!! Dealer fixed it. On a routine service, dealer found problem with rotors and replaced all 4 around 25k miles. I was shocked about it. Replacing rotors? And that too at 25k miles? Anyway I am not paying for it, so went with it.Coming to present. Thursday evening from office - cold north east weather. Again the dreaded check engine light. Feels like it is the same old sensor. Going to the dealer on Saturday. Getting very much tired of this. All of this in 2 years and 32K miles!! Does not give me much confidence of keeping this car for long. Not a single car I owned had this many problems. No way could I keep this car beyond extended warranty. And because of the history of all repairs, I am not going to get much either when I try to sell it. MINI is build like a race car. It is awesome when it works. But we use MINI as a daily driver, we need it to last. It needs to be reliable. Owning MINI is like being in an unhappy marriage. You had some wonderful moments, but you know you can’t let this go for long… You will ruin your life… Talks a lot about BMW family as well… so called German engineering perhaps!!!

BMW/mini is in the BIG business of WHITE COLLAR CRIME! This company is no different than your average criminal that breaks in cars, Rob you at gunpoint, or even hold you hostage. The only difference is these criminals (BMW/mini) wear a fancy tie AND ARE IN RESPECTED POSITIONS! Pls beware and get informed about this company. May ruin your life. I pray this saves someone the heartache I am going through with this DEMON brand!!! Despite public record of this class action lawsuit of defective recalled products (skeen vs BMW) mini is refusing to pay for the repairs that are recalled. Which is the heart of any car, MY ENGINE!!! BMW threw me in the trash just like all the rest of you. Im sorry.

I bought my 2009 Mini Cooper @ Mini of Universal City with 38,000 miles. It now has 54,000 miles on it. Within the past month the check engine light has come on a couple of times. First time, I was told it was going to cost me $4,800 to fix! I STILL owe $17,000 on the car! They told me that my exhaust side cam and rings were worn, vanos solenoid adjusting sprocket and solenoid valve were not working, I needed my exhaust side cam shafts replaced and vanos adjusting unit sprocked and vanos solenoid valve replaced. They also said my vacuum pump and oil filter housing gasket were leaking.TWO weeks earlier I had it in the repair shop for new brakes, and oil change, so my service adviser was SHOCKED that I was losing so much oil. He also said that I shouldnt be paying so much for a car I had JUST BOUGHT and JUST had in the shop for repairs! He called Mini and they agreed to pay for all of the cost minus $400 (which I had to magically come up with). My monthly car payment alone is $401.00! THREE DAYS LATER the check engine light came on AGAIN! This time, (same service adviser) told me it would be $1,000 to fix! Apparently my mass airflow sensor needed to be replaced and they had to reset my camshaft timing chain. I declined having them repair the sensor, and instead called Mini to complain. I ALSO spoke to SHAWN who informed me that he would do his best to help me, because $6,000 worth of work on a mini that only has 54,000 miles on it is ridiculous (his words). He told me he would get back to me within 3-5 business days. Its been 3 weeks. I have called him over and over and have yet to get a response from him. I seriously want them to buy back my car. This isnt fair. Plain and simple. Does anyone know about the buy back process?

After 6800 miles, my clutch and flywheel had to be replaced. The dealer did the repairs under warranty, but made it clear that this was a judgement call. Its true, Im fairly hard on clutches, my last car, I had to have it replaced at 30,000 miles, but 6800 seems a bit ridiculous, no?

I took the 2012 Mini Cooper to the SLC dealer to check the check engine light. They had no mechanics on duty at 10:30 AM Monday. The earliest they could diagnose it was 4:30 pm. I live 350 miles south. I drove home and the car broke down 200 and more away from two different dealers. I had it repaired with a service contract sold by the dealer. They would not honor that because the car was not out of warranty. Mini Cooper Corporate USA would not pay for repair of the auto unless I towed it 250 miles to Las Vegas. The problem was the ignition coil. This was checked by the dealer prior to sale at 36,900 miles and broke less than 2,000 miles later. Its a dishonorable company with a shoddy product.

I bought my Mini at East Bay Mini but soon realized that going to Mini of Marin was a lot easier than the drive to the East Bay, and so with that being said that is how I arrived at Mini of Marin. I feel that my 2009 Mini Cooper S was a lemon from the get-go. I have had nonstop problems with this car since purchasing it. The car has 67,000 mi at the time of this review. The reason I was prompted to write a review is because of negligence by Mini of Marin during yet again another servicing. This time I took the car in because I claimed the car was popping out of 2nd gear, they claimed the car was doing no such thing but kept the car for almost a week and after getting it back it never popped out (so why would you need to keep it that long if there was nothing wrong with it). So I have it back for a week plus and never opened the passenger door and today I opened the passenger door and find that the metal runner alongside the seat that says Cooper S is no longer sticking to the floor and is bent and making a terrible noise upon closing the door. I have always been very pleasant which is saying a lot after how many times this car has been in the shop, but there is a limit to how much abuse a customer can take. I really wanted to write a review to the Headquarters of Mini but I felt it would land on deaf ears. Within the last year this car has been cooked 2 times for carbon build up, had a new engine (which Mini headquarters required me to pay a portion, even though the car only has 60,000 plus miles), new clutch, popping out of 2nd gear. I feel like I spend more time at the Mini of Marin dealership than I do at my job.

I just bought a 2010 Mini Cooper S Manual Transmission car from a private party. Drove it 500 miles and clutch started making metal-on-metal grinding noise when leaving first gear. It now needs to be replaced and is going to be extremely costly. I found a number of people with the same year, make and model and having the exact issue. The clutch obviously was made cheaply. It cannot handle the torque the engine. This is completely unacceptable. I will be pursuing legal action. I recommend that you look into your clutch and if youre considering buying a Mini, make sure you the clutch looked at. I enjoy the brand, style and performance of the vehicle but this is a real hassle.

Cant give them 0 stars, so they get a lucky star...just one. Super friendly sales and service people for sure, MINI, good job, youve trained them well. The complimentary Starbucks coffee and Chex Party Mix are also a nice touch, but NONE OF THESE CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR ENGINEERING AND DELIVERING A QUALITY AUTOMOBILE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS! Id rather buy a car from a jerk that was a quality product, designed for performance, reliability, and longevity. The automatic transmission on my 2007 Mini Cooper failed at 108,000 miles. A regularly serviced automatic transmission such as the one in the 2007 Mini Cooper, by comparable industry standards, should be good for at least 150,000 miles.This was not an inexpensive car (over 30K new, with over $15,000 in labor and parts in the meantime). The transmission was serviced when the car was still under warranty, and well after the BMW corporation was aware of the design flaws that ultimately led to the transmission failure. Rather than service the defective transmission while the warranty was in effect, they sent me home with a car that they knew had a poorly designed/engineered transmission from the factory. Although the transmission was serviced 18 months prior to this failure, and I believed the work carried a 2-year warranty, MINIs position is that the work performed was not mechanical, but electronic in nature, and was not covered under the 2-year warranty. The MINI was fun while it lasted, and as a professional that works with young adults as a career, I always felt comfortable recommending the MINI as a first car. My position on the MINI (not Bill Jacobs, youve been consummately professional) has shifted, and I will ultimately share my story of dissatisfaction and disappointment with the BMW corporation. Of notable irony is the fact that I originally purchased a MINI because of their resale value. $45,000 later and I have a MINI that is worth $150. The final tow to and from Bill Jacobs MINI will cost more than that. I believe that any of the owners of Bill Jacobs MINI or its representatives would feel exactly as I do in regards to this situation. To MINI and BMW...you missed the most important thing that car buyers want, that is, a quality product. Everything else has been tasty, perfectly-brewed, and pleasant.

Very enjoyable to drive - it is an adult go-cart. We particularly enjoy the convertible here in Florida. It is nice to have the wind blowing through your hair.

I no longer own my 2008 Mini Clubman. Happily traded it in for a new Prius on July 18. 2013. Mini Cooper never responded to my correspondence outlining the many problems I had experienced with the vehicle and my request for a response by July 19, 2013. Minis failure to respond sent a clear message to me that consumer confidence and satisfaction is not a priority. While I will always love the Mini for its cute design, I will be the first to advise anyone looking to own one to steer clear, unless you have a lot of time and money to waste.

I bought my 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S used at 20,000 miles in 2011 from a local dealer. At 63,000 miles (after the warranty ran out), it was discovered that the head gaskets on the engine were blown. This was discovered by my mechanic during an oil change and fluids top-off; I had to have it towed 45 miles to the closest dealer. Ferman Mini in New Port Richey, FL, who did the work, promised me my engine would be like new - after paying $4,500 to fix it.At 67,000 miles, I noticed that the water coolant tank had black sludge in it (no warnings or nothing, just happened to check the water level). Mini of Ft. Myers has had my car for 2 weeks - they took apart the oil casing, the gasket heads and turbocharger and still couldnt find what was wrong. They still cannot find the point of failure and have said the only option is they replace the entire engine for $10,000. Or I could trade it in for $3,500 for another Mini from them. And I still owe $9,000 on my loan (thats $23,500 for the loan, previous and current [suggested] repairs). The repairs on this car cost more than the car is worth and more than I owe..... For someone just out of grad school, I now have no car, cant afford the payments to fix and cant sell it. Never, ever buy a Mini Cooper. Im heartbroken as I loved that car. Ill be paying it off for the next 20 years.

My 17 year daughter went to a local car lot, and fell in love with a 2004 Mini Cooper. She went to the bank on her own, and bought this car. Two weeks after having it, the oil pump went out. I say went out, I believe it had an issue when she bought it. Our bad is, we own an auto repair shop, but she didnt let her dad check it before she bought it. She left the parking lot and I noticed a puddle under her car. When she came back there was no oil on the stick. She called on the warranty (that the dealer had her purchase), but because she didnt tow the car 1/2 a mile back to the auto repair shop the warranty will not cover if the engine is knocking or locked up.After getting it in the shop her dad noticed the oil light had been disabled from the dash and an oil sending gauge had been installed. The car had oil in it when she left or there would not have been a puddle. We were able to fix the oil pump and all the gaskets and sealed that were leaking. It seems to have been running okay; with the exception of mysteriously losing 2 quarts of oil after a week. She drove it for 3 weeks, and had it towed off the side of the road. We have not diagnosed it yet, but it just died on her going down the road. It was not running hot; had gas in it, and plenty of oil. She was able to start it again and it just died. When my husband started it at the shop it shook the whole car, and is making an awful noise. Hes guessing a rod. So now she has $9000 in car payments, and may need a motor. Biggest piece of junk we have ever experienced. For the parts to be on the high end (expensive), they sure didnt design a high quality car here.

I was in 2 accidents a month apart (Its not my fault.) in my 2007 Mini Cooper. So, I sent it to my local Mini dealer, thinking they knew what they were doing. When I had a warranty, I got excellent service, but not after my warranty was up! They broke things on the car, lost pieces, put things in backwards - it was a nightmare. I was told that all those things were wear and tear. It happened in the accidents; it was fine before. They would not fix the things they broke, and they were just so rude, saying I was making it up! Im not! So, they told my insurance company that its like that before the accidents. So now, they closed the claim and would not fix the problems. Problem is, they broke the parts or did not fix it right. They would not say they did it and made it right. They were very sobbing, and they think they are some great fancy place, not just another car repair shop. And in my accident, I broke my nose on the steering wheel. The air bag did not go off and the seat belt did not hold me back! I was slammed hard from behind. The problem is the dealership.