Summary: My Mini had bad quality, and almost killed me twice in 3 days; horrible service; completely unacceptable. Car situation: 6 months old, around 4,000miles, purchased Aug. 2016 from mini of St. Louis. Details about car quality: 2/26 Sun.: When I drove on highway, my car lost power immediately. Luckily I could make it to road shoulder. Car was towed to Mini at the same night. I got my car back on 2/27 and was told that this issue was caused by bad gas. But I only went to Sams Club to get premiums gas. After I got my car, I drove home directly. This morning 2/28, I drove my car to work. My car was broke down again when I was driving on highway around 7am which was rush hour. This time, I couldnt make it to road side, because there was too much traffic and I was using most left lane. Due to drivetrain malfunction which was shown on the panel of the car, the car stopped on most left lane. I almost got killed by this situation. I had to call 911 to get help. Policemen came over to shut down the highway and pushed my car from the left lane to the road shoulder.How could my car broke down when its just 6 months old and only has 4,000 miles? How could Mini of St. Louis gave me the car without fixing it and put me in life threaten situation??? Whats really wrong with my car??? Whats Mini quality??? My Mini almost killed me twice in 1 week!!! Details about service: Mini road service: 2/26 Sun. When I called Mini road side service, they used 1 hour to locate my car, when I was stuck on highway. Your road service finally located me and told me the tow car would show up in 50 mins. After 50 mins, your customer service called me and told me the driver cancelled it. And she told me they couldnt find any tow car and asked me to leave my car and would tow my car next morning on the highway. I refused it. I told her I was on the highway, nowhere to go and worried about my car would be hit by other cars. Finally she agreed to help me to find another tow car which showed up around 1 hour later. Totally, I sat in my car around 3 hours on highway to get your help. Thats unacceptable!!! This morning, when my car broke down again on highway, I called Mini of St. Louis to get help. But they answered my call and refused to help me and asked me to call Mini road side service. When I called Mini road side, your customer service asked me to call local service and told me that I could get service quicker. How could both sides just kick me around when I was forced to park on the high speed lane. Finally, road side service agreed to help me and the tow car shown up around 9 am. Total 2 hours. Police station has this record, since they came over to shut down the highway and moved my car.Mini of St. Louis dealer shop service: gave me back the unfixed car and put me in danger. This afternoon, I went to Mini of St. Louis and told the sales manager what happened again and requested to changed to another new car. Because what has happened to me, I couldnt continue to trust this Mini. The sales manager refused to replace my trouble vehicle with new Mini. And he told me I was unreasonable!!! This car and service threatened my life twice, and the response they gave me was totally unacceptable.

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.

The clutch in my 2005 Mini went out suddenly after less than 2K miles. The dealership replaced it after I raised hell. Now, the clutch in my 2007 Mini started going out - after only 55K miles! Ive driven standard transmissions my entire life & never experienced this. My 1991 Nissan Sentra lasted 200K miles and my 1995 Mazda Protege lasted over 100K. Yet the dealerships always say the same thing - driver abuse. I called Mini. Sure enough, its not covered unless its normal wear & tear, which they cant evaluate unless I put down $2K for them to tear down the engine to look at it. If they see any signs of damage that indicates beyond normal wear & tear, then Id have to shell out the money for the repair, too. A clutch going out after only 55K miles is bound to show signs of defect, certainly beyond normal wear & tear! After I read similar stories from others, I decided it wasnt worth fighting. So, I took it to a trusted mechanic and shelled out the $1100 to have them replace the clutch (a few thousand less than the dealership), since my car is still worth over $15K. But as long as I live in a hilly community and an area that Im in constant stop-and-go traffic, I wont get another Mini. I love my Mini and have not had any other real issues with it, but I dont love it enough to have to shell out for a new clutch every few thousand miles!

I bought a low mileage car, 76000 miles. I smelled something burning while on my way to work. Guess what, no power steering! People need to file complaints with the NHTSA to get a recall ordered before people get killed. Its dangerous for women to drive if the power steering quits in a turn.

I have had a problem with my 2005 Mini Cooper S, off and on, for about a year. The passenger side air bag light comes on in the dash and over the rear-view mirror. This was occasionally on, but when someone sat in the seat, it would register the seat as occupied. Then occasionally, it would come on, when no one was in the seat. Now, it is coming on and staying on, even with someone in the seat or not. I called my local Mini Dealer and spoke with a man in the service department. He knew exactly what I was talking about, but stated that there is no recall with this problem. It seems to me, that if enough people have this concern, Mini would have no choice but to issue a recall on this defective sensor. Especially, someone was seriously injured before.

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?

We have had our 2007 Mini-Cooper for less than three years. We bought it, used, and spent a small fortune just to get it running right first thing after we got it. Now the timing chain has caused our car to be completely unusable. It is going to cost upwards of $8000.00 to fix. We have read everything we can about this happening to our mini and like the thousands of other owners, are extremely upset that Mini has not taken any responsibility for this built-in failure. We love our Mini and are greatly disappointed that our Mini will have to be abandoned and we will no longer drive another Mini, EVER. They are way too expensive to fix… if you can find anyone in your area to fix them. Short love affair with a high maintenance gold-digging lover!

Purchase a Mini Cooper 2011 Countryman with 47,000 miles. I had dealer in north Scottsdale look the car over and was advised that mechanically the car is perfect. As the warranty ran out at 50K why would they want to find anything. At 56,000 miles the fuel pump in the fuel tank failed. I was told this is not unreasonable. The solenoid valve also failed and leaked out into the electrical harness and almost onto the electronic board (I was advised). The cost of this repair was about $4,600. I also had to replace all four break pads (not unreasonable but it was just another cost - $800).At 60,000 miles the clutch went bad most likely due to the fuel pump causing the car to buck like a horse for a while. I was told that this is to be expected from a mini. Cost $3,200. Total cost of the two repairs is $7,800. Considering I have had the car for 12,000 miles and the dealer told me that the car was in perfect working order when I purchased it I am to say the least very annoyed and angry. We bought this car to be a low cost effective vehicle. It has been nothing but a money sink. And to quote the dealer these issues are reasonable. So at minimum I can expect these costs to be incurred every 60,000 miles. Possibly more if other things go wrong.Dont buy a Mini if you have the choice. They are defective, unreliable and expensive to own. Buy a V8 truck. It will be more cost effective as you wont be paying for repairs to a poorly designed car.

Had my car 2 months and was driving home when the tire blew - this was late at night and I was alone, tried to get a tow from Mini Roadside Assistance to be told the car was Canadian (which it is not) - they refused to tow it so I had to get my own tow. Took to a local garage and ended up buying two tires because the other was so worn out - bear in mind I’ve had the vehicle 2 months and it was still under warranty and was pre certified (both are totally useless by the way) - got my vehicle back and took it to mini in Knoxville for an alignment to be told it would cost over $6,800 for a blown tire!!!! I was told by the dealership that the screws were not tight (finger tight) and there was bright yellow paint on the problem area cleaning indicating an issue - this Mini dealership told me to contact the seller of the vehicle as it was clearly done by them.... This is where it gets super shady... When I told them I bought it from another Mini Dealership - they quickly put me on hold and then changed their mind and said it was my fault.. I had driven down a pothole or ran into a curb!! What?? That’s not true!!! There was no damage caused by me and had I driven it into a curb how the heck did the other tire get so worn that I was not allowed to drive it!! Unfortunately this seems to be Minis way now, they sell you a vehicle but the second you drive off the dealerships courtyard you are 100% on your own!!! The original dealership has washed their hands off me and have only called once to pretty much say it’s not our fault.. 2 months in and I’m about $8,900 in the hole. Oh and don’t call Mini Corporate because they don’t care - they will take notes but will not follow up with you or help because ‘each dealership is independently owned’ so you are not covered. So disappointed in Mini, it’s such a fun car but it’s a huge risk - would I even buy another one? Not on your life!!!!

I will never purchase another BMW vehicle. My husband wont let me due to their failure to take care of my mini and its obvious engineering flaws. I currently own a 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible. Its a love (my car)/ hate (its transmission! ) relationship. After attempting to get BMW to take care of what is clearly their responsibility, I was told that I needed to pay a mere $9000 to replace my transmission. My car currently performs the way others have described: refusing to change gears, then slamming into gear with the squealing of tires.

At 38,790 miles, my clutch suddenly failed on my 2008 Mini Cooper. The car was towed to the dealer. Although it is still under warranty, the dealer first said clutches were never covered. When I read the warranty to them stating clutches were covered (unless misused, a vague reference), they said it was mostly, always the drivers fault and refused to cover the cost of replacement. The estimated cost is $1,710. I have driven manuals for nearly 30 years and have never had a problem. The car has been at the dealership for 7 days, and they are hoping to finish it in the next couple of days. I was not offered a loaner. I am disappointed in BMW, and after reading so many other complaints, I am considering selling it.

Did you know Mini Cooper was a centerfold in Playboy Magazine? Got your attention now, dont I? Good!Thinking of buying a BMW or Mini Cooper Product, DONT! At least until youve read this and the class action lawsuit against BMW and Mini Cooper Aarons VS BMW. This lawsuit is being handled by Kurtzman & Carson Consultants, Philip Cooper. 886-381-9100.When I purchased my 2007 Mini Cooper I did so because I thought it was the cutest, coolest, and most fun car I had ever driven. Then the practical side of me took over and I did my due diligence and research. Who knew that the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) would prematurely fail and without warning, recklessly putting me in a gravely dangerous situation in the high speed lane on the expressway way during rush hour traffic? BMW and Mini Cooper knew, thats who!! Its amazing that I wasnt struck by the semi behind me traveling at a high rate of speed, considering my Mini Cooper dropped down to 15 mph after the CVT permanently failed while traveling at a rate of 65 mph!BMW presented the Mini Cooper as a high performance, yet affordable high end premium small vehicle which emphasized their design and performance features, cornering abilities, good looks and fashionable styling. Did you know that the Mini Cooper even graced the centerfold of Playboy Magazine? Yes! Playboy Magazine!! BMW group bragged, through its aggressive marketing tactics, that the Mini Coopers design, layout, content and performance along with it being fun to drive, its price point, and high quality were enough to wear the BMW Badge.I thought I had died and gone to heaven! This was my favorite car ever! I babied my Mini Cooper and serviced it regularly, of course. None the wiser, I loved that car, still do. BMW & Mini Cooper not so much!I was so excited and proud to be driving a Mini Cooper and I remained ecstatic until recently. A Mini Cooper convertible was my dream car, BUT now it’s my recurring nightmare! Well, for once, I made my extravagant purchase base on emotion AND logic, what a change for me. Now I wish I didnt do the research to back up my emotional purchase, at least I could said, shoulda, woulda, coulda messed up again. Oh by the way, that BMW Badge, what I didnt know it means Badge of Dishonor! Shame on you BMW!Not only did BMW deny knowledge of the premature CVT but they also undertook affirmative efforts to conceal the failures through a series of TSB Technical Service Bulletins issued to repair facilities, thus stalling long enough for the warranty to expire before owners were made fully aware of the true problem. Its obvious that BMW knew of the problems based not only on the complaints made directly to them but also numerous complaints made to the NHTSA National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Yet BMW refuses to publicly acknowledge the problem or offer remedy, instead keeping it a secret as long as possible. As if this wasnt bad enough, BMW CONTINUED TO KNOWINGLY SELL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH CVTS PRONE TO PREMATURE FAILURE! Despite BMWs efforts to conceal the issue, customer complaints and CVT failures continued. Way to go BMW! Something to be said for your consistency.Thinking back now, Mini Cooper was always aggressively sending me marketing materials for the newest, latest, hottest Mini Cooper Convertible, of course wanting me to trade in my 2007 Convertible Mini Cooper, for a brand new sleeker, faster more stylish Mini Cooper Convertible. What would have happened if BMW would have put all of that time, effort, and cost into a recall? Or a Just FYI, your CVT might fail, please call us later. Well never know because that would be considered above board or proactive good customer service and as we have discovered, BMW possess NONE of those qualities.There is a saying, If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. This is so true with BMW. BMW knowingly under budgeted production and could not keep up with the demand it created. After all everyone wanted that beautiful, cool car that was featured in Playboy Magazine! Too bad the beauty was only skin deep! BMW sacrificed quality and turned out substandard parts and shoddy workmanship, all the while refusing to take responsibility for their actions knowing full well that they were recklessly putting their loyal customers in harms way when the CVT failed.To this day, even in the face of these numerous complaints, BMW continues to deny that there is a problem with the CVT and refuses to disclose the truth to consumers. I ask you, How is this possible in this day and age? Who does BMW know that we lowly (no longer loyal) consumers dont and why should we have to pay to clean up their mess?Never again will I own a BMW or Mini Cooper product and I will make it my lifes mission to share this message with everyone!

This is to report/address the steering tightness problems on older Mini Coopers. (My car is a 2006 with 90K on it.) We know about the power steering pumps going bad/out on many Minis potentially causing a very dangerous driving condition. A pump failure causes extremely hard steering. Do not confuse the tightness problem with a total pump failure.But I digress, I took my Mini into a dealership complaining about the steering being tight. They couldnt find anything wrong and said its not that bad. I then took it to an independent service garage. I explained the symptoms and they knew right away what the problem was. The lower u-joint in the steering column tends to rust up and start binding. This seems to be a common problem especially in the salt belt part of the country. It is such a common problem that one cannot even find a new replacement assembly in the USA. A reliable source has stated Mini has no idea when, if ever, there will be replacement parts.The official solution is to order/install an assembly for a right hand drive car. The dealerships are now aware of this problem (I have seen official detailed instructions from MINI). The tight steering also can be dangerous when fast steering input is required when making an emergency maneuver. I also think its very poor of the dealership not to diagnose/recognize the problem. As a side note, I had the right hand drive part installed by an independent. I then took it into my dealership to have an adjustment made due to the install. The dealership then said I needed the part that I just had replaced. Best of luck to all Mini owners Im selling mine and never buying another.

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.

My daughter was driving our 2008 Mini Cooper which has around 85,000 miles. No warning lights were on other than the airbag light that stays on all the time because the passenger seat sensor is no longer working. That is another matter. When she stopped at a red light and tried to take off again, the car died and would not restart. We had it towed to the Mini Cooper dealership and they said it had over heated causing the engine to lock up and break the timing chain. The cost for repair would be $10,915.00 including parts, labor and tax. (We are unable to pay that kind of money so we have a cute piece of yard art). We later found out that lots of Mini Coopers have had the timing chain break which is inside the motor and when that happens it can ruin the motor. We believe that is what happened because there was no sensor light on showing the car was getting over heated. We have never had to add water or coolant except at regular maintenance times. They are just trying to blame it on us so there is no way they can be held responsible. There are just too many other people that have had the same problem. Apparently Mini Cooper has known about this problem with the faulty timing chain since 2008 and have not issued a recall. This is horrible!! They should also issue a recall for the passenger seat sensor because that is a safety hazard.

Ive owned 3 Mini Coopers. A 2013, an 2002 Mini Cooper S, and an 2014 Mini Cooper Coupe S. Ive had nothing but great Motoring with all 3. Doing normal maintenance, oil changes, tire rotations, will eliminate a lot of your problems. But Ive had excellent luck with all 3. The cars are manufactured by BMW. Ive owned BMWs in the past and they were excellent automobiles.

My car has 110,000 klics on it and the transmission is gone. To fix it they want $8500 for the parts and another $1500 for the labor. They have to put the same transmission in and the same thing could happen again. The sales manager said it would be just better to sell it as I wouldnt get much as a trade in. They have these problems with the transmissions from 2002 to 2007 then they changed it. I do not think its is acceptable for a company to know this and not do a recall or at least fix it. These are $40,000 dollar cars and I think you should get a lot more mileage than this. I LOVE my car and it has cost a lot in repairs, but am so disillusioned with the reaction of the company.

I bought my 2007 Mini Cooper S in July 2009 and in August 2009, I had to have the car flat bed towed to San Antonio because the clutch and all parts had to be replaced $2793.09. March 2011 - water pump drive belt cracked $1106.52. October 2011 - excessive carbon buildup $851.00. March 2012 - timing chain $941.98. Total spent on repairs $5693.05 in 2 years and that is with them discounting.

I bought a 2008 mini cooper in 2014. It only has 63000 miles on it. It has been cutting off in heavy traffic. I am afraid for my life because it may cause me to get hit from behind and seriously injured. What can I do to get this car fixed by the manufacture. Bmw shop told me it will cost me 4000.0 to fix. Can anyone tell me how to file a lawsuit against Bmw to get this car fixed.

My wife and I bought a used Mini that was still under warranty back in April of this year (2013). Its a great car and truly fun to drive. A couple of weeks ago the air conditioning went out and we took it to the local Mini dealer. After about an hour and a half, the technician came out and said the entire line needed to be replaced. The warranty on her car had expired in May and of course the repair bill was $649.00. When I asked why it was going to be so expensive, they explained that the air conditioning line is all one solid piece. Fortunately, a good friend of ours who owns an automotive repair shop, suggested we bring the car into him and he could help reduce the cost. He did save us money, but when they were done, he brought the line out to show us something rather disturbing. The line had been placed improperly against a pulley. The line itself was not damaged, but the extension that all technicians use to check the line was damaged. Although it was clear to see that this easily replaceable line was the culprit, BMW/Mini does not and will not sell just that check line by itself. I have called Mini about this issue and to date they have refused to even discuss the issue with me. This car has 23,700 miles on it and every repair or servicing has been done at the dealership. Now with something as clear as a poorly placed line from the factory and no ability to just replace that piece, the manufacturer refuses to assist in any way. This is a poor example of support, especially knowing that low mileage and barely 6 months out of warranty they wouldnt assist us in the unnecessary repair. I have attached pictures of the damaged line and the repair shop has agreed to submit a letter stating the facts behind this issue.

After reading the bad reviews I felt I had to say I bought my 2006 Cooper new from Mini Irvine. It has 115000 miles on the clock and has been trouble free. I recently had to replace the AC pump, but apart from that it had been only tires and brakes. An excellent car. WE have however serviced it regularly and Im sure that helps.

I purchased a new 2017 Mini Cooper Clubman from Vista MINI in Florida. The car currently has 30k miles and it has had several problems. The car currently has a strong vibration problem which affects the acceleration. The car has been in a MINI Service Center 3-times for the same problem. The dealership acknowledged this problem to affect the non-turbo models. There is no current fix for this safety concern according to the dealerships service center. MINI solution to the problem is spending more money on a more expensive S model. If you are interested in purchasing a MINI please check all consumer complaints before the purchase.

Horrible Mini Service Experience: On Wednesday, May 24, I called a Mini Cooper dealership in Burlington, VT. A mechanic I use down here in Southern Vermont told me I need new rotors and brake pads. Before I drive two+ hours to Burlington, I want to be SURE these items are covered in the extended warranty I purchased. After a pause, I was told Yes they are - well change your oil and get you new rotors and pads. I wanted to be 100% sure. So after hearing this, I cancelled work on Thursday and left on the TWO HOUR drive to Burlington. This is the result:I waited in the waiting room for an hour and a half while my car was being serviced, at which point someone from the Service Dept came out - and handed me an estimate for over $1,100.00. Your calipers are seeping. I said I didnt want the new calipers - I planned on trading the car in soon. I didnt hear anything else: Okay was the reply from the Service Dept Rep. He came back 30 minutes later and said Youre all set. But the funny thing was the lack of any indication of rotors and pads on the bill. I went out to my car, and saw there was no brake work done, at all. I was not informed of this - I could have driven off thinking I had new brakes. Instead I still had the dangerous situation I drove the two hours to Burlington to have fixed.I went back into to Service dept and wanted to know why they had not replaced the rotors and pads. The reply was: This is tricky - just what you want to hear from an auto dealership. Your calipers were seeping, and this voided the warranty. Before I could go any further he then dropped another bomb: And your warranty doesnt cover the rotors and pads anyway.So that was three hundred miles and five hours of driving - for absolutely nothing. Im getting out of Mini Coopers as a result of this experience, and I would strongly advise anyone to STEER CLEAR of any and all Extended Warranty offers made by any car dealership - it is a complete con job. And you might want to consider this as well: after 70,000 miles, these cars become incredibly unreliable and expensive to own: AT 70,000 miles, things started to go expensively wrong: another dealership, a Mini dealer in Albany, NY, told me I needed a new thermostat - and wanted $1000.00 ($975.00) for the repair.I said no thank you - and took it to a certified independent BMW mechanic, and got the exact same job done for under $500.00. I neednt tell you - if you have the deep pockets and dont mind being ripped off on a continuing basis - by all means keep using the Mini Cooper dealerships. They are more than happy to have your business. They will never get mine again.

2007 Mini Cooper s - Replaced oil pipe, gasket, spark plugs, timing chain, #1, 2, 4 cylinder. They couldnt fix #3. Finally need engine replacement at 68,000. Insurance wont cover. Car totaled waiting on settlement. SIMPLE; DONT BUY A MINI.

My wife and I purchased a brand new 2011 Mini Clubman S in Dec. of 2010. We have already had the water pump circuit board replaced, passenger side window motor, passenger side window regulator replaced under warranty. On 3 December 2013, my wife was driving home and at one light the car was fine. 300 feet down the road, the clutch pedal was stuck to the floor and the clutch would not disengage. Here it is 1 week later after the Mini of Nashville has had it at their shop my wife and I drive the 70 miles to the dealership to find out that the clutch and flywheel are toast. The dealer showed me the clutch and it was completely bare with no clutch material present. The flywheel was sent back to Mini to be fixed and then resold as a refurbished part even though I had to pay the $3200 to get the parts replaced. Today I could not even pick the car up because the car is still acting up. The BMW tech thinks it might be a bad throw out bearing. So after $3200 in repairs, I still have no car to drive. After I get the car back, I will be trading it in for a Ford Explorer.

I purchased my 2012 Mini Hardtop S on Aug. 2012. Salesman said its limited edition - Bayswater, only 13 of them in California. However, just few months ago I saw another exact same one on the road next to me, I wonder how low is the possibility will that be. Anyway, my previous car was Scion XA 2006 - I had driven that car for 5 years with 100k mileage. In the last 2 months, I had flat tire twice (due to some nail needle on the road). Therefore, when I purchased my Mini, I have tire insurance since the tire I have is more expensive than the normal one. At around 6~8k miles, my front tire at driver side had an area raised abnormally. I went back to Mini Service for oil change and also asked them to check my tire. At first, they said the tire was used. I said I purchased the brand new one thats impossible. Then the technician changed his word, said it was due to some hold on the tire caused by needle. Beside tire issue, the technician also pointed that something wrong with my engine, he has to check it and might take more than one day. Anyway, since the tire problem was under warranty, I did not say anything more, so I left my car in the dealer overnight.Just today, I took my Mini to another dealer for service due to the engine light was on 2 days ago. At first I thought it was oil change only, just the service guy said something wrong with my engine, but it is only 16k miles. I dont race my car, I drive average under 30 miles a day, rarely drive 50 miles a day. Later on, I asked him what is the thickened oil thing laying by the front cover of my engine, he said the original dealer did not do deep cleaning and the oil was leaking from the inside of the cover. I asked him to clean it for me. He said it costs $160.00. He suggested me to go back to where I purchased and they should be able to do it for free. The guy said since there are multiple issues with this car, they might need overnight to fix it.Mini is always my dream car, but now I miss my Scion XA, that car never caused any problem and always been in good condition. I regret purchasing Mini....the dealer attitude was bad and the car always has some problems in very low mileage, by thinking of the cost after Im past warranty period...I think I have to sell it ASAP.

I bought my 2005 MINI convertible in March of 2006 with only 4,000 miles on it. At that time, it was still under warranty. Every summer, I would take the car to the dealership because the top would not go down. Last year, Rasmussen MINI paid to fix it even though it was out of warranty because I have had continual problems with the top. This year, its broke yet again and MINI doesnt want to fix it because its two years out of warranty. But the top has never worked right. I only have 28,000 miles on the car. I even called the corporate office, but to no avail. In fact, the girl named Amy was extremely rude.

Mini Cooper convertible S car is a very sturdy, fun ride. Mini has since updated their options which now includes a much more comfortable ride with a lot more options. Love the ease of the convertible top. The ride was a bit stiff for long distance motoring but has since been fixed to accommodate more comfort, electric seats, backup cameras, just to name a few. Such a sporty fun ride that I feel very safe in.

10 June 2014: I own a 2008 Mini Cooper S with 6 speed standard transmission. Last month (May 2014) I passed 40,000 miles. Shortly after I experienced a loss of RPMs, speed and acceleration. I later learned this was the symptoms of a failing clutch system. My local mechanic was unable to do the work required because they need specialized tools that were too expensive for them. So I had the car towed to the local MINI Dealer. They told me that to replace the clutch and flywheel will cost over $3000. On top of that the timing chain and/or tensioner needs to be replaced and that will cost another $2000. I hope I can persuade.I do not dispute the prices for the maintenance although I do think they are somewhat inflated. What I do dispute is that the age and mileage of the car do not coincide with the needed repairs. I feel I was deceived by BMW/MINI about the reliability and durability of this product, and I feel I should not have to pay for the repairs. I will not be buying another Mini Cooper and will urge all current and potential owners of a Mini to buy something else.

Have a real doozy! Had a 2006 Cooper with 70000 miles with no problems until early May, 2014 when steering became tight. Went to import mechanic friend who put in new power steering pump and then rack and pinion but didnt solve the problem. He recommended I go to dealer, which I did. They told me I needed a new steering column which was binding. They told me there were no steering columns in the U.S. And would have to order it from Germany which would take two months to arrive (7/15). Left the car at the dealer and service advisor would keep me up-to-date but never called me. Went to dealer on 7/15 and was told that the order had been cancelled by someone in Germany but they didnt know who and could be another 2 months before part might get in.Needless to say, I was quite frustrated and asked how much I could get selling the car back to them. Their appraisers offered $2,500(median blue book is $7,500) which I thought was unfair so went to sales manager(who did not know the history) who then offered $4,000 which I accepted. Had to get this off my chest.

Last Friday when I was driving home and my 2015 Mini hit a telephone pole. The car hit the pole at about 35 MPH on the drivers side at about the level of the headlight. The car was totaled. For whatever reason, no airbag was deployed. I hit the steering wheel with my chest and have bruised ribs but fortunately I am going to be OK (I was wearing a seatbelt). Up until now I was a loyal Mini owner (this was my second) but I am concerned how this car could hit and damage a telephone pole so severely it had to be replaced, without airbag deployment. More of a concern was what if the accident was even more severe. Has this happened to others? Obviously, my replacement vehicle will not be a Mini but others may want to use this as a cautionary tale.

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

Loved my Mini for 10 years. Now everything is breaking! Most recently 2 pulleys related to the engine have melted and would not turn belts. Also at have a problem with pulley related to air conditioner... Any advice?

From the day, I bought this brand new Mini Cooper S Countryman in 2014, I started spending extra money like water. In a week of my purchases, I found out I had tire pressure issue then I took it back to dealer, they said I need to reset tire pressure but freaking every week the pressure lights comes on and I have to put air and reset it again. Im sure, it is leaking air somewhere and because of that one of my tire got tore within 2 months which I had to change and cost me $300 and my tire pressure still pop up until, now. Im so sick of tired that I dont even talk this issue with my dealer anymore. Now, it been a year and Im having different issue which is created by animal sabotage. In mini, there are lots of wires running through the hood inside the insulin cover which looks like made a soft foam can be damaged by anything. Mine was cut into pieces by chipmunks just couple weeks ago, my bad luck. It is already more than a 10 days and they could not figure out the problem. First, they said I need to change wires $400 then sensor and now diagnostic. It looks like they are trying to ripping me off. Even the lady told me that it is better if I talk to my insurance. Anyway, my point is mini is not reliable car for daily use. It is good only for the people who have lots of extra money. Im not suggesting this car to any of my friends and relatives.

On Saturday, May 11, 2013, I arrived at my local gasoline station to fill the tank with fuel when I heard a loud bang that I found odd. I drove off to my home 2 minutes away and as I drove up my driveway and parked my car, I noticed there was a trail of what I thought was water. That same night, I drove out of my driveway and this is where the nightmare begins. I drove about 4 minutes from my house and could no longer drive my car. It just did not drive. I called AAA and I was towed to my home. Next morning, AAA picked my car up and we took it to my local auto mechanic shop and the mechanic was in shock the transmission plate/casing was split in half. After calling Mini, they asked that I bring the car in. After further online research, I found there are 64 out of 252 filed vehicle safety complaints regarding CVT transmission failures. Most of the transmission failures have occurred in the 2003 Mini Cooper model car from the 30,000-90,000 miles. The average cost to replace the transmission ranges from $7,000-$9,000. In further reading, it appears the steel belt in the transmission comes apart destroying everything internally. Although, there are no known incidents of loss of life. Unfortunately, this leaves the consumer with a debt and dilemma. My car has 31k miles, a Classic 2003 Mini in mint condition with the Blue Book value of about $5K and the cost to replace the transmission is $5,900 + labor = average about $8,000. It does not make sense.

Our engine light came on on our 09 Mini with only 18000 miles on it. Took it to the dealer and they told us that there was excessive carbon build up on the intake valves and it would cost $1000 to grind the valves! I asked why this happened to a new Mini with such low mileage on it and was then asked what gas we used. We use Costco Premium almost all the time and then we were told that this is the problem. They said Costco gas was poor quality gas, it caused the problem! What BS!!! Its poor quality engine! We are also seeing other people having this same problem, so it is just not us. Mini should stand behind this problem!

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?

I had a 2003 Mini Cooper back in 2009. It came to a tragic end in December of that year. I was coming home (not drunk), and I lost control of my car and hit a tree head on. I am still thankful to this day that I survived. In January, I went looking for a new Mini. So I went up to the one in Nashville and saw the one I wanted. It was brand new off the truck. Well, on November 11, my engine blew! I was furious! I take great care of my car. I was thinking, How can this happen?!” I got it towed to the dealership, and that cost me about $300, and the car was still under warranty too.They gave me a hard time because they didnt want to pay for the new engine. New engines cost about $15,000-$20,000 plus the labor, so basically get a new car! Well, I got that all sorted out. So in the meantime, they got me a rental car for a week! They told me it would take about that long. Well, it didnt. They wouldnt pay for the rest of the rental, so I had to pay for it, about another $350 because I didnt get my car back until January 15 of 2012! This time I was getting pissed! Well, in March, I moved to FL for school. About 15 minutes away from my new home, my transmission went out! It took them about 3 months to fix, and they also gave me hell.About August, my transmission blew again! They did the exact same thing to me (“We’re not gonna pay”, “Its your fault”, blah, blah, blah). Well, I had it. I wanted to get an estimate about trading in my car. They said $10,749 with 49,000 miles on it. I was super pissed. Now, my head gasket blew, and it’s not under warranty apparently. So Im done with Mini. Im calling corporate, and I will tell them the exact same thing I’m typing, and I will tell them I got a lemon, and I paid in full for this car by the way. I’m going to a Honda or a Nissan, better yet a Chevy!

2009 Convertible S - Engine began making terrible rattling noises at cold start. Tensioner has a campaign for replacement. Mine was so bad the entire timing chain had to be replaced. Now the car backfires and has severe carbon build up. There has been significant power loss and increased fuel consumption.

In 2009, I brought it brand new. The engine light has been going on several times. Each time I take it into the dealer (thankfully it’s still covered under warranty), they tell me that it’s the type of gas I put in. Okay, fine. I bought the 91 octane gas and put in fuel injector cleaner as per their recommendation. This happened 5 times. Tomorrow, it’s the sixth time. As soon as this repair is done (thankfully still under warranty), I will drive to the Mazda dealer and trade it in. There is just no excuse for this type of problem. After reading the entries on this and other sites, I guess I feel lucky that I have not spent thousands of dollars on repairs. I love my car (09 Cooper S convertible). So much fun! But I have to let it go.

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.

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!

My 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman S had 14100 miles on it. Within 4 days to continue driving it I would have had to put out over $2,000. First the brake pads which needed to be replaced could not be done without replacing the entire brake unit... over $800.00. Two days later the engine started idling roughly and the check engine light came on. I brought it to the independent mini dealer I was using and they told me that Peugeot was actually providing the engine for the Mini and many of the parts were made of plastic. The error reading was indicating *engine misfiring... Like badly*. It would cost around $1,000 to fix it and it would take 2 days and of course there would be labor costs also and the same thing could happen again. They cleared the check engine light and said drive it until the light came on again and then when it did repairs would have to be done. They were surprised, very surprised, that at 14,100 miles brakes and engine part melting was happening. I had 2 extended warranties but they covered nothing (brakes aside - wear and tear items). Now tossing and turning about this all one night, you gotta figure $2,000+ is like 5 car payments. When they erased the error, I RACED to the Honda dealer and got a Civic. The simple maintenance cost and repair cost of having the *hottest* car on the road wasnt worth the lack of reliability and exorbitant cost to maintain. I was always having to have sensor lights cleared at the dealer and after the check engine light situation I, sorrily simply passed the problem off to a non-Mini dealership. I dont love the Honda but I feel safe that I will not have to always be ready for some costly thing to happen before the next car payment is due. Amazing dumping a car because it is a financial and safety risk to drive!

I have owned a 2008 MINI Cooper S since 2009. I have had some fun driving it around but like others I regret buying it. The cost of ownership for this car is very high. If you take it in to the dealer expect to pay at least a $1,000 every time. I needed a new clutch after 50,000 miles at a cost of $1500 or so. I have driven stick shifts since I was 17 years old in the UK and I am now 65 years old. I never needed a new clutch under 100,000 miles on any car except the MINI. The clutch burns in traffic and if you reverse up a small hill for even a short distance it burns also. Its defective in my opinion. Of course its easy for dealers to blame owners for poor driving habits, they will not admit that there is a clutch issue. After Flow MINI of Raleigh NC changed the clutch I came to pick up the car and immediately noticed a noise in the engine that didnt belong. I complained about it but the salesman was clueless (or pretended to be) and the service people had left. I was forced to nurse the car home and bring it back because they had failed to tighten something up. I had to travel 50 miles backwards and forwards. The service rep said they had given me some gas to compensate me for the inconvenience. They did not top me up, the cheap rep added a gallon or so, that was it. I was disgusted.After the clutch replacement one of the AC hoses developed a leak because it was rubbing. I suspect it was not put back properly after the clutch change. Flow MINI in Raleigh NC want another $1500 to replace the hose. Apparently the engine has to be taken apart to change the hose. I declined the service, Ill do without AC. They changed a leaking oil seal and drive belt at a cost of $466.51 (what a deal). $138.55 was the total for the drive belt. The axle seal I was able to get down to $330.96. They never mentioned these issues when they called me about the AC repair but I noticed them on the worksheet so I had to get a ride home again and come back the same 50 miles to get the car. No gas this time. This is an expensive car to begin with and I mistakenly thought that the BMW name would mean a quality build - not so. It needs a lot more money to maintain than it should, also a lot earlier than other cars. It has got to go, never to be replaced. For the money spent on this car for repairs I could have bought a reasonable used car. Toyota, Mazda, Honda are the way to go. I never had any issues with them for over 100,000 miles apart from maintenance items like tires and brakes. Usually I sell a Toyota with over 120,000 miles with no issues and a great price. We have owned Camrys and a Honda Civic - never any problems.What a shame that such a fun car has such a terrible build with a poor warranty, poor components, and a terrible service department (in Raleigh NC anyway). Think about all the costs before you buy a MINI Cooper. It will drain your wallet.

I bought a Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works 12000 miles, paid £16500. Last year I was driving and the screen kept telling me boot open. Sometimes I could open other times it was impossible to open. Took into my local garage and he shook the boot door only to find it full of water!!! If I did not have it fixed the water would eventually mess electronics up. I looked on internet and it is quite common. I called Spire Mini and they wanted £120 just to tell me what was wrong with the boot (like they did not know). Took it to be fixed at a BMW garage. Now again I cannot open my boot, went to garage. Everything is soaked and the boot door again is full of water. I am so angry. It is obviously a fault. It is disgusting to pay that amount of money for a Mini and all they are interested in is more money on a faulty car. I want to go to a solicitor and demand they replace the boot door and pay for all my damaged goods. Does anyone know the details of the managing director of Mini who I can contact?

2007 Mini Cooper S - I fell in love with this car the first time I test drove it! So much fun, so cute. Then I took it off the lot and it all went downhill and I wished Id never seen that car. The Carfax the dealer showed me had 8 previous owners! I bought it in 2014 so thats quite a turnover! I just couldnt resist it even with that huge red flag! What a huge waste of money, so many repairs in the year I had it! I had an hour commute to work and this car was constantly needing repairs. Not dependable at all and the repairs are so expensive. Just to have your oil changed is 100 dollars! I finally gave up and traded it in on a used Scion. I love the Scion, not one repair, not one mechanical problem! Nice looking car and exactly what I needed in the first place. I learned my lesson the hard way, cute car but costly and not a car you can depend on at all. One year cost me about 4000 in repairs out of pocket. Mini wont cover anything if youve taken it to another dealer.

I purchased a 2003 MINI (used) in 2004. Loved the car, but the engine was constantly overheating. While it was still under warranty, I brought it to the MINI dealer in Annapolis, MD. The service department would do various things to fix the overheating, such as, replace the radiator cap, replace the thermostat, replace fan motors, replace hoses and refill the fluid levels. Nothing they did under warranty was a permanent fix. After the warranty expired, and the problem continue to rear its ugly head, I was informed the head was warped. Several thousands of dollars out of my pocket later, that problem was fixed and finally the car no longer had overheating problems. Then I started hearing noises which I suspected were coming from the transmission. I changed the transmission fluid hoping that it would fix the problem and noise; however, the noise - albeit aggravating - continued, yet the MINI continued to operate at a normal rate. Then the unexpected happened: while driving at just over 30 mph, I heard a sound of metal breaking and the car was powerless. Under 90,000 miles and the transmission was gone!

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.

I have had this car since September 2010 and have been feeling very unsafe in this vehicle over the past couple of months. It currently has 12,000 miles but it is not accelerating properly. The car hesitates between 20/mph and 30/mph. The tachometer quickly moves to the middle of the dial, and then the car jumps or bucks into the desired speed. I took it for service but the technician could not replicate the problem and said that it is handling as it should. They want to send me home in this death mobile. The cars computer system says it is ok so no one cares that Im experiencing a real threat to my life on a daily basis and unable to drive on my city streets safely or on the freeways going to work. Since Im under lease, I am totally stuck having the option to pay it off or give it to someone else. I cannot imagine putting someone else at risk the way they are to me by completely disregarding my concerns and complaint.

I do love how unique my car is, however I thank god for purchasing a 100,000-mile warranty when I bought the car brand new. I even bought a tire warranty for blowouts on the run-flat tires. The tire warranty cost me a little over 900.00. It paid for itself the first year. I had 2 blowouts and the Dunlop tires were 400.00 a piece. I have not had one since then. I have had a serious oil leak that took the dealership about 5 different times to repair, but they finally did and paid for the oil stains to be removed from my driveway.OMG, I just noticed the new Mini S has the exhaust pipes, one on far right and one on far left, which is to prevent serious burns to your legs while getting things out of the back of your car. That is a wise idea! I am bringing my car in tomorrow to the dealership for service. The red lit up fonts are getting blotchy and I think I need a break job. I have never had a break job and there is 51000 miles on my car.... Hmmm. I get over 400 miles to a tank on my mini, and it is fast! ONLY USE SUPREME CHEVRON OR SHELL GASOLINE!!!!!

I wish I read the reviews before purchasing a 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman S. Mechanically, this has to be the absolute worst car ever. Let start with the timing chain. Didnt snap once BUT twice, even after the recall fix. Then, within the same month, the thermohousing unit cracked and cause coolant to run out of the car. That was a lovely $500 fix. Then the AC compressor went a month later, that was. $1200 fix. The S model also burns oil, I have to carry a few quarts of 5W-30 on me at all times (thats no joke, if you open my trunk theres two bottles in there). My most recent problem is the latch that locks the truck doesnt shut. I have to fiddle with the latch every time I try to close it. Lastly, where the spare tires goes in the trunk, there was about a gallon of water sloshing around back there.Anyone reading this and thinking about purchasing a Mini; dont. Believe the reviews here. I wish I did and now Im paying for it. That leads me to my last complaint: Mini doesnt care. I made the mistake of going there twice for my timing chain and it was the biggest mistake. Theyll also find several other problems that do not exist. My Mini has enough problems. I dont need fake ones. Go buy a Toyota or Honda. Seriously, stay away.

I have spent over $4000 and it is still not fixed. The engine light - Engine malfunction - operating at reduced output. Possible to continue. Drive with caution. Have the system checked by the nearest Mini Center. The message should read Prepare to pay high dollars for repairs that will NOT repair the issue. This is the 4th time and it is not fixed!

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.

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.

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).

2 years ago I found my beautiful Mini Cooper Convertible, a beefy convertible Ive wanted since I was a kid! Fun to drive, but not nearly enough power. I feel like it was at the Dealer getting services a LOT but it has 19800 when I bought it and MINI covered the maintenance/service up to 36k which was a dream. Tires had to be replaced due to them not being rotated before I bought it. I did start driving 25mi each way to work in LA traffic, but this has gotten ridiculous.In May of 2016, I noticed my oil light coming on. I didnt think much of it until my bf took it to the dealer and they stated it was just really low on oil and since I was close to getting an oil change, went ahead with the service. 5 months later, I noticed my car sounding weird/grinding. Checked the oil level and you can barely read the stupid dipstick in this car. Looked fine. Checked an hour later and it was EMPTY! There was NO OIL. I filled it with 5 quarts! I called MINI and other shops and this is normal?! How is burning 5 quarts of oil and having little to no notification normal?FFW to Feb 2017, My car has always lacked a lot of Gusto, but I noticed it sputtering then accelerating, esp on the freeway around 2000 rpm. I thought it may be a fuel line issue and needed a flush. Called a mechanic who specializes in MINIs, and he said it sounded like it may be a trans issue. Took it to AAMCO and sure enough my transmission has to be rebuilt/replaced. MINIs powertrain warranty ends at 4 years 50k, My car is 4 years, 3mo and has 51k. BS! Luckily I purchased an extended warranty from the dealer I bought it from (not MINI) and after fighting with them for a MONTH I got a used transmission put in. Im getting it today but Im seriously considering getting rid of it even though I am upside-down on my loan. This is ridic! Not to mention the stupid brakes/rotors have to be done at the same time. I knew MINIs needed some love, but this is too damn much.

Only three thousand miles, so far so good. And Im extremely abusive with my manual mini cooper.

We bought our daughter a used 2008 Mini Cooper S in 2014 and the transmission went out the first week of 2016. Mileage is currently at 134K. We have had 2 quotes for the repair, including the Mini dealer, both are $8,000 with no guarantee the transmission wont have another untimely fail. This repair cost is the book value of the Mini. It is very unfortunate as the car is in otherwise great condition and was fun while it lasted. Its now sitting in our driveway while we figure out how to dispose of it... at a total loss. This was our first and last Mini. I would run... not walk away... from buying one of these again. The cost to maintain too great. Do your research.

Just purchased a 2009 Mini Cooper S from Carmax. We are not happy with either. Yes, they are neat cars, but the reviews and warnings you read about are all accurate. These engines are so poorly designed. Had the car for a few months and it has been parked more than driven. Purchase something else and maybe Mini will eventually redesign. We have already seen a failed vacuum pump, timing chain tensioner issues, misfiring engine. This was a huge mistake. Worst car we have ever owned.

I purchased a used 2005 MINI Cooper in October 2010 with less than 27,000 miles on it. I thought I was getting a good deal, especially with the low miles. Less than 100 days after driving it, the transmission went out. It now needs a new transmission costing anywhere from $5,500.00 for used to $9,000.00 for new. Seriously? As others have noted, MINI Cooper knows there is a problem with the transmission on the older models. Although they have changed the transmission in the newer models, they refuse to help with the older models.

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 Countryman in 2012 with the technology package that included iPod integration and the Navigation system. The car consistently resets the iPod, forgetting where it is in the playlist, rebooting the iPod, forgetting settings (i.e., Random) and generally being garbage. The nav system frequently confuses north and south, indicating that Im going in the opposite direction as I am, off roads, into rivers, and generally being useless. The folding side windows frequently do not deploy all the way. Ive had to turn off the ignition at a stop light and turn on the car again in order to get the mirrors out. Dont buy this car.

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.

On 05 December 2011, I took my vehicle, a Mini Cooper JCW 2009, in to BMW Leo Haese Centurion. For a faulty clutch, I then received a quotation for R41 886.07 after telling me that the flywheel and turbo needed to be replaced. I went to the dealer and discussed the quotation as the vehicle is just out of the service plan. The workshop mechanic took me to my vehicle and showed me the turbo and said that the axle was lose and off center. Even after inspection on the turbo that was not the case, but still he insisted that it needed to be replaced. After discussions with the dealership, they sent me a new quotation to repair my vehicle for R8261. They also informed me that they will still replace the turbo and that not all the parts are in stock. I ask them if I can get my car back the next day, so to use it. The next afternoon, they phoned me and informed me that there was a new problem with the steering column, but I can still use it and that it is safe to drive and only the hooter will not work. On arrival, I noticed that the sensor on the dashboard was also removed. On inspection of my vehicle I found that none of the safety features in the vehicle is operational as well as any of the controls on the steering wheel plus the wipers were constantly working. The next day, I took the vehicle back as it was unsafe for me to drive. I was not happy that the whole truth was not told to me about the state of the vehicle as I would have never taken it. How could they give me a vehicle that is clearly unsafe to drive?On the 08 December, I paid the bill of R8261 and asked for the spare parts that were replaced on my vehicle, but they told me to get the parts, I must pay a further R2000 for it. My question is, why I must pay for my property. Is this the case or not? The sensor on the dashboard was not replaced as the part was not in stock and up to today, I have not received that part. On the 11 January, the turbo started to whine on the vehicle. I got an appointment on 16 January 2012 to book in the vehicle. I requested them to go with me to the vehicle so I could show them that the pipe from the air filter to the turbo was loose and that was not fitted properly and that I wanted them to remove a special wheel nut on the right back wheel. They told me that that will not be necessary for me to show them, they know what to do.On picking up the vehicle, I noticed that the wrong nut was removed. After informing them, it took them one and a half hour to bring a nut and told me that that is the nut removed. At closer inspection, that was not the case and that the nut was still not removed. I already paid them R376.20 for the work done. I decided not to leave. Before the work was done at around 18:30, they told me that I must leave and that I must sign the job card which I refused. Then they asked me and not in a friendly manner to leave with I did. On arriving at home, the turbo was still singing and I noticed that everything I asked them to do they did not do. Now, why must I pay for work not done and what did they bill me for? On the 01 February 2012, I took my vehicle for the Mini call back (water pumps) to Nelspruit BMW. They also inspected the vehicle and phoned that the turbo needed to be replaced, not understanding what was going on as the turbo was replaced less than 2 months ago. The workshop manager explained to me that when they, Leo Haese Centurion replaced the turbo, they did not fit the air intake pipe correctly and or the seal was pierced and broke off and went through the turbo, thereby damaging it. I now need to replace a turbo again that was not faulty in the beginning and was not installed properly. After all this, I have to ask the following: 1. Why must I replace the turbo because of bad workmanship? 2. Why did I have to pay for work not done? 3. Why was I treated so badly when I was not happy with work done or the lack thereof? 4. Why was I lied to and told that the nut was removed? 5. Why did they not listen to me when I wanted to show them the work? 6. Why was I over quoted on 05 December? 7. Why did they give me a vehicle that was unsafe to drive? 8. Where is the dashboard sensor?9. Why would I ever want to go back or recommend someone to go there?My vehicle broke down on the 20 Feb 2012 in Nelspriut. After inspection of the vehicles turbo, we found that the piece of pipe was in the turbo fans and that the pipe that was damaged. I phone Leo Haese Centurion. After talking with them, they told me that whey will not help me in this matter.I am standing before you for help in this matter as I do not know how I will be able to resolve this problem and I am disgusted at Leo Haese for their treatment of me, a paying customer. They really put the name BMW, which in the past stood for service par excellence, in disrepute. I hope you at BMWSA can help me in this regard and right the wrong that was done to me

Very angry is the only words I can to describe this situation. I have a 2008 MINI Cooper S. Bought it used from a very reputable dealership with only 26k miles. It was still under partial warranty from MINI when I purchased so I took the car to have them check to see why check engine light was on. They changed the water pump under recall and erased light but didnt say why it was on. I then went until the light came on again and they stated it needed oil changed. Took to get oil changed and was not covered under warranty as Im assuming my warranty had ran out. They changed the oil and sent me on my way. Mind you ever since I bought this car I mentioned the rattle under the hood and stated this at first visit and was told thats what a MINI sounds like. Then this next time they said, All sounds normal to me. Well the next oil change I took car to MINI dealership to get oil changed and they replaced oil and advised me all was ok. Well got paperwork signed and left and noticed engine light was on in the car. I immediately contacted the dealership and they stated that we could bring it back in and they could check it out but it would cost $150 to hook up to the machine. I stated that the car did not have a light on when I brought it in but as soon as I left the light came on. After lots of arguing back and forth they said they could not erase code so I asked what was wrong with car and they stated well it may be attributed to needing a new timing chain and tensioner and that will cost $2500. I said, Excuse me? I mentioned that when I first brought car in and was told it was one even though they never looked into it or took cover off to measure chain or check tensioner. I know this because I placed a tiny mark with magic marker and the line never moved. So after all this time I have contacted MINI numerous times with no help and rarely drive car due to being too scared it will break. I just filed a complaint with BBB and will seek legal help. Also to mention my brother has same car build date and mfd plant and he is getting timing chain/tensioner replaced, turbo heat shield, and thermostat housing all replaced for free under service action recall even though mine somehow isnt covered even though all parts are same and I have picture and written proof as the same.

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.

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.

This is definitely worst car in history. I honestly believe the Germans are trying to pay us back for kicking their ** during World War II. I bought this car for my daughter two years ago. It only had 57000 miles. I bought it from a salesperson in offer up. Vehicle drove nice during the testing drive. I just wished I would’ve done some homework before saying yes to my lovely daughter. Instead of going with my heart I should’ve gone with my gut feeling of never buying European cars. Oh well. Vehicle ran good for about 5000 miles. First thing I noticed was an oil leak. Oil housing gasket needed to be replaced. Turbo oil line needed to also be changed.Luckily, I did these changes myself which saved me about 2000 dollars. Ran good for about a month then the light engine turned on. Misfire on Cylinder 1. I replaced all spark plugs and coils. After a few weeks, light went on again. This time it was the valve cover. Replaced it myself. Light goes on again. This time I replaced several sensors. Again, oil leak. Oil housing gaskets changed again. Rattling noise began coming from engine. Open valve cover and noticed chain retention rail broken. This is common on all Turbo minis. Replaced top rail retainer and cleaned out the oil pan gasket. During cleaning parts of the rail were obstructing oil pump mesh. Mini recommended to chain whole chain costing me 2100 plus 600 for cleaning oil pan. No Ty. I will do it myself. Mini ran good for about a week when light light up again. This time it was the vacuum pump. Replaced it myself. Vehicle ran good for a week until one day I get lots of white smoke coming off the exhaust pipe. No engine light though and no sign of over heating. What gives?? I’m afraid this time the head gaskets could be the issue. I’m done with this car. Two years of unbelievable headaches. Like I said worst car ever. Btw, Im selling it to CarMax. I just don’t have the heart to give someone else this piece of junk... never again am I buying a Mini... I have noticed I don’t see them on the road as much as before.

I bought a 2008 Mini Cooper couple years ago. Since the first day we have owned it, we have had nothing but problems with it. First week of owning it, a sensor went out on it, lucky still under warranty, cost 200 bucks to replace. We have had the body control module act upon it and have to unplug the battery to reboot the car regularly. The sunroof switch quit working right. The driver door window switch automatic quit working. The radio screen doesnt show up all the way sometimes. When its cold it sounds really loud and the exhaust is Really loud when its cold. Tires go flat in cold weather a lot. Just had to replace the coil wires due to misfiring on all cylinders. Seems like we havent went over a month without the check engine like coming on. For what you pay for a Mini you should get a quality car and Quality they are not... Nothing but junk. Will never own another nor a BMW see tons of post about same problems with them. Mini doesnt back their product. I am going back to American made once I get where I own less than the car is worth. DO NOT BUY A MINI COOPER unless you like to be broke fixing it. Now I know why they kept pushing the extended warranty and maintenance package. You have to use the the whole time you have the car because its constantly in the shop.

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!

My cars power steering will intermittently fail while Im driving. When I turn the car back on, its fine again. I already had one pump since owning the car, number 2 will be next. When will Mini recall for this problem?

I have a 2006 Mini Cooper. The engine wouldnt turn over. They charged me $359.00 in Oct 2011 and said the battery was shorted out. In Feb 2012, the same thing happened again. They said it was the battery cable and it would cost me $454.00. Since the original problem wasnt the battery I asked, if they would deduct the $359.00 I had already paid. They said they wouldnt.

I bought my Mini from the dealer - the owners daughter had driven it for 11k km. I got an extended warranty 160k and then it took two weeks to get delivery because the electronics in the car wouldnt allow it to pass emissions. Since then I have put 90k but have been through hell with the electronics telling the car the brakes were worn out 3 times but they werent, sometimes it wouldnt start, the CD player quits all the time, the air bag light comes on all the time etc etc. Its endless to write it all. The dealer each time says They cant replicate this condition and reset the computer. We can land on the moon but cant fix a Mini. Stay as far away from a BMW Mini as you can. Great car to drive - just too many problems and nobody that can fix them.

I love my Mini. Aside from some superficial quality issues (bits of the grill have just simple fallen off on three different occasions), my 2011 Cooper has held up well. I utterly detest working with Mini dealerships. The list of reasons is long: Celebrity name dropping at Santa Ana on the day I purchased the vehicle in 2013. It just so happened to be a celebrity who knows quite a few gaming acquaintances and friends of mine, no less - and yes I directly told that person what happened. The utter lies told to us about our warranty and how it works, even when we showed noted from date of purchase which showed different information. The racial slurs tossed at me in Torrance by a car wash attendant. A regional BMW manager had to reach out personally to resolve that situation. The bizarre fees for even looking at a car (which change with every call and each dealership), ranging from $50-$250, even when the car was under full extended warranty. The misogynistic garbage I was fed by not only by the maintenance associate but the liaison to the general manager who told me that the first guy is close to his mother so couldnt possibly have treated me with disrespect.

I purchases the coolest 2003 Mini Cooper. It was dark maroon with a black roof. The first day I purchased some cool extras and drove it home. I immediately noticed that the steering was harder to turn sometimes and then easy others. I contacted Mini to discuss this. They had me bring it in to take a looks. This is two days later after the purchase. They proceeded to tell me the cooling fan for the power steering pump was bad and needed replacement. I received a call telling me the power steering pump also needed replacement. Cost $2500.00. I paid it and drove home. Drove fine for 5 days and over the weekend. Monday morning I started it up and put it in reverse and heard a loud metal clunk. The car wouldnt go into gear. Towed to Mini. Due to some issue with the clutch, it broke off and cracked the housing of the transmission. Required new Transmission. $7000.00. I got to drive it for 10 days and it cost me 10,500.00 in repairs that I had to pay for. Never will buy a Mini again. Especially noting that people are still having issues with new ones now. BMW reputation is inflated and fake. They are extremely expensive repairs and their product is a crapshoot on whether you get a lemon or not.

Has anyone else had trouble getting the wheel-controlled Bluetooth phone controls? Mine comes and goes, without any apparent cause. Dealer said he could fix it for a thousand dollars US. No way. Others have told me this is a known fault. Any and all suggestions appreciated. By the way, I love my Mini Cooper S 2008, 54,000 miles, hardtop.

My experience is in the email I sent to Victor **, the General Manager of Mini of El Paso: “Very disappointed” is actually an understatement. I have a 2011 Mini Cooper S that I paid a pretty penny for thinking I was paying for a quality vehicle with a company that stands behind their product and warranty; however, I am beginning to wonder. Your dealership states: Our commitment to customer service is second to none. We offer one of the most comprehensive parts and service departments in the automotive industry.” Correct? Well on August 11, 2012, I was driving to work, about 35 miles south of Ft. Stockton, Texas, on Hwy 285 in the middle of nowhere when suddenly my car will not shift into gears. I turned the vehicle off and went to restart the vehicle and nothing. It’s 108 degrees outside, and I am stranded in the middle of nowhere. I am just lucky my cell phone worked. I called Roadside Assistance and they were very apologetic and nice and said they would send someone to come get me and water if I needed. The only problem was they were coming from EL Paso. I assured the nice lady I would be dead if I waited with the vehicle that long. Lucky a nice old rancher just happened to be driving by and stopped to help and gave me a lift to town. All this on Saturday, August 11, 2012. The nice people from Roadside Assistance let me know they had picked up my vehicle and they would be towing it to Mini of El Paso. I called Monday (August 13, 2012) morning and spoke with Micheal and let him know what happened, etc. and that I needed to resolve this problem quickly since I am stuck in Ft. Stockton with no vehicle. I called on Wednesday, August 15, and he assured me he would call and let me know what the problem was. Well, he never called back. On Thursday, August 16, I called back and left message; no return call. On Friday, August 17, I called again; and the service clerk let me know they thought it was the clutch and flywheel, but she didn’t think it would be covered. I would have to wait and talk with Micheal. Well after sever more phone calls, I finally spoke with Micheal; and of course, first thing out of his mouth was, due to the low mile on the vehicle, it was apparent the damages were due to inexperience driving a standard, or abuse, or negligence to the vehicle. I have driven standards all my life, the last 24 years of it anyway, and I have never had a clutch issue with any of my vehicles until 75,000 mile range. I work very hard for my money and I am a 40 year old female. I can assure you that I don’t drag race in my car or abuse it in anyway. Thanks, to the many hours patiently waiting on Micheal to return my calls. I did some research on this problem; and to my amazement, there seems to be a large number of poorly qualified standard drivers who are mini owners. When I finally did talk to Micheal again, I questioned him on this; and he claims he has never heard of their being such a problem. I asked him if he had access to the internet and if so, to google “mini clutch problem” because if he truly wasn’t aware (which is doubtful), he needed to be. This was all on Friday the 17th. He said that they would have to open up the clutch to determine what caused the damage. But if they deemed it neglect and abuse, I would be responsible for the damages. I told him to go ahead and diagnose it and let me know ASAP. I am going on a week without a vehicle out of town working (which reminds me I only have 1 stop sign on my daily commute to work, so not in town hot rodding as he suggested). He assured me he would let me know something on Saturday the 18th. Saturday came and went as well as Monday. Here is Tuesday the 21st; and not only do I not have an answer, he also tells me they just realized the starter is out as well. I explained to Micheal last Friday that I need my vehicle no later than Tuesday, today. I am stuck out here in Ft. Stockton, bumming rides to work; and my Son is scheduled to have surgery for a broken jaw and eye socket in Houston at Ben Taubs Hospital on Thursday morning. Houston is an 8-hour drive, and I have no vehicle or any real answers. I have tried to be patient, but this has been a horrible experience all the way around. I guess I should have researched before buying a $35,000.00 vehicle. But I felt like I was paying for quality and that BMW would stand behind their product and honor their warranty, not to mention a better communication policy with the service dept. to the customer. I hope there is some way we can get this resolved quickly as far as how I am going to get to Houston by Thursday at 8 am when it’s an 8-hour drive. I have no idea. I guess I will try to find some shuttle system to Odessa, 80 miles away to the closet car-rental place, and then turn around and drive to Houston. I guess I would have been better off having my car towed to Mini of Houston? I am just so very upset with the service dept. right now, I am in tears.

I have been driving a stick shift for over 20 years. I have over 400,000 miles driving one. I have NEVER lost a clutch until Mini Cooper 2010 with less than 38,500 miles on it went. I called corporate, I called dealership. I was ACTUALLY told You can drive a car off the lot, brand new and it could break. That was enough to tell me to NEVER buy a Mini Cooper again. I have an 11 year old Mazda 3 with 90,000 miles that has cost me less to fix in the last 11 years than the Mini did in the last year. They do NOT stand behind their product and can clearly care less about quality and workmanship. They said a clutch is a wear and tear part and there is nothing to be done. Wear a dress tear at 38,000 miles when another car I owned hit over 100,000 miles or close without losing a clutch...its a DEFEAT and they know it!Yesterday, I get into the car and it decides it doesnt want to accelerate past 26 mph and it took 5 min to get there. I live in a MAJOR metro area. I was almost hit 7 times on my way HOME! I dont consider it poor quality anymore. I consider it endangering to me and others on the road. I have 8 months before its paid for and I have already spent almost the purchase price to fix it. Not worth it. It was fun to drive and was great on gas, the only reason I bought the car to begin with, now I want it gone! I no longer feel safe. I would rather drive my 11 year old Mazda. Its safer and more reliable.

BMW Corporation were rude and wanted no responsibility once you bought the car, if things went wrong. Now experiencing a steering and fan pump issue and was never informed of their extended warranty offered and Im very disappointed once again in the company. The company has put my life in danger by not informing me of this imperative and vital information!

Its ironic how I love my 2009 Mini Cooper but at the same time I have nothing but anger boiling inside of me. Problems are as follows: Valve gasket replaced twice, Engine rattling needing replacement of timing chain and tensioner, Need to put oil every 300 miles, Passenger window not working properly, and Engine sputters. It all started when I brought my Mini in for an oil change. I was told that I have an oil leak and that the valve cover gasket needs to be replace. Six months later, I brought it back for another oil change and I was told again that I need a valve gasket change. When I informed them that the gasket had just been replaced six months ago the reply was, Its probably a factory defect. I am the original owner of my Mini and it has less than 30,000 miles. My theory is that they dont know what theyre doing or they are sabotaging my vehicle to make money.

My 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible has the same transmission issues as others here. Very dangerous to drive. Hesitates and then slams into gear and lurches forward without warning. I have been without a vehicle for about 6 months. I was hoping to get a rebuild on the transmission through a third party, but was turned down for most of the financing. My situation has changed since I purchased the vehicle and I am no longer in a full-time paid position because I am traveling back and forth 3000 miles two to three times a year to care for parents who recently lost their mobility.Now, I find myself in a similar situation because of a car company that did not care about putting out a quality product and denies the problem. What they didnt tell me when I shelled out the 36,000 for their vehicle 6 years ago was that in 3 to 5 years the car will theoretically be totaled and there is nothing you will be able to do about it. I would not have bought the car. One of the reasons I bought the car was that I thought BMW was a good make. I was familiar with their motorcycles. When I first bought the car, I raved about it to everyone who asked. I can no longer recommend Mini Coopers to anyone, and I’ll let people know whenever I can not to buy their vehicles. There should have been some kind of back up plan for the failed CVT transmissions. It is not like it is a $2000 fix. It is a $6,000 to $9,000 fix, and even a new or rebuilt one is the same situation. No guarantees, really.

Had my 2013 Mini Cooper base convertible serviced at Mini of Pittsburgh, and was to be charged $855 to replace 4 spark plugs and 4 coils. My Mini only has 53,000 miles on it. Mechanic was supposed to call me before they made any repairs, and I had to call them to find out what was going on. The mechanic led me to believe the repairs were already done or in progress, then quoted me the cost. He then also tried to talk me in to having a new belt put on. I Asked if all 4 coils and plugs were bad and the mechanic said no, but they had to replace them all per Mini. I told the mechanic that I was in shock at the cost and finally agreed to take the cost down to $759. $400 in parts over $300 in labor plus cost of diagnosis! You should be ashamed for screwing people like this. I will never recommend or purchase another Mini, and in fact will be getting rid of it asap. Spark plugs arent supposed to be changed until 60,000 miles, and the coils failing at 53,000? Im posting my experience and complaints with Mini and Mini of Pittsburgh with the BBB and online sites.

I took my Mini in and complained that there was a humming noise coming from the engine and that the check engine light kept coming on. But every time I took it in, the dealer kept telling me that this was normal and that there was nothing wrong with the car. After awhile, the car kept getting worse and started making a knocking sound and losing power. I had it towed to the Mini dealer and they told me nothing was wrong with the car, turned the light out and sent me on my way. I am tired of Mini refusing to fix whats wrong with the car. This is a serious problem and needs to be dealt with.

I own a 2010 Mini Cooper Clubman. Like others, I have loved the car - fun to drive, cute. I was fully prepared to replace her once she had finished her useful life. I did NOT expect that to happen soon after I paid her off and before 60K miles! As others have stated, repairs are costly - I purchased an extended maintenance package and have kept up on regular maintenance through the dealer and have used premium gas as recommended. About 2 years ago I had to have the spark plugs completely replaced - dealer blamed it on poor gas. This year alone I have experienced: Valvetronic Motor and Centric Shaft issues - the car engine light came on and the car could not go above 5 miles an hour. Mini wanted $3K to repair stating it was out of warranty. I pushed back and they ultimately covered it but what a hassle! Now, 2 months later, I am experiencing over-heating issues. AGAIN, the car does not even have 60K miles on her! I am now constantly on high alert, expecting another problem. I am frustrated because when I researched the Mini reliability seemed high. That has not been my experience.

I have (had) been a loyal Cincinnati Mini customer for the past 10 years. I have owned 2 vehicles and feel that that should have warranted me as a loyal customer. However, after my latest vehicle had over $15,000 in repairs, causing it to be worthless to both me, Mini and anyone else, I am not a happy customer. ($3000 repairs in February. Repairs in May estimated initially to be another $3700 (transfer case issue due to All Wheel Drive poor design), ended up being the transmission failure (additional $7000 estimate plus $4500 clutch that was shot after they put the transmission back in). I was willing to accept my loss, but the dealership decided to rub my nose in the issue by charging me an additional $590 to tell me the news. (And they expected me to be grateful for not charging me restocking fees for the parts they could not use). I was told by the service department manager (Steve) that he would look into my loyalty dollars and see about getting me a deal on a new mini. (This was on Friday afternoon). By Monday, I had to call them to find out what the deal was. Basically it was a used demo that had no special features and would cost me over $30,000. I was basically treated like a piece of garbage. I ended up paying the $590 to tow it away (sold it for parts for $700). MINI offered to “keep it” in exchange for my $590 bill. How kind. There was no way I was going to give it to them to fix up and resell to an unsuspecting customer. I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a lawsuit come down about All Wheel Drive transfer case. Steve shared several times that it was a design flaw MINI was aware of. (I have been so upset by this experience it has taken me several months to calm down to report it. Do yourself a favor and really research the dealer and the car before buying).

I bought my 2014 Mini Cooper from the Escondido CA store and I have had nothing but problems with the car. When I have brought my concerns to the service advisor they were rude and unhelpful. I do not recommend purchasing a Mini from this dealership.

We purchased a 2019 Mini Countryman 3 weeks ago. A overheating issue came up and coolant was leaking. Dealer says rocks punctured the radiator so it was not covered under warranty and we are trying to go through our insurance or we have to pay for it. My concern is that the makeup of the vehicle is such that a rock or rocks while driving on regular roads can cause this damage. This has to be extremely uncommon for any vehicle and curious if anyone has had this experience.

My 2010 Clubman S had an exhaust problem roughly 2 years after purchase (I bought it new). Specifically, carbon buildup in the exhaust system, which has to be sandblasted out using walnut shells. MINI covered it under the warranty, but only after I threatened to sue. I was told to use Shell gas and to drive the car harder, which I did. Now, at 57,000 miles the problem has reoccurred and extended warranty I purchased, which was the best available from MINI, wont cover it. The cost: $1000. This is clearly a design defect in the car and MINI should have recalled it. Id never recommend the car or the company to anyone.

I am the original owner of a 2009 Mini Cooper and without warning - no lights, no other issues. My car died on the way to the Mini/BMW dealership. Funny, it happened there as I was going to return a product I purchased the previous day. It almost felt as if the truck next to me was pushing me around on the highway in his side draft. When I couldnt get gas to get around him into the turn lane, I started to get scared. As I got into the turn lane to exit the highway, the car started to lose more power and began to sputter. I coasted to a stop at the end of the ramp at the stop light and the car sputtered to a halt. I was unable to restart it through three lights and was on the other side of a divided highway from the Mini dealer.After more restarts and a lot of angry drivers behind me, I literally coasted up to the service department at Dreyer and Reinbold Mini in Indianapolis, IN. I was shaken and scared as I have not had any luck finding employment out here in Indy since losing my job just eight months after purchasing my Mini and terrified at what this might mean. The service person was new, and much better than the previous person and in a calm, intelligent manner took me right in and took the car to be diagnosed. Two hours later, he revealed that there was coolant in the oil and needed $250 something to find out what was going on. I paid and they gave me a loaner. I have put some miles on my car as I am from outside of Philadelphia, PA and have made several road trips home since owning the vehicle. I also purchased the car from a Mini dealer in West Chester, PA as at the time, I absolutely hated the dealership and the dealers at the dealership my car is now getting serviced. As it was explained to me, it could be a blown head gasket, or a cracked engine - either of which would cost in the thousands to fix. As I currently owe about $8,000 on the vehicle and have no income and am only 12 weeks out from graduating with a BBA in Management, finally, I am completely distraught! How could this happen? The vehicle has been serviced pretty regularly and I even pressured them to change the oil over 11k when the oil change light didnt come on. Weve done it ourselves, taken it to a mechanic and to the dealer. No lights appeared on the dash. The vehicle is out of warranty now. I live in Indiana and have no way to get to class to finish my degree and no credit now after two years of unemployment to buy a new car. It is quite a drive to get anywhere and almost 30 miles to class two times a week. The last temporary job I had was 35 miles each way. I am terrified. The service person did mention to me that it may be this issue began before I ever possessed the car, like maybe the engine was faultily produced. That would be a godsend. But, really? What could I have done for this to happen at 74,000 miles? I drive like a grandma. After reading many of the statements on the site, I feel that Mini is aware there are issues with the engine and the transmission. I am anxious to see what they have to say when they call to tell me what the reason is for the coolant leaking into the oil. If they do not take responsibility and repair it or replace it themselves, I will, and perhaps even if they do, I would like to take my place in whatever class action is pressed against BMW/Mini for my loss, inconvenience and aggravation. If they do not fix it on their own dime (as I did nothing and had no warning, no lights or otherwise that something could be wrong), I will not be making any more car payments to BMW. I will not beg, borrow and steal to keep a car I cannot utilize. They will be calling me tomorrow (Friday) most likely.

I bought a beautiful brand new 2012 Convertible Mini Cooper, and sold it after 1 year and 20,000 miles. I got rid of the problem car. I refused to listen to my friends who suggested to me to buy anything but a BMW product because it is overrated. I could forget about the inconvenience of having only 2 front seats, because the 2 back seats are useless, they are very uncomfortable, feeling as if you are seating on a rock, my 5- and 2-year-old kids refuse to sit on the back seats.The car is poorly designed. You have to reach far away and over the top to reach the window controls, sunroof and lights. I had to buy myself an air compressor, to pressure the tires, because the stupid tire pressure sensing valves will leak air all the time. I bought a convertible car to be able to open the top as I please, but frequently, anything on the trunk will trigger a stupid switch, that will prevent the top from opening. My little Mini used fuel as if it was one of those Lincoln Continental of the 60s. I bought a Mini without Turbo Charger, but it is a gas guzzler. They claim the car makes 37 miles a gallon on the highway. The best it can do is 25 mpg. The car has a massive 14 gallons of fuel and for a good reason, it uses a lot of gas.To be objective, I can only cite one or two good things about this car. As small as it is, it has a rough ride. It feels as a go-cart ride, but it takes the road curves really good. This car is a city car; it was not made to ride for longer than 2 hours. If you have back problems, they will worsen with this Mini problem. The other advantage is that for a convertible car, it is quiet. You can have a conversation and listen to classical music.I do not recommend this car if you like the comforts of being in the city. Please do not buy a problem. The customer service is horrible. When you are buying the car, they offer you free 36,000 miles maintenance. They ripped me off - I had for brakes after 15,000 miles, and it was not cheap, because BMW cars do not replace pads. They replace rotors, packing, pads and bearings - $500 brake job. The worst part of the nightmare was the overheating problem. The car has been poorly designed with a bad cooling system. It provides weak air conditioning. If it is freezing, the hot air reaches you after 15 to 20 minutes. In a hot day, the air conditioning is worthless, and on top of that, after 20,000 miles, the stupid car developed overheating problems. I took it to the dealer and they did not want to even answer the phone. I took the car 2 times complaining about overheating, and they could not fix the problem. Instead of doing the lemon law frustration, I just sold the car and gave the problem to another fool. I do not recommend Mini Cooper. It is the worst investment you can make.

Reading these reviews renewed my anger at this crap company. Bought a 2008 Clubman 3 years ago. Fine the first year minus needing brakes. End of year two: dies in the middle of an intersection. A tow bill later Im told a belt in the engine snapped and bent valves. Engine is basically rebuilt (I later Google and find out that at 60,000 this very belt goes out in almost every Mini Cooper). LESS THAN A YEAR later, car dies in an intersection. Another tow bill. Faulty cylinder heads in rebuilt engine. Then, this winter. Driving to Ohio on the dark roads of Indiana country with my fiance and our dog. Car stops accelerating. We smell burning and pull over. Car is dead and barely makes it to the side of the road as huge semi trucks fly by and shake our stupid car. We feel like we are going to die on the Indiana interstate in a dinky small town. Merry Christmas to us. One day, two tow bills, one hotel night, one rental car fee we are at our destination. It took Mini a full month to tell me (after I borrowed a friends Triple A to tow it over a hundred miles to Chicago) what was wrong. That changed about 5 times. First, the cylinder (AGAIN). Then, a hose. Then the radiator. Then I was told the warranty wouldnt cover it because I had maxed the extra warranty I bought which had thankfully failed for the first two engine failures (at this point my warranty had paid 9,000 MORE than the stupid car is worth). After a full week of arguing with the ** head of maintenance (whom was ONLY nice when I was giving them money, but was a huge ** once I called Mini out on their crap cars) now my insurance is paying because Mini convinced them the damage was caused by a flying pebble we somehow didnt feel hitting the engine. I will be selling it for nothing near what I paid and NEVER EVER EVER getting this car again. I have told every single person I know not to buy one, either.

I own a 2015 Mini Cooper Base Convertible. It came out of warranty 4 months ago but it only has 17,500 miles. The Check Engine Light came on and the car was stalling. Global Imports Mini, Chamblee, GA diagnosed the problem as Spark Plug Coils, and as a result over-heating and a new thermostat. $1250 later its running great. Dont keep a Mini past the warranty. Dont buy a used one out of warranty (unless you have a few thousand dollars to spare for repairs). The quality and robustness simply are not there. The car has been cheapened to the point the quality is almost, but not quite as good as a Czechoslovakian Yugo. When Minis first came out they were great value...but BMW was losing money on them. Year by year the build cost and the quality have both come down and the car is a shadow of its former self (in terms of quality and reliability). By the way...Mini USA doesnt care if you are 1 day and 1 mile out of warranty....you are on your own (if you didnt buy an extended warranty)! I asked them if the car is only supposed to last 17,500 miles before major repairs. They were really, really sorry and sympathized with me. But basically said, Tough luck, you are on your own.

I bought a 2004 Mini Cooper used from Tony Harrington at Gates in South Bend, IN in Oct. 2009. This was my first Mini experience. I drove Mini with the sales guy and complained about some noises. He told me, Its a Mini. Thats what they do and assured me the Mini was completely inspected inside and out and that Gates would never sell a car with known problems. Well five weeks later, that noise I complained about was the power steering pump dying and went out. I called Gates Mini and got no resolution at all. I started googling and saw that tons of people had similar problems, yet there were no recalls. I was very upset and disappointed. These little cars arent cheap at all. The pump + labor through BMW was $1400+ but I found a local mechanic who did it for $983. That was a lot of money for this repair and it seems to me Mini should have issued a recall.

I was pressured into buying a car that I didnt need... purchased car because warranty was running out. I asked if I could extend... they lied, saying that I could not pay for an extension.

I know I am going to get bashed for posting this but understand the only reason is to let Mini customers know that repairs they are paying for at Mini Georgian or after talking to Mini Canada may have been a warranty repair. Georgian Mini Cooper in Barrie tried charging customers for work that should be covered under warranty. This happened twice to me. Once for rust repairs and just recently for a power steering pump at a cost of $1600 plus tax. I had the power steering pump replaced under warranty at Mini Vaughan with no issues. What is strange is I have a email from Mini Georgian in Barrie saying my car has no warranty/recall for power steering pump and a second email from Vaughan Mini stating that yes, the power steering pump is covered under warranty.SO BE VERY CAREFUL DEALING WITH MINI GEORGIAN IN BARRIE or information from Kelly at the head office for Mini Cooper Canada AS THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS AND ONLY CARE HOW MUCH THEY CAN CHARGE YOU. IF you had a power steering pump replaced at Mini Georgian or anywhere else, you should call Mini Vaughan to verify that it is not on the warranty recall. My car is 8 years old and was covered.See below correspondence with BMW CEO Mr. Reithofer email (**):#1 - I regretfully having to contact you again regarding the service I have encountered by my closest Mini Cooper dealer (Georgian Mini) in Barrie Ontario, Canada. As stated in prior emails, I am a true and true Mini Cooper owner and am a lifetime owner hopefully. Mini Georgian is trying I feel very hard for me not to continue owning future Mini Coopers as I just had to AGAIN travel 360 Kilometers (90 Km each way 180 x 2 days) to have my Mini Cooper serviced at your Vaughan Mini location in Woodbridge, Ontario instead of my local Mini Georgian dealer that is about 4 km. away.Mr. Reithofer, this all started when I was having issues with my power steering on my Mini Cooper and did a little research (Google) on Mini Cooper power steering problems. I noticed that my car might be covered under 150,000 or 10-year warranty. I phoned and asked Georgian Mini if my car was under warranty for the power steering pump and was told as you can see in the attached email from the dealership that no warranty left on your vehicle and it does not have any recalls regarding this issue.Mr. Reithofer, just because of past dealing with Mini Georgian regarding warranties or recalls as they just seem not to care about their customers only how much can they make off of them, I contacted Vaughan Mini Cooper to inquire with them. After talking with Ashley at Mini Vaughan, she advised me without me saying anything about warranty/recalls that if the problem is the power steering pump then it will be covered by warranty and if it is only a leak then it would be my cost. Please see attached email from Mini Vaughan.So, Mr. Reithofer, why do I have to travel 360 Km. over two days (Mini Vaughan did not have power steering pump in stock) to have my car serviced under warranty when I contacted Mini Georgian who has the same info on my vehicle as Mini Vaughan does but advise me that the power steering pump is not covered. If I did not follow up with Mini Vaughan, it would have cost me approx. $1600 plus tax to replace a part that is under warranty. How many other customers have been taken advantage of by Mini Georgian in this manner? As of now, I am afraid to take my Mini Cooper to Georgian Mini for so much as a oil change as all they seem to care about is how much they can make off me bringing my car in and no regards to how to treat a customer.#2 - I just received a call from your Canadian office by a rep named Kelly. She informed me that there is no recall to the power steering pump. She started out stating that we have talked before and that she had talked to me about previous complaints (previous rusting issue covered by Minis 10-year rust protection) indicating that I am a constant complainer. Kelly was under the understanding that the power steering pump would not be covered as it does not have a warranty under my vin!!!!!!I asked if she even read my concern and she said yes. When I mentioned that the pump was already replaced, she quickly backtracked on what she said to me. I ask her then why in my letter did I mention I had to travel over 360 km to have my power steering pump repaired, She advised me, I thought you drove down for two days to have a consultation regarding it being covered by warranty!!!!!!!!! You have to be kidding me that someone would do that and it indicates to me that she just figures I am a difficult customer and I would do something ridiculous like this. So your senior employee dealing with customers with the already perception that they are wrong and she seems to take pride in being right and letting me know that. She was 100% percent wrong telling me that it will not be covered under warranty and as stated was shocked to know it was already done. So how much did she look into my concern before she called me?Again, my original questions were not answered as Kelly was too quick to just verbally attack me telling me that she dealt with me on previous complaints and that this concern regarding the power steering pump I was wrong also and as in her words it will not be covered by warranty. I dont like the word complaint as it is more of a concern. I guess Mini Canada Reps calling them complaints are all on the defensive and not dealing with customers concerns in a bias manner.I am so frustrated by this treatment I could just sell my Mini as I do not want to have dealings like this every time. But on the other hand that is silly talk as I love my Mini and I guess the relationship now is a abusive one. Every time I deal with Mini, I get treated poorly and I keep coming back for more. So it is my fault for coming back every time but I love my Mini too much not to. All this just makes me sick to my stomach in how I am treated every time. Awaiting your response and please do not hesitate to contact me should you need further clarification on any manner.Again you can bash me but all I want to do is give Mini owners a heads up when dealing with Mini Georgian in Barrie as they may pay for work that should be covered by warranty. Hopefully, if you have had work done, you can get your money back.

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.

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.

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.

Approximately around September of 2010, I began to notice my Mini experiencing shifting issues. Around 70,000 miles, the engine would lurch into gear, seconds after failing to change gears effectively. At times, the car would suddenly drop out of gear while driving. I began taking my car into a BMW/Mini certified shop in Austin, TX. After much trouble shooting and emptying my pockets to the mechanics my Mini Coopers condition only worsened over a few months, and suffered complete transmission failure in July 2011. I sought other opinions on transmission replacement, rebuild options, with each shop giving me similar stories, and huge prices to fix my vehicle, averaging around $10,000. My vehicle has not been fixed or altered, and stands as it did the day of the transmission failure. It was towed from the shop to a safe place, where it sits today. My vehicle is no longer under warranty, and it looks like there are many others out there who have had similar circumstances. Class action lawsuits are in the works in California and New Jersey, for premature transmission failure. Why has there not been more light shed on this, as a national issue?

2006 Mini Cooper - I am the second owner of this car, bought a year old from CarSense in PA. I have about 111,000 miles on it, bought it at after ~35,000. I faithfully change my synthetic oil well before the recommended mileage, yet my transmission began destroying itself anyway. My previous car, a 1997 Toyota Rav4, lasted over 250,000 miles before my family traded it in without issues. The clutch alone lasted past 200,000 miles. I am very disappointed that BMW would put such a shoddy product on the market. My car is currently being dismantled by my mechanic to determine the extent of the damage. My first indication was a clicking sound which seemed to be coming from the front left wheel area. I was able to drive it for several weeks like that and took it to the repair shop for that noise, only to learn it was the same transmission issue that is plaguing many Mini owners. I do not recommend that anyone purchase a Mini Cooper due to this issue, which is not acknowledged as a known issue by Mini service at the dealership. I would love to join a lawsuit to resolve this and hold BMW/Mini accountable for their shoddy products.