Since owning my 04 Mini Cooper, I have had to replace the automatic window control, the sport shifter, the whole gas line system, and a few other things on it. The gas system was the latest and greatest fix in the world of my Mini Cooper. I have had my car at the dealership in Dallas and Fort Worth, TX. They of course, after much haggling, fixed the issues with my car. The gas system was fixed in Kentucky only after my car decided that it was going into limp home mode and break down completely in Indiana. That was tons of fun. I am now thinking that my timing chain and tranny are starting to go. Granted my car has 109,000 miles on it - she is barely broke in. I love my car, but the issues and constant being in the shop for repair are starting to take its toll on me and my pocketbook.

Whatever you do in life do not I repeat do not purchase a Mini Cooper. What amazes me is that BMW continues to produce this pile of **. I guess as long as there’s consumers not willing to research like me why not! If you value your money spend it wisely on Honda -Toyota.

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

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

Beware, Minis have a tendency to have the water pump and tensioners go out at fairly low miles. Love my Cooper but I expected a BMW product to be better built.

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

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

I bought a brand new 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible in April of 2006. I have brought the car several times to the dealer for maintenance and minor service while the car was under 36,000/3 years. I have complained three times before the 36,000 mile mark that the engine was loud from a knock/rattling I heard and each time, it was dismissed by the dealer as XYZ. Assuming they were the experts, I figured it was nothing. Well the knocking didnt get any better over time. The next time I brought the car to the dealer, it was two years later and the car had about 43000 miles on it. Keep in mind, I own two other cars, so driving this wasnt a priority. It was supposed to be my fun car. I hadnt returned to the dealer in two years because I thought the car was out of warranty and I can get oil changes cheaper locally. This time, when I went to the dealer, I brought this up again and told them specifically when the knocking occurs which they never asked when the knocking or loud engine sounds occurred. I gave them specifics and suddenly they were able to figure out what it was. Now that the car is out of warranty, its the dual fly-wheel that knocks and its $3,500 to repair. I was unhappy to hear about it because I brought it up when I bought the car but since I am not an auto mechanic, I didnt have the technical name of what it did. It also knocked the loudest when the car was cold. What pissed me off is that they acted like I was crazy. The worst part is they accidentally gave me a copy of a service bulletin from Mini corporate that addressed the dual fly-wheel problem from 2006 then revised in 2007 then again in 2009. The long and short of it, they knew about the problem and according to the service bulletin, it allowed for repairs at customer request. I called Mini corporate and told them my story. They said that they would help but didnt because the car hadnt been brought to the dealer in two years. In the end, nothing was done because the car was over four years old (although under the 50,000 miles limit). I did not know there was a drive train warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles. I assumed it was 3 years/36000 miles. This is the number one reason I didnt go back to the dealer. To add insult to injury, the dealer told me that if I had come before the car was four years old, they would have helped me, but I did, several times. Had I known how inferior Mini cars were, I would have opted for the extended warranty or another manufacturer. I have owned over ten cars and never had a problem like this. I do not have $3,500 sitting there waiting to fix a transmission on a new car, especially after paying over $30,000 for it. I asked the dealer to get me in touch with the regional person and Im still waiting three months later. I asked the dealer for something in writing stating that they are not covering it and still waiting on that. The sad thing is that, I have had better experiences with less expensive vehicles by other manufacturers like Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Chevrolet, GMC, and Mercury.I just wanted them to honor the service bulletin they knew existed. I just wanted my car fixed for a known defect.

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?

I own a 2007 Cooper that I bought used in 2012, it had 40k miles on it so I thought it was a great car to buy. Within a year the repairs started piling up and then the big one; the panoramic sunroof cassette stopped working. The repair at book price is $2400 dollars and is a quarter of the value of the car. A couple of weeks ago the water pump went out and my wife, who happened to be near the dealership, had it towed there. After a couple of days, they came back with multiple problems on top of the pump all totaling another $2400, plus they wanted to sell me tires. I asked if they wanted to buy it back and they said they would call me back with a quote that day. They made an offer of $7000 and a day later I called back and accepted. I drove 1 1/2 hours to the dealership in Fife Wa. ready to sign paperwork. They kept calling it a trade in and looking back I guess they figured I would be buying a new car from them and I let them know I wasnt buying right before I made the trip. When we sat down they told me they couldnt do it for that much but would offer me 6k for it. They would not stay true to their word so I couldnt in good conscience let them work on my car. I came back after two weeks (too busy to make the drive), and towed it to my mechanic. So now I have a fun car with a $2400 sunroof that doesnt work, a water pump that needs replaced, for about $650 at their price, and apparently another $1750 in repairs. To top it all off, my dealership lacks the integrity to honor their word. Im done with Mini for sure.

The cars are garbage - trust what youre reading online because the issues are real. The dealers say well its a BMW - when your service bill is regularly $800-$4000. Well then I guess Volkswagen charges their customers PORSCHE repair rates? FIAT - Lamborghini? Turbo replacement - 70,000 miles = $4,000, clutch replacement 60,000 miles = $2,800 the whole front end of the car comes off, 2 water pumps & two tows!Car sucks oil like the Exxon Valdez 1qt every 1k miles at least and you have to check it ALL THE TIME. I havent had to do that since my first car in 1987 - which was built in the 70s!!!! RUN FLATS SUCK - harsh ride, costly to replace - TPSS sensors $199 each. Car engine clacks/rattles/ ticks/hesitates (turbo). Instrument cluster lighting - pixels go out. Third brake light - no longer working - $300 + labor. Convertible top wear (rubbing the mechanism) dealer says outside influence/tear - but it ISNT MINI Corporate doesnt want to hear it - doesnt acknowledge anything let alone work with you.The good things are its a good looking car, fun to drive but not near enough to offset the horrific expenses to keep it maintained and fix the amazing amount of problems that come up. Like others in the forum say - MINI Corporate considers everything to be your problem - too bad, so sad - next customer please. Well not me. Cant wait to get rid of it.

The tailpipe on my 2010 Mini Cooper has now caused 2nd degree burns on two friends legs. In both instances, we needed to remove baggage from the hatchback rear of the car, and while leaning in to retrieve it, they got circle and half crescent burns, respectively, on their shins. I feel horrible and have no idea how to remedy the situation. Furthermore, Im terrified now that it will happen again and again. What can I do?

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’m not sure exactly how to write this experience up, but here goes. We recently visited a dealership with an intent to purchase a Demo as part of #Performance Auto Group’s sales flyer posted on Auto Trader. We went to the dealership we had visited about a year ago and had the opportunity to test drive a Mini. We weren’t ready to purchase at that that time based on our budget, but the service was great and staff supper friendly and helpful, so we returned to this location. First visit we tried a car but for some reason found it really rough, we felt like an egg that had been scrambled after driving it. When we got back we advised the two young men at the dealership and were told that was the Mini experience. At this time they snickered. We advised them of our previous experience and they said it’s the tires. They’re new. After a few more exchanges, I said, I guess that means we aren’t Mini people, and the young man said yup. I want to point out that we weren’t offered to try another car to see if we thought the same thing.We left and ended up at a used car place where we tried a 2017 and we actually enjoyed the ride. The first visit was on a Monday, and on Thursday my partner and I returned to that original dealership because they had four Demo’s at great prices and low kilometres. I asked about the last Demo that appeared on Auto Trader that same day (the same young man from the other day), he advised it was out. I had to ask clarifying questions, Is it on test drive? No, Can you find out? He comes back and advises it’s on loan to a client. What does that mean? It’s on loan, When will it be back? I don’t know. So we took our phone out and looked up for another car to try, and apparently that was off site as well. He hadn’t seen it in a couple of days. Is it sold? No, Can you find out? He disappears. I’m about to blow, you have to understand he’s just standing there and the body language is saying go away. It’s very clear he doesn’t want us there. He’s not checking the computer and when we ask him to check, he ask us what the vin# is. We didn’t know it and he said, You should know what car you want, it’s like this the whole time. I asked him about the last car and he said, I don’t know anything about it, but he did offer a new car. Interesting to note the first car we test drove was at the back of the shop in amongst other cars. I’m pretty sure there was something wrong with it.So after we left on the first visit on our way to Burlington we were divided. I thought they were laughing at us because we were old and old people shouldn’t drive Mini’s (we are in our 50s), but my partner thought it was because we were a gay couple. My partner didn’t want to go back but we had such great service once before, I really felt it was worth a second chance.I have to say we fumed all weekend, because we’ve been shopping for about a year looking at various places, from Toronto to St. Catherine’s at this point and we had tried Volvo’s, a Jaguar, a Cadillac, even a couple of pick-up trucks (he wants one thing and I want the other and it’s for me), not all places are the same but it has been some time since we’ve walked away with this feeling. Most places are Here’s the key. Let’s go, or See you in a bit. Most places are welcoming and the agent usually ask questions and if you don’t like the first vehicle it’s, Let me show you another, and the end we exchange information.I was so frustrated that night, I didn’t even realize how much. When we left that place we tried a BMW X4 that I spotted in a John Bear lot. The drive was excellent and the sales rep was in the back seat and at one point I started to laugh as I realized some of tension was beginning to dissipate, the difference between sales agents. That weekend we visited the Kitchener location and had an okay experience. We even stopped in Paris ON, and tried a AlfaRomeo Stelvio, again super great staff.I had emailed the dealership and #Mini Canada about our experience, the Corporate office advised that they are independent of dealerships. The manager had investigated and found out that the first car was loaned out as the clients car was in the shop and the second car was getting cleaned, but this doesn’t address that we were shunned from buying a Mini at that location. I emailed again, more in detail like this explaining our experience of homophobia over the last fifteen years so they would know we were genuine about our experience not being right. Head Office #Kelsey ** again advised it wasn’t Mini Canada’s issue and to deal with the dealership. Finally I received an email from a manager for BMW/Mini in that area and finally he replies with an email that says they will review training with the reps in question as well as they are looking into sensitivity training as I had suggested.So all good right?, No! I now need to know that Mini Canada head office are concerned that the people representing their brand and their products aren’t discriminating against older people and gay people and any other discriminatory combinations out there. I find it hard to believe that BMW/Mini wouldn’t ensure these retailers are representing fairly, but according to the replies I got IT’s NOT THEIR CONCERN. To me, it’s one in the same, different people may own the brand versus the product but they both represent the same thing. I’m hoping no one else has a similar story.

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

If you are thinking of purchasing or leasing a MINI Cooper, don’t. You would be dealing with a company that does not take responsibility for their franchisees, their employees, and their third party affiliates (ergo Roadside assistance). I was stranded in Yellowstone National Park for two days to no avail and had to turn to my insurance company. MINI then left me stranded in the Idaho Falls airport without a rental car. I am from Georgia. MINI is not taking responsibility for their negligence and an alignment that resulted in my tire’s uneven wear-and-tear and, ultimately, its ripping to the wire. You’re better off with another car/company. If BMW is anything like it’s daughter company, I wouldn’t go near them either. Save yourself an enormous headache down the road.

My Mini is only 6 years old (bought new) and it already needs a new transmission. Since you cant just repair the broken part, you need a completely new one!? Random plastic pieces have broken inside the car - part of the seatbelt, the end of the gear shift, the sunroof screen - and there no standard parts. Everything has an upgrade. A year ago, there were SIX oil leaks at the same time! Oh, and if you pay for the extended maintenance program, and its about to expire, and you take your car to the dealer for one last round of FIX EVERYTHING that is covered, they wont do it. Two weeks after taking it in, I had to take it to a mechanic (not the dealer) to have spark plugs replaced and they told me I had 10% left on the front brakes. Yeah, Mini didnt replace them, even though they are covered.

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

I purchased my 2006 Mini Cooper S brand new in January 2006. The car currently has 108,000 miles, which are mostly highway miles as I commute to a job out of state a few days a week. Since purchasing the car, I have had a myriad of serious and unsafe issues starting with the replacement of run flat tires within the first 2 years of owning the car. Those tires run $350 a pop and if you run over a nail, you have to replace the whole tire. They didnt warranty them back then, though I think they do now. For the first 65,000 miles, I did all my maintenance at the dealership, but switched to a National Auto Care chain as the dealer costs were 40% higher for the same work. I changed tire to regular tires with a warranty to stem the bleeding.The latest issue began two weeks ago when I noticed the car was slipping between second and third gear when running for a while in stop and go traffic. The car shifted fine when cold. I brought the car in for a check up where I was referred to a National chain transmission repair shop where I was informed that my CVT would need to be re-manufactured at a cost of $6,000. I was also informed that my power-steering pump is leaking and the power-steering cooling fan is not working, so both need to be replaced. As much as I love this car, and even with these problems, I still do love the car, but I cannot recommend it because the premium price I paid for BMW engineering does not translate to reliability. These issues should not be occurring at this point in the cars life.I will be without a car for another week, at least, because the valve joint they need to re-manufacture the transmission is on back order as they re-engineered a new valve joint, for the originals were prone to premature failure. One would think BMW would address this or work with their customers on a reasonable repair cost for this. Unfortunately, when I called the dealer I purchased the car from for assistance, they quoted me over $10,000 for the same repair. Needless to say, I will never buy a Mini or BMW ever again. I am aware of class action suits in NJ and CA regarding this issue, but I cannot find anything in MA. If there is, or if there is an attorney looking to start one, please contact me.

My 2005 cooper had been making a ticking noise for a while. I changed my front tires because one of my tires was wearing incorrectly and this didnt solve the issue. I decided to take the car the the Mini Dealer in our area and have them diagnose the problem. They found that the noise was coming from the transmission. Well, I was dumbfounded because my car is at 89K miles and a manual Transmission. So I thought how could my tranny be going out? I called 1-800-ask-mini and asked for assistance and help in regards to the transmission going out and I also needed a new passenger seat mat because my airbag warning light was on and this means the seat mat is messed up.Brent from Mini said he would call me back in a few days to investigate. The mini repair called me back to let me know that they would be able to offer me 15% off the price for the seat mat and they never referenced the transmission.A few days later, my car actually broke down. I have spent over 3K to replace my transmission. The mechanic showed me the core which has a nice little hole bored through the metal. The upper part of the transmission was blown out by what ever it was that was digging through the metal. Nonetheless... the transmission problem I had was truly a defect and I would like to know how I can get Mini to take some sort of ownership for the problem.

I have a 2007 Mini and it currently has 38,000 miles on it. The timing system has to be replaced which I find ridiculous considering the low mileage and how well I have taken care of it. Do not buy one of these cars - they suck!

I bought a brand new 04 Cooper against my familys advice thinking its backed by BMW & such a cute car. For a long time, Ive had no major problems until recently. At 55,000 miles, my window motors gave out. That was a costly fix! Now, at just past 60,000 miles, my CVT transmission is dead. No warning! My mechanic who used to work at Mini had warned me about this possibility. He has said when he was working at Mini, all they did was switch out the CVT transmissions. It was a piece of crap & BMW knows it!I travel a lot & loved my Mini, so I took a gamble... & lost! I had just put in a $3000 fix just before its breakdown. There is no way Im going to spend $4000+ more on something that has no guarantee on not dying again! At only 60,000 miles? What happened to the famous German engineering? Compared to the Hondas Ive owned before, which were 200,000+ miles and only needed basic maintenance, Mini is an awful car! Terrible! And why is the part so expensive? Why doesnt Mini do something about this?

Bought my 2009 Cooper S new in Kelowna. This is by far the most fun vehicle to drive - love it. Has had a few issues mind you. New timing chain at 76000Km. New engine at 82000Km. New Turbo at 120000Km. New fuel pump - new high pressure pump - excessive carbon build up requiring walnut blasting on more than one occasion ($1000 each time not covered under warranty). The list goes on.Its now parked since the timing chain has failed yet again and the dealership wants another $4500 to repair it. So far this vehicle including extended warranties and repairs - not including general maintenance such as oil changes etc - has cost me a staggering $55000! This does not include parts and labour covered under warranty. Interesting how many horror stories I have discovered posted by other owners with similar problems with this vehicle.

Took the car in for a recall on tensioner chain, found out also had active recall for heat shield. Service called and stated when heat shield was being put on, found there was an oil leak. They said 928.00 to fix. I told them I thought that was why the heat shield was being applied, because it caused oil lines to leak, the o ring hardens and begins leaking. They said the recall is only to add the heat shield??? I contacted BMW and they said they would research and get back to me in 3-5 days. I dont understand how the two are NOT related.

I have a 2005 Mini and have done all the maintenance on it and always at the Mini dealer. The repairs have been astronomical and I have just been told that’s a Mini. The one repair that is unacceptable is the CVT transmission. At 73k miles, the trans needed to be replaced. Mini paid for it and the dealer said it was because they knew it was bad but never did a recall. Six months later, the trans was acting up again. They just reset the values and sent me on my way. Two years and only 32k miles later, the trans needs to be replaced again. Mini won’t help. Midwestern Auto Mini won’t help. I refuse to buy another transmission that doesn’t even last 32k miles. They reset the values and flushed the fluids and said it may or may not last. I will never buy a Mini again. Shame on Mini for selling cars with bad transmissions.

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

We should have known that it would be a mistake to purchase this car, when we were treated very rudely at the BMW dealership... but we really wanted a convertible. Biggest mistake we ever made. Less than a year old, and drivers side window motor had to be replaced. Less than a year old, and engine mount had to be replaced. 2 years old and the fuel pump had to be replaced. Multiple repairs spanning multiple years on the obviously flawed cooling system (out of warranty). At 5 years old, had to pay $7,000 for a REBUILT engine. 6 weeks after the rebuilt engine, and now the entire electrical system is gone. The dealer says its $400 just to diagnose it (and he cant get to it for a week, causing me to have to rent a car) and that he has no idea what is wrong, and has never seen anything like it.

I bought this 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S in April 2013. The car was one owner and it only had 36000 miles on it. Did a Carfax and all it showed was it had been serviced for tire problems 4 times. I bought the car and the salesman and finance person really pushed me to purchase a extended warranty stating that when you purchase a used car you should protect yourself just in case. I walked away for a few hours to think about it and decided that I would purchase it after I asked the financial manager if something was wrong with the car that they were aware of that they are not disclosing to me. He said no absolutely not. Well 31 days after purchase car starts sounding horrible. I took it to checked out and was told my thermostat was bad. I said, Is it under my warranty? After calling the warranty company, I was told the thermostat was not covered but the thermostat sensors were covered. And fyi when purchased the thermostat the sensors come on it. $700 for part and labor. But the car still was acting strange sounding loud in the cold, also tires going flat in cold weather, my engine comes on and my brake light come... I take it back in, I was told I needed front and back brakes, rotors, brake sensors $850 still not fixed and its not even 40000 miles on it. Next was told to get oil changed and filters. Another $250 still not fixed and warranty hasnt covered anything. Now it barely runs, it sounds like a diesel truck running and its missing on all cylinders. So I now have had the spark plugs and spark plug boots done. $400 more. And now I find out this whole time BMW and Mini Cooper cars from 2006 to 2012 has a messed up turbo charger when they made it. The casings was made too small and there is not enough spaces inside to allow proper air to flow thru and so the turbo and seals are getting so hot that it has been melting and warping the case and it is slinging oil and gas thru the turbo charger. Which is just the beginning, the trunk locks and doors locks are not built correctly. Just to mention a few. After paying $ 20000 to $30000 for a vehicle and the cars are poorly made. And instead of recalling all cars to fix what should have never been the consumers problem or to pay to be fixed which from thousands of people that I have read that we all have spent an average of $5000 to $10000 to fix one problem to incur another one over and over. I say it is time that the consumers that have purchased the Mini Coopers that we start a class action lawsuit against BMW/Mini Cooper/Peugeot corporations. To refund all of our money and either purchase our cars back or permanently fix everything. They cant blame drivers causing this problem when there are hundreds of thousands of people that has been stranded, involved in accidents due to these damaged engines as well as everything on these cars and others where their cars have started fire due to all these headaches. These companies are to be held responsible for our lives and others that they are putting in harms way every time we start and drive these cars. If everyone is fed up with all these companies not doing whats right, please lets start a lawsuit against all of the companies involved with making the Mini Cooper before we are broke and cant afford to be broke down or wreck with engines locking up or paying monthly payments on cars that we should be paid to drive these pieces of crap. Contact me spread the message and word. To other Mini Cooper cars, Time to take action.

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

I bought my wife a used 2003 Mini in Feb. 2013. The vehicle had 59k miles on it and is a manual transmission. The transmission failed a month later. Thank God I purchased the CarMax extended warranty! The following month, the axle cracked on the drivers side. If not for my CarMax warranty, I would have been up a creek. I really like the car. Its fun to drive and looks great, but I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone that is not able to get an extended warranty with it.

My first Mini Cooper was in 2004. It was the worst car I ever had. The battery died in the first three months and it only got worse from there. Like an idiot, I was talked into getting another one in 2011, as the dealer told me how all the earlier problems had been addressed and now they are even recommended by consumer reports. Well, this car is not even four years old and my check engine light has gone off five times already and each time is some new problem I have to pay for. I cant wait to be done with this company forever.

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!

I have a 2008 Clubman. Overall, I really like the car. I bought it used with less than 6K miles, at a really good price. I would like to get a new one, but there are issues that turn me off about Mini/BMW--the dealers/sales/service people are just taught to deny, deny, deny problems. My windshield looks like the surface of the moon. Its the angle, they say. Low to the ground, they say. I have had VW bugs in the old days with practically vertical windshields that were no further from the ground. They just put cheap, soft glass in the Minis, and it wont change.Their computer people are idiots--why would anyone think that they should totally reset my radio settings every time I get out of the car? Insane! The sunroof has no shield. At certain sun angles, the light is blinding--not a thing you can do about it--very dangerous. The instrument panel can be totally unreadable if you wear sunglasses with polarized lenses--totally blanks out your ability to read without removing your glasses. It was utterly stupid, and again, dangerous.

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

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

I bought a Mini Cooper and it has 90,000 on it and didnt do my home work on them. Bad mistake. The cost for parts is very costly and labor is outrageous. It took all I had to get it out of the shop... I had to replace the alternator, 1800 to tell me that I need a transmission and that would be another 8000 thousand dollars. And then may have more things could be wrong. I would think that the manufacturer would want to know what made it go bad with low mileage so they could work out the bugs. You pay so much for a car that everything goes out on it with low mileage. I believe that you would have so much maintenance and high cost to buy one of these cars... and now I noticed that they dont have a warranty of 10 years or 100 thousand. If you cant afford to pay to drive then you need to stay away from buying a Mini Cooper. You better have a great big wallet $$$. Hope this helps someone else... thanks for reading.

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.

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 the car new in March 2004. I had it serviced by the dealer only. The power steering went out last year. Expensive fix. And just last week, the transmission went out. How can they charge $8k for repairs on a car worth $8k! I had less that 70k miles on the vehicle. I thought I was buying a BMW-backed product! I loved that little car.

My 2006 Mini Cooper convertible has been serviced by the authorized Mini dealership since the day I got it. My last service was at 100,000 miles. At 127,000 miles my transmission has gone out. I love my Mini but golly, Ive never known anyone driving any vehicle that has had their transmission go. Is this a known Mini issue or is my case an anomaly? Is the suit in California regarding Mini transmissions a national class action suit?

On 3/1/16 my 2009 Mini Cooper caught fire after I turned the engine off and walked away. It started smoking and the engine compartment was fully engulfed in flames in just minutes. My car only had approx 69,000 miles on it. The result was a total loss. I never received any recall notice about my car despite the fact that I took it in for maintenance numerous times. Ive read that other owners had engine fires back in 2012. The dealership did perform a turbo heat shield check on 10/28/13.On 5/ 13/11 I had to have the turbocharger and oil supply pipe replaced at a cost of $3212.38. I recently received a notice for a class action suit against BMW for timing belt issues and engine failures. Dont know if that is relevant to my fire issue. I have received a settlement from State Farm Insurance for the fire loss but I think Mini Cooper and BMW should be responsible for these issues. How many other Mini are on the road that may catch fire? I would just like to know where I should start with these companies. I would appreciate any advice. I have all my receipts and images of my car fire.

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

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

Prior to the Mini craze that came to the USA in late 1999 we owned 4 Austin Minis and 1 Austin Mini Cooper. The Cooper was a dual fuel tank. The car was so small and light (weight) that 3 men could pick up the car. Our neighbors like to play tricks with us and often we found our Mini moved overnight and place between two trees. Much has changed since then. Our first BMW made Mini was purchased (leased) in 2003. Since then we have owned seven Mini Coopers and to this day own 4. My wife drives the Clubman S (2011), our son a Paceman (2012), our daughter a convertible S (2009) and I drive a Cooper S (2006). All of our vehicles are the automatic transmission. We like the 3/36 maintenance warranty as well as the 5/50 bumper-to-bumper. My Mini and our daughters were purchased from CarMax and we purchased the warranty MaxCare which thankfully hasnt been used. Having the extended warranty is more for peace of mind than anything else. We have been fortunate to have not experienced any of the horror stories many folks have written about on the forums. However, knowing our warranties cover everything major is a definite plus. MaxCare is identical to the BMW extended warranty but a grand cheaper and CarMax has more centers to get your car fixed than Mini Nationwide. MaxCare will also tow your vehicle anywhere you break down. And rental reimbursement is $40 better than BMWs $20.The Mini Cooper runs best with synthetic oil, 93 Octane, and radial tires (we prefer the Goodyear Eagle 1). There is a terrific website that will give a prospective used Mini Cooper buyer an excellent reference tool in helping decide which Mini year is best. Best wishes and happy motoring!

I had a Cooper S 2008 which had few issues only. Oil leaks. AC compressor failed. Gear box will not go after 3. Talking fair. NEVER buy this crappy product. I will not pay a penny for 2015 brand new with 10 years warrant. THANKING you and hope readers will know its good if you have 2 cars and you work for the agent.

I bought 2 Mini Coopers. I bought a red 2005 Mini Cooper automatic for the wife and a silver 2008 Mini Cooper S 5 Speed for myself. I dont know which one of the 2 was the worst, they both spent more time at the repair shop than on the road. For such a good looking car they turn out to be one of the worst cars on the road. Even my dads old Ford Pinto was a far better car than the Mini Cooper. Why do people keep buying them is beyond my expectations, we spent almost what we paid for them in repairs, when it wasnt one thing it was another overheating problems, brake problems, electrical problems, sunroof problems, but the worst was when we needed to get the oil change, we was charged $110. per car. We will never ever own another Mini Cooper again even if they were giving them away for free, my wife Mini Cooper only had 46k miles and it was always in the repair shop. Meanwhile we traded her 2001 Honda Civic with a little over 200k miles and in all the time she had it, all it ever needed was oil changes and a new timing belt. We were so scared to drive too far from our home because we didnt know if we make it back home that night. BMW Mini Cooper thats one in the books for you as one of your biggest failure.

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?

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.

My review will be short and sweet. Ive learned over the last couple days that BMW is a professional corporate thief. My wife owns a 2012 Mini Cooper Countryman. I will admit she loves the look of the car and I will say that it looks pretty sleek. I wont go into details but her battery died and would not hold a charge. No worries all I will do is buy a new good battery and replace it. After needing to take the passengers side wiper blade off to remove the stupid battery I learned I wasnt even close to being done. I learned I had to take her car into the dealership so they could program and certify my new battery to the cars computer. I called three dealers and the quotes were $75, $60 and $100 just certify the battery with a laptop and BMW software. I bought an expensive battery costing me $195 and then I had to pay the dealer $75 to program the battery. IMO that is horse **.Why would BMW engineers design the car so that you had to take it to the dealer for such a simple maintenance project? Obviously I know the answer to my question and that is $$$$. What scares me is if I had to pay almost $300 to change my battery what happens when something real goes wrong. In the end I guess this is really my fault because I should have researched what I was buying. This is the first and last product that I buy from this corporation. Its not really the money that ticks me off but rather just the fact that BMW is one greedy bunch of people. I will make a concerted effort to tell my friends, family, peers, team-mates, acquaintances, neighbors, people I see at the store, people who are stopped at the same red light as me, my clergy, my Facebook friends, my Twitter friends and last but not least God to never, never, never buy a Mini Cooper or Mini Popper!

Do not buy a Mini Cooper! I have a 2006 Mini Cooper with 47,000 miles and the automatic transmission has gone out! I was told that you cannot buy parts; you have to replace the transmission at the cost of $7500! Shame on Mini Cooper for being aware of transmission problems and not standing behind their product!

I bought my car as an ex demo. I absolutely love the car, but the service isnt great and the build quality is not what I expected. The hood broke after a year - instead of making the components of the hood out of metal, they are made out of plastic. And guess what, one tiny part snapped. And as a result, the entire hood cover had to be replaced. On a positive note, it was covered under the warranty. Had it not been, I was told the cost would have been 1,800. No one in the UK had a hood in stock, so one had to be ordered from Germany. Of course, whilst waiting for the hood to arrive, it rained pretty much nonstop (when doesnt it in the UK?). As a result, the boot was filled with around 2 inches of water. By the time the hood arrived, all the carpeting in the boot had fungus growing on it and also needed to be replaced. The garage also allegedly spent 24 hours drying the boot out. The car is a UK registered 09 plate with less than 30k on the clock.I have taken my car into the Mini BMW garage today as (1) it is due a service, (2) the boot keeps opening as I am driving along, and (3) it needs new brake pads. Firstly, the service - the guy reads out a list of things that are due to be done under this service including new spark plugs. I pointed out that the garage replaced the spark plugs at the end of October and charged me 200 to diagnose the problem and replace the sparks. Why didnt they mention then that they are covered under the service? Then, he said they didnt replace the sparks - it was something to do with auto sensors. I pointed out I have the receipt and it clearly states spark plugs were replaced. I then get a story that it is something to do with the Mini service pack. Had they gone wrong this week, the cost would have been included under the service. But because it went wrong 2 months early, I have to pay. I pointed out that surely if they go wrong early, they are faulty. But no, that was not the case. It is just my bad luck they failed before the service was due.The reason why the boot keeps opening is because all the components in the boot have rusted and corroded. I immediately linked this problem with the faulty hood and all the water that got into the car whilst I waited for a replacement hood. Apparently, had the components corroded immediately, they would have been covered under the warranty. But because the corrosion has only now become apparent, it cant be covered under the original claim and basically I have to pay for any repairs as it is just normal corrosion. Now, firstly, corrosion does not show up immediately. So I couldnt have bought it back straight after the hood was replaced, as I didnt know there was a problem until now. I think anyone with an ounce of common sense would realize a car boot that sat in inches of water is likely to suffer early corrosion if not dried out correctly. But, hey, not according to Mini BMW. On that basis, I must conclude that all their cars after 3 years are likely to suffer serious corrosion of the electrical components in the boot or just general corrosion all round. Brake pads are being replaced as we speak - BMW charge around 200 for them. So before having yours done, check the price of other reputable garages. It is also worth comparing prices with other Mini dealerships. I only have a short drive to another county and the tires in my garage are 165 fitted each. But if I drive 20 miles down the road to another BMW dealer, they are 118 fitted. It has been a fun quirky car and I do love it; however, I will be reverting back to a Mazda MX5 - never had any problems with Japanese reliability.

I had the exact 2 things happen to me in that exact order. The car was running weird when cold, so I took the car to the dealer. They determined that the plastic brackets that hold the timing chain were cracked and could break and cause major engine damage. They showed me and it was apparent the plastic had become brittle and cracked. I called Mini corporate and got no help there so I had the chain replaced as they said they could not just replace the brackets. I have to ask how does the brackets get brittle at 60 to 70k miles on it. So after they fix it the car still was not running right. So back to the Mini dealer. They now said that the pump was not keeping oil pressure high enough when cold and it needed to be replaced (2 grand to fix it). I checked on web and there was a known issue with that part. I verified it with Mini. If I had not I would have paid for this repair. Had it done at no charge.6 months after I noticed an oil smell, and noticed I was going through a lot of oil. Turns out I had a major oil leak. (If this happens to you, check the oil filter seals 1st. I searched and they go a lot. I never had these seals go in any other car I ever owned, including 2 that made it to the 300k miles.) So good luck. As for me my next car will not be Mini.

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.

My right front tire blew out from debris on a major highway. I called MINI Roadside Assistance. After being on hold for 20 minutes the rep told me that he was unable to find a provider in my area. Then he suggested that I try to find a tow on my own. Really? How? Then he asked if I wanted him to keep trying. As opposed to what? Walking 30 miles to get home? I called the MINI dealer hoping they could help somehow. Ha! One person did say he would contact the tow company the dealership used and would call me back. After an hour Roadside Assistance called to tell me he still couldnt find a tow provider. I was less than 30 miles from Boston, MA.Finally a tow truck appeared - a passing driver had called the local police to report a broken down car and the police called a tow truck. The tow operator would only take me to the nearest service station not the MINI dealer. The service station owner was very nice. He arranged for a delivery of a new tire. Then he discovered that the debris had also punched a hole through the alloy wheel. He called the MINI dealer. The wheel was in stock but they couldnt deliver it until the next day - it wasnt even noon. I spoke to the dealership and begged for someone to bring the wheel. I was about 15 miles away. Nope. If RA had ever done their job I would have been towed to the dealer. But the dealership just pointed out (needlessly) that they werent responsible for Roadside Assistance. And I should have been towed to the dealer. Consequently I had to pay for a parts runner the service station used in addition to the delivery fee for the tire and the tow.I commute 80 miles a day. I travel almost every weekend to Northern Vermont. I need a reliable roadside assistance program. MINIs contract with Allstate does not provide that security. The dealership said that they had a lot of complaints about it. I wrote to MINI USA. They said to submit a copy of the receipt for the tow to Roadside Assistance for review and that it would take 4 to 6 weeks to process. How about paying for an AAA membership instead? Some day when I have more time Ill describe all the problems Ive had with the car within the first days of owning it. The dealership is arrogant and dismissive, MINI USA doesnt care about poor service, and the RA program is worthless. If anyone reading this is thinking about buying a MINI just dont do it.

I purchased a 2009 Mini Cooper from Mini of Charleston (owned by Rick Hendrick) in 2011. I bought the service warranty for about $1,200. They told me that the Mini needed a new clutch ($2200) and that wasnt covered under the service warranty that I purchased (**). Their service is horrible and then they dont want to fulfill their obligations through loopholes. I would have never purchased the service warranty if big ticket items were not covered. So I picked up the car and took it to a Mini/BMW repair shop where a friend takes her BMW and it cost me less than half of what Mini was going to charge me.I am going to trade the Mini in and I will never, ever buy another Mini or BMW again (I currently have a 2006 BMW 325CI that I bought from the same dealership and I have bought BMWs in the past). It appears (after reading multiple reviews on multiple websites) that the Minis transmission are crap as much of the complaints are around the service and transmissions. Gotta hate a company that backs their product.

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 bought my first Mini used. It had 77,000 miles on it at purchase. Overall condition of the car inside and out was excellent. I drove the car for a test ride and all was great. Only after 4 days of driving, the engine is developing a rap. The car was purchased as is as shown from a used car dealer.

Just bought a used 2005 mini Cooper S with about 86 thousand miles on it and the car worked fine for the first month. Now Im having problems. When I get into car it wont start on first crank and even the second time still wont start. All the power comes on and nothing happens. Gone to the point where Ive drained a battery trying to start it up.

Love the car although its not as reliable as Toyota. But then, you dont buy a Mini if youre shopping for Toyotas. Ive had some issues with bad battery connections and the cap on my emergency break has been broken since I got it. I will day that Ive left it parked for up to 3 months and it started up just fine.

First of all, I drive about 25,000 miles a year. This is my only car... I didnt buy a warranty past 50k miles. I should have done both warranties, the service and the general warranty. You need both... I didnt do everything perfectly.... I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S with the JCW engine upgrade. Obviously, this car has a 6-speed manual. It is my 2nd Mini Cooper (my first was a 2002 that I bought used). Do I love this car? Yes. It has had issues, most of which are known to those who research the car before buying: 1) Thermostat housing. Its known to warp and leak. Ive had this replaced 2x. First time was under warranty. 2) Crank position sensor O ring. Replaced 2x. Failed at 75k miles and at 150k miles. 3) Front strut mounts. Once for each side (left/right). These failed because of road conditions - i.e. potholes that I was trying to avoid but could not. 4) Passenger side engine mount - This is a known issue where the oil leaks out. A solid mount wouldnt be a problem, but solid mounts create vibration and noise that many do not like. 5) Exhaust header flex joint failure after 150k miles. This will happen to many cars, not just Minis. 6) Clutch. There is a service bulletin on the throw-out bearing. Clutches are rarely covered under any warranty by any dealer because it is really easy for the operator to screw it up. In my experience, most people dont know how to drive a standard transmission. Im on my 4th clutch (the first was replaced under warranty, the 3rd was a performance clutch that wore out so I cant blame anyone...) 7) Brakes. These are a standard wear-and-tear.....8) Control panel for A/C and radio. Half of the lights went out and the whole unit was replaced under warranty.Ive upgraded certain parts with performance parts (suspension, struts, springs, brakes). Ive never had issues with the windows. I baby my car as much as possible. I feel for the people that bought the CVT. Its not a good transmission. I feel that any brand can have issues. I also feel that if you pay for a service warranty, truly understand the terms before you sign. If you dont understand the terms, get a 3rd party to help you. If you sign it and dont understand, you are still liable as it is a contract, so try not to get indignant with the service people. Ive had multiple cars, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Volvo, Saturn. Ive had weird problems with all of them.Will I buy another Mini...? Yes. Will I be very careful with what I actually buy? Yes... Do I have a bias? Probably. However, find someone that doesnt have a bias to a particular brand of auto... Very hard to do.

My Mini just died - will not move. Was told trans is bad and will cost me about $7,000 to fix. The repair shop told me a very common problem and Mini wont stand behind the problem. There should be a recall. It seems they dont care about the consumer. Its really sad that all they are worried about is fattening their pockets and not helping the customer. SAD!!!! REALLY SAD!!!!! I will never buy another Cooper and I will pass this info to everyone.

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.

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

I bought my daughter this Mini Cooper Clubman S 2009 a year ago. AMAZING condition... Only 55,000 miles. We did not know there was a Recall on the timing belt tensioner. The tensioner backed out and the car lost all oil. Therefore damaging the engine. Mini Cooper of Kennesaw took the car in and said that due to the recall, Mini would cover 50% of the cost of the repair. After 4 weeks they tell me the engine cannot be fixed. Now we need to replace.The cost to repair further is prohibitive. They changed the offer, Mini will cover 50% to install a new engine, but I am 100% responsible to pay for the repairs up to this date. They refused to cover more as they needed a service history for the car. I researched and provided a FULL service history for the car because one of the mechanics on the list was no longer in business, they claimed his service records were fraudulent and have removed all financial assistance. I am devastated!!!!

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

I have had nothing but Hondas. I was involved in an accident where it totaled the front end of my car. So I got my money and decided on getting a Mini. I got a 2007 with less than 65,000 miles on it. I got it home and two months later, the oil light came on. I didnt want to change. It had head gasket and air condition compound thats gone out totaling over $2000 worth of work. I got it back a month later and another part went out. Then another month later, the timing belt went out. After that another issue, the total is over $5,000 in less than a year - I have only seen my car. Its beautiful on the outside and inside but horrible engine and electronics. i would not ever recommend getting a mean Mini. And from what I have learned, BMW is also another one that I would never ever, ever get unless you have a lot of money and time to blow.

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.

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.

I was so excited when the Mini came to the US and bought one of the first off the boat in SF. Little did I know the nightmares to come. My husband and I were US Park Rangers in the west when we started to hear a whirring noise coming from my Mini. We were about to transfer to a Eastern NP September 2009. We have always had the car serviced and people would remark how well we took care of our car and how it looked new!The government moved us but we drove our vehicles to Virginia. The whir seemed more prevalent when arriving. It was quite upsetting, as we knew we were on a tight budget. I have not been working for a year due to illness. My husband starting doing investigation on the web and was reading about so many people with transmission problems. He got very upset when he saw the costs to replace it. He then wrote to a ask the mechanic online, paid his fee, and he also said it sounded like a transmission problem. We did not have the funds since we had to find a rental, put down deposits, etc.Our daughter had a new baby who was premature and I offered to help while she went back to work for a month until he was strong enough for daycare. I kissed my husband good-bye as I headed to Florida. Little did I know that it would be the last kiss of our 38-year marriage.He was so worried about the car and if I would make it. He called around to dealers to find out pricing of a new transmission and we were shocked! I found a nice mechanic, not a dealer in Florida to at least drive and confirm if it was truly the transmission. It was, I remember calling to tell my husband. It was nearly the end of the month and time to return. He did not want me to drive alone back to Virginia. He decided to have my son follow me home. Yes we were upset and worried about the costs but decided to at least get it back to the area. I tried consoling him on the phone that night, all was going to be Ok, and we would just have to take out a loan. It was stressful enough just moving and starting a new job. I was going to return home in 9 days. I never heard him so upset.The following morning, my cell phone rang. I received the dreaded phone call. He was found dead in bed. My nightmare began. After many E-mails and phone calls to Mini USA, I was told they would surely look into helping me. Before they could give me any assistance, I needed to take my vehicle to Mini Sterling first for a diagnosis. She seemed compassionate. I needed to fly back to Florida and drive it back. It had been only one month since my husbands death and kept in contact with Mini USA to let them know my progress.I spoke with a local Mini Dealer and they also seemed compassionate. I really thought I would be compensated for a bad transmission. There were so many articles and complaints online regarding faulty transmissions.I made a appointment, they took apart my car, and I wound up paying full price less a 10% coupon discount off of the labor. It devastated me! I was led on that there might be help by both Mini USA and local MINI. My cost was close to $5,000. I was informed that it would be in my best interest to have the clutch done at the same time, even though it was not needed because in the future it would be costly. I was told it would cost thousands of dollars to have to drop the engine, transmission, etc to get to the clutch. I agreed. I knew, with no income it would be even more difficult in the future.I had close to a nervous breakdown, had to meet with a therapist and was put on medication. This was too much for me to handle.Lets now fast forward to the present regarding this costly transmission and clutch! I moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to my 90 year-old mother. A couple of months ago, I noticed that the car seemed to shutter when letting up on the clutch in first, second and reverse. I could not get it into the shop earlier since I am having health issues and my time is filled with doctor appointments and therapy. Finally, I looked at the warranty on the clutch and saw it would be running out in March and figured I needed to get it to a dealer ASAP.Last week, I took it to PA mini, gave them all the invoices and told them it was under warranty. I get a phone call that day saying Sorry, it is your flywheel which is not under warranty and that will be $2,100! I am disgusted! I have been online. I have talked to mechanics and everyone says that it should be under warranty. Mini VA should have seen if there was any problem with the flywheel when they did the clutch and transmission. I was also told that a problem with the flywheel is caused by the clutch not working properly! I nearly had another breakdown. I am so disgusted. Does MINI never stand by their work? Do they always find something else to blame it on? Why do I think this way? Let me tell you about the last problem I had with their dealer in VA.When I had the clutch and transmission done they also did an oil change, oil filter, and air filter. The very next time I went for an oil change, I used a local shop that worked on Minis. It was closer, I did not have to drive nearly one and a half hours and they were cheaper. This was a very reputable place. I sat and waited in their office. The mechanic came out and asked who did the last oil change? I said minii and he said, they stripped the oil pan screw. I was upset, immediately called Mini, spoke with the service manager and he said they probably stripped it. My guy said you dont strip a screw taking it out, only when you tighten it. Mini said bring it in. Then, my guy could not even change the oil filter. It was so tight. He did not want to break anything so I said just leave it. He physically showed me. His mechanic worked for 35 years and never had this problem.I took it to Mini. I explained that I needed this done ASAP because I was just informed I had cancer and needed to drive to Floridas Cancer Hospital for Women. I also wanted them to check over the car that everything is in good shape.Can you just imagine what happened? They said it was not their fault for the screw and that it happens after time and I need a new oil pan and gasket. The bill would be around $1,200! This was unreal. They said I also needed a shaft seal and element if I wanted to safely go to Florida. They said they checked out the car totally and that is what is needed. I felt they should replace the oil pan for free, they would not but did not charge me for labor on that job after really losing it! So I had them both done.Now here is the kicker. When I went to MINI PA and found out about the flywheel they do a inspection. On the paperwork I received, they suggested a new crank seal and oil pan. Just what I had done! I told the manager that and he apologized and said he had not seen that I had it done but there were some dried oil drops.Can you now see how I do not trust any of the dealers? I am out thousands of dollars and still have a car that needs a new flywheel. Is this the way an owner should be treated?

I took my vehicle in for an oil change and while there the dealer installed a Turbo Feed Line Heat Shield that is a recall item to protect the turbo feed line due to OVERHEATING. After the shield was installed I was informed that the turbo line is failing and oil is leaking because the PLASTIC O-Ring has been overheated causing it to degrade. Now the dealer wants to charge me $1500 to repair the leaking Turbo Feed line. The failure of this line was obviously caused by excessive heat around this line - the same reason that the heat shield needed to be installed! This is ridiculous and the item should be recalled and replaced. I am so dissatisfied with this car!

In the summer of 2016 I bought a used 2013 Mini Countryman S from a Mercedes Dealer at 75,000 KM (just under 50,000 mi) thinking it is German and therefore, quality. I also bought a 3 year extended warranty through a 3rd party carrier and thank god I did. The car is now at 105,000 km and we have had the vehicle into Mini BMW 4 times. The thermostat, solenoids, spark plugs, water pump, hoses, pipes, chains, belt and the headlights have all gone in that time. Every time I go in I have to pay the ridiculous diagnostic fee and the $300 deductible. Some of those repairs are routine maintenance, sure, but I also own a 2013 Kia Soul at 160,000 km which I’ve only had to replace a couple lights and the brakes and tires on. I’m going to sell the Mini as soon as I get a reasonable offer for it. It’s an absolute piece of garbage. I would never buy a Mini product again, and by proxy would never buy BMW. I’ve heard they’re just as bad.

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!

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.

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

I bought my wife a Mini Cooper 2006 R50 in 2010. It already had 52k miles on it. It now has 120k on it. I do most of the work myself because its simple, but very time consuming. If I dont do this Id look at spending about 40k dollars (overall) at the dealership to fix everything that wouldve gone wrong with it. And I should point out that Houston where I live is extremely hot so the more heat the more prone to failure. I usually go to the dealer for an inspection every 10k miles. They tell me what the problems are (charge a fair bit) but its worth it to get their knowledge. I think I was around 400 dollars, but had them replace the oil & filter as well etc. Then I go fix it myself.To avoid costly repairs the engine oil needs to be checked and topped off if necessary every month (about 6 or 7 hundred miles! Not changed).. Topped off to the max. If the engine oil goes low thats when plastic chain tensioners start to get hot and fail/break off causing catastrophic failure. I dont go for the oil change every 3k garble. I have the dealership do it every 10k (when they inspect it).Lately Ive had a misfire on cylinder 4. It cost me 20 dollars for a compression tester and will tell you that it has low compression (could be something else). Note 400 dollars if you want Mini to do it. Youll also be able to figure out if its the top end or bottom with a drop of oil (Google it). In my case it was a burnt valve on the head. As stated before its very simple to do these repairs. Its just very time consuming. The head was put to a machine shop though. Machine shops are pretty cheap.Over the 70k miles Ive had suspension issues, radiator fan issues, thermostat issues. Oxygen sensor issues. Engine mount issues. And numerous others I cant think of. 400 dollars to change a crank shaft sensor O-ring is a little excessive especially if youre changing the pan gasket at the same time. But in all its not complicated. It just takes time and some elbow grease.I have to say though I was tempted to buy a 40 thousand dollar BMW, but after the last time I took the Mini in and the guy said Its pretty good shape for a vintage that was the clincher for me. Its clearly obvious BMW do not want to work on cars over 5 years old, that is why they are charging so much. They want you to buy a nice new car every 5 years. So look forward to either spending 40k in repairs or 40k on a new car. I remember when Mini was Mini. Cheap and cheerful and would save on gas! Now its just spend spend spend. And can we please stop making plastic manifolds and plastic thermostat housings!!!!!!!!! Geesh Ill pay the extra 1k dollars and wont complain either!!

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.

We bought our Mini in 2009 from Vaughan/HWY 7 Mini dealer north of Toronto. My wife really wanted it and I trusted all the positive reviews. We serviced the Mini at Vaughan/HWY 7 service center all the time. Our last oil change was in March 2014. Early June 2014 on a Sunday my wife was driving back from her volunteer work where the Mini stopped running behind the red light. I rushed to help and eventually towed it to a mechanic shop. No warning or sensor lights ever came on. Next day the mechanic ran a diagnostics but couldnt find anything. The computer showed nothing. Then they drove it around with probes attached to the engine, which they realized the spike on the temperature. They said the coolant and the oil in the engine are mixed. I tried to take it to Mini but they said they are so busy we have to wait till July first (3 weeks later!!). I had to change the engine, they said the engine is done! Cost me $8,000. Minis Vaughan/HWY 7 manager never returned our call. I called Mini Canada, they said since our technicians have not looked at it they cant do or say anything about this matter. Faulty engine, poor service, poor everything.

I bought a 2016 Mini Cooper from Monrovia Mini Cooper in 2016. Im the original owner. I have taken the car back for tire vibration and was told that is because I bought the sport edition and the ride is rougher. I later found out that was a lie when I took my car to Just Tires to do an alignment. I was actually told my rear tires are cupping and this is due to either the shock or the rear struts are worn out. I took my car to Mini Cooper and they told me this is a low problem with the Mini Cooper as the rear end of the car is to light. So you either have to rotate your tires more often or buy new tires more often. I also noticed that my transmission started feeling like it was slipping as it would jerk my head back from time to time. I took my car to the same dealer for this issue as well and they said there is nothing they can do until they can replicate the issue.I have taken my car at least 10 time for the same issue with the transmission. I told the service Mgr. if I would have known about the tire issue prior to my purchase I would not have purchased the car. I also said that the transmission is a safety issue as I was stopped at a red light and it turned green but I have no transmission as the car would not move until I raced the engine and it grabbed into gear and I almost hit the car in front of me. NOTE: I feel this car is a LEMON but Mini will not do anything.

My 2005 Mini Cooper convertible that’s purchased new has had and still has a myriad of serious problems. The dealer, Mini of North Scottsdale (Penske), never addressed these problems. These problems include: windows that do not completely close; windows that failed; CD player that does not eject the CD; and others. The warranty, as interpreted by this dealer, means nothing. Repairs are not made, even after multiple appointments. One telltale indication on the quality level of the Mini Cooper is that Consumer Reports lists this as a “too be avoided vehicle.”

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.

On 07 July 2011, I went out to my car and the right quarter panel window of my 2006 MINI Cooper Convertible was damaged. I called my insurance company and they took the car for an estimate. I was told that it was going to be in a shop for three weeks. Unfortunately, I couldnt leave it because I could not pay for a rental. I had lost my job and couldnt afford a rental so I settled. I was then told that I could get my window fixed at home. It would not be a problem, I thought.I had three appointments for a window replacement and in all three times, no one showed. Nevertheless, I ended up calling Lauderdale MINI Service. I was informed that they had a window stock. I said, “Fine. I’ll call you back.” When I called back, they told me that they had the wrong part number so the window was not available. I asked if they could order me one. They said, “Sure. It will take a few days.” So, I continued to drive the car. After a week, my clutch went out and I had to get it towed to a shop. When the mechanic looked at it, they informed me that the hydraulic line base split into two. And when they called MINI, they were told that the part was on back order from Germany. I said, “Wow. You’re kidding.” So I called MINI service about the rental and I was told that it was up to the dealer. I had called and spoke to Jessica about the issue. I informed her that I felt like I shouldnt have to pay for a car rental because it’s not my fault that the part is on back order. She told me to call MINI customer relations and there was nothing she could do. After I told her that I had already spoken with customer relations, I was passed the buck at least five times.Now, Im told by the mechanic that my battery is dead when I had just bought it two months ago. I have had a rental for three weeks and my car is going to cost well over $1,000.00. Still, I have no window because it is also coming from Germany. It seems like I am back to square one and I have no windows, no car.When I called the service department, I spoke to a woman named Ann, who gave me all the information on my window. After a few days, she claimed that she never spoke to me so I’m still getting nowhere. I will never buy a MINI again. They are crooks.

I took my cooper in for a tire noise. I paid diagnostic fee of $120 to figure out that it was an almost flat tire. They refused to apply the diagnostic fee towards the installation of the new tire. Also, I was charged $70 to put in two light bulbs. Has anyone had this experience? I feel very ripped off.

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 got my 2009 Mini Cooper convertible back in 2013. It was below 18,000miles so I thought I was getting a good vehicle. By far the worst decision I ever made, and am at this point willing to lose money on what remains to be paid for the vehicle just to see it behind me. In the past 4.5 years, I have easily spent around $6000 in repairs, and I have another $2400 to repair on the engine and brakes just to pass this years inspection. Not little things, mind you - HUGE issues. Things that kept it in the shop for days.And it seems like every day there is something else that needs to be done. Will be trading it in, and I tell everyone I know that unless they have a bottomless pocketbook, and dont plan on really using the car very often - i.e. if its your fun/weekend vehicle, not your primary - then dont go there. It isnt worth the stress or the expense. Like a mechanic recently told me when I hit another expensive brick wall with this car: its a toy, not a car for people who actually need to drive somewhere.

I was with my children and had to call the roadside assistance due to temp/engine light suddenly coming on. I also was told there were no carriers in the area and we were on the freeway and it was getting dark. There was no sense of urgency and she said, We will keep trying and call you back. I called a tow company after dialing 411 (took 5 mins) and called Mini roadside assistance back and told them I had found a place that would do it. They asked me for the number and name of company which I gave them. The woman said, Thanks for doing this, I would have never found it. (Isnt that their job?) After waiting another 45 mins we were finally rescued. I just wasnt impressed with the level of service and cant imagine how its even functional. She kept calling me the wrong name and said, Where did you say you were again? It was almost comical. I love my Mini but this was not good.

Broke down within two weeks of purchasing new car and had to be towed. Issues that were brought up on many occasions while under warranty were ignored or told were not unusual. Only to find that post-warranty, I am told the car engine is damaged and car is not worth fixing. This is German engineering? This Mini Cooper was garaged and serviced religiously. Either we got a Lemon or Mini Cooper is all marketing. Needless to say, I will never purchase another BMW car!

Purchased a new 2004 MC hatch, only minimal issues until 2007 while still in warranty, the car slowed until full stop on the busy highway intersection. We were literally put in the danger since the traffic was heavy, and car could not be even started or moved. Towed to the local dealership, they changed transmission fluid, and we were assured the engine was checked and re-checked and driven miles, all is fine. It was for a while although experienced problems with automatic window and two other engine issues, but no lights went on and the dealership claimed this sometimes happens and not to worry. Once off the warranty, the same stop on the highway, overheated engine, stopped, towed back to the dealership and this time (although explained that the scenario was exactly the same and sanctioned by them as fine before), now the Cooper has a major issue and we need to pay around $8,000 for replacing CVT transmission. We were fortunate that on either occasion nothing happened to either us or the drivers in the traffic around us. MINI/BMW would not even listen -the only fix is to replace the CVT transmission.Took the car to an independent Euro repair-shop that did confirm that CVT is not properly working, but we also learned that MINI has known about this issue for years and this is far from individual problem. In fact, there are many complaints and pending class-action lawsuit related to this issue. Our MC with little over 40,00 mileage and after always being maintained and properly checked, has been sitting in the garage and would not drive it beyond a very short distance around the block. Other issues: faulty wheel, had to replace battery prematurely, CV player stuck, front seat unable to move, and the list could go on. We are the first owners, always driven by two family drivers with good experience, yet have never owned a car with so many problems, and excessive charges for any minute repairs. Will join any nationwide class-action lawsuit if available. Owned European cars before, but this one was built with faulty CVT transmission and BMW knew about it although they keep insisting this is a problem they havent heard about before? I doubt it. It is all over their website, even non BMW dealerships are well aware if this. How is it possible that BMW would not stand behind their product, this is not understandable. We hope that MINI/BMW would be forced to pay for CVT faulty transmissions they put into these cars and while they reject any assistance with repairs, we hope that class action lawsuit would justify the owners big expenses or those who have cars standing around and could not drive them. Shame on this company.

I have a MINI 2009 Clubman S. At 48000 miles, I had to replace the turbo. At 58000, I had to replace the engine for a failed timing chain. I will have put 10000 more into a car costing 28000 with 56000 miles total. Both the turbo and the timing chain gave me no warning lights from the super duper computer system I was sold on. My dealership in Memphis Tn is horrible as well. I went to one of the dealerships in North Atlanta, Wonderful service! I had been missing the passenger foot mat for all the visits to the Memphis location for years. They never replaced it. The Atlanta dealer did at no charge. I did not even ask. I am at my wits end with my dealership and this lemon of a car. I am talking to an attorney tomorrow.

My car has had 2 HP fuel pumps, aux water pump, a new bat replaced at 8k, oil pipe, gaskets valve cover and 2 timing chain tens replaced prior to 50k. The warranty has now expired. BMW wants me to sign a release as they are offering to pay 50%? Help.

My 2007 Mini Use 1 quart oil every 3 week! After 60,000 miles. My dealer told me that is normal. I do not think so.

I bought my 2007 Mini Cooper S used in January of 2013 from a reputable and well known dealership in the Hampton Roads area. Since owning it, the timing chain failed at 50,000 miles and was repaired by the only Mini Cooper dealership in the area. At 62,000 miles, the oil filter housing began to leak and was also replaced by the same Mini Cooper dealership. Now at 75,000 miles, the timing chain, oil pump, and turbo has failed. The dealership is also advising me that my Mini Cooper might need a new engine. Really, a new engine at 75,000 miles? My Mini Cooper has been at the Mini Cooper dealership for almost two weeks as they try to fix this poorly built machine. This vehicle has always been maintained and has never been abused. Mini is aware of the issue with the timing chain and oil filter housing and yet they fail to take the responsibility to correct the issues for their owners. The dealership cant even provide you with a loaner vehicle because they have more owners with broke down Minis than they have loaners. So far, the warranty company has paid for all the repairs, but as of today the warranty is questioning if any more repairs should be done since the cost of repair is approaching if not exceeding the value of the vehicle. If you are considering buying a Mini, spend your money elsewhere and stay as far away from this poorly made, issue prone, and unreliable machinery.

My 2009 Mini Cooper S Convertible with only 41,000 miles was experiencing the death rattle associated with the timing chain problem. My local Mini dealership at first told me they did not hear what I was hearing. I also had the problem with misfiring and rough idling. After I took the service technician for a drive and he acknowledged hearing the same things I did, the dealer quoted over $2,000 dollars in repairs which including timing chain replacement and carbon build-up removal.At the time, I was mystified at how we could go from no problems to that amount of money with no further diagnosis being conducted. I did take my car back to the same dealer for service and they ultimately fixed both problems at no cost. Unfortunately, I still have a high oil consumption problem and was told by the Mini Service Manager that I will need to add oil after about 750 miles. Based on past history, this is another known issue that Mini is just not yet willing to admit to.

I purchased a used 2011 Mini Cooper in 2013. Let me start off this complaint by saying I LOVED the Mini and always wanted to own one. Needless to say, I have had nothing but problems! Since I have had the car, the following repairs have had to be made: new thermostat, new cooling system, 2 sets of spark plugs, front light replacement, rear light replacement (the bulb burned the casing...should not happen!). Latest issue...clutch burn out. This car has cost me thousands of dollars. The worst part: nothing covered under the sorry warranty that came with the car.

People only tend to write reviews with they are very angry and over the brink. I have my 2012 Mini Cooper S for more than a year now and it has 20,000 miles. The car drives like a dream and has had one service issue and I have had 2 oil changes done by the dealer. Each time they gave me a nice loaner car. I feel you cant ask for more than that. None of the visits cost me any money. Great dealer at Prestige Mini in Ramsey, NJ with nice people.

My wifes car is a 2007 Mini Cooper S with about 98,000 miles. We bought it used at approximately 14,000 miles. It is on its third engine! There has been so much maintenance on the car. I can only begin to list the problems. The entire panoramic roof cassette had to be replaced. Currently, it is burning about 2 to 3 quarts of oil every 600 miles. The exhaust is making a noise which approaches the threshold of pain. The radio behaves erratically such that you only get one am station. When the battery inside the key fob died, we had to replace the entire key fob! The car devours tires and brakes. While I have mechanical breakdown insurance, we still had to pay costly deductible payments. Mine is for sale - cheap!

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.

If I didnt like the car type, I never would have bought it. But it has been a nightmare to work with BMW on fixing something that is clearly their fault. BMW refuses to provide a satisfactory solution with a recall on a known flaw in the thermostat gasket on 2006 Mini Coopers. Thousands of consumers in United States, and even more across the world, have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours to find/fix radiator fluid leak through both dealers and special mechanics only to find out that the original gasket starts to leak through ever so slowly. A drop here and there at about 20,000 miles (more or less) due to the cheap mesh material. Because it leaks ever so slightly, the fluid falls, blows, drops down onto various parts of the engine and throughout the engine compartment. Even though the company, dealers and specialized mechanics are well aware of this known issue, they take full advantage of the consumer by pretending to speculate that it is caused by a leak in a hose or the radiator itself or some other issue, all of which allow these individuals to charge outrageous amounts to fix or replace parts that down need it. Most places have a minimum labor cost just to look at it. Add the unnecessary parts with additional labor on top of the base cost and you drive away without fixing the issue, only to return again and again until they finally bring up the real issue and charge you yet again to fix something they knew and should have fixed all along. It is a known issue for crying out loud. If they just fixed that, the parts themselves are less than $50. Add a minimal labor cost and you are still under $200 total. But no, BMW has systematically ignored the issue in an effort to sell parts, charge labor, and collect vast amounts of unnecessary dollars because it make them more money. The truth is, after the 2006 models, BMW intentionally changed the design to a poly urethane gasket. No recall, no recourse, no satisfaction! BMW should recall these or reimburse the wasted costs created by those that represent their firm. Thieves!

I am very disappointed at the sales practice in Morristown Mini. I would advise DO NOT buy car there, I had to bear a loss of $17,000 because this dealer didnt disclose the tire information at purchase. As a loyal customer, we have purchased a Mini Cooper two years ago and were satisfied with the car. However, when we decided to replace another car and got a Clubman last Sept. in the same dealership, nightmare started not long after the joy of having a fully loaded clubman. First snow, which as a resident of NY and NJ for 20 years, was really nothing, my husband though couldnt even drive the car up to a small hill for my daughters music lesson, it was a dangerous zigzag. We couldnt figure out why. Until we sent car to dealer, they told us its performance tire and cannot be driven under 40 degrees. Since we bought it at 6k miles, no one bothered to disclose this information to us. And I tried to call dealership, the manager never called me back. We are caught off guard. We purchased a car not suitable for weather here. After that, the car is mostly stalled on the driveway, upon recent snow storm, when we had to go out during and after snow to get gas for generator. So, after 5 months of suffering, we terminated car with $17K loss... Bought a SUV with all season tire.

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.