Long story short I am looking at possibly picking up a 2002-2004 Mini Cooper S with under 100k miles as a daily driver. I haven't really been able to find a good Mini forum so I figured I would post here.

I currently have a 2002 BMW M5 and am wanting a second car for a little better mileage and to keep some miles off the M5. I feel the Cooper S would be a nice addition.

How reliable are these? I expect it to be less finicky than the M5. Also, are these fairly easy to work on? I have been able to do all my work on the M5 and I do have access to a lift.

What are some of the common problems? I have read through some things and it seems power steering pumps, window motors, and a few other small things were common. These all sound like fairly small problems. Any big issues to look out for when buying one?

Finally, best bang for the buck mods? I know these are probably common questions. I have looked through some online forums (most seemed to be in the UK) and they all had very little traffic/posts.

Thanks for the help.

 

While I cant answer all your questions I can tell you my wife is on her 4th and has daily driven all of them, her current is an S. We just swap to Blizzak snows for our Buffalo winters and have no problems. We keep them to about 40000 miles. In 4 MINIs we have had 1 warranty problem with a sender leaking oil other wise perfect. One was rear ended by a Volvo 740 wagon, Volvo was totaled ( older model) and the MINI suffered $3800 damage. They are a well built little car.

As for MINI forums, check out North American Motoring

Hope that helps

 

It's 'apples to oranges' when comparing this car to an S, but here are some of the issues we had with the vehicle until the most recent breakdown:

The power steering went out while driving a curvy country road. That was a muscle-flexing experience. Others who know this Mini brand well will know why the power steering went out. Apparently it happens(ed) quite often.

The convertible top stopped working one fine day. That was a costly repair.

Then the head warped. Why, I do not know. She was not going fast at all. Perhaps there is some engineering flaw that created a coolant stoppage. This head warp, too, according to many posts to be found across the internet, is a common theme heard from Mini Cooper owners.

My girlfriend has the Mini Cooper convertible, regular model. It went along fine for 120K miles, then - after those previously mentioned problems - the head warped and leaked oil into the coolant system. She didn't want to spend the money to properly repair it (I'm the researcher for her in these situations), and the mechanic's 3rd choice given was hers also: to put a solution in the crankcase that would "seal the leak" and solve the problem. I was not a fan of this, but was outvoted by virtue of ownership and budget.

Surprisingly, the car ran along just fine for well over a year and a half. Then we took it on an interstae road trip. Halfway to Cincinnati the car overheated again, as well as the next morning. That was it. Rented a car for the rest of the trip and on the way back we go the Mini and ourselves home by renting a U-Haul cube van and a dolly.

 

well.. i am afraid, 100k is too much milage for such a car.

 

A great mini forum is northamericanmotoring.com, theres a lot of knowledgable people there, not that there isn't lots of knowledgable people here

 

my grandma bought a mini new when it came out and still driving it around. over 100k miles and still runs new. drives it in the snow and all. darn thing wont quit

 

Installing snow tires on all four wheels makes a big difference in the winter, especially in heavy snow.

Go with Steel wheels to save the aluminum wheel for summer.



http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/36111511414/



And MINI Center Caps to complete the look.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/36136767398/




I have seen 200,000 miles easy on MINI if maintained accordingly.

 

I drove one of these as my daily driver for a few years, 60 miles a day with no trouble. However, I do know that the supercharger can go bad after 50,000 miles, it is a common failure, so do your research. The following forum is the best place to start.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/

 

I have owned two Minis and both were JUNK. first one a 2002 went thought two transmissions in 50,000 miles. My 2007 has been just as bad. At 60,000 miles it used three quarts of oil per oil change. Dealer said nothing wrong. Every 10k it would use another qt of oil. By 80 k it was using five qts. At 90k the electronic steering lock module went out, $1'300 repair. Now at 100wk the timing chain actuator tensioner went out, over $1100 to fix. Mini has known about this issue and has released a bulletin on this problem but will not issue a recall to correct this common problem. These and eight other issues are a good reason why I will not consider buying one of these throw away cars! Any body need some parts? I'm ready to junk this POS. I owned four Fords before the Mini. Drove each to between 110k and 220k. The worst problem I had was a power steering pump? The other three had "0" repairs! So mini can keep there Junkers I'm done with them!

 

2nd gen mini are huge improvement over the 1st gen. I never had a mini for dd, but many friends had, and are really great for DD. I'm awaiting for the 3rd gen to be release and I'll be buying one for my gf and joining the mini family!

my current choice would be the new 3 cylinder model regular cooper, if its review sucks then it will be a cooper S. apparently the next gen will come with a 2.0T engine oppose to the current 1.6T

 

I will wait until the new Mini comes out around the end of the year to see

 

My wife has a 2011 that I bought new for her. ~35K miles so far, and no significant problems aside from rapid tire and brake wear.....

Agree on Blizzaks if you're in an area with a real winter season.