[Spridgets] New Mini Cooper

Steven Guterman an5.sprite at gmail.com
Wed Jul 2 19:12:16 MDT 2014


Hi all,

I bought my Mini Cooper S new when they first came out.  Mine is a 2002
purchased in the summer of 2001.

First it is a blast to drive.  I have only about 55k miles on it, using it
originally only in the summers and then my son took it to college. Only had
2 items break in the past 14 years - 1) the coolant reservoir leaked at the
seam and 2) the radiator fan has a stupid (in my mind) setup for low
speed.  They run the current though a wire wound resistor to limit the
current flow and get low speed.  Over time they all break.  The part is not
designed to be replaced.  Go to BMW you pay $300 for a new fan assembly
plus $200-300 for labor, or by an aftermarket one for $150 and install it
yourself or three (my solution) by a new resistor, cut out the old one and
solder the new one in place. ($15 bucks).
I also put on new brakes and rotors at 45k, does not seem unreasonable.

I love the supercharger, no lag, great power and the cars keeps on pulling
past 100mph.

No complaints. I have heard the automatic transmission sucks.

Steven,

green bugeye
red mini s
orange elise
silver tacoma
grey rx450h


On Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 1:04 PM, David Ambrose <stargazer1 at cox.net> wrote:

> I realize this is only one data point, but the owner of the repair shop I
> use said that the BMW built Minis needed a lot of repairs and advised me
> not to get one. He's been honest for the last 20 years, and I'm confident
> that what he's telling me is true.
>
> On 6/23/2014 7:24 PM, Kirk Hargreaves wrote:
>
>> I have always admired this car and as we are approaching the need for a
>> new
>> or newer car I have had this car in mind . . the turbo I hear
>> is the way to go for the added performance.
>>
>> However I recently came across Consumer Reports 10 worst cars where they
>> put the Mini towards the top of their list for reliability problems.
>>
>> Built by BMW (right?) I was surprise to read things like:
>>
>> *Bought my Mini Cooper S, std shift, new in 2007. It was a fun & happy
>> ride
>> for a very short time. Since owning this money-sucking imp, I have spent
>> approx $5K in repairs (not maintenance) . .  less than 50k miles and a
>> litany of repairs. *
>>
>> Is this common or sour grapes or what?  Or limited to certain models to
>> avoid or years to avoid?
>>
>> I believe that there are some on our list that own this car . . .
>>
>> Please advise . . .
>>
>> Kirk
>> 1959 1275
>> ------------------------
>>
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> ------------------------
>
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>
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