2014 Mini Cooper Hardtop Long-Term Road Test - Wrap-Up

Comments

• s197gt Member Posts: 486

  October 2015 edited October 2015

  apparently a cpo '14 model would be the smart choice with that depreciation hit and mini's reputation for quality.
  

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• pureclassic Member Posts: 12

  October 2015

  We had a 2007 Mini - basic model w/std transmission - ran great, handled well-fun... free maintenance was good and no issues, but once that clears time/mileage expect BMW labor costs - standard oil change at dealer oil $150.00 - anytime the key or the dash prompts an issue data analysis at service department is $130.00 - total brake job is $1000.00+ - and premium fuel keep operating costs up -- so nothing is low-impact or truly economical as ads once described -- of course you do not need to go to dealer - BTW during the free maintenance period they do not rotate tires - I had some wear at front (typical fwd) and asked dealer about rotation and called MiniUSA - they said tire rotation leads to vibration issues - yet once the warranty period is clear the dealer is happy to rotate them and charge for it -- these are not the least of concerns - despite sticking to scheduled maintenance - at 82K my car started swallowing coolant - no drips/leaks - just scary thoughts of engine work prompted me to trade in -- to me there is an issue with 2nd gen motors as mileage builds based on the blogs - so Countryman (2nd gen) and such are not on my option lists -- 3rd gen engineering and 3cyl may be better - I like the new 4-door and Clubman - but not seeing anything which proves long-term ownership is a happy experience - thoughts? wonder if anyone has high mileage reliability?

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• desmolicious Member Posts: 671

  November 2015

  It would be cool if Edmunds would keep a MINI for a longer period - 100K miles - as there are waaaay too many high-ish mileage horror stories out there. Both for reliability and maintencance costs.

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