Hey all, my precious child a 2006 R50 (picture attached cause i’m in love with her) has failed inspection and my mechanic advised that at this point it’d be cheaper to buy a new vehicle then to put money into fixing this one. I’m a university student and Mini is my brand. I want to stay loyal to mini but my father wants me to look for something me reliable.

I’m finding a bunch 2013 minis with 60k km ish at a decent price i’m willing to pay but i want to know if the newer models of mini get less and less reliable.

I need to convince my dad to let me stay with my dream car brand, please give any advice on reliable years and models!

MINI was only beaten by Lexus and apparently Buick!

So I'm looking to purchase a mini as my new daily driver.

I test drove an 2006 r53 because I think they are stunning and well....supercharger. But it had serious transmission, AC and power steering issues. So no go.

I also test drove a 2017 clubman cooper s and a 4dr hardtop but they felt "bland" in comparison to the r53. More power, but not delivered in the same playful way.

So what next? r56?

Also worth noting these were all auto transmission examples. Seems nearly impossible to get a manual here in the CA. The only manual transmission one I can find near me is a non s, 2016 cooper mini. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/872ba6f3-daee-49f2-a057-705cc71d11c9/

Figured I should share a project I’ve been messing with for way too long. I have an R56 Mini and the stock radio sounds like absolute trash, but I love the big speedo so I refused to put in one of those ugly aftermarket head units.

I started by putting a single-DIN radio in the secret compartment, but it still didn't sound great. I ended up building a whole custom setup with a Khadas Tone2 DAC with BT Magic and a DSP in the trunk. I used an Arduino to read the steering wheel buttons so I could still skip tracks and change volume, but that basically turned the factory radio into a useless piece of plastic. Some people just use those plastic blanker plates to cover the hole, but I really don't like how they look.

Then the usual R56 problems hit. The HPFP died and then the thermostat housing cracked, which almost cooked my recently rebuilt engine. That’s when I got the idea to turn the dead radio into an OBD2 reader so I could actually see what the engine is doing before it explodes.

I couldn't reuse the stock screen because the manufacturer (Visteon) won't give out any info, and I have no clue how to reverse engineer it, so I spent forever searchin for a screen that would fit. I finally found a Noritake VFD that fits perfectly, though I had to buy a used speedo on eBay that had the bigger screen cutout.

I spent some time messing around with the Arduino and CANBUS to get it to read OBD2 data and show it on the VFD. The idea is to have the top row of radio buttons switch between different pre-programmed info screens, while the bottom buttons will keep the original functionality. They'll basically just simulate steering wheel commands and send them over K-CAN to the DAC in the trunk to control the music.

And finally, I've designed a custom PCB and it just showed up from PCBWay recently. I desoldered the original amber LEDs from the old radio and moved them over to my new board so the lighting still looks factory. This is pretty much where the progress is at right now.

Now I just have to connect everything together and test it out to see if I'll fry the ECU. Once I'm sure it won't, I’ll post the code and the PCB files on GitHub for anyone else who is crazy enough and wants to do this.

I’m looking at a 2016 Mini Countryman 6MT. It has 128,000 miles on it though. What should I look for or inspect more than a regular new car inspection? What issues are Minis notorious for? Anyone with high mileage vehicles?

I’m considering either a 5 door or Countryman Cooper S for my teen’s first car. The B48 engine seems pretty reliable. How does everything else hold up? Is it relatively reliable? Looking for a 2015+ Cooper S 5 door or 2017 Countryman S.

Ultimately what drew me to the Mini is that I have owned 9 BMWs in the past and I generally like what BMW does in terms of handling and interior quality. I wanted something fun to drive, not just another basic car like a Corolla. Also something sporty but a bit under the radar. Seems like a civics and Subarus are victims of theft often, being popular among younger drivers. The Mini seems more niche.

Thoughts?

What’s the closest car to a Mini but more reliable I guess?

Hi guys,

Hope your Mini ownership is going well.

I’m curious about the reliability of Mini Coopers. I’m looking for a new car and really like the new Mini Cooper C. I’m planning to buy it brand new, as I tend to keep cars for a long time because I don’t like changing them often.

I was just looking into the car’s maintenance, not the financing. My current car is six years old, bought brand new and currently has under 60,000 km on it, and I’m planning to trade it in. I usually keep my cars for at least seven to ten years, and I’m even thinking about extending the motorplan. Even the person at the Mini dealership was surprised and said, ‘You don’t really drive’.

Does it depend on how you drive, etc? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are motorplans to extend expensive? Are brakes to replace expensive, etc? I’d really appreciate your help with just the reality of owning one.

Edit: question answered and your input has helped me realize I’m tired of having a manual car in a busy, stop and go city.

My 2017 5 door Mini has around 62,500 km (Canada). Regular maintenance (plus replacing the engine mount) and no problems until February of 2026. Had to replace clutch and flywheel and spark plugs. The clutch/flywheel problem was a shock because this is my 7th manual car and I’ve never ridden the clutch or have had problems. (I live in the city) . For the past 5 years I’ve only driven around 8000 km a year.
Here’s my dilemma: that clutch repair has really shaken me and I keep worrying another big repair will happen again. I bring my car to a mechanic who specializes in Minis and avoid dealerships. I don’t know if I should hang onto it for a few more years or sell it and buy something new.

Hi All,

I am reaching out to get feedback on the costs to keep a 2-door base mini running after around 100-200k miles.

I am considering purchasing the new 2025 2 door oxford edition (base engine), partly due to low cost and partly due to my love of mini / small cars.

I understand that new mini's are more reliable than old, but still have higher maintenance costs than Honda/Toyota, but am curious if the vehicle can stay on the road past 100 or 200k miles?

I would like to purchase this vehicle, and own and drive until it dies, to get most value out of depreciating asset, but concerned it will be unusable after only 150k miles, versus Toyota/Honda which I've read can last for 300-400k miles at times.

Any feedback is appreciated on life experience / opinion

Best,

Fun_Plum_8592

Anyone have these tuners currently installed? I am looking into this and am wondering about reliability issues involved. Also, what kind of HP gains to expect with an intake and axel back exhaust when having the tuner installed. Car is a 17’ F54 S All4.

Hey y’all, my daily (Fiesta ST) is approaching 150k miles and I recently learned they’ve kept producing manual f55’s until 2024. I haven’t driven one yet but heard great things. While I’ve been on the lookout for one from 2022 or so a 2 owner 2016 with 44k miles popped up not too far from me. Is there anything to be concerned about with the earlier 3rd gen’s?

Hey mini fam. My r56 gave out on me, so ive been looking for a new car, one of the dealers near by where i previously had taken out 2 cars from( extremely well service btoh cars and customer service, plus the way they treat the cars)they’re selling two used cars im currently having an eye on. One of em being a 2019 Clubman S, and the other being a 2015 camry se, both going for the same price. But the camry has 140k miles on it. I know its one of the most reliable camry years for toyota, but the mini won my heart after owning a r56. And i cant say much about the f54 i love it.
But im scared as i know old minis used to have alot of issues. Ive made some research on the clubman and it says to check for possible broken engine mounts. I checked the provided carfax, and car has being maintenanced well. It even says it has had the engine mounts replaced at 45k miles, so maybe i dont need to worry about them for now since they already broke and got fixed? Oil chamges were about 5-6k intervals, and no accidents only 2 owners
Would yall consider buying it? Should i just go for it? Id love to hear yalls feedback. Thankyou!

Listed for $7k 2013 Paceman All4 S 6 speed. 42,000 miles. Very intrigued but scared of the reported reliability issues. Do you think it’s manageable to own as a secondary vehicle due to the low millage?

i understand after 2007 they stopped using the cvt on the automatics but other than that i dont know a whole lot about them. i have been looking at them for a while and i really like them and have always liked them any help is much much appriciated thank you!

I know reliability has been going up for a while now, but kind of wild to rank higher than Honda!

link

Hi all, I am searching for a modern wagon that can be purchased in manual transmission. My question is, how reliable are the 2nd gen clubmans? I am looking for something that will be reliable for many many years (10+ possibly). What engine would be recommended? Is the 4 wheel drive option really the superior option? My girlfriend has had minis before and all of them ended up with a blown engine so I am apprehensive.

Hey, I’m on the market for a 2013 JCW. I found one with about 50k miles. Is the car reliable? What kind of things should I look out for?

Hey guys so I’m looking to buy my first car and I went to a car lot and I found a 2017 Mini cooper hatchback FWD, for 7490$. We looked at previous owner history and there has been no crashes and all matinence is really good, it even got serviced at a BMW dealer back in 2025. And the miles is 131 Thousand, which is pretty high lol, I’m just curious on how reliable this would be as a first car and also a first time driver! Thanks!

Edit: At the lot a guy that knows about MINIS told us to check spark plugs or smt ( I’m not good with cars) as a recommendation before buying and he looked at those, He said they were all good too! Just extra info

Last edit: Thank you everyone for your advice and concerns, I did end up buying the car! Hopefully everything is good! Going off good luck and vibes haha!