BMW hasnt made a quality product since the E39. They figured out they could make more money via service.

I am desperately trying to find something more comfortable for my old bones to commute in than my Miata... I posted a question here a few months ago about the Mini... I'm still driving the Miata.

We had an 06 S for three years, only prob was the thermostat blew and lost all coolant. Luckily happened just before warranty expired. Then bought a 12 S.....had it for three months! Horrid piece of junk.
I know they are ugly, but a newer Scion XB is a blast to drive. Only comes in auto but has "shifters". Stomp on the gas and drive it like a go-cart and get 27 mpg. TRD suspension and it'll handle like a well set up 944! :-)

Knock on wood but my 2010 with 90k miles is pretty bulletproof. Had a vans valve issue and swallowed that $500 bill but other than that. Simple maintenance. Doing as much DIY as possible. I think a key in this is that my car is a justacooper; not an S.

our 2008 has been great a few minor niggles like the bonnet cable ceasing but apart from that very reliable and in the uk it is £280 for 3 services at BMW on mini tlc and currently getting nearly 70mpg from the 1.6 diesel. Pretty noisy at speed though.

I've had a lot of cars but bmw argue the least about warranty work.

I wish we got more small diesel vehicles in North America.

For years I've wanted a half-ton or small pickup with a turbodiesel and a manual transmission.

Mine has been generally reliable, bought new and am about to pass 100k. But, I think i have been lucky... and agreed that the thing was not designed for maintenance e.g. something like 20 hours shop time to replace clutch. Fun as hell to drive though and when that turbo spools up.... zoooom!

I'd considered a mini, and had one or two folks talk to me that loved them, but then I saw threads like this one.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/792408-mini-inexpensive-commuter-car.html

Well I'm supposedly picking it up today from Mini with a brand new passenger seat that will replace the old (also brand new looking) passenger seat. All that for an airbag mat, Jeezus... I understand the dealer that sold me the car paid Mini through the nose for that... The water pump will be out of pocket at an independent next week (for all I know it's the thermostat, we'll see). I've seen the cost of a clutch replacement so I think I'll only be keeping this for a few months until I can trade it for something else (I don't even have the title yet!!!)

Not much else in that "range" though. This was a sub $13K car, convertible, fun to drive, cute, backseat for kids, qualified as a beater on price and age, and easy to park (small). I think the cabrio part will have to be dropped for whatever replacement I struggle to come up with. Likely a GTI... I have to leave the car on city streets all day, feet away from bike messengers, homeless camps, pick up parking dings and dents - in case you think I exaggerate I once found a homeless dude doing #2 in front of my car using my bumper as a seat back). I'd get another E39 and spend $500 replacing all cooling parts (those cars are unbreakable and super comfy), but parking space is at a premium and I'd like something a little more fun for commuting.

Wouldn't a Honda, Toyota or Mazda fit the bill with better reliability?

Fiesta st

My 2006 MCS has been fairly reliable. Just hit 113,000 miles and replaced the lower control arm bushings last month. Onlt $200 in parts and 4 1/2 hours of my time. Huge difference on on improving the handling and getting rid of the front end clunks.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428092798.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1428092841.jpg
Airbag light is on due to the passenger seat sensor needing replacement. I plan on using the plug in airbag emulator to extinguish the light and has the PS airbag deploy when needed before sensors were required in the seat pad.

I've had 4 Minis (2 R53, 2 R56). They are small BMWs. Very complex only because BMW only does things one way. I've also had 4 BMWs. So at least the knowledge of how to fix one is pretty reusable across the marques.

If you work on your own cars, the Mini has one of the best support forums around. NorthAmericanMotoring.com. Pictoral how-tos and pretty much every issue addressed. I think some of the people on that forum know more about the cars than BMW does.

I built and used a walnut blasting setup to clean my DI intake/valves for about $50 total with the knowledge off that forum. Good stuff, but too bad I had to do it on a car with only 40k miles on it. My valves probably had close to 3/4" of crap on the backs.

In any case, I wouldn't recommend a Mini as a low hassle commuter. More like exotic car maintenance for an everyday car.

You have an R53, right? The water pump is part of the supercharger, not a directly driven accessory. Might as well get the supercharger rebuilt at the same time. The belt tensioner for the serpentine is a known problem, so replacing it is a good idea too.

>You have an R53, right?

Technically R52 since it's a cabrio but yes, same thing. I didn't know the supercharger needed to be rebuilt too... Serpentine belt makes sense. Since an independent will do the water pump, I'll let him do as he sees fit - it'll cost less than the dealer anyway....

>Wouldn't a Honda, Toyota or Mazda fit the bill with better reliability?

For sure. But I can't think of any of those as a "fun" car, around that budget and size anyway. Mazda3 Sport might fit the bill but doesn't really excite me. I realize I am the problem here, I want a fun reliable beater that I can park in a shoebox ;-(

> Or Fiesta ST

Yes, but that's too new and $$$. I'm talking cheap beater here. The silly Mini ticks all the boxes, if only it were reliable ! I'm debating keeping it forever and beefing up my repair skills, or offloading it the day after I get the title. Problem is I really like the stupid thing...

(then I look at the hours required to change a clutch and I cry)

Well your skills are evidently > to mine, given 1/2 your front end is lying on the floor ;-)

The problem I have with the airbag method you mention is liability. The day you wanna sell your car, that sounds like a risk. You can also turn it off via NCS expert + cable, and it "should" fire with the mat disconnected. But I prefered having the thing replaced with a 2y warranty, as long as someone else paid for it ;-)

Unfortunately its common practice, front end came off for a cooling fan replacement on my car. Not bad really, it just looks like a lot of work.

My Mini is on it's 3td airbag sensor maty. Mini Mania carries tje seat mat with sensor for $650. Here is a long list of complaints filed. Mini Cooper Air Bags - 2006 MINI COOPER Problems With Air Bags

I'm guessing they didn't deglaze the flywheel.

A few others you could consider that are about $10k, fun, seat four, small, and reliable:

Ford Focus SVT - the older SVT Focus was damn good, available in two or four doors, and can be had with HIDs and Recaros.

Mazda 3S - fun car

Mazdaspeed3 - even funner, there's one for sale locally for $8k

Mazda RX8 - 2009+ are the best ones, really great cars

Saab 900/9-3 - this is the 2000-ish hatchback, not the later sedan model that was a terrible car. You could even find a Viggen for under $10k.

Porsche 944 - it had to be said......:)

Porsche 928 - if you are a glutton for punishment. On the upside, the nice ones are slowly appreciating. Not super small though.

Acura RSX Type-S

Honda Civic Si

Honda Prelude SH - was the best handling FWD car when new

Volvo C70 T-5 - another turbocharged Swede

Mazdaspeed6 - might be bigger than you want

Threads like this make me appreciate my 21 year old VW Golf.
Yes it's a POS but when something breaks on it it's easy to fix and there are lots of options for parts.

I was thinking about a second hand Mini as a replacement but maybe I should look at a newer Golf or Polo GTI instead.

Meanwhile the old girl just keeps going and going. I'm actually tempted to keep her until she falls apart around me. :D