We chose this car for everything that is cool about it. Size, swank options, good mileage, style, engineering, handling. It just seemed like a no-brainer. Add BMW knowledge for the engineering, and we were sold. Our old car, an '87 325ic with 100k miles was bulletproof. SOLD!

What's great, when it's not at the dealer being repaired, is the fantastic control of the vehicle, handling, braking, acceleration is good even with out the supercharger. It does seat 4. It ain't a limo, but the whiners are absurd. And the cup holders are just fine. Drink less if they're not big enough.

However, the car has been a joke. It's about 9 months old now, and has 4500 miles. In this time the seats have been rebuild twice (for mousy squeaks), the sunroof rattles, the steering column is awaiting its FOURTH replacement, a reflector fell off, the door panel squeaks, the window started smearing with grease when you lift it, the heater fan got really loud, the 'flat tire' warning light came on today for no reason, and can't be reset, per manual instructions, the tires can't be fixed if you get a nail in them, they must be replaced, for about $250 each, so says MINI. Tire shops contest that one, but whatever. The mileage is pretty so-so. It's easy to get 17-21, in our hilly city. On the FWY, it's good for about 35mpg. The ride is pretty hard, but that's cool, yet I wonder if it's part of the reason the car is falling apart. As a second car, which it is for us, it's ok, but seeing the reports it gets with JD Power for reliability, I'm not surprised it scores lowest. Such a bummer, since it really is designed well. As for durability, YIKES!


Amount Paid (US$): 25,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: Cooper, w/ Prem, Sport, Heated Seats, met.paint, DSC