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Mini Cooper

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Laura of Traverse City, MI September 17, 2008

Laura of Traverse City MI (09/17/08)
I purchased a used 2003 Mini Cooper from a non-MINI dealer in the summer of 2005. I think it had around 20,000 miles on it. In September 2008 I brought my MINI to a MINI dealer because I was having trouble starting it and the power door lock on the driver's door no longer worked. While they were taking out the power steering unit to replace the starter the mechanic noticed that the power steering fan was completely seized up and needed to be replaced. A couple of days later, I was told the mechanic noticed a noise while driving the MINI, checked the transmission fluid, and the transmission and clutch needed to be replaced. The car only has 59,000 miles on it. It is the 4th manual transmission car I've owned. All the others had over 100,000 miles on them when I sold them and never had transmission problems. HOW CAN THIS NOT BE A RECALL ITEM with all these similar posts?????

Bill of Chicago, IL September 16, 2008

Bill of Chicago IL (09/16/08)
2002 Mini Cooper S. Clutch and Transmission Failure at 85K. Dealership in Chicago offered to replace for 6800. I havent discussed with them but Im going to attempt to play hard ball and pay no more then half....we will see. I took good car of this car over the years so a total failure of clutch and trans is totally inexplicable. My hope is to have it repaired and then sell immediately. This car has been in the shop for repeatedly for many issues. I use to recommend the car to everyone but now after this Im going to be doing the exact opposite. Currently looking into a possible class action suit against BMW for faulty design or mechanics on the CVT. Ive read on other forums that this person is putting together a class action suit...might be worth looking into.

Rob of Buckeye, AZ September 14, 2008

Rob of Buckeye AZ (09/14/08)
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper I bought used with 23,000 miles. I have had the car for a year and 3 months, Since then a this is what has gone bad: a strut, power steering fan, coolant fan, power windows, and door locks. To fix the strut, power steering fan and coolant fan has already cost 3,000. I'm still not done with the repairs. Mini coopers are a rip off. Components are always going out. My Girl friend had a 2006 330i and her car has had the same problems. Don't buy a mini cooper.

Rob of Buckeye, AZ September 14, 2008

Rob of Buckeye AZ (09/14/08)
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper I bought used with 23,000 miles. I have had the car for a year and 3 months, Since then a this is what g=has gone bad: a strut, power steering fan, coolant fan, power windows, and door locks. To fix the strut, power steering fan and coolant fan has already cost 3,000. I still not done with the repairs, Mini coopers are a rip off. They are just like a BMW, components are always going out. My Girl friend had a 2006 330i and her car has had the same problems. Don't buy a mini cooper.

Kathie of San Diego, CA September 13, 2008

Kathie of San Diego CA (09/13/08)
My 07 Mini Cooper was recently bought back using CA's Lemon Law. When I drove the vehicle off the lot, the clutch ground from 1st to 2nd gear. I took the car back 3 days later to Irvine Mini....they could not replicate it. I took it again about a week later to Brecht and they (and I) could not replicate the grinding. During this time I wrote MiniUSA to tell them of these issues. Upon the third time of going to the dealer (Brecht again) I got a call from their service supervisor who told me that my synchros were destroyed and that EVEN THOUGH the problem was my fault, they were going to replace the transmission (I suspect the only reason the grinding was confirmed was because of my letters to corporate).

I responded that I didn't know what kind of a car could have be ruined by driving it off the lot. I was insulted by the assumption that I caused the problem when 1) I have always driven a clutch and 2) the problem was persistant from the beginning.

Anyway, I got a new transmission and all was fine for about a month. I was on the freeway and after a horrible noise, my clutch went dead. I had to call roadside service to have my car towed. It was at this time that I wrote Mini and informed them that I was planning on NOT taking back this car as it was a lemon. I never encountered any problems with MiniUSA and the process was smooth. In total, I drove the car for 3 months! I could have received a replacement vehicle but I seriously doubt Mini's reliability.

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