I have not had any of the windscreen, moulding problems, rattling, or stalling problems as listed above. In fact, once I get inside the cars and the windows push up to form a perfect seal, it feels I am hermetically sealed inside, with no wind or rattling sounds at all. Good thing the car has fresh air intake with a great air filter system so we can breathe!

However, I once had a window problem where the window did not automatically slide down to allow the door to close. I solved this by rolling down the window, shutting the door, and then driving it to the dealer. I could have saved a trip to the dealer by simply calling. The guy at the dealer reset my computer with by toggling the window button in a certain way (I think it was down, down, up, down, down, up, down–but don’t try this at home, you might screw something up!!)–voila, problem solved.

I also had a run-flat tire go flat, and the entire tire had to be replaced (no cost to me).

I also had a (fan?) belt squealing and had to take it in–the dealer replaced it. Their explanation was the seawater from shipping the car over the ocean caused the belt to dry out and become brittle. Didn’t make me feel very good to know my car was exposed to corrosive sea water–if the salty sea air ate away my fan belt, what else did it eat away??

Overall, all of these problems were solved quickly and without incident. The warranty and free maintenance has made owning this car worry-free.

I got the car in June 2004. Have about 16,500 miles on it. How does this rate for average mileage? Is that high, low or just about right?

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Finally I sold the car back to the dealer (don't think under lemon law), where they promptly made $3000 by selling it two days later (go figure) to a new buyer.

Got my '04 MC last december. Already had several trips to the dealer already.

First was the rear hatch light keeps on (happened at night of delivery). The rear hatch doesn't appear to fit completely to the opening — so it sticks out ever so slightly. They made adjustments to the latch to compensate.

Then two or three weeks later, Service Engine Soon light came on, which was due to a faulty thermostat.

Then came the infamous rear hatch rattle — which the dealer fixed only with electrical tape.

There is another rattle in the dash, which dealer swears cannot be duplicated, yet I hear it every day I drive.

Better quality in '04 models? Think again.

Recently, some twit in a Focus rear-ended me (she had to be quite persistant to do so, too). Since I have had good luck with a local body shop, I wanted to have them do the work. They reported that they had no problem getting a replacement rear bumper from my dealer, and they guessed that the dealer had ample stock on hand. This mirrors the good treatment that I received when I bought the car a year ago.

I must have good karma.

Wow, your woes with your Mini made mine seem silly in comparison.

I have heard nothing good about CA's lemon law. Maybe Ahnold the Govenator can make it betta! What state do you live in?…R

That's all I remember. It just works. I think it was built on a Wednesday.

I can sympathize with you on your Mini woes. In my first year of ownership (03MC, 10/02 build) my cooper was in the shop 41 days. While the biggest issues have been the transmission, rack-n-pinion, power steering pump, blower fan (replaced twice), and other issues very similar to yours, I still look out my window and love that car. I am just a few weeks (hopefully) away from getting compensation/buyback on my Mini. Been through the lemon process already and waiting to hear the offer. Hopefully I don't have to file litigation, but we'll see. I love the Mini, but build quality has to improve overall. Some Minis are built well, some aren't. The goal is to have all built well. I don't buy the comment that Mini's reliability is down, because it's owners are more “passionate”. Give me a break. If I bought a brand new F-150 and I had a rattle on my dash, or the blower fan was squealing, you better believe I would be a headache to my Ford dealership's service department. Who is going to buy a new car and ignore the problems in thier vehicle?

I think Mini has a good thing here, and hopefully when the next platform is released it will be as reliable as the 3-series, which by the way is my next purchase.

The car is pretty OK now but I always wanted a yellow/blk MCS.

Yes my state has a lemon law but it would not cover what has been wrong…….R

We've had a few problems (the common ones, but no biggies) on our Feb '03 MCS, but we love our MINI! We plan to keep this forever and get a Cabrio in a couple years. :)

It's sad to think that trying to get our MINIs just right by reporting the problems may potentially be hurting the value (or at least perception) of them.