Opinion: Can MINI Overcome it’s History of Quality Problems?
MINI currently makes the most trouble free small sporty car, ranks highest in class in sales satisfaction and is the 4th highest quality brand sold in America. Put another way, MINI in 2019 makes some of the most high quality and dependable cars on the market. So why are some current and previous owners so willing to walk away from the brand due to MINI quality? Put simply MINI’s second generations cars (2007 to 2013 approximately) have turned into maintenance nightmares for some owners. Add to that a first generation that, while loved by many, had a few niggling design issues of its own and you have brand that has a reputation problem.
Perhaps even worse it’s got a group of current and former owners that have anomisty for the brand or their local MINI service center.
Can MINI Quality Win Them Back?
From a product standpoint you might not like the size of the Countryman or various design elements, but you can’t argue with the dramatic improvement in quality. And it’s not just in one car they sell but has been proven across every model sold. So big is this shift that some dealers are hurting not from slow sales but from slow service departments. So how can MINI get the point across that new MINIs are better quality without alienating current or former owners of the R53 or R56?
Perception is hard to change but there are ways. For one the quality message needs to be in showrooms and in media. No MINI cannot advertise that “our cars now don’t have oil starvation issues!”. But they can start to pound the pavement with messages of quality and reliability backed up by data and even customer testimonials. The good news is that they’re beginning to do just that. Along with fun to drive and design being key in marketing, MINI USA is looking to bring the quality message to the market to combat some of these issues.
While that’s a good first step, making hints at improvements isn’t a bad thing either. Any body who has spent thousands of dollars to fix a car will have some animosity towards the brand or the dealer. And while MINI can’t outright apologize to previous owners who have had issues, they can and should subtly reference quality improvements as compared to MINIs past. Even a thinly veiled references to uneven quality of the past might feel cathartic to some of those previous or current owners.
Ultimately MINI has to win these customers back or find new ones. Either way we think the message of quality will be a key ingredient to the marketing equation moving forward.
<p>Great article. Something that would go a long way to win the confidence would be to offer longer warrantees. If I recall correctly when Hyundai first came to the US the big interest people had was the warrantee. If MINI were to offer an 100 mile warrantee on new cars, people would immediately think the quality has improved, which indeed it has.</p>
<p>It will take years of data from these higher quality cars plus the marketing efforts mentioned above to slowly and I mean slowly change public perception. My own service department has been feeling the lack of warranty work since the 2014 model was introduced. The difference in quality is that dramatic!</p>
<p>I think Mini needs to offer longer warranties like VW, KIA, and Hyundai. They need to put their money where their mouth is. Talk is cheap and they have a wide perception gap built upon 20 years of poor reliability. That’s not an insignificant task.</p>
<p>The reason I am not currently in a 3rd gen hatch is simply the design direction that MINI has taken. Both my R50 and R53 had the usual issues discussed here but I loved them anyway because they were a hoot to drive. They could be the most reliable cars on the planet but I simply don’t find them desirable any more. Fix the front end overhang, the cartoon character tail lights and the lower front bumper fascia and I will take another look at MINI.</p>
<p>Couldn’t agree more. Also, tune the new “reliable” engines so they rev and feel more like the Prince engines. And last but not least, the exhaust note on my ’09 JCW still sounds great!….. no fake electronically enhanced sounds. That needs attention too.</p>
<p>Totally agree with Ulrichd and MVJCW—clean up the styling and wake up the current engine, and you’ve got a fantastic prtoduct. Just drove an F55 S given to me as a loaner. Very well made car, but it doesn’t look as good as my R series and the engine, though strong, just doesn’t breathe. I like the low end torque of the 2.0, but once underway my 1.6 turbo is so much more fun to drive then the 2.0 litre turbo. Also my R series has a manual</p>
<p>Agreed. I’ve had several new Clubman models as loaners while my R55 has been in the shop. One was a Cooper while the other two were S’s. The new Clubby S doesn’t feel as quick as my car nor does it rev as freely. It also doesn’t sound all that great either. It’s outward visibility is notably worse but the interior is way better. Overall, I’d probably buy a CPO Clubby to replace mine but it’d have to be a JCW. What it comes down to are competitive cars by comparison are boring. MINIs still have a spark and a unique quality that no one else has.</p>
<p>I don’t disagree with the comments the R53, R56 look better than the F56 but most of these changes were for safety regulation requirements. I do hope Mini fix the overhang and rear lights in next model.</p>
<p>In terms of the early models engines I can’t say if better as haven’t driven but the F56 are a hoot to drive, and I am glad they don’t have the issues of the early models engines had. The exhaust noise changes also relates to regulation changes.</p>
<p>I would suggest go drive the F56, it would be different to R series’s but not worst.</p>
I made this same basic comment on a previous story — I am the original owner of a 2007 R56S. It’s due to be replaced soon which makes me the prime MINI prospect. But I am also a poster child victim of MINI unreliability. Far too many problems and arguments with MINI service departments to detail here. Bottom line: I love driving the car but there’s no way I could pull the trigger on another MINI. No way I can reward a brand that treated me the way they did for so long.
<p>I made this same basic comment on a previous story — I am the original owner of a 2007 R56S. It’s due to be replaced soon which makes me the prime MINI prospect. But I am also a poster child victim of MINI unreliability. Far too many problems and arguments with MINI service departments to detail here. Bottom line: I love driving the car but there’s no way I could pull the trigger on another MINI. No way I can reward a brand that treated me the way they did for so long.</p>
<p>Same here. I know it’s easy to dismiss us as simply being petty first year owners not willing to deal with typical first year issues, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 12 years of constant repairs and I still love my ’07 – when it runs. I’ve wrenched on cars since the 80’s and have never been burned as hard as I have by Mini. Service departments and corporate alike! The never ending stream of run-arounds, extreme parts prices, and outright lies will never offset the increases in reliability the cars have themselves. I’m sorry to say, I won’t be returning to the brand again, and if anyone at BMW is listening, I won’t be stepping up to a BMW either for exactly those said same reasons. Genesis is looking mighty good these days.</p>
<p>I totally understand your comments, dealerships service departments can be a trial even when the car is ok. They to impersonal and the service receptionist (ie guy) cause that is all they really are, don’t really know you or your car from next person who sits down at their desk.</p>
<p>Looks take a hint Mini / BMW the biggest turn off can be the service department if you were smart you wear the cost and take the customer side.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Cause most reasons people won’t buy a new Mini or any make is their experience in the service department.</p>
<p>Price in servicing into the price of the car make it a great experience all round and you would win customers.</p>
<p>I took my Mini in not for a service but cause going on a road trip and it was off a schedule service 100km. But they wouldn’t do the service at the same time. I have to bring it in again. I live in country (rural) location. So to take the car in for service it is a 3 hr round trip and a day of annual leave lost from work. Mini should have simply done both. Look service departments should be seen as sales avenues rather than costs and enhancing the brands reputation, but sadly they do the opposite.</p>
<p>Lastly if you have had a lemon “mini” don’t ruin it for the rest of us by posting a bad review. Blame Mini/BMW not the car. Even the poor lemonly ones were great to drive, when they worked.</p>
<p>It has become a “urban myth” how bad Mini reliability is and not really that hard to keep alive even though the F56 is smashing the quality and reliability.</p>
<p>I think part of the problem is previous disgruntle R53, R56 owners. They can’t let go of their bad past experience with Mini. If you read a online reviews or see a YouTube video about how Mini is such a great drivers car.</p>
<p>Invariably checking the comments section there will be comments about how bad Mini is on reliability but they usually talking about the early models.</p>
<p>I suppose Mini are still paying for how bad the R53, R56 were on reliability.</p>
<p>I think Mini should do more about talking up their reliability, maybe they could have free servicing schedule or extending the warranty 7 years so people get it the car must be reliable.</p>
<p>It’s not just past MINI owners who have experienced reliability problems. Large numbers of European owners are currently caught up in a massive BMW recall affecting Diesel engine 1-series, 3-series, 5-series, 7-series, X1, X3 and X5 models.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-6750799/Recalled-BMW-owners-left-without-cars-two-months-EGR-issue.html" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-6750799/Recalled-BMW-owners-left-without-cars-two-months-EGR-issue.html</a></p>
<p>I’m new to the MINI brand, albeit with an older model – last year I bought a 2006 JCW with 99,000 miles on it and have since driven it 16,000 miles. Reliability has been excellent especially considering the age and mileage of the car.</p>
<p>The R53 experience has turned me into a dedicated MINIfreak.</p>
<p>I was a long time Saab enthusiast before this, running an ’86 900 Turbo for around 25 years. So no, I’m not the ideal candidate for being a new car buyer, but I can be useful to the brand as being a passionate representative for the marque.</p>
<p>MINI could cultivate the cult by lowering the somewhat insane price of factory parts, i.e. crazy CV axle $$$ or GP intercooler are prime examples. I would buy those parts if they were more reasonable.</p>
<p>Such goodwill would go a long way methinks.</p>
<p>It’s in MINI’s best interest to have the older cars still on the road, well maintained by love-struck owners and proudly driven in daily traffic, and talked up with glowing praise to anyone who may inquire.</p>
<p>As a Saabnut I was devastated as I watched the marque die and get gone to the ghostworld. I dearly hope that MINI finds continued success, even if I find their current design direction not to be aesthetically pleasing.</p>
<p>Really interesting perspective and I’m glad you commented. As I was writing this piece I was wondering what a new to the brand R53 owner would be thinking given that the real reliability issues lie with the car that followed it – the R56.</p>
<p>Yep, I am a convert and now carry a near-religious enthusiasm for the MINI marque.</p>
<p>When I was looking to replace my old quirky Saab, it was a tough decision, but a narrow field due to my love of 3 door hatches with manual gearbox. Fiesta ST and Abarth 500 were the closest contenders but the R53 won out and I have been rewarded with a raw intensity which fuels the flames of my heart.</p>
<p>Even a mundane commute becomes a fun visceral experience.</p>
<p>In choosing the R53 I was quite heavily influenced by a gentleman whose opinion I value, a former boss I worked for. He’s a car guy who goes through many cars and has owned a good variety, including an aircooled 911. Although he ended up selling his R53 for practicality/utilitarian reasons, he was emphatic that it was the most fun car that he ever owned. Such person-to-person face-to-face testimony is incredibly valuable in my opinion.</p>
<p>I am a patron of my local dealer parts counter and they’ve been great. I always buy factory parts when the price is within reason. I want my local dealer to remain open and viable for my continued patronage.</p>
<p>Great perspective and I generally do the same with parts. For OEM I go to the dealer where I have a good relationship with the team there and they have a willingness to figure things out with me. For aftermarket I’m a big fan of OutMotoring as they actively curate the best of the non-OEM world.</p>
<p>100% agree about OutMotoring being trueblue goodguys. I’ve utilized their services quite a few times now as they carry such a wide range of goodies.</p>
<p>Most recently I was looking into getting OE seatbelt holders and came across this informative tidbit on their site:
<a href="https://www.outmotoring.com/headrest-selt-belt-holder-52302208036.html" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.outmotoring.com/headrest-selt-belt-holder-52302208036.html</a></p>
<p>Indeed, my subsequent searching of the forums paralleled their observation that the part was junk, although some folks super-glued it to function, I decided it was something I didn’t need.</p>
<p>Seeing that blurb at OutMotoring further enhanced my good feeling about them as such integrity on display is difficult to come by these days.</p>
<p>They rock!</p>
<p>Wow – good for them for doing that.</p>