2003 BMW Mini Cooper review from North America

Re-occurring Transmission troubles.

Blown engine.

Poor Mileage.

Hard starts in Winter.

No space.

Okay, First off, let me say that this car is extremely fun to drive. All though, after all is said and done, if you enjoy the drive, then go with an "S" because, while the Standard Cooper isn't lacking normal power, just when you forget what kind of car your driving, is when it reminds you that your only working with about 115 Horsepower.

The first problem we experienced, was an apparent "Chip" shifting into Third gear. No big deal, we took it to the dealership, and they repaired it under warranty, I firmly believe that this "chip" was in fact the fault of My mother, for whom the car was purchased. And seeing as how she hadn't driven a car with a manual transmission since she learned how to drive (nearly 27 years ago) I'm surprised that that was the only problem we had with the Tranny. I can't hardly blame the car.

That is where the trouble started. After they replaced the transmission at around 18K miles, for the "chip", There was an extremely noticeable difference in the way the car shifted, the gearing seemed to be extremely different from that of the original tranny, I later hypothesized that the dealership had installed a transmission for the "S", probably because generally, transmissions that are removed are sent somewhere to be refurbished, and either by mistake, or by not thinking it would cause harm, they through in the only spare refurbished tranny they had sitting around, which I believe just happened to be that of an "S". Okay, no big deal. it didn't affect the car negetively, and in fact I think the shorter gearing increased performance, but after about 3K miles, the tranny Died on us, and we returned to the dealership, and they in turn concluded that the throw-out bearing, had been re-installed incorrectly at their garage. Now it's not so much the fact that we had to take it back, but there was a screaming discrepancy here, that really bugged me. In all my dealings with cars, and various types of transportation, when and if you replace the transmission, It should be customary too, to change all the ancillaries involved with the tranny, i.e. THE CLUTCH. that to me is liken to replacing an oil filter, flushing the engine, and then putting in all the old oil, that had just been drained out of it. It just doesn't make sense.

And lastly, at around 42K, the Mini was involved in a minor accident, whereafter the car was in need of just a new front fascia. And a new engine. simply put, perhaps because of dumb bad luck, the accident that should have resulted in a new front lip, managed to end up costing us a brand new engine, a new front bumper, and a new set of keys. My guess, and this is only because the day after they removed the engine, the same day they gave us an estimate (yes we had to pay for this one, because the warranty had run out by about 2 weeks) when we called to ask about the engine, unfortunately they could tell us nothing specific, because the engine had already been "Shipped" to a re-work facility, to be refurbished, and end up back in some lucky stiff's mini.

My only guess is that, when the front spoiler was clipped, either some debris, or the object that actually caused the initial damage, ended up putting a hole, or a crack in the radiator, and somehow simultaneously disabling the thermostat, because apparently, all the coolant managed to drain, and the engine managed to heat-up to the point of seizing, and all without the temp guage ever leaving the green.

So basically, after about $12,000.00 in repairs for the accident, all I can really say is, I don't know if it was the dealership, that was at the root of my problems, or if it was just dumb luck. but if you're looking to get one, I reccomend going with an "S" as these have fewer problems from what I understand, or be extremely careful where you buy your car, and which car you get. They aren't bad cars, but I think the earlier models, '02, '03, are a bit Hit-or-miss.

Aside from the problems, and the fact that I got Horrible mileage, (about 15/19) I love the car, it's Fun as $#!@ to drive, and it's not going to turn you into another faceless operator of an urban assault vehicle (SUV).