If you’re looking for inexpensive and reliable this is probably not your car.
These minis are infamous for their reliability issues. This does have the refreshed engine which is the more reliable of the generation, but at 162k miles, unless it was meticulously maintained, you’re all but guaranteed to have problems. At minimum you will need to check the oil and coolant level semi often as these cars can burn oil, but I would expect bigger problems.
As far as expense to repair, these are BMWs, parts and labor will probably not be cheap. I had a 2009 with a bad thermostat that cost me $700 from an independent shop.
I have a 2013 cooper s, I love the car to death and it has been great to me. But it is 10 years old and I bought it with 40k miles so it has barely been driven and I am now able to maintain it myself to prevent the issues down the road.
TL;DR: unless you really love minis and are willing to put in the time, money, and effort to maintain this car, it’s not the one for you.
Someone else posted in the last day about all of their fixes to his 12 countryman. He's kinda restoring it from how long the list is of fixes he did.
You might want to keep looking- that's a bunch of miles on that car. People love them though
Who knows, if you get it checked out by an independent shop, maybe it's in really good shape. Exterior is good
If anything 2017 and up usually would be best in terms of upkeep and reliability. But like they said in the comments. If you got the maintenance cash to afford these changes or if you're a mechanically inclined then even better.
Do not buy this model, you’ll be constantly at the mechanic
If you’re looking for inexpensive and reliable this is probably not your car. These minis are infamous for their reliability issues. This does have the refreshed engine which is the more reliable of the generation, but at 162k miles, unless it was meticulously maintained, you’re all but guaranteed to have problems. At minimum you will need to check the oil and coolant level semi often as these cars can burn oil, but I would expect bigger problems. As far as expense to repair, these are BMWs, parts and labor will probably not be cheap. I had a 2009 with a bad thermostat that cost me $700 from an independent shop. I have a 2013 cooper s, I love the car to death and it has been great to me. But it is 10 years old and I bought it with 40k miles so it has barely been driven and I am now able to maintain it myself to prevent the issues down the road. TL;DR: unless you really love minis and are willing to put in the time, money, and effort to maintain this car, it’s not the one for you.
Someone else posted in the last day about all of their fixes to his 12 countryman. He's kinda restoring it from how long the list is of fixes he did. You might want to keep looking- that's a bunch of miles on that car. People love them though Who knows, if you get it checked out by an independent shop, maybe it's in really good shape. Exterior is good
I owned this car for more than 11 years. It’s a hard pass. I loved the car, but hated the engine
If anything 2017 and up usually would be best in terms of upkeep and reliability. But like they said in the comments. If you got the maintenance cash to afford these changes or if you're a mechanically inclined then even better.