Stylish and fun car but, expensive to maintain!
I've had the Mini Cooper hatchback S since 2007 (bought used with 500 miles). It currently has 52.5K mi (average 5250/yr). The car is very stylish, lots of fun to drive, and practical for parking in San Francisco. This car mechanically needs lots of maintenance in my opinion. Every time I bring it in for service, there would be problems...oil leaks from the valve cover, oil pan gasket (changed twice), replaced motor mount bushing (changed twice), one time I had to replace right front shock (leaking oil), I had to have the clutch replaced after 20K mi, the car interior and moon roof squeaks, passenger side heated seats no long works, and now I need to replace head gaskets ($3.3K). I have friends with Japanese cars that have not had this much problem with their cars with twice the amount of miles than my car. Recently, the SF Mini dealership was nice enough to loan me a 2014 Mini Cooper hatchback to drive while my car was being repaired. I must admit that the newer cars are much improved! Hopefully, the engineering is improved as well!