[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by gonzo

I guess I have a rare MCS then. 08' with 29k miles and not even a hicup. I mean nothing, nada, zilch. My first MINI but I think I am a customer for life. I really like it. Just don't plan on any road trips. Even a little 500 mile round tripper was brutal on my arse. I slapped some Eibachs on her so it is stiffer than stock which is already firm. Took the truck the next trip.

I don't want to say I dog the car but it is close. The rev limiter see it's share of action and my Yoko's up front are constantly squeeling. I hope I don't roll the little rascal.

She just got her free brake flush, oil/filter, cabin micro filter and wiper blades. I almost left with a black on black Countryman. Not a black guy but it looked pretty sweet. I gained my composure, snathced my keys and got the heck out of there.

My 335 on the other hand.. Biggest train wreck I have ever owned.

Well, we all know there are also people with problem-free 335s out there... Luck of the draw is a factor in all cars I guess.... You and I, we got unlucky. Others didn't. There are just more unlucky N54 owners than there should be.

I'm just going by JDPower on my assessment of reliability. As I can't take a valid sample on my own to draw an educated and informed conclusion, I rely on their ratings. Mini is towards the bottom. I still almost bought a JCW and even inquired about the WC50 anyway.

[Don335xi]

The Hyundai Elantra seems like a lot of car for the money. VW Portland oregon

[nissan]

Guys have got me thinking abt an out of warranty Honda or Toyota. I have $4K I wanted to put down, but I might just put $2K down and keep $2K for a repair fund later and enjoy a better car. Going to drive the Scion tomr...the only reason I'm thinking about it over an Elantra is it seems like a fun to drive car. Pure conjecture as I haven't driven it before but we'll find out this wknd. I was surprised by the '08 gen Elantra, the engine was on and it was dead quiet inside..I had to double check to make sure it was on. Felt nice on acceleration as well, but it seems a bit boring.

There's just too much uncertainty around Mini's. I have heard a lot of bad things abt them (more than good things), so I don't want to chance it. I generally hate paying $ for repairs beyond normal maint., I don't see a point in throwing $ into repairing a 60k mi.+ car unless I know I'm going to get another 40k trouble free out of it.

[bmwmike335]

e36 M3!!!

[e92_m3]

Cheap, reliable, fast. Choose only two.

You just can't have all three choices. That's the way it goes...

[nissan]

Don't care too much about the fast part, just would prefer something that's fun to drive (as much as possible in these cars) and doesn't have acceleration problems on the hwy for passing/on-ramps. Test drove the Scion and liked it. Still trying to work something out on either an '09 Elantra or '08 xD. Drove the Versa h/b and it was nice, but the interior looks so dated and the car smelled like puke.

[blue2fire]

Could get a relatively nice Volvo S60 for that. Otherwise, Fit is (another) Go!