Reliability as a daily runner?

[ChristiaanV]

Hello fans

So I've been asked a few times from various people I speak with on this topic, how reliable is it driving a car that's over 30 years old?
I have not yet got my hands on a Mini but haven't given up just yet, and I will be honest the question has been nagging me for a bit.

So, how often is your (or people you know) mini standing still for repairs in a year or in a month?

I've had a 1996 Fiat Uno before that spent maybe 10 days in a year standing still because something broke like a water pump, petrol pump, broken distributor (shredded itself when the bearing welded together), gear shifter bushes crumbled and fell out, etc.

Now with the amount of money I have to spend on car, I can't get anything under 15 years old, so reliability is already out the window and with half a foot in the grave no matter what I buy.

I'm actually just trying to justify purchasing something that's ~30 years old for everyday use to get to work and go to events on weekends.

[Willy]

I used mine as a daily for a couple of years. Never missed a beat. My fathers 1100 has been going for 24 years now without opening the motor. Only broke a cv once and the normal brakes that need to be set every 5000 km. Broke the exhaust off a couple of times as well.

As a cheap to maintain daily, that doesn't see allot of highway. I would say you will be hard pressed to get another car.

[Vinay-RS]

A Mini can be a decent daily runner. It will wear out, like any car and needs a little more regular maintenance on a weekly and monthly basis, like greasing points and setting brakes. I took my car in for getting a few things done, but it wasn't for a service, but rather to fit components.

Perhaps, update the poll options to be "my Mini needs maintenance" as they're not really reflective of a Mini's reliability/usability and the main thing is the maintenance of the various components will keep it running well.

[DomMINIque]

So as a daily I drive a 1997 Honda Ballade.
I do about 25 000km a year with it and it's reliable as anything. And it's only ever off the road for about 3 hours which it takes me to service my car twice a year....
I paid R32k for this about 6 years ago but they are still about the same price.

Then with regards to the mini, I bought mine as a running "project" but it has spent more time off the road than on the road in the last year that I have owned it. However this is because of the lack of time I have to fix it and I also have an alternative to go to. I also abuse the mini excessively which may be half the reason for the higher amount of maintenance the car needs. However I'm hoping that once it is sorted it will be as reliable as my honda. The most recent "issue" is the exhaust breaking off the manifold. But this is almost fixed.

[Jared Mk3]

We successfully ran a 1275E for many years as a daily while I was growing up. We fixed it up when we bought it and from there it was just maintenance. As has been said above, regular maintenance and care will keep it going for a long time.