Starter and Alternator. Then you gotta replace the replacements because they just don't make em like they used to.

Points, rotor, condensor. easy and cheap to keep these in tip top order.

Starter. again.

speedo cable. bah. iphone GPS speedo app

Alternator.

window winders. have gone through a few sets of the plastic ones

Starter and Alternator.

then theres all the usual stuff- but with a decent cooling system, and taking care of the oil in the motor and gearbox and those listed above were my most common faults when using the mini as a daily driver... consumables mostly. drive like its a motorcycle and nobody can see you. i took a defensive driving course once, but I still say the best defense is a good offence, so being aware of your surroundings and assertive, but not quite aggressive is crucial for safety.

Also, the starter and the alternator.

As far as safety goes...if you ride a motorcycle, apply the same thinking and safety process when you Mini....,you are invisible and you are vulnerable....anything bigger than a jogger that hits you will really hurt! 

Awesome daily driver thread! I drive mine everyday and I park mine Army style. Nose out ready to go and lined up with the rest of the standard vehicles so people wont mistaken it as an open spot. "someone might leave me a love note for the great on the line parking job here though lol"

Third brake light, convex mirrors, multimeter, spare parts etc.

Mine kept burning contact set until I went to lekky igggy.

When I used the Moke as a daily in SoCal with the 850 she burnt oil more than she leaked it, I got to know how much to pour in her to top er up without even measuring it.

And we probably need to defien "daily driving" in more detail.

1) Quick jaunt to Starbucks to pick up java and then back home.

2) Warm her up around the block after work.

3) 45 minutes drive each way to work with a mix of stuck on freeway to righteous/furious gear rowings while teaching the odd Civic or two to fear the A+ Metro donk

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Actually I had more problems when I quit using mine as a daily driver and it sat. 

I will tune in about other drivers; Seems they all expect to see a third brake light now adays and with our primary brake lights being so low and not the brightest, I would definitely suggest adding one to the top of the rear screen.

As others have said, the crappy rubber that seemingly every rubber part we purchase is made from. I just don't get it - the molds exist, so why not run a batch with the crappy rubber that has been supplied in the past7-10 yearsand continue to sell for the same price, then run another batch using a premium rubber just like I'd get in a premium CV boot fitted to a brand-new car, and offer these for 2x or even 3x the price, perhaps offering a 12 month warranty? I know I'd pay the premium every day of the week. Damn, for the frequency they are changed I'd pay 4x the price for rack gaiters and swivel caps.

I went with instagram #pedalplusvite

The most common problem I have is, finding the time to fix on my Mini!  It's too much fun to drive it!  I am presently getting in on the passenger side, as the drivers door hinge panel rusted through.  I am going to start a web site,  to post photos of all the people taking photos of me driving!!  I don't have problems with being seen.  Even though the mailman drives a right hand drive car, it's like they've never seen one before, so they pass slowly!! The other problem I have is when someone stops at a roundabout, traffic circle or rotary, when nothing is coming.  Drum brakes do not stop quickly!

The inverse is also true. Drove the mini for a week then decided jump in the passenger side of the MX-5. oops! You also wonder why the wipers go on when you are signaling a turn or the door gets in the way when you go to shift. LOL

LOL

Norm

I've been driving my '84 for about a year and a half. I replaced complete front and rear suspensions before doing so.  Steering rack also.

Last November I had a lower ball joint fail. Some threads were ripped off the swivel hub, so its hard to blame the nut. Everything was normal til I hit that hole.

 When repairing that I noticed the rubber boots on the joints and tie rod ends were deteriorated, so they got replaced again. The other day, I looked at them (because I had a funny noise while braking) and they're crappy again.

I was an outer wheel bearing that had rusty debris in it. From when I had to replace the drive flange in January, because the splines decided to stop engaging the new drive shaft I bought for it. Which then would shear the cotter pin, backing the nut off the shaft, loosening the wheel bearings.

After my third heater valve failure, I gave up on them and installed a hose outlet instead.

All this is with only about 6-7000 miles of use.

Burned out coil from turning key to unlock steering wheel so you can move the car without starting it

To answer the original question too. My biggest problem ever, was bad quality condensors. The two wire connection was so loose from the maker. In very little time the car would just die out of nowhere. It took me a good while to sneak this out!!

Same as dooder, except I have to make do without a T-shirt.  I must be the only guy on the planet without a dooder T-shirt.

This being California drivers are always happily fumbling with something in their laps, and occasionally it is a phone.  The two collisions I've had daily driving have been others hitting me while stopped.   

So far my driving approach - same as Dan and Dean's - has been successful: drive like a bat out of hell and get around and in front of them where they cannot get you.  This means 80 on the freeway staying out of blind spots or confined locations between two idiots.

To finally stop leaving my lights on I put the headlight relay triggers on the ignition tumbler.  When I totally drained the battery twice before I couldn't push-start it because the Pertronix didn't have enough to fire.

I might as well pop in as a daily driver.

For the past 10 years, unless its snowy/icy out, I've driven the mini.

I drive a red and black mini and everyone sees me. I set the driving tone on my streets. I don't drive passively. I get out of the way before the way gets to me. 

If a part breaks I try to replace it with two more. That part will break again.

Pay attention and learn to recognise what the mini is telling you and you can be a daily driver too.

Turning the heater on helps. Curiously, some late model (non-Mini) cars automatically engage the AC even in winter cold with the heat on, when the windshield air direction is selected. Which is kinda weird when it is -20C and the car is stone cold and you want to get some heat to melt the frost off the inside. Nothing makes one fell colder than huddling in a cold car and knowing the AC is on.

Common faults when using a Mini as a daily driver?

The other guy's faults???

+1 on bright colour and loud horn. I also find a single box RC40 generates an envelope of noise not unlike a Harley. People can sense your presence without seeing you.

+ 1 on driving like you are invisible. Stay out of others' blind spots. Drive assertively (not agressively) taking "posession" of the lane you are in, making definite (not hesitant) movements, planning your moves. Always leave an escape route to a space in another lane or to another road or the shoulder.

+1 on the basic pre-drive check and preventative maintenance like checking tires, fluids, signals and lights etc.

+1 on listening to what the car is telling you. (I can't be the only one that notices little sounds and vibrations in other peoples cars that they don't pick up on?)

Don't forget to carry basic road-side tools like the most common wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers, a few basic spare parts like a fan belt, points + condenser, a litre of oil etc. I also have a light tow-strap (unused so far!) for a short tow to safety tucked in with the jack and spare tire.

x 2....I have a buzzer, but have not yet installed it.  I have left the lights on a couple times over the years.  Luckily it's an easy car to bump start. (points, no pertronix here)

EDIT: Can you even buy these little headlight-reminder boxes anymore?  Mine is probably 25-30 yrs old and I think it's an old RadioShack one, I have installed from car to car, to car over the years in cars that did not provide the warning.

If you can't buy them, it might be a good product for Mini Mania to sell. Just a thought.  Now I am going to have to go google it.

Uh.....some of us have A/C...and it's no dream.