Cold Winter with no heat!!!
 

Hello I am new to the cooper world just picked up a 05 base and its been very fun to drive. only had a few little things go wrong in the first few months. Like the power steering pump and rear hatch hinge. But now i have a bit more of a real problem, see i live in Maine and its now the start of the cold weather and when i start up the mini after about 10 min. the fake temp gauge get about half way and i dont get any heat, so i can wait and let it warm up for a total of 20 mins and still no hot air. it only starts to blow hot air after i drive for about 10 mins. but if i stop the car from time to time and just sit in a parking lot for a few mins the heat goes away again no matter how long it has been running. a few weeks ago i saw that my coolent was low so i filled it up. does anyone have any ideas about this. please help its a 05 base with about 85k on it..... PLEASE HELP ITS COOLD OUTSIDE!!!!

Check for proper antifreeze level , and replace the thermostat ...
Also could be a clogged heater core

thanks for the info, how hard is it to replace the t-stat or even the heater core??

I'd do a flush FIRSt before trying to replace the heater core