To Extend Warranty? Or NOT!

[Scott O']

Just about to buy MINI...is the x-tended warranty an overkill for a car supposedly so well-built? Trying to keep budget/monthly payments reasonable. community thoughts?/experiences?

[thulchatt]

New or used car?
Price of the coverage?
How handy are you in doing your own repairs?
Only car or extra car?
Ability to live with a potentially large repair bill?

All important questions to ask yourself.
On a new car I would not because by the time the factory warranty is done I know if I have problems or not with a car. If a problem car I move on, if not, I don't need the warranty.
Also, I am an older guy who could tolerate a very large expense because of my place in life.

So, for me no but they do make sense for a lot of people.

[100percentcotton]

Being that we're talking about an extended warranty i'm assuming that you are buying the mini used? I bought my 02 S used about 2 years ago without any sort of warranty and have had no real issues other than a blown supercharger . As thulchatt was saying, alot depends on your tolerance for repair bills. My personal opinion, if it's not gonna stretch your finances too thin, I would go for the warranty just for peace of mind.

Either way good luck and happy motoring!

[ronnie948]

If you are planing to modify the car you can forget about getting the warrenty. If you are gonna keep it stone stock and plan on keeping it for at least six years it would probably be good to get it.

[Scott O']

Well, (1) it IS a new MINI.
(2) I don't do mechanic or mod work myself
(3) It's to be my daily commuter (~ 70 miles/day)
(4) It IS a bit of a stretch on my budget
(5) I WILL most likely keep it 5-7 years, with ~ 20,000/yr put on it
(6) can't remember what other questions ya'll asked...

Anyways, other thoughts from those who have / haven't extended their warranties???

[polizei]

I've never used my warranty.

-Cody

[karburn]

My warranty expired Monday. My dealer offered an extended warranty, but it was 15% of the cost of the car originally. About $2400. I got a 6 yr ext warranty on my Scion xB for $1000. It just seemed too high for the mini, especially since the '06 is supposed to be one of the more reliable series built.

I see TV ads for US Fidelis or something like that, for vehicle warranties. The only reason that I'm considering one is the automatic trans. No problems with it at all, but a replacement would be $4500.

Any other opinions from automatic-owners out there?

Feedback appreciated.

[Scott O']

Thanks Cody/Karburn.
Yeah, I've been quoted $2400-$2,500.
Seems kinda' steep, and when you think about it, if you never need it for big stuff, it's just wasted money thrown at a possible "what if."

Any other thoughts on this?

[hohod]

Don't even think about buying any extended warranties until just before your original warranties expire! I just bought extended maint a year past expiration of the original maint coverage, and a 4-year extended warranty on the last day of the original 48 mo/50k new car warranty. You're higher mileage, so you'll want to shop for maint when you get close to 36k and extended warranty when you get close to 50k.

[Scott O']

Interesting...why do you say that?
Is it cheaper to buy them this way?
Does the clock start ticking from the time you BUY if you wait that long?
How does that work? Please elaborate.

[hohod]

My understanding of extended warranties is the clock starts ticking the minute you buy one but the mileage is counted from the date the car was first sold as new. So you buy a new Mini with the factory 4 year/50k miles warranty. If the salesperson sells you an extended warranty at the same time, say a 6 year/100k miles warranty, the factory warranty will be primary for the first 4 years/50k miles (whichever comes first). Therefore, by the time the extended warranty becomes primary (in your case, based on your estimate of 20k annual miles, approximately 2-1/2 years from now) you will have only 3-1/2 years or 50k miles left. If you wait until the original warranty is about to expire and buy a 3 year/100k mile plan at that time, you will get 3 years of additional coverage up to a total odometer mileage of 100k which in your case works out to an additional 50k miles.

Another good reason to wait: what if your needs change or your car turns out to be a lemon or something bad (heaven forbid) happens to your car before the extended warranty kicks in? You just spent good money for nothing. If you wait, you'll have 2-1/2 years more info to gauge whether your Mini is truly a keeper and how long you want to commit to the car.

[rayainsw]

This is true with GM’s extended service contract \ extended warrantee [ GMPP ] and that is the strategy I have used to buy mine – however:

My reading on the MINI site & a brief conversation with a Finance Mgr suggests that the limits for this warrantee are fixed at the years \ mileage FROM IN SERVICE DATE.

So in this case [ my Daughter has a 2007 with ~ 42,000 miles ] waiting until [ almost ] 45,000 miles or 45 months still makes sense – but not because it will extend the covered period.

- Ray

Edit: If you wait a year or 2 to buy, the MSRP of the plan may rise...

Originally Posted by hohod

My understanding of extended warranties is the clock starts ticking the minute you buy one. So you buy a new Mini with the factory 4 year/50k miles warranty. If the salesperson sells you an extended warranty at the same time, say a 6 year/100k miles warranty, the factory warranty will be primary for the first 4 years/50k miles (whichever comes first). Therefore, by the time the extended warranty becomes primary (in your case, based on your estimate of 20k annual miles, approximately 2-1/2 years from now) you will have only 3-1/2 years or 50k miles left. If you wait until the original warranty is about to expire and buy a 6 year/100k mile plan at that time, you will get the full 100k miles. Or you'll be able to buy a shorter term/lower mileage plan if that fits your needs better at that time. My guess is waiting works out cheaper if you calculate cost per mile of actual primary coverage.

Another good reason to wait: what if your needs change or your car turns out to be a lemon or something bad (heaven forbid) happens to your car before the extended warranty kicks in? You just spent good money for nothing. If you wait, you'll have 2-1/2 years more info to gauge whether your Mini is truly a keeper and how long you want to commit to the car.

[Flyinace2000]

Don't forget Mini just started selling a warranty directly from MINIUSA and not a third part. You can read the details below about the Warranty and Maintenance agreement:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...act-terms.html

[hohod]

My reading on the MINI site & a brief conversation with a Finance Mgr suggests that the limits for this warrantee are fixed at the years \ mileage FROM IN SERVICE DATE.

Ray, good catch. Actually, on the Zurich warranty I bought (4 years/75k), I get 4 years (time starts from warranty purchase date) or total mileage of 75k (from date first sold as new car, aka in-service date). My odo was at 40k on purchase date, so I'm basically getting 4 years/additional 35k miles.

I'll try to edit out the misinformation in my earlier post.

[jbrowland]

I have Geico insurance and always pay the extra couple of dollars every six months to add their extended warranty coverage for 7yrs/100,000 miles with the 250 deductible if the need should come up for repairs. This seems to make more sense to me math wise and plus I don't have to plunk down a ton of money at the same time for the extended warranty.

Any one have experiences with this type of extended warranty service and quality? While i have purchased it, I have been lucky enough not to need it. I tell ya tough, with all these "Mini not reliable" threads I get worried that I have chosen this car to be my one and only car.

[ronnie948]

Hi jbrowland,
Tell us more about the Geico insurance plan.

What exactly does it cover?

What do you have to do to put in a claim?

It sounds to good to be any good for the $500.00 a year it costs.

Ronnie948

[jbrowland]

You only pay the $250 deductible IF you have a claim otherwise you pay about 2 bucks a month on top of your insurance premium to add the 7yr/100K warranty. Make sense? So it's about 34 bucks a year to add this coverage.

It covers anything but normal wear and tear items like tires etc...so you will still be paying for tires, break pads, and other things that will wear out unless those items shouldn't have worn out I believe. Basically it's major mechanical coverage for clutches, pumps, engine, etc...It doesn't include oil changes like the mini coverage.

You make a claim just like you would make a claim if your window broke (I have used the glass coverage from Geico and it was super easy) or if you had an accident and needed body work. You pick where you take your car for work too.

*****The deal is though (I believe but could be wrong) that you have to add this coverage when you first buy your new car so you can't add it later. Also, you have to stick with Geico insurance for all those years (great for them) or you lose the coverage. I imagine most people don't do this so Geico wins out in the long run. But if you do stick with Geico and plan on keeping the car for longer than the MINI warranty then this may be great for you.

So if your engine burns up, you take it to MINI, they fix it and Geico pays them and you pay Geico a $250 deductible. That's the concept.

I have used Geico for glass coverage (no deductible) and I got to choose the place and they paid the place to fix my windshield. No cost to me other than the regular payment monthly to Geico. IF IF IF this Geico extened warranty is as simple as their glass coverage was to deal with, I am inclined to go with Geico on this one and not MINI. IF IF IF...;)

[jbrowland]

Btw ronnie, i see you have a nf red? I can't seem to find a nfr club here at nam...?