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Welcome to NAM, hoddap! Actually, for the first 3 years/36,000 miles, maintenance is included in the purchase price of your MINI! After that, you can buy an extended warranty or pay the big bucks!
I purchased an extra year on the maintenance warranty at delivery. I'm sure others here will have plenty to add to this discussion. :smile:
Also you can have a reputible independant import car shop work on it after the warranty work expires. It is a car and nothing more. If you want it to have all the stamps and bells/whistles of bmw/mini ownership that is different and you must take it to the dealership.
I have a Saab (now my winter car) and a MCS, there is not a dealership for either within 200 miles. There are two excellent shops to deal with as needed.
There are million pitfalls in my statements-Sometimes a dealer is cheaper because they know exactly what they are doing, and some dealers are the biggest bunglers on the planet...always know exactly what and how you are paying for what....part cost...book rate...hourly rate....and how you will be billed for the work.
My local MINI dealer charged me $125 for my first unpaid-for maintenence and oil change. They didn't have to actually replace anything, just checked it all out. That's the only money I've actually had to spend on the car in 2 years of ownership.
Of course all the upgrades, gadgits and what all has cost me a pretty penny, but that was purely choice on my part.
I'm thinking about purchasing a 2004 mini cooper but I'm worried about the price of maintenance, being a BMW and all. Is the cost high?
hoddap,
Besides the obvious cost of doing repairs that are not covered on routine servicing for three years which is covered, there are other costs common to owning and operating any vehicle.
Consider-
Cost of cleaning your MINI- lots of wheel cleaners or Simple Green, microfiber towels, car wax and leather conditioner.
Insurance- Not bad on the insurance rates. Depends on where you live and your age and gender.
Gasoline- pretty good gas mileage from about 25 mpg to 35 mpg depending on MC vs MCS and who is driving.
Extra oil changes before the normal service intervals of 12,000 and 25,000 miles- can be done but doesn't have to be done at the dealership to save some money. Need to use full synthetic motor oil and buy the oil filter cartridge and O-ring.
Wheels- runflats transmit road shock from potholes to the rim and sometimes a damaged rim is the result. It can happen but the cost of the rim is moderate.
Tires- not likely that any of the OEM tires will last a full three years with 10,000 a year in driving. Cost of replacing runflats in case of tire damage is very high so many of us switch to non runflats and get a better ride and better performance.
wiper refills- if it streaks each year you can get new ones covered
Brake pads and brake rotors - if wear is excessive and uneven before three years it is covered
Battery- likely that the OEM one will fail before three years- is it covered? Maybe.
Overall it isn't too bad because the basic things are covered under the MINI warranty for the first three years.
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#43 Street Modified (SM) Class SCCA Hawaii Region
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