I just picked up my new mini, but have to tell the dealer what extended warranties for service or maintenance I would like to purchase.

Help! Do I really need to purchase extended maintenance, road hazard, etc for my new? I'm only driving it for pleasure, no commuting!

Can I get the car serviced thru independents, or much I go back to the dealer for everything? and pay those prices? $1000 for inspection II?

Karen in Texas
still need to name the new arrival! any recs would be appreciated...

 

Hi and welcome to NAM, to answer your questions I feel we need to know more about your new purchase. Is it a new or used Mini? model? mileage? etc As far as name suggestions a description would be handy ie colour, model etc or better yet a picture!

 

Hi Karen, we just received our new Mini also. We did not get the extended anything because we will only drive it @ 6 -7 K per year. It comes with a 50,000/4 year warrantee and by the time the 4 years are up, we'll only be at 28,000 miles. Besides, with every other new car we have purchased and didn't get the extended warrantee, the dealer called us in 6 months or so & offered one at 1/2 the price. Don't know if Mini does that or not. Dealers usually farm out those extended plans & (since I know of one company & how they work) the price you pay for the plan is outragous! On a $3,000 plan, the actual $$ that goes to the plan is @ 25%. The rest is commission, commission, commission.

 

Thanks for the replies so far.
The car is brand new 2008 Mini Cooper Convertible. Chili Red with Black top. Didn't buy too many upgrades, but just want to know if we have to get the oil changed and inspections I and II done at the dealership. They are asking $2200 for the extended warranty plan. Will I really need to spend that much for typical maintenance? How much do oil changes and inspections/maintenance usually cost?

 

The dealer obviously is not offering a deal on the extended warranty so IMO skip it. Mini's come with a pretty good standard warranty. I live in Canada so I'm not sure if the service warranties are the same so I'll leave that to someone else.

Name suggestions?

MiniMouse or a little more riske ToplessMiniMouse

 

I will be getting the extended warranty. I plan to keep my car a long time and once the mileage/year is up, any of the 16 computers in the Mini cost nearly as much as the warranty.

 

Congratulations Karen! Did your dealer pressure you at all on the extended warranties and coverages? May I ask what dealer you bought at? We'll be making those same decisions in a couple of weeks.

The name will probably reveal itself to you. We've narrowed it down to two candidates from a field of 10, mostly inspired by music, colors, and of course British references.

 

Here are some more comments on warranties.

We are waiting until we drive our car around a bit before we name it.

 

I believe the maintenance is included,oil changes and all, for the first 3yrs or 36,000 miles. Check with your dealer.

 

They have an extended maintenance plan that extends that. There is a separate plan for the regular warranty.

 

You can add the extended warranty or maint. plans up until the ones that came with your car expire (maint is 3yr/36k, warranty is 4yr/50k I believe). price just might go up though.

 

Well, my impression from our warranty / dealer was that we had to buy the extended maintenance warranty by yesterday (Friday), or the price would be higher and be subject to sales tax!

We didn't go for any of the extensions. I hope we don't regret it, but that's our decision for now. I'm kinda running out of cash at this point anyway, and would prefer to delay those big costs. $2200 for the ext warranty!!

We bought thru Moritz Mini in Arlington, TX. The whole process was pretty painless and I didn't feel any undue pressure at all during the process. We were kept up to date on the Mini's production and delivery date.

Now, to the task of naming the new arrival... Have a great weekend all, and thanks for much for your input.

 

We ordered through Moritz too. So far, so great. Philip has been patient, attentive, and helpful.

 

If you aren't too far away, swing by Estella's in Arlington some Saturday morning and show off your new MINI. Some NAMies get together there "quite often."

 

If you aren't comfortable doing the work/maintenance on the car yourself, or aren't comfortable bringing it to another shop after the standard warranty runs out, then I'd go for it.
I skipped all, because
1. I'm an hour from any dealer
2. I prefer to do all the maintenance and work myself

So go with what you are comfortable with.