Dealer is trying to charge $1k for 4yr/50k.. am i getting ripped??

 

The Mini comes with 3yr/36k(?) bumber-to-bumber and I think just drive-train for the 4th year. The $1k the dealer is talking about extends the bumper-to-bumper to cover the 4th year.

My dealer "required" this add-on too. Whether or not it's worth it depends upon how lucky you think you'll be the 4th year.

David

 

The 2006 models have the same 3yr / 36k free service arrangement as earlier models.

This doesn't sound like a good deal, even if that's four years or 50k miles *beyond* the standard arrangement.

Was he talking about an extended warranty? $1000 for an additional four years/50k miles beyond the standard warranty might not be a bad deal. That would cover you out to 100,000 miles, and it doesn't take much in the way of out-of-warranty repairs to rack up $1000 in repairs.

Scott

 

Our dealer (Ralph Schomp) told us to wait until closer to the end of our 3 yr warranty. They said that if the brakes looked like they need to be replaced after the warranty, then for $300 they would sell us the extra year. Fair enough I thought.

 

what da.. so basically instead of charging "mark-up", they are charging this much..lol...

 

Full maintenance thru year 3 or 36k miles, then an option to add as needed.

 

Okay, I can understand an extended *warranty*, under some circumstances, but does anyone actually buy the extended maintainance agreement? That's just routine maintainance, right? Oil changes, service inspections, air filters, that kind of stuff, right??

And from the original post, does it really cost $1000 extra to go from 3yr/36k miles to 4yr/50k miles on the Full Maintainance agreement? What kind of routine maintainance comes due in that last 12 months/14k miles that makes it worthwhile to spend $1000 up front to cover it?

And how big of a chump would you be if you sprung for the extended agreement and didn't keep the car long enough to use it? (Car gets stolen, wrecked, traded in, etcetera).

Scott

 

I believe at my dealer it was something like $500 to add the extra year... I'm going to wait till the 3rd year and maybe add it then depending on what might need doing and how much it will cost outside the maintenance program...

 

I paid $399 to extend to 4/50,000. It may end up being a $399 oil change but at least my mind is at peace if something happens.

 

Does the extended cover brakes, etc. just like the factory 3 year?

 

That is my understanding.

Ditto

 

1k dollars = rip off MA
i hear 450 dollars often. my ma doesnt even talk about it.

400 dollars I would do, I guess. 1 more year of free maintenence sounds ok. I wish they had a 3-4 year extension for like 1500 dollars, I would jump on that!

 

When I got my 06-S my SA gave me a paper to sign off on with all the extra, extended stuff already checked No for me. Required option, sound fishy and smells stinky to me. I just might add that Sandia Mini has been great so far with any small problems I have had.

 

As others have said numerous time, you automatically get 3 years. The fourth year ... no way does it cost $1000. That is mostly profit. Tell your dealer your not interested. $400 may be about right.

Is it worth it for $400. Now that all depends how much you drive the car. Do NOT confuse maintenaince items with warrant items. They are totally different.

The first service at about 10K miles is an oil change with a bunch "checks" done. However, the second one at about 25K is more extensive just like any other cars 30K service.

Also, read your maintenaince manual. MINIs require brakes to be bled every two years.

So, if you drive more than 25K miles in 3 years, its probably not worth the extra money. If you don't and it costs about $400 ... then its probably a wash.

 

in Socal, he offered to extend the warrenty for 6 yr/100k for 1250 and the maintanence to 4yr/50k for $650. I will buy it afterwards from some other dealership.

 

$1000 for one extra year of maintenance is a joke. We opted to not do any extended warranties since I can do most work on a car myself and even with 50,000 miles of coverage that would only get us to just under two years with the mileage my wife puts on cars.

 

I paid $750 to extend my service to 4 years 50,000 miles. I also extended the waranty for $800.
I've never bothered with extended waranties and such before, but when you're buying something so special, it's probably best. I mean, I am no stranger with changing out brake pads and oil, but I"m just more comfortable with the pros doing it.


-m

 

So, is there $750 worth of routine maintainence that comes due in the 1yr/14k miles between when the standard full service agreement ends and when your extended one ends?

Scott

 

That is where the 25K Service II comes in. If you got less than 25K, it helps. If not, doubtful. After all, there's nothing to do (except maybe bleed the brakes). The ONLY thing MINI does under the maintenaince contract are the Services (I and II), bleed the brakes, and change the oil once per year if you drive less than the time period to the next service interval

Sounds like a ripoff to me.

 

Sounds plain painful.

 

The answer is, I don't know. This is the first time I've owned one of these, and I figured it wouldn't hurt. I drive a lot, I'm guessing I'll be replacing the brakes at about that time. Who knows, may have wasted my money, but I don't regret it. Maybe I will in 4 years though.

 

I'm thinking the "free" maintenance on MINI's in more marketing than value. I've already run up 21K miles on my car since last November. Had the first oil service at about 10K miles, still got another 4K or so to go for Inspection I. As light as the car is and my driving, I'm guessing my brakes won't wear out before 36K so I'm probably going to get two glorified oil changes and that's it. Routine maintenance, including brake jobs, will be done by me or an independent shop after the plan is over, nothing exotic about a MINI's drivetrain that a local specialty shop can't handle at much less than the dealer's service department. On my M3, I got 3 oil services, and Inspection I and II before my time expired (Inspection II on an M car is almost $1K!) so it was a valuable service. This is a long way to say I don't think paying extra for that extra year of maintenance is a good value.

 

Oh.. I knew it...
he said no markups but i would have to purchase the maintenance warranty for $1k... i knew it was too good to be true..
if anyone can find me a new Red base model with premium.. let me know ASAP.. i got $$$ haha...

 

The free maintenance (and extended maintenance plan) covers brake jobs. A lot of owners report that their brakes needed doing between year 3 and year 4 of ownership, and at the dealer, the price tag was anywhere from $800 to $1200, depeding on exactly what was done, which makes the extra year of maintenance (for a reasonable price) not too bad deal., when you consider it also includes a loaner car. The extended warranty (to 100K) can make sense if you are planning on keeping the car that long too, as insurance. Have a friend who's MINI is out of standard warranty by about 15K miles and sitting at the dealer's with a bad tranny. If she wants it back, it is $8,000 to replace the trans., or she can sell the car to the dealer for parts for $500.

 

peace of mind is excercising the least bit of disipline and having the cash set aside to take care of things IF you need to and if you don't then you come out ahead

Extended warranties are ALWAYS a bad financial move, dealers make more money on these rip-off warranties than anything else....They obviously make money because the majority of customers NEVER BENEFIT!....but hey if you find "security" in giving someone else money rather than keeping a pile of it yourself then so be it but that isn't my idea of security

Just ask the dealer to check the brake pad thickness close to 36k....then make the decision.....you certainly dont buy it now......Besides, changing pads is not rocket science and no special tool is needed if I recall reading the how to's posted here correctly.....This is a simple job that can be done at any reputable garage for less than $500