I just got off the phone with Yolanda, my service rep at MoS. I contacted the dealership at the recommendation of several list members (thank you!) who advised me about the extended maintenance warranty.

I'm unhappy with what she told me , but I don't think it's totally MoS's fault. Because my car is out of the standard 36k warranty, I have to pay $200 more to purchase the extended warranty than I would have if I'd bought it before the engine hit 36k. I asked why nobody ever made me aware that this option was available to me when I had the car in for service. To sum it up, she told me that the Mini finance folks sell the plan and it's usually purchased at the time of sale. The service people don't offer or suggest it as an option (which I think is a mistake, but so be it.) Problem is, I purchased Beatrice from CarMax. They sold me their Max Care warranty and never mentioned this as an option. I paid as much for their warranty as I would have for a MINI one, and while the coverage does not begin until the car is out of MINI's original warranty, they pro-rate the cancellation refund from day 1. Doesn't seem right. I'm stuck in the middle. I don't want the Car Max warranty, I've heard nothing but bad things and my experience in just trying to get my last name updated when I got married was so over the top, I can imagine what it takes to actually use the service.

I'm going to complain to CarMax about this, but expect no real results. I suppose this is a word of warning for anyone who purchased their MINI used and wants to extend the warranty - do before you hit 36k.

 

Carmax service is great I have bought 20 cars from them and never had a issues

 

As the Maintenance warranty is different than the regular "bumper to bumper" and drive train warranties, you may want to take a close look at what the CarMax one covers...

The (MINI) Maintenance warranty covers the routine maintenance items (oil changes, wiper blades, etc). It's separate from the major items warranty.

 

Nor surprising though. I'm not sure if you're talking extended warrenty or extended maintenance with MINI, the thread title makes it sound like you do mean the maintenance extension not the warrenty extension. But of course CarMax sold you a extended warrenty, not extended maint. They're different of course, and I know the MINI maint one is $200 more if you break 36K. I got mine with 150 miles to spare.

I'm sure Car Max can't sell you a MINI extended maint package nor extended warrenty... Just their own. Would be nice (and profitable for the MINI dealer) for MoS to mention it to folks who might have bought used, it can only add to their sales. But yes it's normally sold by the sales manager or finance not service folks for some reason, hence people that bought the car elsewhere fall through the cracks.

 

TY for this. My next question to MINI finance was to be to explain exactly what is covered. Seems like a good idea to put them side by side and compare.

Might be overlap, might be that both are a good idea. I've just not seen very good press on the Max Care one.

 

I have about 150 miles left to 36k and was gonna add the extended maint and warranty.

How much extra is the warranty?

 

MINI (as a company) offers an extension of the maintenance warranty (oil changes, etc). To extend your vehicle warranty (drivetrain, etc), you have to look for an aftermarket product such as GE or Warranty Direct. They are sometimes sold through dealers, credit unions, banks or directly to consumers. Not all dealers sell them nor do all dealers bill them directly thus leaving you to pay the bill then submit it for reimbursement.

There are mixed reviews of aftermarket warranties and I'd suggest you do a search for them on NAM and read some of the material.

..and by all means, if you find and buy one, please let the rest of us know how it works out for you!

 

ah, I thought this was a MINI one, like the maintainence.