Hey Everyone,
Sorry as I am sure that this question has been asked before. I expect to pick up Little Bean by end of month. I do not want to make a rash or expensive decision regarding warranty purchases while at the dealer with my wife and daughter there. So I called my MA who had someone supposedly call me. I had to call him, anyway requested info on the various warranties avail. I got the names and costs but not an indepth description or readings as to what is covered and what is not, when, how, etc. SOOOO what can anyone tel me about the various warranties that my dealer is going to offer? Costs, coverages, etc personal and or professional opinions. I can't wait to start waving at everyone and join up on a drive & get together.
Little Bean,
Evan

 

JMHO, but most extended warranties (including tires/wheels) are big profit makers for dealerships. Usually a substantial percentage of the price (up to 50%) goes to either the salesperson as commission, the F&I (finance and insurance) guy as income (BTW, the F&I guy is usually the highest paid person in a dealership because he sells these profit generating products), or the dealership as income. Like most insurance, you're betting that you'll have a major failure after the original factory warranty expires, and they're betting that you won't. My understanding is that you can purchase most extended warranties any time before your factory warranty expires, so you have a few years to decide if it's a good bet.

Many extended warranties are provided by companies not affiliated with BMW/MINI, so be sure to get ALL the details if you want to buy one with your car and include it in your financing (BTW the dealership gets a percentage of this too, unless you provide your own financing or pay cash). If you ever need it and it covers a major repair exceeding the cost of the policy, it was a good investment. If not, it was money that you spent to buy piece of mind. Only you can decide if it's a good value.

I suspect that the folks whose cars are lemons and need the warranties are glad they bought them. But the vast majority of folks who bought extended warranties never use them, and could have used the money for better tires/wheels, mods, vacations, etc. It's a crap shoot, and the odds are always stacked against you in favor of the house.

 

Evan -

I got your voicemail last night, but it was probably too late for me to call back.

Ed brings up some good points above. The only thing I'd have to add is to reinforce the point that you can always purchase an extended warranty at a later time, so don't feel pressured to do anything at the dealership.

 

I am one of those that needs it, because I drive so much; 3 years 85,000 miles, so I've used it I have Geico so I got it through them, $250 deductabel, which has been a pain. MOS had one that only has a $50 deductabel, which could have been a lot better for me. If you don't drive a lot, like I do, the original warranty shoudl be good to go. As ed says, you can always get it later

 

R56 Ed, Claymore, & Mr EZ
Thank you for all your advice. It is well taken. And by a vote of 3 1/2 ( half my vote) to "0" i will not buy at the dealer at time of signing. As I just heard, a friend took his in for a light on and is looking into the warranties. My thoughts are that my private mechanic can do oil change and brakes afterwards for a hell of a lot cheaper, an I can probably do those too. Down the road is what concerns me but I guess I will have 3 years to figure it out! Car is somewhere between NY an Annapolis. Nail biting and having to drive a 35 yr.old antique to get shift practice.
Thanks again.

 

What you're describing here is not a warranty, but a maintenance contract... entirely different animal. Oil changes and brake pads are routine maintenance, whereas brake rotors might be a warranty issue if they wear out prematurely. I believe MINI will cover routine maintenance for at least 36k miles or 3 years, and I think the warranty against defects is for 4 years/48k miles. Additional oil changes are up to you, and while there are several threads and LOTS of opinions about whether or not you should spend the money, for less than $40 in parts you can change your own oil and filter sooner than the usual +/- 20k interval that the OBC suggests and MINI pays for. My justacooper's OBC called for the first oil change at 19.5k miles, and I can assure you that I changed it three times before then. More often than absolutely necessary? Probably so. Worth it for peace of mind... you betcha.

Good luck with your new MINI!

 

Actually, if you drive that much, I would worry about an extended warranty because it's not going to be active for very long. To use your numbers (~2400 miles per month), the factory warranty will expire after 21 months, but a 7 yr/100k mile extended warranty will expire only 20 months later.

A little over a year and a half is a short window to hope you get your money's worth out of the extended warranty. It will work out for some people, but I bet a larger percentage will blow through that 20 month-period without much in the way of claims, considering that the car won't even be 3-1/2 years old by the *end* of the extended warranty period.

 

Just want to chime in here from the "other side". My SO works in the auto business and he has had to deal with people who bought the extended warranties.

The warranty companies will do anything and everything not to honor a claim. The burden of proof is on you to demonstrate you have maintained the vehicle correctly to THEIR standards, include oil changes more frequently than what the manufacturer recommends.

If you do consider an extended warranty, read and re-read the fine print. In my SO's experience, perhaps 1 in 20 claims are actually paid by the Extended Warranty companies. The others were denied for various reasons that really should not have been, but it's their warranty and their rules.