I posted a thread about this in a different part of NAM, but am hoping to maximize exposure...

My new MINI is going to be ready to pick up in a few days and the dealer is now pitching add-ons. Are there any MINI owners out there who have any insight or opinion about purchasing the add'l 6 yr/100,000 no-cost maintenance?

At $2400 that's hard to swallow, but I'd love to hear from anyone out there who didn't buy and wish they had, bought and never needed, etc.

Thanks!

Just so you know, it's not 6 more years added. It's 6 years total from the initial purchase date

I realize that. It's just how the dealer said it. It's 3 MORE years/total mileage 100K for $2400.

Ohh, you are talking extended free maintenance, not the extended warranty?

Because the original warranty is 4 years / 50 000 miles

And the free maintenance is 3 years / 36 000 miles

Yes: Extended "free" maintenance.


It sounds like the consensus is that it's not a good deal, but I'm going from a Honda (15 yrs/215,000 mi), to this MINI. All this "free maintenance" stuff didn't exist the last time I bought a car...

I have the 6 year 100k maintenance on my R56s and did not regret it at all! A typical brake job is about 1500 dollars and you will have it done I would guess at least twice so that's 3000 dollars not to mention it also includes a clutch change. My clutch went out at 98,000 and was quoted 2800 dollars but since I had the maintenance plan didn't have to worry about it. If you are keeping the car for a long time I would highly recommend it. Sure it is a lot of money right now but it will be saving you much more long term.

My take...
if you are an OEM DEALER ONLY type of person....pre-paying MIGHT save you $$...but if you have a local Independent place... they are often STILL CHEAPER...and often can work with you more on the products used, and schedule.
Some folks don't mind paying the extra $$$$ to get dealer trained techs to work on a 3+ year old car, so they can also get warm coffee, and fancier places to hang out,,,
My suggestion...
Take the $2500, and save it....if you still have the car in 3+ great!! but life has a funny kind of way of changing....
and one tip...More than $800 for a brake job with OEM+ quality parts is more common, even high is some areas...so a $1500 claim is high...or just a very $$$ dealer....

Typical brake job isn't close to $1500 in the real world. You can easily buy the parts for all four corners for under $400 and either do them yourself or pay an independent mechanic less than $300. These are high quality aftermarket low dust ceramic pads. So less than half! How about the $125 cabin filter that is $20 or less and takes five minutes to change. Dealer charges well over $100 for that!

Just saying some people prefer taking the car to a dealership. I do all my own work when its on my dime (bought the car as a lease return and it came with the 6 year 100k plan) but its pretty convenient always having a loaner car ready for you and any other issues taken care of at the same time.

Something left unstated here is that if you do your own work you tend to notice any issues faster - plus, if you're picky like I am, you may not trust other folks' work as much as your own