I just purchased my first Mini Cooper, it's a 2015, 2-door hardtop with 25k miles. I plan to drive about 5k miles per year.
Currently it has 16 months left on the factory warranty and the dealer (non-mini dealer) offered me an extended warranty for around $2500. The dealer said repairs can be expensive with the newer mini's due to the computer systems etc. Not sure if it was a sales pitch or worth getting? I have 20 day's to decide.

Thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
TK

 

Chances are, your non-MINI dealer won't be doing much, if any, work on that car. My local BMW dealer told me they won't do more than oil changes on my car. I bought a used 2012 Countryman S with manual in 2015 from a non-MINI dealer. After owning it for 4 days, the clutch went out. Non-MINI dealer took care of me. Had to have it towed 2+hours away to the MINI dealer. Non-MINI dealer was basically forced to buy an extended warranty that included 1-time clutch replacement. I recommend said non-MINI dealer to anyone I talk to. I've been happy with the car since then, and with both dealers. I do take the car to the MINI dealer for oil changes and stuff since its all included, even though it's 2+hours away and I have to take a day off work to do it. I'd say, if you buy the extended warranty from the non-mini dealer, make sure it includes the big stuff.

Edit:
I guess, technically, what I have is an Extended Maintenance Plan, not an extended warranty. Again, just be sure of what's included in the $2500.00

 

if you decide to purachase an extended warranty I suggest you purchase it directly from your local mini dealership instead of a non mini dealer.

When you get warranty work done you want mini to do it (unless you have an independent mechanic you trust). Things can get dicy when you purchase a warranty from another dealer and then try to get work done at mini directly.

Not that they wont do it but the repairs have to be approved from the 3rd party warranty and that can take time and be a minor annoyance when you are down and out a car (has happened to me with other car brands so speaking from experience).

 

Sales pitch, they always talk about the electronics as this seems scary to many people. You should ask them why are they selling cars to people that are likely to fail?

Bank the money and keep it for a rainy day.

I bought my F56 used from Audi dealer, he tried to sell me a 6000.00 warranty. Lol

 

Even the Mini dealer will try and sell you an expensive extended warranty. I didn't get it.

 

You'll find people coming down on both sides of the debate. It really comes down to your comfort level and the peace of mind you'll have knowing you have an extended warranty or saved the money to use an emergency fund.

Couple of things worth considering w/ a warranty:

Read carefully what is covered and what isn't. Many are worded in such a way that it appears everything is covered, when in reality, it isn't.
Suggest you do some online reading about extended warranties from 3rd party reviewers (Clark Howard, CR, Edmunds, etc.,), if only to give you some perspective before you write the check.

If it were me and I made up my mind to purchase an extended warranty, I'd buy it from the car manufacturer's dealership. In your case a Mini Dealer (if only for less hassle and better customer service).

Unlike cars from years past, today's vehicles are much more reliable and will likely go for many miles (6 figures) before anything but routine items need fixed or replaced. The other side is the new cars are rolling computers and if something were to go haywire, it can add up to some pretty big $ fast.

I'm guessing the consensus for the 3rd party reviewers will be to pass based on reported costs of warranties and the actual cost of repairs on the vehicles. Again, it comes down to your comfort level.

Thankfully, I'm in a situation where I can trade my cars before I roll out of the Bumper-to-bumper factory coverage.

 

Thanks for all your responses. I will look into purchasing one directly from Mini and read through the fine print.

 

Also look into Geico's Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI). It must be purchased by the first owner, under 15 months and under 15,000 miles. For GEICO policyholders, it comes out to about $80/year up to 7 years/70,000 miles for a Hardtop, $250 deductible (yes there is overlap with the warranty, but it is dirt cheap). Does NOT cover maintenance issues/parts.

 

Congratulations on your new-to-you MINI. You were wise to buy a car that has factory warranty remaining.

Your MINI dealer can check your car out to make sure any outstanding service campaigns have been done and all software updates are current. There should be no charge as these would all be warranty items. And while you're there, ask about MINI extended coverage contracts -- you might get better coverage at a better price -- a price that, by the way, can and should be negotiated, if you decide the peace of mind is worth their best offer.

So, the FIRST THING is to make sure anything that might be a warranty item is addressed while you are still in the original factory warranty period. Also, it is VERY IMPORTANT that there is a written record documenting that all scheduled maintenece has been performed as required. Almost every after-market extended service contract requires this -- even if you have an otherwise covered claim, it can be, and often will be denied if the underwriting company can show that all "required scheduled" service wasn't done on time.

Which brings us to these over-priced extended coverage contracts.

I wrote the following for another thread:

First of all, extended warranties aren’t really extended warranties. They DO NOT extend the new car warranty coverage. They are insurance products that will cover some repairs and are limited in many ways.

One type of product lists everything that is covered. If it’s not on the covered list, it’s not covered. Period. The other type of coverage has a list of what is NOT covered. If it’s not on the exclusion list, it’s supposed to be covered. HOWEVER, even a “covered” item might not be covered if the insurance company determines that the so-called covered item failed or broke or quit working due to wear and tear or another failure of a not covered part. Even a skilled lawyer might be challenged to determine what is or isn’t covered or under what circumstances something is covered by a used car mechanical breakdown insurance product.

And, if you think you need to buy a pricey extended protection plan that has more coverage holes than a piece of Swiss cheese because you aren’t in a position to pay for a multi-thousand repair, and if you don’t know how to do basic repairs and diagnostics yourself, then a third party extended protection insurance policy, if you can find one, might cushion some of the blow if a major repair becomes necessary. But don’t count on any “extended warranty” to insulate you from the possible costs that come with owing an out-of-warranty MINI.

I tend to agree with Moocher's comments -- often over-priced and one has to ask why they think a covered part on your near-new MINI will fail during an extended contract period.

 

I wrote before thinking...your new to you MINI isn't eligible for GEICO's MBI, being that you are not the first owner.

I had an R56 before this car, and got an extended warranty from Warranty Direct. Wasn't particularly impressed with their coverage (ambiquous wordings) but I did get some use out of it.

 

There's a reason they want to sell it to you for $2500 and it isn't to save you money either. I remember a dealer trying to sell us more warranty on a NEW Mazda 3 once and by the time we were able to get the hell out of the room he'd lowered the price by half lol.

 

 

I bought a new F56 Mini this Feb and the dealer extended warranty was $4999.00, Maint package was $3500, interior protection was $850.00, and tire protection $500. Needless to say, after I stopped laughing, I didn't buy any of it. Since I can but the extended warranty from any dealer, does anyone have any recommendations?

Joe