I am now purchasing a new mini and the question of the extended warranty came up. Two questions:

1. Is the extended warranty worth getting.

2. Can one only get it the day they are buying the car or can they purchase the extended warranty anytime before the manufacturers warranty expires.

 

I bought the extended warranty, and while I think it's worth having, I think they can give a better deal on the cost of it. I wish I would have been more prepared for that part of the negotiation! What they ended up doing with me is knocking it down to 7 yrs/70k instead of 100k. Which was fine on the miles part, but then I'm not sure what (if any) discount I even got.

They have a ton of options and add-ons for the warranty too, it gets pretty confusing.

 

Extended Warranty, I would say yes. I have a CPO mini (which is essentially extended warranty)
Extended Maintenance, No. The maintenance covers what? Oil every 15,000? A belt? Brakes? all for $2000. Brake parts are like $400 and Oil is about $50 (with filter); you can do it all yourself. (it's not that hard)

 

If you're buying a convertible, definitely get warranty. Otherwise, the mini is no more expensive than owning a standard 3 series BMW in terms of maintenance cost.

 

Are you conflating the extended warranty with extended maintenance? If so, those are two separate things...

 

Conflating? Lol...

No, I'm not. Seeing how I own a convertible that's out of warranty, I should know. I've spent more money and time fixing the damn convertible than actually maintaining the car...and it's still broken.

What I mean to say is that if the mini is a regular hard top, it doesn't cost more than an average 3 series ti maintenance after warranty expiration -- around $2-3k a year if you drive a lot. But a convertible raises the price by a significant amount.

 

I have a '12 CM I bought used at 12k miles, I bought the ext warranty up to 75k miles, it was like another grand or so to go to 100k. covers bumper to bumper after factory except the usual things that get warn out like gaskets... should be worth it

 

Thanks for all the responses, but I still need the second part of the question answered and that is:

do I have time to buy the extended warranty after having purchased the car, say a year later, or do I have to get the extended warranty when I purchase and pick up the car?

 

Not sure if MINI will sell their extended warranty after the sale but I do know there are plenty of third party warranties you can purchase well after the sale, right up until the time your factory warranty is set to expire. And very likely you can find one at a lower price than the MINI extended warranty price.

 

I assume you're referring to the Convertible versus the Roadster. Exactly what problems have you encountered with your top? I just ordered a Roadster, so your post caught my attention.

Dave

 

Tnx CR for that quick response. I wonder if anyone can recommend any third party maintenance contracts they have purchased which they have had to use and whether they were satisfied with the coverage they received. Many companies promise you the world, but fall far short at delivery of service time.

 

IMO, both the warranty and the extended maintenance are not worth it. Most of the time those products are pure profit for the dealer.

MOST people will NEVER EVER use the full value of the plans. Most people will burn through them based on time, and not mileage. Most parts fail with mileage not time...

The extended warranty doesn't cover the clutch. The extended maintenance covers 1 clutch.

You don't have to buy either product at the original time of sale, but you have your best negotiating position at the time of sale.

If it were me, I pass on both, and put an extra $20 a week in a savings account. You have a factory warranty for 4 years anyway, so if you save $20/week, when the factory warranty runs out, you have $4K to use if it breaks. If it doesn't, you can have a nice vacation.

What's $20 anyway? 5 less cups of coffee? A couple less beers? It isn't that hard.

 

I assume you're referring to the Convertible versus the Roadster. Exactly what problems have you encountered with your top? I just ordered a Roadster, so your post caught my attention.

Dave

 

Someone did a very in-depth analysis on this board not that long ago on the extended maintenance plan and for most people, it makes sense to purchase it. And of course the dealer makes money on it. MINI USA pays them for the work since MINI USA collects the premium from you.

But I do agree on the extended warranty, for most people, that one doesn't make much sense financially. Of course, of you have a problematic vehicle and selling it is not an option, buying more warranty might be a wise decision. So I certainly would not paint this as clear "don't get it" answer.

 

Was not referencing any car in particular, but rather the cost effectiveness of an extended warranty and whether it was a good deal for the consumer. Consumer Reports says as a general rule, if you can afford the cost of a repair on any item you purchase, then don't buy the extended warranties.

 

I agree with them and can't remember the last time I purchased a warranty of any kind, whether on a car, a refrigerator, or an alarm clock.

 

+ 1

 

When I purchased my MINI in July, the dealership offered an extended warranty but I declined. They did show me a sheet of paper where I could buy the warranty at a later date, the price goes up as you get closer to the expiration of the original warranty.

My plan was to wait and see before forking over another $2k.

 

Unfortunately the Mini Cooper can get quite expensive if you have to have it repaired outside warranty.
If you plan to keep your Mini outside the factory 4 year/50K miles, then trying to negotiate an extended warranty might make sense.
We purchased our 2013 Mini with 3K miles on it so when negotiating we insisted they certify it as a CPO which added 2years/50K miles to the warranty.
A good "after market" warranty, in addition to possibly being cheaper, might have the added advantage of allowing you to repaire your Mini at other than a Mini dealership. This would be a big plus if the nearist Mini dealership were not convieniently located.
When we purchased our Toyota Sequoia, we found a different dealership from the one we purchased from who was willing to sell Toyotas' Platinum extended warranty at 1/2 the price of the dealership we purched the Toyota from. Don't know if this would be an option with Mini, but would give an outside Mini finnamcial officer a chance to make a few quik bucks just to process the paper work.

 

That is what I'm going to do. I'll wait and see how Lana runs during the warranty, and if pretty trouble free, skip it. Otherwise, I'll get an extended.

 

Actually, the finance dude at our dealership talked me out of it, even though he didn't have to try very hard....I was pretty much already there....8 years, 100k miles, which is really a 4 year 50k warranty.....$3789....and he tells me they DO NOT discount, period.

He also told me that I can purchase the warranty any time up til the end of the factory 4/50k warranty...

That works well for me... I also did this with my Z06....I called around Chevy dealers all over the country to find the best deal on a GM extended warranty and bought it... I actually used it twice, so it easily paid for itself.

For me, I would never do a 3rd party warranty, period, regardless of any price difference, for several reasons...on vehicles, it's always factory warranty for me.