My Roadster S should arrive by September's end. Undoubtedly, I will be offered extended warranty and maintenance agreements. I generally opt out, but I'm unfamiliar with specifics of MINI's programs.

Any thoughts or experiences to share on MINI's extended warranty or maintenance plans?

Any additional MINI options worth considering from the F&I Office?

 

My SA was telling me the other day to figure if I was going to be driving more than 10,000 miles a year or not. He said if not then the extended maintenance would probably not be worth the $.
As far as the extended warranty goes, I'd buy it.

 

Good question, as I will be taking delivery of mine around the same time as you. I was buying a used MINI to begin with and was led to believe not to buy used without a warranty. Unless you don't mind paying expensive repair bills.

Now since I am buying new I am unsure if I need to buy the warranty or not. Can't you buy the warranty at a later date from MINI? Is it required to be bought at initial purchase of vehicle?

As far as maintenance plan, do oil changes really add up to the cost of the plan? Will the brakes really need to be done? Will they wear out once or twice before it expires? I've hardly ever had to do brake work on my other vehicles up to about 100k miles. Will the MINI's not last that long?

Is that why MINI sells the maintenance plan: brakes, air filters, oil changes and what ever else it covers have to be changed frequently? Is the cost of the maintenance plan justified?

Again, really good question tampadave....

Look forward to the responses.

 

I drive approximately 6,000 miles per year if you include 1-2 annual trips from Northern Virginia to Northeast Ohio. I can see where the extended maintenance plan may not work for me. With this mileage, should I also disregard the extended warranty?

 

I understand you can buy the extended warranty any time before the original warranty expires. I do not know when you must buy the extended maintenance plan.

 

Finance manager at my mini dealer quoted me $1795 for Extended Maintenance plan said I could purchase after pickup. He also said driving less then 10k per year would not be worth purchasing extended maintenance plan especially with an Automatic.

For the 7/70 extended warranty EMP XXL (includes nav, mini connect and radio etc ) $3350 with less then 10k miles on car or $3750 with over 10k miles. For EMP XL $2938 less then 10k on car and $3318 over $10k on car.

Leaning toward the EMP XXL only however, my driving is right around the 9k mark on average

 

So, the original MINI warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles. The extended warranty adds another 3 years and 20,000 miles for a grand total of 7 years or 70,000 miles. If I average 6,000 miles per year, that's about 42,000 miles for a 7 year period at an approximate cost of $3,000 for EMP XL coverage. Mmmmm, I don't know whether it's worth it or not. As for the extended maintenance agreement, I may not drive sufficient miles to benefit from the coverage. As for the 7/70 extended warranty, perhaps I need NAM posters to chime in with convincing horror stories after their MINI standard warranty expired.

 

Yeah have been reading the horror stories and leaning more towards purchasing it just prior to hitting the 10k mark.

 

Buy the warranty

 

You say this with such authority. I'm guessing you utilized the coverage after your standard warranty expired. I may stop in at the MINI Service Department to discuss worst case scenarios, probabilities, etc., with a Service Manager.

 

I've been asking myself the same question: extended warranty, maintenance plan, or both? I also haven't decided yet if I'm going to lease of purchase outright. If I just lease, I don't need either.

I drive 10K miles/year, store the Roadster from November - March. Other than oil changes and a set of wiper blades, I never could use the original 3/30 maintenance plan for my 2010 S Convertible (brake pads were still good at 30K miles). There's a recent post of a guy who bought the extended maintenance plan for his JCW 3 months after his original plan expired...it cost him $1999, but paid for his new clutch plates.

If I purchase, I probably would get the extended warranty to cover me for 7 years. I'm doubting the maintenance plan is really worth it, and I usually changed my own oil, brake pads, etc. in the past. And if you really don't like your dealership, is the maintenance plan transferable?

2 other things to consider:

1). For most of the 22 (non-MINI) cars and motorcycles I've purchased over the past 4 decades, the extended warranty price was negotiable. If I didn't bite on the original offer, it usually reappeared again (often via a post-purchase letter from the finance guy) with a "special offer", often around 25% less. I'd be interested in hearing from other MINI owners if this happened to them.

2). I was not going to get an extended warranty for my 2010 Honda Ridgeline truck, but did so after learning that the price of the extended warranty was fully refundable (in the written contract) if I didn't use it during the 7 year period. It became a win-win: win for me if I really need it, win if I don't and get my money back! Does anyone know if the MINI extended warranty is refundable?

 

Some excellent points! I would love to hear answers from our enlightened veteran MINI enthusiasts....