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To Buy, or Not to Buy, the Extended No-Cost Maintenance Plan
General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
To Buy, or Not to Buy, the Extended No-Cost Maintenance Plan
My dealer expects my MINI to be ready to pick up "Friday or Saturday" (WOOOOOT!), and sent me an email about getting the 6 yr/100,000 no cost maintenance program. It sounds like a good idea, but the $2400 price tag is tough to swallow.
Does anyone out there have some insight or advise about this? This is our first every MINI and my husband is very concerned about the reliability of these cars. I'm just not sure what to think.
I thought all new minis came with 3yr/36k no cost maintenance included? So you're only getting the balance of that for $2,400. If you're worried about reliability I would look into extended warranty not maintenance program if something breaks out of warranty you're still going to get charged for it
It's not a good deal IMO as you are prepaying for maintenance at inflated dealer rates. Rather than hashing out the math again, search the forums because we've done this subject before. Extended warranty is a different issue and although I'm not buying it, I see a better case for it if you drive enough to hit the miles.
It's not a good deal IMO as you are prepaying for maintenance at inflated dealer rates. Rather than hashing out the math again, search the forums because we've done this subject before. Extended warranty is a different issue and although I'm not buying it, I see a better case for it if you drive enough to hit the miles.
I appreciate that insight and I'll poke around a little more on the forums (searched for this topic and nothing popped out at first glance).
If the dealer is close to your house, then it's a big plus for going with the extended warranty. If you're not going to go with the extended warranty then I'd have an independent garage in mind ahead of time.
Really without knowing the exact details of the warranty, it's hard to give advice. I will say that $2,400 seems like a lot of cash. However, after my warranty ended on my 2008 MCS I spent a lot more than that on repairs...
On my 2015 MINI, which had 5,000 miles on it when I purchased it, the MINI dealer gave me 4-years / 75,000 miles, more than likely to seal the deal.
confirming parts of what others have said . . . and adding a crumb or two
1) the extended maint' plan extends maint' on the factory schedule. Many think that schedule is B.S. and do maint' more frequently .... I make no comment on this as good or bad .... but the PLAN will be to the factory specs .....
2) IME if you do not buy it now ... it will be offered 1,285,457 times in the year before your factory coverage runs out . . .
3) DO NOT CONFUSE maintenance coverage vs a warranty extension .... NOT THE SAME THING .... which will ALSO be offered 1,285,456 times before the warranty runs out . . {just an estimate btw}
2) IME if you do not buy it now ... it will be offered 1,285,457 times in the year before your factory coverage runs out . . .
3) DO NOT CONFUSE maintenance coverage vs a warranty extension .... NOT THE SAME THING .... which will ALSO be offered 1,285,456 times before the warranty runs out . . {just an estimate btw}[/QUOTE]
LOL! "1,285,456..." I'm sure that's true.
I've been doing enough reading that I think I feel comfortable with saying "No" to the "no cost" maintenance extension.
Seriously considering extended warranty, but the MA is being coy and won't tell me a price. "I'll have the Finance Manager go over the options with you when you come in...".
Seriously considering extended warranty, but the MA is being coy and won't tell me a price. "I'll have the Finance Manager go over the options with you when you come in...".
do you have sufficient $ in the bank to pay for a repair?
The folks that sell these plans assume NO ... and want you to spend x dollars a month ... and they will cover you
OPTION .......
put those SAME x dollars a month aside ... (in an interest bearing account) and if you never have a problem you get the dollars . . . . if you do have a problem, hopefully you set aside enuf . . .
btw .. read the fine print. The one time I DID buy one of these plans (long ago) the first problem I had was "not covered." See the fine print.
I canceled the plan, got a prorated refund, and have NEVER considered one again. (But I do have $$ in the bank)
Gonna "just say 'no'" for now on extensions of whatever
I've decided not to buy the extension on the "no cost" maintenance, at least for now.
I'm also not going to buy the extended warranty right now. As one of my friends pointed out, "why should you pay for an 'extended' warranty now when you have a warranty in place?". That seemed like a very good question that I didn't have a very good answer to. Considering I have 4 yrs/50,000 miles to make that call, seems a little silly to pay interest on something I'm at least three years from needing.
I've been angsting about all this stuff so much that I've forgotten that I should really just be excited about getting my (first ever) MINI and enjoy the experience.
I extended my 36,000 MINI extended maintenance warranty to 100,000 after 16,000 miles after purchase. You have until 36,000 miles to purchase it from any MINI dealership. For me it has paid for itself. I figured if I get brakes and a clutch out of it, it would pay for itself. I must say if you have drive a manual--it is definitely worth it. As 60,000 is a typical experience clutch replacement (not according to me, rather the MINI advisor). He was correct.
My flywheel ($1,000 part) was replaced at 44,000 miles which was covered under the 50,000 warranty but the clutch was replaced under the extended maintenance warranty. The clutch is not covered under regular 50,000 miles warranty as it is a wear item. It would have cost me $600 for clutch kits parts, release bearing, gear box oil, bolts alone without labour costs. (Yes I could save $50 by using non MINI aftermarket clutch.) Plus, I have an ALL4 which adds two hours of labour to the replacement as they need to struggle to get the retaining nut off to release the mechanism.
I also had the brakes replaced under the maintenance warranty. As front brakes tend to go out right after the 36,000 mile warranty expires.
As someone already wrote, a word of caution is to read the fine print. For example, my clutch went out again at 61,000 miles (my own fault) the maintenance warranty would not cover a second clutch as the dealership said when they put through a second clutch warranty paperwork--they had to eat the costs themselves. That said, I would definitely do it again.
I bought the extended warranty when I picked up my new JCW last summer...other than running up my payment more than I liked I figured it was good insurance to have on a new Gen JCW...I know I'm covered for 7 years or 70,000 miles and I like having that peace of mind....especially since my JCW is not driven daily...I will never reach 70,000 miles before 7 years....and yes, I plan on keeping it a long time! ;-)
We actually ended up buying the extended warranty too--7 yrs/100,000 mi. It added $32/mo to our payment and I feel more comfortable (as does my husband, who is not enthused about MINI's non-Honda reliability) knowing I have it. Using my F55S as my daily commuter/everything vehicle. I drive about 15K/year so 7 yrs is about right for hitting 100,000 mi.
I'm hoping to keep this car a long time and $30/mo is a cheap price for piece of mind.
I'm looking into getting the extended warranty for my '14 Countryman All4. I'm coming up on 50k so its now or never.
I've called one dealer so far to get costs. For anyone interested, I've attached the breakout below for the "XL" plan. They said the XL is the most popular. You can read about it here.
Seems as though pricing is dependent on your VIN and mileage (makes sense), and the dealer said that these prices are coming directly from MINI. I'm going to call around to other dealers to see if that's the case.
Some dealers will discount to get the biz. It's got a lot of profit built into it. I'd just sell the car and buy a new one if it was me or go without warranty.
