I'm taking delivery of my vehicle tomorrow and my MA notified me that the finance guys will offer me several "packages" such as a First Place Finish thing which is a protection package for the exterior and interior, also vinyl/leather protection, tire road hazard warranty, windshield protection, etc.

What are people's opinion on all this crap? Is any of it worth getting and if so, how much at most should I pay for that option that is worth it.

 

They're all "profit generators" for the dealership. If you can wax your car yourself and can competently operate a vacuum and application of leather conditioner, you'll be saving yourself a huge amount of money.

Save your money for useful features. Also, make sure the dealership isn't scamming you on overly ambitious "documentation fees". Anything more than $100 is getting unreasonable. Stand your ground; they're already making plenty of money off the MSRP sale!

 

What about the windsheild and tire protection packages? Also, i was charged 125.90 for the doc fee.

 

reject all of it. Your insurance should have windshield protection, some states even requiring 0 deductible for windshield replacement. You have road hazard coverage standard for 3 years, so wait, you can always purchase it later if you so desire, or join AAA.

 

With my insurance company, windsheild repair is covered, but a replacement is basically like any other claim...I pay my deductible which is more than the cost of the windsheild...in other words I pay to get my windshield replaced.

Road hazard coverage that they offer is not roadside assistance. MINI offers roadside assistance for 3 years, but road harzard warranty on the tires covers free replacement of a tire that gets damaged due to a road hazard. In other words, you don't pay to get a new tire if your tires get a flat.

 

I bought my MINI 2 weeks ago. They offered a tire protection package for $550. You've got to be kidding. I can buy a whole new set of tires for that much. They also offer some preimium package for $190 more per month.

I told them no on everything. Just pure profit for them.

 

Wow $550? I'd pay like a tenth of that, but that's outrageous. What was the premium package?

 

there's a package to protect you from the dealer?

 

Its a package of KY JELLY--get it at your local pharmacy

 

So none of these packages are worth getting huh?

 

When i bought my 07 MCS back in April i opted to get the road hazard protection (tire and wheel) coverage. Last week i hit the mother of all potholes, blew the runflat tire and bent the rim. Anyways... Would have cost me 595 bucks for the new rim, tire, and labor. Just that one incident would have cost more than the package cost me. Good luck with your new MINI!

 

I got the extended service contract because I plan on keeping the car for a bit, but all of the other ones are pretty scammy. There are plenty of posts here where the tire and windshield replacements have paid for themselves but I'm willing to be that those individuals are the definite minority. Good luck, and remember you can always add them later should you so choose (well at least the maintenance and warranty)

 

From a Motoring Advisor standpoint...

First Place Finish is a good product that does help protect the car, and the warranty that comes with it will fix the damage too, which is nice. We get a lot of acid rain around here, so that is the main reason I reccomend it.

We sell the road hazard insurance as well. We've got a 17" Webspoke wheel on display that came off a customers car that didn't buy the insurance. It's damaged beyond repair, as is the tire that's on it. She would have saved herself a lot of money if she had purchased it when she got the car. But I admit, those cases are rare.

The best thing that we offer is Xpel Clear Bra protection. It almost sells itself actually. Between the protection from rock chips and the warranty that comes with it, to most new car buyers it's something they like to have. I'll be getting it on my next MINI after the rock chips that I picked up on this one!

Anyway, that's my .02. I know where you guys are coming from with the "profit generators." I haven't seen a product offered that wasn't worth having, it's just a matter of if you wanted to pay for it or hope you didn't need it.

Drew

 

Just say no. Do you realize even the finance people can get commissions ! When I closed on my 07, the finance gal had me all written up at 7.9 % even though my credit score qualified me at 6.5 % with Mini Finance. I had to sit there for 1/2 hour also when I stated I wanted the 4.9 % offered as a special. She stated she was not aware of the program. I tell you folks, they try and get you coming and going. It's a nasty business. Mothers don't let your babies grow up to be car salespersons.

 

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+1.....run, don't walk , away from all this horse's poop.....when you get to know a car dealer real well (like at the bar after about 3 double vodkas) he'll tell you it's nothing more than margin enhancement....one more secret if you're not in a hurry to buy the car, when they show you the itemized invoice, there will be a charge for preparing the application, could be as high as $200....become indignant, threaten to cancel the purchase and start to walk out of the showroom....they'll change their mind

 

I said no to everything, I'm not into that stuff. But if I had it to do again I would consider only the clear bra to eliminate rock chips. Some dealers just farm that out to someone else, I know you can get it elsewhere. I only have a few chips but now I'm OC about the paint and hang out on the detailers 101 forum. I thought the tire/wheels thing was for suckers only ($700 for me). I remember the last car I got in 2005, they were dealing on the extended warranty like it was a velvet Elvis painting in Tijuana.

 

I got sucked in by the windshield plan. It included a coating of some kind, and insurance. I had just been reading a thread about how the MINI seems to be vulnerable to windshield cracks. Since then, I've taken some heavy hits on the windshield. One was so loud I thought I'd been hit by a truck. No damage to the windshield.

There are some after-market windshield coatings (Diamond something, I think) that may be worth investigating before getting it from a dealer. Might be cheaper.

I also got talked into the LoJack install. Turns out I could have gotten it cheaper aftermarket, but at least the dealer was a reliable installer with warranty backing.

 

As someone who grew up in socal that's facking hilllarious

 

ok fyi you cant get for new tires for 550 if you are going to replace them with runflats. each run flat is about 225. i got the tire service together with gap insurance for 600 which is something i paid for up front so im not financing it. if you live in a city were there are alot of idiot drivers and they are always constructing it is something to consider. otherwise i would agree with everyone that its a waste.

 

I use to work at a dealership. No, NO, NO you don't need any of these thing. Nothing you can do about the doc fee. If they charge one they have to charge everybody. However when I bought my Mini I ask for some extra at a good price to off set the doc fee. The throw in floor mats and sold me the arm rest and bonnet stripes for half price.

 

I don't agree. I've had that fee "waived" countless times, but I agree with your point of "getting credit" for it in another part of the transaction. I just bought a new RAV4 for the wife. $5500 difference (with trade) was the agreed "out the door" price. Sat down with the finance bubba, who added a $55 doc fee. I wasn't having any of that "everybody pays it" crap. I didn't charge the dealership for my time to get a loan approval and check, the time and effort to go licence the car, etc... so I wasn't paying him for his time to fill out the bill of sale. That's the cost of doing business. You would have a fit if WalMart added a $5 "check-out" fee, and the document fee is really no different.

He ended up knocking down the difference to $5445, adding the $55 doc fee to arrive at the same agreed upon price. That was fine with me, and I couldn't care less how they count the pennies internally.

 

Windshield deductible varies by state law, sorry you state isn't one that requires no deductible. My deductible on the windshield is 100 bucks, windshield replacement about 500 parts and labor.

Didn't realize about the road hazard. Still don't think any of this is worth it.

My MA knew better than to even ask me about any of this.

 

Also, does the road hazard cover after market wheels and tires? If not, it doesn't make sense if you are going to replace the wheels and tires soon after purchase. You could almost buy a set of wheels and tires for what the road hazard cost.

 

I feel almost like I missed out. I wasn't 'offered' any of these exciting opportunities when I took delivery.

 

I'm not sure why you are willing to pay $225/RFT. They can be obtained for less than $170 each. All depends where you look.