In a week or two when my Clubman S gets off the boat I'm going to have to make a decision about some of the service plans that my dealer is offering. At the moment, I was thinking of going for the extended service plan (to 100k miles), but I wanted to get some others' opinions on what might be worth it. The service plan is about $1800 and covers all scheduled maintenance after the included 36k miles. I believe that it includes two brake jobs and of course all the regular oil changes and other regularly-scheduled stuff. The other service plans that I'm investigating are the extended warranty and tire/wheel plan (not as interested in that one). Has anyone bought these sort of plans from their dealers? Of course, the dealer must be making money on these, so am I better off just skipping them and paying as I go? I plan on keeping my MINI at least until 100k. I'm pretty sure that nobody with a Clubman has exceeded the factory service/warranty by now, but I'm sure some of you will still have some tips!

 

The service plan is certainly worth it (I bought it last year for my other MINI, a 2005 R53 S) but you don't have to buy it the day you pick up the car, unless, you want to bundle the cost into the financing. You have 36K miles or 3 years (whichever occurs first) to purchase the MINI extended scheduled service contract to 6 years or 100K miles whichever occurs first. Be aware that this is not an extended warranty, which is a totally different animal from the extended scheduled service contract. For instance, my rear brakes in my '05 already require replacement. My car is booked in tomorrow at the dealers to have the pads and rotors replaced. Also my 3 year/36k mile scheduled service already expired a couple of months ago. So this will be the first time I use the 6 year/100K mile extension to cover for the cost/labor of the needed replacements. I paid $1,400 at my dealer for the extended service contract. I also like the fact that my entire clutch assembly is covered by it. Replacing the clutch the R53 S is a 9 hour job costing well over $1,500 at the dealer. Well worth getting it IMHO. I will be getting it for the Clubman in a couple of years. No real sense in getting the extension now, when the car is so new (Doesn't even have 1K miles yet).

 

What happens if car is stolen or totalled? Is there any reimbursement or have you lost the money spent for extended maintenance?

 

They will pro-rate it accordingly. However, I do not know exactly what that pro-rating schedule is. Also, the extended service is fully transferable to a second owner at no extra cost, thus adding resale value to your MINI.

 

ClubmanS - I'm surprised that clutch replacement is covered, as it's not covered under the original 3/36 maintenance, or the original 4/60 warranty. Is the clutch replacement coverage spelled out in the extended maintenance contract?

 

Yes it is. I carry a copy of the contract in my R53 S glovebox. By the way, the clutch was already replaced in my R53 S last year when the car had 25K miles. It was covered under the standard 3 year scheduled maintenance. If the clutch is deemed to have premature wear and not related to abuse, etc, then it gets replaced.

 

The OEM MINI clutches are known for premature failure (At least that was the case in the R53). At the discretion of the dealer (Case by case basis), clutch replacements are granted on the basis that the parts involved failed prematurely and not due to driver abuse or error.

 

ClubmanS - Thanks, that's good to know! I thought that it was just a case of "tough luck" if your clutch went early. I usually don't go for maintenance or extended waranties, but I'm going to give this one some thought...

 

Yeah I'm thinking about this as well mainly for the clutch. When you all say prematurely...does that mean only prematurely? or will they replace it if it lives a normal life, but eventually needs replaced? I hope to keep mine well into the 100,000 mile range and I'm hoping if i got this plan that it would be replaced sometime within that range so it has many more years on it

 

My factory clutch died at 25K miles. I do not ride the clutch or abuse it. Been driving manuals since 1986. When the dealer dropped the motor and took out the clutch, the disc had burn spots. They replaced it right away under warranty, no questions asked. The clutch pedal felt akward and it made a rubber-to-rubber noise when depressed. I could still make gear changes normally but if I had let go more time before taking it into the dealer, the clutch could have gotten stuck to the floor in the midst of traffic!

When I took the car in, they show me another MINI (R52 S convertible) with the same exact problem as mine. Known issue.

Right now, 15K+ miles with the second clutch and seems to be holding fine. Feels much better than the factory one (This clutch has 2006 model year part numbers, so it is supposed to be improved).

During this service visit my MA suggested the MINI Extended service contract. He made great emphasis on the fact that the clutch kit is covered until 100K miles (or 6 years). I jumped right at the oportunity. $1,400 and have every consumable covered, including the clutch, brake pads, rotors, etc is a great value.

As I plan to keep the R53 for 10 years, the extended contract made a lot of sense financially. Let the dealer worry about maintaining my car until 100K miles. By then the car will be 7-9 years old.

MINIUSA does not publicize it much because it is a cheap service contract. It can be purchased at any time during the first 3 years or 36K miles of the car. You have to buy it in person as the dealer is required to obtain a reading from your car key.

 

Some folks beat the hell out of their factory clutches and claim to made them last until 80K-100K miles. Others that me that "babied" their clutches died prematurely at 25K-30K miles. Seems to be a crapshoot. But after this experience, I am not that confident on the durability of MINI OEM clutch kits, hence my decision to purchase the extended service contract.

 

Either way it will get replaced.

 

Realistically, you can expect to change the clutch of your MINI at least once or twice during the first 100K miles.

 

OK, you talked me into it.

 

haha same here just one replacement covers the cost....2 just makes me giggle like a school girl haha plus the rotors and all that....just gotta start saving the pennies now (all the others went to buy the car )