MCS 06' 37,000k miles, from Long Beach Mini
got 1 yr extended maintenance at the time of purchase, so both my maintenance and warranties are expiring together in April of 2010...

my history is about 8000k per year
gone thru 1 pair of run flats
thermal housing leaks (like many other folks on NAM), factory defect, covered under warranties
insisted on oil change at the 1 yr mark, got it
got another oil change, when the light came on in 2009
got new brake pads at that point too.

i am a total car retard, please pardon me if i sound confusing/stupid.

should i get the extended warranty?
how about the extended maintenance?

Extended Maintenance + Warranties Offered by Mini/BMW
I called Long Beach mini to inquire, 2 days later, still no call back.
Called Nick Alexander too, left voicemail, no call back.
Finally spoke to Irvine Mini. the guy offers me the following...so many options, soooo confusing. This is the warranty offered by Mini/BMW. He said prices quoted below are MSRP, and some dealer does it for more, some does it for less.

Platinum - covers bumper to bumper everything, include nav & stereo etc
Gold - covers bumper to bumper everything, except nav & stereo
Silver, didn't really get into it
Powertrain - engine & transmission only

For each of these 4 categories, i can get them for different duration/mileage. the options are
7yrs/100k
7yrs/70k
6 yrs/100k
5 yrs/100k
(clock start ticking on date of purchase), so in my case "7yr/100k" means add'l 3 yrs.

Since i don't have Nav, and just standard stereo, i focused on "Gold".
Gold at 7yrs/100k = $3790
Gold at 7yrs/70k = $3495

for the Extended Maintenance, it will cost $2095 for 2 additional yrs or 100k miles. but based on my current mileage, i just don't see how i can even get to 100k...unless i start driving now, and not stop for 2 yrs...

Will i need either of these? Recommendations?
I don't have a lot of cash to spend, yet my minimal knowledge on anything that moves, makes me really nervous for any surprises down the road.

3rd party Extended Maintenance + Warranty through Dealer
What are people's experience with 3rd party warranties offered through dealer?

3rd party Extended Maintenance + Warranty...through myself?
A friend of mine are in a similar boat, she found "warrantydirect.com" and said we can get similar coverage as Gold at 7yrs/100k for $1700...which is almost 1/3 the cost that BMW/Mini wanna charge...but since this is not through a dealer, any claims will need to be handled directly by myself. Would that be a nightmare?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you!

 

Self insure:

Best to put the $3k in a secure and separate savings account and only touch it when something big breaks. At least your guaranteed to know its there when you need it. Dealing with a third party insurer like warranty direct is a huge pain and many dealers can't be bothered helping you with your repair claim.

 

I went to Universal City Mini today.
and the guy tried very hard to sell me the warranty from "Fidelity Warranty Services"

it's the Platinum coverage, 4yr/48k (start at day my manuf warranty expires)
for $2300...

it's suppose to cover everything...here's a link for the brochure, which describes the Platinum coverage. (it's the "exclusion" type, which means it covers everything, unless noted otherwise.)

http://www.fidelitywarrantyservices....tion_plan.aspx

he keeps saying the Mini coverage is more expensive. and says its essentially the same thing.
he said: "Mini's coverage says it only use "original part", but let's say your engine fails, it's not like there's any after market engine out there, so what do you think the shop is going to get an engine to fix it? Since that's the case, Fidelity is stil going to give you original parts"
is tht true?

i went home and did some googling, it turns up a lot of BAD BAD Fidelity review. So onto some research from warranties provided by AAA. Assuming they are probably more reliable and trustworthy? Any experience?

$3k for 3 yrs as quoted from Irvine Mini thru Mini's own program, is outrageous. but if it's $2300, and it will give me peace of mind for the next 4 yrs and they ARE actually going to cover everything that goes wrong. it may not be such a bad idea for car retard like me?

he is also offering me $1000 to extend my maintenance for 2 more yrs too. Given that I will need new rear brakepads in the next 10k miles, maybe front brakepads again, it may be worth it? How much do these cost? how about oil change at the dealer?

sorry for the myriad of questions, just really lost here. and undecided.
any insights are much appreciated.

 

I contacted the MINI dealer in Sacramento CA and received much lower rates !

Give them a call just so you know whats out there.

Dealers name is NIELLO, and speak to Mia.

I am still unsure of what I am doing but may just put the $ into a Savings account and just wait for things to break.........

As far as the oil changes, try to find an independent garage that can do the oil services and brakes; that would be my choice, but you have to choose

 

TinyKar, thanks the response. is the lower rates you mentioned from Sacramento, extended warranty from Mini? or is it from 3rd party like Fidelity Warranty?

on a related note, i studied the little brochure from Mini Extended Warranty i got at the dealer. it looks like it only covers any Mini that has under 45,000 miles/45 months since delivery, whichever comes first.
Is that really true?
But why? I can't understand why Mini will only sell people extended warranty that still has 3 months til it expired, since factory warranty is at 48 months, isn't it?


is that true? Anyone got some experience?
thanks a lot everybody!

 

I agree with British SD....especially if it's a third party company outside of MINI. I've had a bad experience with extended warranty (it's actually an insurance coverage you are buying) with my previous car. The hoops I've had to go through to get coverage and then the company going belly up in the end, Never again.

I'm still waiting on my bankruptcy court settlement check....it's been 5 years going through the court system and counting.

If you are willing to fork over $3,000 anyway...fork it into a savings with the peace of mind that it's all there when you need it.

 

XSTAL,

The quote from the Sacto Mini dealer was a 3rd party ( Zurich ) but was sold to start when you buy the policy not when you bought the car. So additional mileage or years depending on the term you buy.

TinyKar

 

Check with a credit union. Mine offers all sorts of options and I can take it to whatever shop I want and only pay a $50 deductible for ANYTHING. Last I checked, it was around $2000 for 5yr/60k.