Hi folks,

with our car heading toward the port to catch a slow boat over the pond, I wanted to get some thoughts from you veterans on this subject.

I am looking into the extended service plan that adds 64k miles and 3 years onto the 3/36 that comes with the car purchase.

Our dealer is telling us that front/rear pads and rotors alone for a JCW Countryman are $1300(which, by the way, is Porsche territory, and this car ain't no Porsche !!), so perhaps the price of $1900 for the plan might not be so bad?

But I am curious to know if any of you purchased this plan, does the cost seem inline(I am told it's higher than an S model due to the JCW designation-more expensive service items such as front Brembo pads, for instance), and if you think the purchase was worth it to you.

The only DIY maintenance I will be doing on the car are oil/filter changes between the 9000 mile computer reminders, so the dealer will be handling everything else.

thanks!

Jeff

 

Mine cost $2300 for the S model and the thing that got me was that the dealer told me that it would need brakes- (pads and rotors) every year. My research from this site told me that there was some truth to it. Knowing that oil changes could run upwards of $100 and everything else is expensive because it is an import I went with it.

The disappointing thing is that when I realized there is NO maintenance schedule posted anywhere I feel I got screwed. Add in that it covers one oil change a year (maybe a little more, mine was at 8,000 miles.) I was nowhere near needing brakes! Wipers once a year and who knows what else... It doesn't cover the clutch! They were sure to explain that to me. They also charged me $25 to rotate my tires. (Because they don't consider that maintenance.)

With that being said, I know that I am terrible at setting money aside for car repairs and I have the piece of mind for the next 5 years that I shouldn't have to worry about it. But, I'm not all that clear as to what it entails still.

 

I paid $1800 for my 6 year 100k extended maintenance and warranty. The salesperson clued us in on the price being negotiable before we went to the financial guy to sign the papers and add the plan. Definitely talk the price down before you buy.

 

My plan had in writing it covered one clutch. That alone will nearly cover the cost.

 

ditto, my contract specifically lists the clutch disc

scott

 

wow, did you folks have to negotiate the one clutch plate replacement into the contract or was it already there?


From a price negotiation standpoint, we pretty much have already bought the car. We ordered the car so it's our. I didn't think about the extended service contract until after.

however, I certainly won't be paying more than $1895 since that is the price Mini charges if you include it from the accessories page when you build the car.

 

not negotiated, it was in the contact

here is page1



just the paragraph that list what is covered



scott

 

ah, thanks very much for posting that!

 

I hate going into Finance for the Warranty dance, but I paid $2000 to get to 6yr 100k on a used 2011 CMS All4 with 10k miles the clutch is covered and after much "discussion" with the finance dept , they convinced me that the brakes alone would be worth it , while everyone knows we're not driving Porsche's the fact remains to do the brakes it costs what it costs. While I haven't used the extended service , I'm pretty sure I will in the next 4 years.

 

i got it for my 2012 cms all4

my sister got it for her 2010 mcs ... so far (besides oil/filters) she has gotten 2 sets of brakes and rotors (front and rear), cabin filter, wiper blades and an accessory drive belt ... she is definitly ahead

scott

 

thanks Scott,

do you know approximately how many miles she has on her Mini? Two sets of pads AND rotors on a 3 year old car. That's amazing, but I have heard stories of others here getting the brake replacement notification at 15 or 20k miles.

I have had several performance cars in my life, and I have driven them all in a very "spirited" manner, and I have never had to replace street-use brakes any earlier than 45k miles on any of them. And that was usually pads only, unless I happened to warp or pit a rotor every now and then.

Is Mini using some type of environmentally friendly pad compound that is used up quickly or something like that?

Jeff

 

last i heard, she was north of 60k miles

both she and her husband drive very agressively, they live out west and drive the mountains often

scott

 

I posted this analysis awhile back, after I got a solicitation in the mail for extending my maintenance plan.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...omparison.html

It might be helpful in this thread.

 

thanks for that link! someone in that thread mentioned that if the clutch plate does not need to be done than it's a horrible deal. I disagree, at least in my case. In that thread, he was comparing himself doing the work compared with Mini.

In my case, the ONLY DIY I will be doing on our CM is an oil/filter change between the 9k mile intervals computer prompted changes the dealer will pay for.

I learned from experience that i will not touch a European car for maintenance, regardless of how "easy" it is.

My plan is to use an indy shop for mainteance after the 6/100k runs out and for break fix when the 4/50k factory warranty runs out.

thanks!

 

I am assuming that this extended "program" has changed since I inherited on my previous hardtop? I owned a 04 justa, bought MINI certified in 2008, which came with 2 years of the extended warranty left on it. About a year in the rack and pinion needed replacing and they thankfully did it under warrantly. Sounds like this is no longer part of the plan.

I didn't opt for the plan when I bought my CMS though I wonder if I should have. I am on track to only hit about 8500 miles for the year and am curious if I would get my money's worth from the warranty at that pace.

 

actually what I am talking about is NOT the extended warranty. It is the extended service plan where you pay x amount to extend the 3/36 service items included with the new car for another 3 years/64k miles...I have actually decided to not pursue an extended warranty. For a 7 year/100k warranty(which is really a 3 year/50k warranty, since the factory warranty is 4 year/50k), is $3,750...yep, you read it correctly....$3,750.

I have read about a LOT of Mini problems people have out of warranty, which is why I assume the price is so high-apparently Mini knows they are going to have to pay out a lot of claims, but i just can't make myself fork over that kind of money upfront, you know?

 

 

EHans, you just ordered recently. What are your thoughts on the extended service plan?

thanks

Jeff

 

My wife and I turned down the extended service, I as surprised by all the service options they have now. I was also surprised that because I had a Mini in the past, discounts would apply (up to $800 on one item) to each service product.

We just weren't fans of it since I do maintenance on vehicles anyways, I've been doing that on all our vehicles since I worked at my dads garage during my college years. Besides, things like rotation and brake pads weren't included, and those are easy things. So that much $ for oil and inspections, fluids and other basics seems high.

 

Hmmm, I am wondering if the dealer was offering you something they put together not Mini. In the Mini factory-backed extended service plan, it states that both brake pads AND rotors are included as well as clutch plates(as long as the clutch has not been abused). We plan to drive this car agressively, and with Brembos upfront, those pads are pricey, and I think we will go through a couple of sets easy, within 100k miles....I think I can get my money's worth out of this plan !

 

I don't know. That is why I subscribed and am avidly watching this discussion. In fact, this thread saved me from having to pose the same question next week as my car arrives at the port.

Right now, I am at 50/50 on my decision. So...

 

Someone posted a matrix showing what the dealer charged for various services. For front and rear pads on a JCW it was right at $1k.....get two of those within 100k miles and I have more than paid for the service plan.

I know, I know, you can DIY it cheaper yourself, but as I said, for me, the only DIY I will be doing to this car is an oil/filter change halfway between the 9k oil change service intervals on the car's computer....

So, I think it might be a good deal...IF you think you will drive the car 100k miles within 6 years....that's certainly another consideration as well.

 

update on my sisters mini

my sister just had the clutch replaced under the extended service contract

so thats 2 complete sets of brakes/rotors and a clutch including labor
plus oil/filter/wipers/etc in 60k miles

the extended maintenance has paid off well for her

scott

 

Well, for better or for worse, I got the maint plan. Not sure how much it will benefit me, and I never buy extended warranties, but maintenance is different and this is the first opportunity I've had to buy one. So what I'll do is track what the expenses would have been and see how it pans out over the years.

 

I think you made a good decision, E.

6 years or 100,000 miles is a lot of maintenance costs. I think it's a no-brainer, personally.

Were you able to negotiate the price. I'm heading in Saturday to pick mine up and will attempt to negotiate the price down a few hundred smackers.