Our '05 MCS manual (42k miles) is approaching the end of our 4yr/50k extended warranties and we are debating getting the maintenance extended and possibly the mechanical. Our local dealer (BMW SanFran) quoted me $2150 for the maintenance and $2661 for the mechanical but I understand from other posts that we can shop around with dealers and get a better price. Is this for real?

We are going to be able to get all 4 brakes replaced before the 50k mark and get our 2nd service too. The big question I have is the clutch which I hear can run $3500, the arm bushings, and the power steering failure. So far the car has been great, only one issue in the beginning with the supercharger which was covered of course. There have been no electrical failures yet but not sure if it is because we have low mileage.

My husband has been commuting 90 miles r/t for the last year so we are looking at 22k per year and thinking extending the maintenance is a good idea but not sure about the mechanical. Would love to get others advice and thoughts on this, plus an idea of how much your dealer charged for the same warranties.

 

Here in the warranty section are several links that may help your decision process.

 

Extended warranties are really a crap shoot. If you don't purchase it something major might happen that'll cost a couple thousand dollars, however if you do purchase it nothing will happen and that's a lot of money to spend just on piece of mind.

The first time I purchased an extended warranty was with my wife's '06 Subaru Outback. The finance guy offered up the warranty for about $900 which was reasonable so I got it. I'm really not sure that I would spend $3500 on an extended warranty. I think that I'd just take my chances.

That being said just a few weeks ago I bought my frist Mini. I got a 2006 pepper white MC. I had to take it into the dealer for a water leak and I was going to price the extended warranties (at the time I didn't know they ran $3500). Well, before I left the service department I found out that the previous owner hand purchased the extended service and mechanical warranty for the car already. I can't even tell you how excited I was! After learning about the warranties I guess I have this to say. I know that the warranties are pricey, however as I've been reading these cars can have very odd problems from time to time. Mine is in the shop right now having the engine control unit replaced. Now all I know is that this sounds reall expensive (I have no idea what this would cost out of warranty). I say go for it if you have the extra cash. I really feel that it could save you in the future.

 

Bought my 05 MCS at 58000, had my crank pulley($550) and thermostat($300) replaced, now at 78000. All of that was not at the dealer. $125/hour, what a rip. I have a defect in the clutch which makes it unbearable to drive and needs replacing(getting done tomorrow). My dealer gave a quote of around $1500 for the clutch if I remember, but I got someone in town to do it for $750. There's the common mushrooming in the strut tower which I need to get someone to bang out and then install a strut bar to stop it from happening again ($200). The thermostat housing needs to be replaced soon its leaking. ill do it myself but i got a quote from MINI for ($300). I love my MINI but its had its problems. My last car was a Jeep. Only thing i needed on that was a starter, the entire 60000 miles I owned it! If I were you, id get the mechanical warranty Definitely.

 

I've had good luck getting stuff done under my extended warranty thru a BMW dealer. Great thing is because it's not a dealer warranty, they don't care about my mods. I've had my crank pulley shear off and damage my front drive shaft, power steering pump go out and all of that was covered. I just paid a total of $100 in deductable. Dealer still makes the money from the extended warranty company and I get to pay very little for repairs. Without it, I would've had to pay over $3000 in parts and labour. YMMV.

 

Dealer cost on the extended maintenance plan is $1295. When pressed on it, many dealers will sell this for $1395. We bought ours about a year ago; I got a quote of $1395 from an East Coast dealer, and our local dealer (MINI of Mountain View, though I will no longer go there for anything...) matched the price.

We're very happy with the extended maintenance, as it covered new breaks and clutch at 50K miles. Already paid for itself.

 

Sorry if my post was confusing. I'm looking to extend my service/maintenance plan for the oil/brake service... not my factory warranty. My dealership was very clear on what I wanted and $1745 was the price that he quoted me. I did ask him if they would match the price if I found it cheaper because I'd prefer to do business locally. The problem is that I haven't found a better deal yet to have any leverage to bargain.

Thanks for clarifying my post...

 

If the commute is mostly highway, I would think twice before buying the extended maintenance agreement. Highway driving really stretches out the OBC-recommended service intervals, often to 20-22k miles or more, so you likely won't get very many service visits under the extended maintenance agreement. Plus, every other service visit is going to be nothing more than an oil change, so getting those for "free" doesn't save you much.

I drive a lot on the interstate in my '06, and here's how the service history has broken down:

"oil service" at 12,500
"Inspection I" at 33,200
"oil service" will come due at about 54,000 (I'm right at 50k now)

That means that at the rate I'm going, the next visit after the 54k oil change ("Inspection II") probably won't come due until after 75k miles, and the next service after that ("oil service") would be at about 97-98k. So if the $2150 maintenance extension covered me all the way to 100k miles, all I would get for that money would be two oil changes and Inspection II, along with a coolant and brake fluid flush, unless I got "lucky" enough to need new brakes or a clutch in the first 100,000 miles. Also, if you're driving 22k miles per year, you probably won't go 12 months between service visits, so you won't be eligible for the free annual "low mileage" oil changes.

 

People....big difference between aftermarket extended warranties and MINI Extended service contracts. Make sure you understand the differences between the two as I have noticed people tend to mix up between the two.