I need some expert advice from some of the more experienced MINI drivers!

So here's the deal. I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S - automatic tran - bought it at the end of Dec. 2006, brand spanking new, so my service contract expires Dec. 30, 2009. I average about 8,000miles/year, strangely enough, but I suppose that could go up. However, I drive like a mother f, and just assume I can look forward to some issues. Already had to replace 2 run flat tires (great fun b/c they ain't cheap) and brakes (which were covered, thankfully.)

As you know, I have to decide if I'm going to do the Ext Maintenance Contract in the next couple months or it's no longer an option. It's stated as $1395 for another 3 years (not concerned with mileage limit, obviously) but they implied I could get it down to 1300.

The extended "warranty" is a whole other ball of wax, and it looks like I don't have to worry about that until the end of 2010, when my 4 year is up. While MINI is just now introducing their own version of this extended warranty business, they are still recommending an aftermarket company that will probably run me about 2400-2700 for another 5 years??? But I'll have to read the fine print - there's always a convenient confusing about when those years start (from the time I bought the car or the time I start my extension - absurd.) So this warranty covers the big stuff, i.e. drive train, etc. And as always, each offer has its own list of pros and cons and fine print and deductibles or no deductibles.

What's the bottom line here? I don't have thousands of dollars to spend, but I really don't like the idea of worrying about bad surprises. I keep cars for a long time, and my MINI will prove to be much more costly re: maintenance/repairs than my earlier cars. Is it pretty safe to say that I need to opt for this extended maintenance contract now, and then the extended warranty thing a year from now - or am I missing something? Isn't there an option that does BOTH at the same time?? MINI says no, not they know of, but why not? And this crossover year complicates things. Why would I start an extended warranty NOW when my warranty is not expired until the end of 2010??

These sound like basic questions, but I'm navigating around some of the ridiculous information I've received from the dealership (shocking, right?) and I want to be most cost efficient. From what I'm reading, I will more than likely be relieved that I opted for both of these extensions, but I don't want to be left holding the bag like a fool, i.e. big cost upfront, and things don't fall apart until 2013! Also, b/c of my low mileage, I have to push for oil changes at the end of the year b/c that alert signal is simply not going to go off...ever. I even had to push the brake repair b/c the signal didn't go off and I was getting down to the metal.

Bottom Line - Should I bite the bullet on one or both counts? Bear in mind that I can't afford any bad surprises...but am I falling prey to one of the auto industries biggest cash cows?

Thanks for your help.

 

Is this the oem factory MINI plan or aftermarket?
Cause I price out all SoCal dealers and the cheapest I found was $1595 at Nick Alexander. Cause for $1300 or even $1395 I would take it in a heart beat. Here is my old post about it.
UPDATE:
Although an update, I ended up mentioning that Nick Alexander MINI offered me $1595 for warranty to Universal MINI and they offered me $1500, so I took it. And after they have replaced my bonnet latch, trunk latch, engine harness, some throttle assembly, and now gonna see again cause I got a check engine code. So, I am very glad I got it. Also, every time I turned in I got a BMW 128 convertible, 325 convertible or a Clubman as a rental for the weekend. I took 3-4 day road trips with them. So, I recommend it.

 

thanks "howsoon."

i'm not sure what MINI used to offer, but i was specifically stated 1300. yet, when i went into the Nick Alexander dealer, the new kid told me that it is 1395, but he's seen it as low as 1300 (so that's what I'm expecting.) Of course, he also mistakenly told me that the extension was for 4 more years and had to correct that it is actually 3 more.

i then sat down and discussed the extended "warranty" options with the finance guy and learned that MINI is finally instituting their own MINI option (rather than offering only after market.) However, he was not yet privy to the details, so we only reviewed their preference for an after market option. The prices varied according to mileage, length of extension, and year of vehicle.

 

Since MINI does a lot of the maintenance scheduling based on mileage and you are on the low end of the mileage spectrum, I doubt that the extended maintenance will pay off for you. MINI isn't going to cover issues under the maintenance contract, you need warranty extension for that.

I have 51K on my '06 MCS and I still have 3K to go for the schedule II service according to the computer.

 

isn't there a 30k? and the oil changes? and since i just got the brakes replaced, perhaps i will have to do another one of those in the next 3 years?

 

Katty, I just went thru similar decisions so I consider myself "expert"

I'm another low mileage owner - 10k per year on my from new 05 S.

My maintenance warranty expired 9/30/08. I was offered Mini's own extended maint warranty at that time - can't remember exact quote, but 1300 sounds about right, and it would have covered me until 9/30/10 - two more years. I passed.

Fast forward to Sept 2009, with my new car warranty set to expire on 9/30/09.

Dealer tells me I can still buy the Mini extended maint. Price is a little higher, 1500, due to having an expired maint warranty, but extended warranty now goes out to 6 years/100k odometer from the original new car sale date, so it would cover me until 9/30/11. I bought the extension this time. Worked out great for me since I had zero maint required during the year I was uncovered, and in the meantime Mini added a year to their coverage for virtually the same price.

In your case, you should definitely buy the Mini extended maint now since you will get the maximum 3 years added to your coverage with no overlap. If you wait, two things will happen: 1. Price goes up $200 once your original maint expires. 2. The end date of the extended maint coverage doesn't change, so you don't gain anything by waiting.

By the way, just ask for the annual low mileage oil service if a year has gone by since your last oil change. The oil gets changed but not the filter, and the countdown isn't reset, so you get another oil/filter change when the countdown gets to zero. Also, you're entitled to a factory recommended brake fluid flush two years from your last brake fluid service which probably happened when you got your new brakes.

Returning to 9/30/09, I also bought a 4 years/75k odometer $0 deductible extended warranty for $2200. I was at 40k miles so I'm basically buying 4 years and another 35k. I may run out of miles before time if I continue to average 10k/year, but the alternative was to go 5 years/100k for $3300 which seemed like overpaying.

As of 9/30, my dealer said Mini doesn't offer their own extended warranty other than maintenance so your dealer's info must be a brand new development. The policy I got is through Zurich which is one of the top insurance companies. You do have to compare the various extended warranties carefully. I check the four Bay Area dealers and they each have a different one. My dealer's program was easily the best from the research I got.

You are right about not making sense to buy now since you still have a year left on your new car warranty. Extended warranty coverage starts from the minute you buy, so you will be paying for the first year that you absolutely don't need.

Good luck!

 

The Extended Service Warranty for $1300 is only cost-effective depending on what needs to be done in the next 3 years. Predict your mileage and refer to the Maintenance Schedule on what needs to be serviced, then ask the SA to give you a quote on these items. Is it more of less than $1300?

Remember that MINI will only perform work according to their specified schedule (mileage), so it's not beneficial if you don't put on at least 12-15k per year. Oil changes, fluids and wiper blades don't cost much; it's the big items like brake and tires. An independent mechanic can perform the same work for less and you paid for only the service done.

As for the Extended Warranty, remember that California registered Minis have extended warranty on some expensive items. Refer to the Cal Emission Control System Limited Warranty in the Service & Warranty booklet for more detail. For example, the Supercharger, fuel tank, catalytic converter are covered to 7yrs/70,000 miles. I myself may consider buying an Extended Warranty for my '06 MCSc (32k) before the original warranty expires in March of 2010. I've gotten the following quote...

Months - Miles - Cost
48 - 75k - $1500
60 - 75k - $1840
48 - 85k - $1764
60 - 100k - $2600

The only problem I have with these warranties is they won't include the fabric raptop, only its mechanical parts. The ragtop is $2000 and costs $1000 to install.

 

Wow! So MINI is doing their own extended warranty plan? Probably in conjunction with BMW, cause I know BMW just won a major lawsuit against US Fidelis for them portraying as the "official" BMW warranty to its customers. I'm sure its big money, for BMW to just ignore. And for MINI to do their own is actually a money maker, considering they get parts at dealer rate and are paid for service at a specified time rate, but their techs can do the work in half the time specified for jobs. Almost all the dealers have aftermarket plans for those that don't qualify for the "official" MINI one, but wonder what their motive for pushing them?

 

thank you so much for all of your responses. well...as it turns out, nick alexander was so terribly unethical in the way they were doing business with me, i opted out of all of it. they verbally, and very specifically, had promised me my final oil service before the agreement expired - then, get this, picked up my car with the flatbed, dropped off a loner, kept my car for 3 days, and insisted that they couldn't do the service b/c the computer said it wasn't ready. DUH. the whole point of their PROMISED "customer courtesy" offer was to remedy all of the false promises i had been made since I bought the car. they knew i had low mileage, but it was almost one year since my last service. so once again, they re-negged on an offer, and that was it for me.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU. And they even lied to them. they are UNREAL. seriously, the worst company i've ever dealt with - and by far, the worst car company.

so i did not extend b/c i was even appalled at how corporate responded to the situation. very very poor customer service. it's embarrassing, and i regret buying the car (solely b/c of the way they do business.) i brought my car in to Santa Monica Autoworks for an oil change, and they were amazing. simply amazing. very courteous, very reasonable, informative, and local. for 100 bucks, i avoided the bad ethics of Nick Alexander AND this place even sent me to South Bay MINI for a leaking power steering hose they discovered. here's the other great thing - South Bay? amazing!!!! Lino at the service department was so incredibly cool. took care of me immediately, followed up, didn't give me the run around, gave me a loaner, addressed all my concerns AND my car feels like something was actually done to it. it's the first time ever that a MINI person told me that the "skipping" my car does on occasion is probably b/c it needs a computer re-set. while it sometimes feels like the transmission is slipping, it's the computer trying to adjust to prior driving habits (which makes sense to me.) as many times as i've complained about this to Nick Alexander, they just said "we can't replicate the problem so nothing is wrong."
at any rate, that dealership blows. and South Bay, well, the proof is in the pudding. they were voted best MINI in the nation, and 2nd in the world only to one in the UK. So there you go. I wish i had driven the extra couple miles to go there instead.
So i'm passing on the ext service maintenance, going to Santa Monica Autoworks, crossing my fingers on brakes, and then planning on extending the warranty when it expires end of 2010.
Yes, MINI does have their own version of those extended agreements, but i'll definitely be checking out others. Tires were never covered btw. Oh, you'll love this - when i bought the car at Nick Alexander, the sales guy insisted that tires were in fact covered. he was condescending about it, i.e. EVERY SINGLE THING IS COVERED FROM BUMPER TO BUMPER. he was drinking at their xmas party and apparently did not take me through the proper procedure. so when he was fired shortly after (that's their story anyway) they gave me a sweet apology and a pat on the back when they gave me their own condescending version of how the tires are not, in fact, covered.
case in point: STAY AWAY FROM THAT DEALERSHIP. do your homework in advance, and get every single little thing in writing.
thanks again for all your input. it is very helpful.
kk

 

 

KattyKat, great recap of your journey thru ext maint & warranty.
so did you get any price info from South Bay regarding the Mini ext warranty plan? If so, would you mind sharing?

Cadenza, the extended warranty price you are quoting seems very reasonible compared to those i have been hearing, can you please clariy if it's from a 3rd party warranty provider or Mini? and from which dealer you got these prices from?

I am in a similar boat, with the low mileage trying to figure out whether to get extended maint and/or warranty.
06 MCSa, 37000 miles, with 1 yr extended maint purchased when i got the car

since i already purchased the extended 1 yr maint when i purchased the vehicle, it covered my front brake pads and oil change (no filter/computer reset). I am now offered by Universal City Mini to extend it for 2 more yrs for $1000. i am figuring i will finally need Service II in this time?

they are also offering extended warranty from 3rd party Fidelity for $2300, which covers additional 4 yrs/48miles when my factory warrant expires in Apr 2010...

for related research i did in the SoCal area, see my other post - https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post2993837


thanks Kattykat & Cadenza in advance for sharing!

 

PS thanks kattykat for sharing that SM Autoworks is trustworthy, will probably bring my MCSa over for a look over to see if they recommend both the ext maint & warranty too! cheers!

 

hey xstal, yes, i give big props to sm autoworks - they are the real deal AND really good guys. i feel lucky to have found them.
i have not talked to south bay re: ext warranty info yet, as I have until the end of 2010 to decide. as far as the maintenance goes, it's all sm autoworks from now on, and i'm crossing my fingers that my brakes don't give out on me. i have even lower mileage than you do, if you can believe it, but i drive hard.
one thing i know for certain, after all this nonsense. i'm in good hands now and won't ever have to worry about being b.s.'d or neglected. these sm guys are on top of it, mechanically, ethically, not to mention the maintenance schedules and warranty requirements, time frames, which dealers are worthy, options, etc. And this is just a cool perk, but they have a very neighborhood/family vibe. You feel like you've known these guys forever, and your moms are friends so they're going to give you special attention. try getting that at the dealership!