We just picked up our new Clubman S on Saturday. The dealer was trying to sell us the extended service contract, not a extended warrenty. This will cover brakes, clutch, oil changes etc. for additional 3 years after the initial 3 years. The quote was for $1950 if I jump on it before the car hits 500 miles. How's this price sound? I have about zero mechanical skill when it comes to new cars and I don't know of a good qualified garage in the area for normal maintence. Any thoughts? Is that price reasonable for another 3 years of oil changes, clutch & brakes?

 

Um, the car is covered bumper-to-bumper for 4 years/50K whichever comes first--inc clutch and brakes and other wear items minus tires--so I doubt the value of this so-called extended (and pricey) mtce. I have never heard of this, I know dealers will *extend* the OEM 3 yr/36k scheduled mtce for about $500-$700 (depending on market) to 4 yrs/50K, because I have this. But then it's about $2,700 to replace the clutch and flywheel, so.....

All I have to say is caveat emptor. I wouldnt do it becuase what if your car is a problem child (like mine) and you wish to trade/sell it in a couple years? Is this extended service contract refundable or transferrable??

Most new cars develop their problems in the first 25-30k miles. You will know in that time whether your car is a keeper, so I'd hold off and check to see if you can extend the OEM scheduled mtce to 4/50 instead.

"Insurance?? No sireebob, that's a form of gambling." --Ned Flanders

Caveat Emptor good luck, oh and welcome to NAM

 

If you have no mechanical skills and will bring the car to the dealer for all service and repairs then the price is fair. the first clutch change will probably come close to that alone!

on the other hand, how long do you plan on keeping the vehicle. the average person trades there vehicle in every three years. ide add a year or two more for the mini owner.

remember this. just like the price of the vehicle, the extended warranty is negotiable. the finance department makes there little "cut" on extended warranty, alarms, and other add on items as well.

 

That's not bad the warranty you are refering to is the maintanance free warranty and what that does is extend your warranty to 100k. So after your intial 40k for all major repairs you have up to 50k for regular maintanance like oil change etc. and then the extended which is for another 50k for a total of 100k of service but this only covers oil changes brake and rotor replacement and the inspection 2. Which after 50k will cost you at least 3500 avg. If you don't plan on keeping your car that long it isn't worth it. I am so it makes sense for me but I can add that to the price of the car if I sell because no other company offers that and it covers the car no matter who owns it for the life of the warranty.

 

If it wasn't a profit generator for the dealership, why would they be offering it?

 

This subject has been covered extensively. First of all $1450.00 is the price you should shoot for. Secondly, clutch replacement costs $1500.00, so one clutch pays for itself. Whether or not you can do the work or not is irrelevent. The parts are expensive. I wrestled with this decision for awhile & decided to go with it. Had to haggle with the dealer about the price though.

 

by the way it is fully transferrable.

 

My wife usually keeps her cars for a long time. Her last one she had for nearly 15 years, but she's also very easy on them. My question is if she doesn't really need a clutch (her last one lasted 10 years, 65,000 miles) before the end of purchased agreement, can I demand a new one, since I paid for it. The same with all new brakes. Are these items replaced on time/mileage or actual need?

 

When I checked into the extended maintenance program last November, MINI was charging the dealerships $1195 for extended maintenance policies, and MINI was recommending the dealerships charge $1395 (for a $200 profit, not unreasonable). The price may have gone up since then. I found this out by calling around to various dealerships areoudn the country, and was able to use this info to negotiate my dealership back down to the $1395. Any dealershipwill sell you this policy, so if you find one that'll do so at a lower price than your dealership (probably due to competition, NY/NJ dealers are willing to sell to folks outside of their area) you can either buy there or use that info on your dealership.
Otherwise, concur with comments above - if you aren't a do-it-yourselfer, and you're going to keep the car for a while, it is probably a worthwhile purchase. I'm going to eat up 100K miles before the 6 years, so it is worth it for me personally.

 

Has anyone done this recently? What is the going price these days? And can you still wait until your original agreement is nearly expired?

 

They quoted me $1495 for this two weeks ago.

 

I just traded in my MINI S for my Clubman in June, negotiated the same $1395 for the extended maintenance agreement.

 

1 Anyone have a link to the full extended warranty and what it covers?

2 Also, can you sign up for this at any time?

3 I have an automatic, would this be worthwhile if I plan on keeping the car for a long time?

 

Past history is that I keep my cars a long time. Presently have a 1999 Odyssey (~148,000 miles) and a 1999 Prelude (~164,000) miles. It is my hope and expectation that I will have the MINI for a long time as well. Based on that I opted for the extended maintenance and...also extended warranty both out to 100,000 miles...also as an overkill went for the tire warranty (which covers tires and rims) as well.
End of March '09, the cost for the extended maintenance had gone up something like $200 but for those that had cars on order prior to the increase, MINI of Sterling kept the cost at $1400. The other kicker was how much of the total purchase of the car and warranties could be put on a charge card...since it si beneficial getting the 1-2% rebate doing it to the max...but the dealerships usually fix the total on a charge card since it cost them a percentage of total the more they allow you to do it that way. There limit was $3000 but when I discussed it on P/U and pay day day, I was able to get them up to charging $6000. Of course, this is of no benefit if you are one that does not pay off charge card bills in total within the 25 day or whatever limit before the charge card company adds mucho interest charges. But if you figure the 1-2% rebate into the cost of the extended maintenance, then the cost is a bit less expensive....another..$14 - $28 bucks off the cost. Okay ...it's somethin !! LOL

 

Any ideas on my questions?

 

I just went through the buying experience. I passed on the extended maintenance, I just can't see paying for repairs years in advance. I can do my own brake work and basic stuff. That said, it doesn't seem like a bad deal for some people. I did get the extended warranty, it's refundable if you don't use it. I don't think you can sign up at any time, but you'd have to ask your dealer.

 

I've had the same clutch on a 2000 KIA for 160k miles. I've changed the brakes on a 2000 KIA with 160k miles once. If a KIA can last that long I certainly hope a MINI will last that long.

 

I hope so too... but those mileage numbers sound very optimistic, especially for the brake pads.

 

Yeah, I put 200k on a Ford Escort and it still had the original rear brakes when I sold it. The finance gal told us that Mini brakes tend to go right after the 36,000 maintenance deal ends. But I've been reading about how much dust the OEM pads generate, I'm thinking I'll be replacing them pretty quick anyways. Hope the clutch can go at least 100k...'course, that partly depends on how you drive it. I would be curious as to what the average clutch life is for a non-S mini.

 

Yeah it's werid. I mean I can kinda see the brakes lasting longer than normal with using the engine to slow down and then speed up around turns (yes, even in a KIA) but then that would mean more clutch wear but that's lasting as well...

 

just talked to a sales guy at my dealer. he made a point of saying the clutch is only covered if it looks like it's never been 'abused'. he added if they see scorch marks etc, they will decline, for what it's worth.

he was very frank about the value. since i am a low mileage guy, he said it's a wash for me. if you can fit in the 55,000 mile maintenance then it will be worth the cost. (which i probably won't).

it extends the warranty to 72 months or 100k miles just to state the obvious. it can be purchases up to the 4 year mark.

 

I'm confused, there are two warranties that you guys are talking about right? I had my maintenance warranty extended from 3/36k to 6/100k last year. Does that cover the clutch?

What is the other warranty you guys are talking about? I just passed my 4yr/50k mark relatively close to each other and your saying there was a warranty I could've extended on that?

 

You purchased a maintenance service extension from MINI which extended your basic maintenance from 3years /36K mi to 6 years /100K mi - that does continue the same type of coverage of basic maintenance, such as oil changes, clutch, wipers, etc. This is NOT the same as a warranty. A warranty extension would continue the same type of coverage of major system failures included in the factory 4 year / 50K mi warranty. Warranty extensions are sold by MINI dealers (and many other parties), but these are from 3rd party insurers.
About a year ago there were some strong rumors that MINI would be coming out with their own extended warranty program in the future but that hasn't come about yet.

 

Anyone have any current pricing for the extended service plan and extended warranty? Local dealership (Desert MINI) quoted me $2500 (seems excessive) to add the extended maintenance (6 yr/100K mi) to my 09 MCCS with 41K miles. Also quoted me an extended warranty for about $4K (seems REALLY excessive) through a 3rd party administrator.

 

I was quoted $1800 on the extended maintenance warranty if I purchase before 36K miles. I am at 35K miles now.
I don't have a quote yet on the extended warranty but plan to call tomorrow for one.