Can anyone recommend a good extended warranty for my 2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman? I purchased the car used with about 40K miles on it. As I understand it, I have about 1 year/10K miles left on the factory warranty. However, I want to do my best to avoid unexpected costly repairs...especially since I'm not sure how the vehicle was cared for before I purchased it.

Thoughts?

 

Have you checked with MINI directly for an extended warranty?
Honestly, extended warranties are usually a money pot where you pay in and things may never happen.
Also, there's a cut-off line on where warranties stop coverage; READ the FINE details on each plan - they all vary.

Getting the service records on the MINI you own from a MINI dealer (with the use of you VIN) will tell you a lot.
Also look at the obvious things; does the car look / feel abused or well-treated?
Those signs can easily tell you whether or not you'll need or want an extended warranty.

- Erik

 

You should first check the factory program. If you decide to look further, look carefully at whether the other plans are underwritten by strong and stable insurance companies with AM Best ratings of A+, A, or A- (AM Best is the industry standard for rating insurers). Do not consider -- even for a moment -- any plan with an insurer having a lower rating. Unfortunately, extended warranty companies have a long and nasty history of going out of business making their warranties worthless.

 

Thanks for the advice. I didn't realise MINI have a factory extended warranty program. I will ask about that first. Cheers.