We just picked up a brand new 2013 Clubman S a couple of weeks ago. The day we took delivery of the car, I declined the "Blemish Buster" ding and dent protection. Then after giving it further thought, I called my F&I manager at the dealership and she stated that the coverage can only be purchased at the time the paperwork is being signed and not after the contract has been submitted.

Well, looking over at the information and PDF brochures in the MINIUSA.com site, they don't specify whether these coverages have to be purchased only at the time of delivery:

http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniu...-programs.html

I plan to speak tomorrow to the person in charge of selling extended warranty products at the dealership to see whether the F&I manager is correct or not. I can understand GAP insurance and tire/wheel protection require purchased when taking delivery of the car, but the ding/dent coverage?

Can anyone shed some light on this? The only other feasible option is the Dent Wizard "Ding Shield" coverage, good for 6 years, any body panel on the car, unlimited visits. However, I have not gotten a price quote on that yet.

I am pretty OCD about where I park my cars but my wife is not as OCD, so given the fact that we live in an area where people are plain rude and careless about your personal property and that we keep cars a long time, this coverage seems to me money well spent.

 

Most dealers would probably fall over in shock if a customer came back after a sale and was insisting on buying any of the "profit packages" sold in the finance manager's office.

While I personally don't think they're worth it, I've used both Dentbusters and Dent Wizards to repair a few dents in my various cars in the past with good results. I would think you would have more options with them than only returning to the MINI dealer for a dent repair. Most dealers (MINI or not) outsource their dent repairs to a local shop anyways. The quality of a repair has a lot to do with the ability of the tech doing it.

Buy whatever is cheaper.