Sorry for the OT, but I'll bite: Narkose, Where do you get them for less than $170?

 

Tire Rack for OEM tires. I admit this doesn't cover fitting costs but my local fitter shop charges about $12-15/tire.

 

I'm going to have to agree with HPUdrew, mainly because i see both sides and we also work together. I don't want it to seem like i'm the Motoring advisor thats trying to con anyone into believing us.

If you don't like the stuff don't buy it. A lot of people see value in it. Our "tire/wheel" protection is 399, so its a heck of a deal if you get one flat tire let alone bend a rim at the same time. Don't like it, oh well. I'm glad my fiancee had 55 dollar 15" tires on her nissan when she got 2 flat tires in 2 weeks. If it was an S, it would cost like 400 installed with run flats per tire.

Warranty's are self explanatory.

We don't have a windshield protections, sounds wierd.

I agree with hpudrew on the First place finish. You get a black top with no sun roof around here and you don't wax your car like its a religion, then ut screwed. get it, it will save your paint. If it doesn't it has a warranty to fix it.

Clear bra is a no-brainer, since seeing it in action, i'm putting it on every new car. We have it on all our demo's and loaners, if that shows you how much we believe in it.

Also, Gap insurance is awsome if you are financing 5 years or if you have any Neg. equity. We hada customer roll 2 grand neg. equity into a used Mini. That night he fell asleep and hit a pole and totaled it. if he hadn't bought gap, then he would owe the insurance company the taxes and everything and also the neg. equity he rolled into it. With gap he didn't have to worry.

The Doc. Fee, some places fluff it, we don't. You don't pay it, you don't get car. simple. Its our policy, our General Manager even pays it.


Again, we believe in a lot of these products, but some delaerships do have some "fluff" stuff. ? Just use common sense and if you don't want it, say no. But its the finance manager's job to ask, so please don't get mad at them, they are just trying to do their job.

 

Well, just did a search on Tirerack. Cheapest RF using OEM search is the Continental SSR for $182.00 for 17", and the dunlops equipped with the car at $239.00. Plus the road hazzard includes coverage for wheels delivered with the vehicle. So technically a wheel and a tire will pretty much pay for this. I can understand why most people opt out of it, but I just don't want to be hit with a surprise of a non-repairable tire and maybe damaged wheel and be out of $500 just on one sitting. If you are planning on getting aftermarket wheels anytime soon after your purchase, then definitely opt out. Packages can be found from $600 on.

 

I have to admit I was looking at 16" tires. I also noted that they were on backorder when I looked again. So in the setting of the example that has been presented - a damaged wheel and tire - my solution is pretty useless

 

Mine covers aftermarket wheels......

 

Sounds like a much better deal now.

 

Definitely depends on the size of the tire. The 195/55/16 A/S RF's my MINI came with are only $122 per.

 

It really does depend on size and what tires the car came equipped with. quick search for my 195/55/16 Goodyear Excellence came out to $209, + installation, yet I opted out of that program. I should be putting upwards of 16k miles on the car just the first year alone, and when the tires need replacement, I can just buy a package of wheels and tires along with a cheap spare.

 

Mine will have plain jane 16" B-S's. If I was opting for 18s and, maybe even 17s, I might opt for it since the rims are that much closer to all the wonderful stuff on the road. But in a lot of years of driving cars/trucks w/ regular-sized rims, I've never wrecked a rim yet. (Sound of wood knocking.) I got the road hazard ins. on my wife's car recently. She has big OEM rims. Over the life of the loan the $270 insurance seemed ok. But you have to wreck a rim to have it apply -- not just a tire. I'll save my $ here and maybe put it toward new wheels (then maybe Tirerack's, etc. ins. on those if it appears worthwhile). Meanwhile, if I wrecked a 16" B-S, I could probably pick one up relatively cheap online from someone upgrading their stockers.

Thx Narkose and others for the RF price info. I'll bookmark that for later.

 

While some of these things could be considered overpriced and not needed, it's a 20-40k expense and a few hundred dollars put up front to protect it, could be easily justified ... it's a piece of machinery with tons of moving parts that are put under stress daily. I can see why people would do it.

If you want to blast extended warranties and such, I find it hilarious and a waste of money when someone spends 100-200 bucks on one for their 1000 dollar TV ...

 

but remember, the seller has to make money overall for it to be a good business. They're betteing that more will not need the service covered than do need it, and they adjust the price point such that it's a good business for them. It's just like Vegas. Cause one person hits the jackpot, it doesn't mean everyone will! Think about it!

Matt

 

Some good points made karthi. But i will bet you a cold brewski people will own their TV's and appliances much longer than they will their Mini. An actual study done by Consumer Guide stated we will own our new cars only (all makes were part of study) 2.2-3.2 years. Sounds about right to me. Heck, I'll probably trade in the minute Mini increases a boost in engine displacement ! Happy motoring.

 

Like playing the slots in Vegas, these high-margin dealer add-ons only make money for the dealer and make zero financial sense for the consumer.

Paint protection, tire and wheel insurance, theft protection, windshield protection (!), etc. Yes there is some small probability of each occurring, but chances are it won't, and even if it does, we aren't talking big money here. Even in the case of theft (really unlikely -- the MINI is not as popular with thieves as an accord or camry), your insurance covers the loss.

Take the money you would have spent on this silly stuff and buy a 12-month CD or T-bills or just put it under the mattress. You'll come out ahead.

- James
2007 MCS CR/CR

 

The clear bra on the bonnet, headlights, door edges, etc. is a good investment if your MINI sees any winter action. Very pleased with it. I also bought a trim roll to do the JCW sills and the rear bumper deck. The 3M stuff is amazing.

 

You could say the same about any insurance policy. Few people come out ahead. Insurance companies make a profit or die.

The reason that insurance is useful is when it protects you from a catastrophic loss. You pay a small amount to be protected from a huge loss. Odds are you wouldn't have that loss, but if you did...

If you don't want to face the expense of replacing your windshield, get the insurance. Or, don't and carry the risk yourself. It is a gamble either way. Just depends on which odds you want to play.

 

well i opted for it because i live in South FL. i had a 2006 corolla that i had put aftermarket 19's on and when i took them off to sell the car i had three tires with nails in them. my university is under heavy construction and, unfortunately, you cannot predict everything. again i only purchased this because i know how bad the driving conditions in my area are. i know when we purchased our second mini there was actually a lady that had bent two rims and popped both tires and was yelling at the MA's that it should be covered under our 3yr/36k mile warranty.

 

I don't do that either. TVs, DVD players, etc. are a big rip off when it comes to extended warranties. Typical warranty is one year free. If you look at a typical reliability curve for something, particularly electronics, from the time use starts there is a higher failure rate which drops with time and eventually levels off (knee in the curve). Most early failures are either infant mortality of parts or just plain manufacturing defects. As the product gets real old the failure rate will rise again, do to just wearing out. Extended warranties are designed around this. They sit in the sweet spot of the failure rate curve, where failure rates are their lowest. You might be one of the lucky who has a failure during this time and get a free repair or replacement, but odds are you won't. Just money in their pocket.

I look at car extended warranties the same. From end of warranty to 100,000 miles should be your most reliable time. You've taken care of infant mortality and manufacturing problems with the standard warranty and most new cars today get real reliable service to 100,000 miles and beyond. As far as road hazard, windshield replacement, etc. the failure rate doesn't justify the expenditure, IMHO. You might be lucky, and need it, but a real crap shoot. See what your standard insurance covers first. I did just get a rock chip in my windshield, 100 dollar deductible and its replaced. Why pay the dealer?

 

You answered your own question when you referred to the packages as "crap".

Rob M.

 

And replacing a windshield is far from catastrophic. Many look at dealer replacement costs when doing this calculus, and come out with $300+ runflats, $600+ windshields, and who knows what for wheels etc.

Matt

 

I sugges getting the tire insurance if you have run flat tires. If you damage them, they will cost you around $500 to replace them. I got tire insurance for $550 for five years and I know there will be some problem with tiires in five years and I also got extended maintenance because I plan to keep mine for atleast five years...

Good luck...either way, u will have fun driving it

 

I opted for the tire and wheel insurance, it paid 350.00 if I remeber correctly and it's good out to 60 or 70K miles. I just had a damaged runflat replaced on this policy, so it think it was worth it.

 

I agree with devmode about the extended maintenance. We also intend to keep our '07 MCS for at least 5 years, if not longer. We said "no" to everything else.

That rationale that the finance guy gave us is that once you get past your default paid maintenance, you're going to pay for it anyway. You might as well pay LESS. I like paying less...

 

Most of the products we're discussing are like any kind of insurance... You pay up front with the hopes that you won't have to pay out more if the situation arises.

Anyone here have health insurance?.... Pure profit center for the health care industry. I'd like to see everyone here reject health insurance because they have to pay premiums that just "make money" for the insurance companies.

Same logic.

 

i agree with you, however, some people here will tell you that it isnt the same thing.