I haven't been to the dealer yet.

 

Yes...I say this because you've already stated that you're unable to perform your own repairs. Buying the extended warranty could be money well spent.

I also have to ask...what's the cost?

 

With all due respect to previous posts, I have not read most of the them. I am just wanting to add that getting any kind of warranty or maintenance program from anyone, particularly a dealership would be bad, in my opinion.

My 2012 MCS, which I purchased about two months ago is still under warranty and even though there are several worn parts that need to be replaced, they tell me it's all in good condition. The two front tires are badly worn, bald on the insides, and they inspected them saying "tread wear normal". The brake pad are not contacting the entire rotor on the rears "tested brakes, within normal limits" I wanted an oil change because I just got the car and had no idea of its history, they said it was just changed but would not show me the maintenance history. I changed the oil and it looked like sludge, like it had never been changed. I have gone to the dealership willing to pay for the oil change and they try to talk me out of it, saying "sir, Mini's don't need oil changed like other cars...you only have to do it every 10K miles". This is the kind of crap you have to deal with with service advisers constantly. This is not exclusive to Mini either, every dealership IMO is not trustworthy.

The worst thing would be is to pay for these programs, something goes wrong, then they tell you "sorry it's not covered under our terms".

 

They don't seem to mind when it's on your dollar, typical dealer mentality. They got to make money though and this is one way they try to get a sale.

 

You certainly should be cautious when it comes to the extended maintenance agreements and shop around to see what other options are available. They can be really valuable or just a waste of money. Personally, I'm more in favor of extended warranties rather than extended maintenance agreements. Honestly, this one reads like "everything is covered EXCEPT your MINI".

Most of these extended maintenance agreements are more geared toward STANDARD, i.e. simple maintenance (oil changes, wiper inserts, fluid maintenance, etc) rather than the type of maintenance you can generally expect on a vehicle. Before you commit I'd do some hard thinking about what your real concern is to find the best and type of coverage you're looking for. Just a thought

 

Maybe, but my brakes and rotors have been replaced, front and rear, under service agreement, and will most definitely need replaced again in within six months.

I get an oil change between the "free" one and my dealer simply does not reset my computer, I pay for it and it's no problem. Dealer charges $59 for oil change which is less than I can do it for myself.

They changed spark plugs, changed oil, ran a diagnostic, changed cabin air filter, front brakes and rotors, and gave me my car washed and vacuumed in my most recent visit.

From what I'm reading in this forum I have an excellent dealer. They keep me on schedule with maintenance and are flexible and honest. They tell me when I need things and never balk on doing the maintenance. They have replaced the front brakes and rotors early on one occasion saying it was just easier because I was already there.

I really like my dealer. If anything major needs done in the future I will obviously shop around, since my warranty is over, but as far as the service agreement I'm thrilled with it.

My used 2010 mini came with the agreement in 2012 and is good till 2016 and I'm pretty darned happy with it. I've had to replace a water pump on car at 60K and the thermostat at 70K, on my own dime, but otherwise my mini and the dealer have served me very very well.

 

Where did you buy this, can give me dealer ship name

 

I have a 2012 Countryman S ALL4. It just rolled over 50K with 50753 miles. got a reduced power light and took it to the dealer. We have the extended maintenance and warranty on the car. after diagnostics it was discovered that two spark plugs failed. because we are 2000 miles short of the maintenance interval it is going to cost 270.00 to replace the spark plugs. in short, a car that is covered by every mechanical warranty offered by mini is going to cost almost 300 dollars to get it fixed. This is pure crap. what i have summarized by this experience is that:

1. Mini's are basically a less that 50K miles car.
2. do not buy anything extended for the car.
3. before it rolls 50K trade it off.

prior to 50K the dealer and Mini took car of the car:

1. had all maintenance done on time.
2. Had to have new front wheel bearings and brake pads.
3. Had to have rear brake calipers, rotors and pads due to frozen caliper.
4. Had to have complete drive train past the transmission replaced due to failed clutch and dealer was unable to remove transaxle due to stuck parts and had to be cut out of the car.

due to this history and the lack of coverage for something that had it lasted 2K more miles would have been replaced free of charge has left a fairly bad experience for Minis. Before this hiccup I was a loyal customer and very happy with the car despite the frequent major repairs and thought this type of service would continue past 50K because we purchased all of the extended warranties available. Not so. Buyer beware...... I had thought this would be the first of a long trail of Minis for our family, now I am looking to replace this car as soon as possible with something more reliable and built for the long haul. Fun to drive but clearly lacking in build quality.

 

Your car might be a lemon and I sympathize with you.

Sadly, in every car forum for every car manufacturer there are painful stories such as yours.

However, all mini owners are not unhappy. I am very happy with my 2010 mini. It has nearly 80K miles, and there is not a rattle or squeak to be heard, it seems to be rock solid.

My dealer has replaced things early per the maintenance agreement on two occasions, the front brakes/rotors and an oil change. Minor things but They said it was just easier to do since my car was already there. My dealer really makes the difference. It's unfortunate your dealer did not just take care of your spark plugs, they really should have. Your dealer is as much to blame for your unhappiness as the car is, IMO.

Your experience does not make all minis 50K cars. After buying mine I read stories such as yours and was almost scared into selling mine. I am glad I did not.

 

I purchased it because I plan on keeping mine well past original coverage since I have already put 16,200 miles on '15 justa just over 7 months.

 

Couldn't agree with you more about not buying the extended maintenance plan. My 2011 JCW has 50,000 on now (about 6 months out of warranty) and I took it in for the first time after the warranty was up to have its yearly, free oil change - since I have the extended maintenance. Well, the stealership says the oil filter housing is cracked and they might have to chisel it off. I say no problem just drain and fill the oil and leave the filter alone - I will change the filter later. Nope. They wanted $120 (including taxes) to change the $28 oil filter cap. Long story short - I spent 3 hours of my time for a free car wash. My first time ever actually dealing with the dealership since I bought the JCW used. I don't know I just expected better service...perhaps....I pay for a new oil filter housing and they install it for free??? I was so turned off. I am not asking for a timing chain replacement. I'll do my own maintenance. Compared to Audi I think this dealership (Patrick MINI Schaumburg, IL.) can improve a little.

 

Sorry to hear timski.

On the other hand, BMW Store in Cincinnati is amazing. My 2010 Mini has 90K. I bought used in 2012. Came with balance of extended maintenance program.

They just replaced my third set of brakes AND rotors free of charge per maint program. Oil change too, of course.

They replaced my brakes 600 miles AHEAD of schedule so I would not have to come back in later.

They have changed cabin filters, air filters, spark plugs, they run diagnostics, and I never have to ask what's needed, they tell me. They never try to weasle out of anything. They are agressive about staying on top of what my car needs.

According to service records, my car has had no issues save for a water pump since it was purchased new in 2010.

Next time I buy a new vehicle, I will not hesitate to go mini and to purchase from the dealer. My experience has been too awesome.

Little things can really sour someone's opinion, I understand.

 

I will never go back to the stealership for any kind of so called service. Regardless whether it's a my Mini or any other car I own or may own in the future. If it's out of bumper to bumper to warranty they are useless!

Thieves, all of them!

So many good indie mechanics out there that charge half, sometimes more than half off for the same service. I don't even trust some service gets done at the stealerships. I've had too many of my own stories as proof and I will spare you the details, but they are crooks.

F the extended warranty, that just my .2

 

My son bought a 2010 S Turbo with N-14 engine, from Prestige Mini in Ramsey NJ in Dec of 2014, with just over 70k on it, and the remainder of an extended maintenance warranty, paid by the original owner. We were given the impression it was a "certified used car", (impeccable showroom condition, parked in the certified cars lot, promised trouble free experience by salesman, etc) and confident that with BMW's reputation, we would enjoy the promised, worry free "Mini driving experience". BIG MISTAKE! When the timing chain went in Feb 2015, we found out otherwise. Also found out a lot about the poor quality overall of at least the engines in these cars (not even made by BMW, used in other French cars as well???, with known, unaddressed, factory defects-timing chain, turbo bearings, oil starvation issues, etc). Also found out about the sleaziness of the repair policies, unwillingness of either BMW or Mini to own up to known problems or issue recalls or extended warranties on such issues.
Long story short, they wanted $1500 for new timing chain repair. After protesting, as a new customer, they offered a $500 discount, and lied about this being a "fluke" problem with an otherwise trouble-free engine. After researching the engine and timing chain issues, and fighting for 3 more days while providing pages of documented evidence of the long history of flaws, the Dealership manage reluctantly agreed to comp the repair. If anyone wants more info on this issue, I can forward links to several sources, including the class actin law suit pending in NJ. Now they want to do $1000 worth of repairs before they can finish diagnosing the latest engine light codes. Worst engines ever built! Makes even the Yugos look good!

 

Rb8con,


You need to make sure you have an "extended maintenance warranty" and not the "extended maintenance program." If the word "warranty" does not appear on the contract you received, the timing chain is not going to be covered. This is unfortunately a misunderstanding in the aftermarket offers provided by BMW/MINI. You're lucky they covered the timing chain repairs.


It is also unfortunate this recall has never come to fruition. Someone in my office has an '11 S with a slight chain rattle. I told her about it and provided relevant links. Unfortunately, they won't cover it. This also comes from a dealership here in Germany.


You're also complaining that the engine is not made by BMW. If you ever looked at a 2007-2013 production sticker, it explicitly states the engine is from France. Yes, the "Prince" engine is a Peugeot block (though it was jointly developed with BMW).


Sometimes the dealership becomes the back breaker. If you continue to have issues, you can always go to another one. A lot of our club members back home quit going to CF in Va. Beach for that reason and now go to Crown MINI in Richmond. You should be able to find more information in this forum regarding which dealerships have a better customer reputation when it comes to repairs.

 

The N14 engine has some issues, especially when it’s not properly maintained. Your son is not the first and certainly not the last pissed off N14 owner.

I would bet that the reason Prestige MINI had the 2010 MINI Cooper S on the lot in the first place is because the previous owner offloaded their problem via a trade.

The only advice I have for you is to fix it and sell it, or do a trade in.

 

i had my local mini dealership quote me $4,470 for a 7yr 100k miles extended warranty for my GP with 21K miles

 

That is an absolute joke. Dealer service is a joke with or without a warranty. All they want to do is steal your money. It's that simple.

 

We are in the process of buying out the finance deal so he can sell it. Of course he's upside down already, with a 54 month finance, so I have to cough up more money to help him buy it, then take about another $2000 loss (plus all the payments and repair costs to date) to sell it again. (Toyota and Honda are looking really good at this point!)

Since the timing chain fiasco, he had to have the walnut shell head cleaning ($600). A few weeks later, the engine light came on again, and he was quoted about $1500 in repairs needed, before they could properly diagnose the trouble light code: coolant leak at front of engine, HOLE in the valve cover gasket, plus other stuff. He took it to my favorite mechanic, found that everything the dealer quoted was NOT NECESSARY, and mis-diagnosed. The trans cooler (not engine) was leaking coolant and needed to be replaced. NO HOLE in the valve cover, nor any oil leak. There was a minor vacuum leak, fixed at no charge, which cleared the code. (Can you say incompetent, rip off dealer? Prestige Mini in Mahwah, NJ,by the way-stay away!) The cooler was fixed for a reasonable fee.

Next a coolant hose started leaking. Dealer item:$160 (for a RUBBER HOSE!!) and not in stock. Took 2 weeks to get, and will be over $400 in labor (probably over $1000 at the dealer) because it (A FREAKING COOLANT HOSE!) is nearly impossible to access!! Now there is an example of the brilliant BMW Engineering we love to pay for!!

Bottom line: If you have this engine, sell it quick! Its a money pit and won't get any better. At this point I cannot stand to look at a BMW or MINI any more. Sorry for the rest of you that are willing to keep paying through the nose.

 

I just bought a 2015 with the 6 YR/100k extended service...the price on his contract was $2400..