**Made a post over at 1st gear, will copy the same here**

Long story short, buddy of mine bought a R56 Cooper S to use as a daily driver and let me drive it once. That's all it took for me to fall in love, so there began my search for a perfect to me R56 Cooper.

In that search, I ran across the R58 Coupe and it looked goofy at first (still kinda does). The car was a 1 owner, GA owned vehicle and was priced very well. So, I figured I would go take a look in person and give it a chance. And I am glad I did, the color scheme, how unique it looked in person, and the way it handled instantly brought a big smile to my face. To me, that was the whole point of buying a MINI. Made quite a low ball offer for the out the door price and the dealership agreed to it! I was the happiest guy the day I brought it home (same day I test drove it).

Went to the mountains the next morning!











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Question - I was lucky to find out today that the previous owner purchased the maintenance package to 100k miles, so I am covered on that. I was offered the MINI Basic Powertrain ('L' coverage) extended warranty to cover the vehicle to 100k/July 2019 for $1895, which the dealer said was $100 over the cost. Is this is a good price for the warranty? Or should I pay a bit more for the Gold (XL) coverage?

The XL seemed like the best comprehensive coverage based on the options I have on my car, but is it worth it over the L coverage?

The coverage between the L, XL, and XXL is listed here: http://www.miniusa.com/content/dam/m...DF_MINI_M2.pdf

 

Nice ride. Mini tax (repairs) are expensive

 

You'll find that people will ask you "what kind of car is that?". Because it doesn't have the long horizontal roofline and almost vertical A and C pillars of the hatchback, some people don't recognize it as a Mini. And they didn't sell very many of them in the 3-4 years they were made either. Stiffer body and frame, same as the Roadster but with a solid top. They'll ask you if the top comes of too lol. Congrats! (I know nothing about extended warranties).

 

Anything built by BMW has that tax! I had a 135i for a while, so fully aware of all the expenses you incur for having a fun German ride.

Researching the forums shows that HPFP, Waterpump, Thermostat, and Injectors are quite the problem for MINIs. I had these same issues on the 135i, so that's why I am wondering if I should opt for the L or XL coverage. Or just be brave and drive it till something breaks and fix it as I go. Since this is not my only car, I am not worried about it sitting in the shop for a few days.

But, looking at the HPFP part cost, that alone is $1k! .

Thanks! I noticed all the stares I get driving the car in the few days I had it. My sister already asked if the roof comes off . The difference in structural rigidity was immediately apparent driving my R58 and my buddy's R56 S back to back. Two bigger surprises to me were that, insurance is cheaper on the R58 (for me atleast) and the cabin was quieter compared to the R56 (R56 owner agreed).

 

Good looking Coupe and you picked the perfect place to take it! On the extended coverage you have to figure how much mileage you plan on putting on the the car, how much it has now and how much exposure your willing to accept. The L offers the best bang for the buck coverage as what's covered under XL is stuff that doesn't break that often. If however you have the sat/nav package you may want to look at the XXL if its not stupid expensive. The display unit in that alone is like $2500 plus labor.

 

Thanks Tigger! Currently at 41k miles, factory 4yr/50k warranty runs out in July/2017. I will be putting about 12k miles a year on this car. My R58 is pretty bare bones, no comfort access, no HK audio, and no Nav/Head unit. I think 'L' would be the best option for me since the most common things that break on this car are related to the engine/powertrain.

$1895 a good price to pay to cover me till July/2019 and 100k miles?

 

I'd say it's a good price. Dealer quoted me about $2,500. I'd already gotten a new timing chain and clutch, and was planning on mods I knew would void any engine warranty. So I passed but if your planning on only minor changes the BMW warranty is the best I've had so far. Also check with your local Mini club and ask who is the best SA at the dealer to work with.

 

They fixed the bad HPFP problem for 2013. Bosch unit on your car. But they extended the warranty on it for the older ones anyway.

 

Welcome to the cult, errrr ummm, club of the R58. lol

 

My car's build date is April 2013, so I assume the new Bosch unit is in mine. These are not failing much compared to the older designs? I guess the other big problems are the waterpump and thermostat. What are usually the costs on these breakdowns? I saw the parts are fairly cheap, but labor is intensive?

Part of me wants to spend the $1900 on warranty, but the other part of me wants to gamble because this is a second "fun" car. I could use some of that money to get mods for the car (JB+, Rear Sway Bar, etc).

It is a very small cult indeed!

 

You will see just how culty we are. Like nothing you've ever seen before. Bwwwwahahahahahahahahaaaaa...cough...cough...ahhhh hhh (sigh). We're a special brood.

 

Love your R58 btw, the force is strong on the dark side!

Looking at all your mods started the mod bug in me, ordered the JCW Factory exhaust. Tint and exhaust go onto the car Saturday! Next up is JB+ and Rear sway bar!

 

Thanks buddy. Trust me...when that bug gets ya...it gets ya.

OMG...get that on there ASAP! lol

The JB+ adapter thing is great it will add about 20HP or so. You're going to love your car forever...and ever.......and eeeeeeever.........annnnnnnnnddddddd eeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeerrrr.

 

Exhaust is up on the car, cost me $65 for a clean welded on install!

For anyone in Georgia, Alan at Extreme Performance Mufflers is an honest guy who knows his stuff and won't charge you more than what he needs to. Repeat customer here and will always recommend him!

Video coming soon, stay tuned!

JCW Muffler bottom left, Stock muffler still on the car:




Stock one was quite dirty:


Shiny new JCW muffler:


Expanded the tubing on JCW to slip it over the stock midpipe:




Clean weld job, don't have to worry about clamps leaking:

 

Video uploaded sooner than I thought, check it out!