To all of my Mini friends:
Are you going to keep your roadster beyond the four year warranty,and, if so, will you get the extended maintenance or warranty?
My 2013 Mini Roadster S has 30,000 miles and my four year warranty will be up in April, 2017... I never keep cars beyond the warranty; usually turn them in for a new one... I do love my roadster: do I dump for a MX5, or do I keep....????!!!!....
Jonack

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there was a time when I bought a new car every 3 years. Now I tend to keep them for significantly longer ... well past the standard warranty. Once I bought an extended warranty and never again ....

I'll just mention a couple of highlights, pm me if you want to discuss in more depth ... here are my thoughts and experience ...

1. The one time I did buy an extended warranty, the first problem I had was not covered .... Read the small print. Extended does not necessarily extend the 'bumper to bumper' coverage of the original warranty.

2. Extended warranties are sold by the manufactured AND OTHERS and they are not the same .... (similar to 1 above) .... two weeks after bring the r59 home in July we began receiving offers for extended warranties ("yours is about to run out?")

3. An extended warranty is 'insurance' and as such a gamble. If nothing goes wrong you lose money. If something significant goes wrong (and is covered) the seller loses money. They stay in business by which side paying off more?

4. What if you took that extended warranty money and put it in the bank and did not touch it except for the car's requirements? You earn interest. So if you can afford a significant repair the 'insurance' might be a bad investment. (example, with the R59 we just bought we were offered tire and wheel insurance at so many $ per month. "isn't the charge the same a buying two tires a year?" YES ... good deal? ONCE in 40 years have I needed to replace two tires in a year because of road damage ... but when I DID need to, I could afford to.)

5. WRT extending the maintenance plan .... if you have been happy with dealer provided maintenance it might be good for you. If you do extra maintenance or like some non factory parts, probably not. I do a lot of my own maintenance and the dealer is an hour away .... I get little return on my dollar for the pre-paid maint'

WRT an MX-5 .... I drove a 95 Miata for 12 years .... most reliable car I've ever owned. Sold it to the son of a friend 9 years ago ... it is still his daily driver and it is going strong ... the repair costs have been VERY low (we're still friends!). In general the Miata is VERY highly rated and the new one is reported to be fantastic. But wait, didn't I just buy an R59? Yes we did, or I should say the Mrs did. We both have hip issues and the R59 IS a wee bit higher and easier to get in and out of.

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At one time I lived near some very twisty roads with hills .... and in the garage I had: GEN1 MINI, "A" series Miata, and a 79 Mini (very tweeked). It was damn hard to choose which car to take for my Sunday twisty run ... but REALLY fun to compare them side by side . . .

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I post this to break the logjam

I'm very confident that the lurkers who did not want to speak will be happy to tell me I'm wrong . . .

 

Capt: thank you for your comprehensive reply.... Much appreciated ... I sat in the new MX5... My head just touches the roof...I'm only 5'11, but all torso, short legs ... Miata reports that the retractable targa hardtop coming out in 2017 will have more head room... I will test drive them in the spring , and then make a decision... I live in the NE... My roadster must be an all year vehicle for me, so winter driving is an issue. However , I am retired .. Therefore I can stay off the road in really bad conditions ... I was told that the Miata can navigate a few inches of snow if I put four good snow tires on it... I'm not used to keeping a car beyond the warranty, but , based on depleted money reserves and my affection for my mini , I may just keep it... Unless the MX5 blows me away, of course... Also, the Miata is cheaper than a comparable Mini roadster..
Mini suggested an extended maintenance program ... $2000 ( 7 years, 100,000 miles, I think) it covers the clutch and brakes... The clutch is a big deal...
Best, jonack

 

I chose not to buy the warranty too, for the same reasons. It's a gamble for sure, but I wanted flexibility to fit aftermarket parts and to do my own work. The top wasn't covered, and neither would be wear and tear items. The car's paid for, so I'm a few hundred to the good every month.

 

I consider extended warranties the same as snake oil. Sure there will be the story of how one saved a guy many dollars just as there are stories of people winning a fortune in Las
Vegas. But, just like Las Vegas the house always wins. I have the same concern with my MINI and I will have it traded in on another car, perhaps a MINI, before the warranty expires.

 

I usually get rid of my cars at the end of the 3 years factory maintenance programs. This way, they are still under warranty for another 12K and I get some bargaining power for a new car. The Mini will be no exception.

I always avoid surprises and high cost maintenance not anymore covered.

Also, I don't see any Mini in my future because the dealer network in WA is horrible with only 2 locations that are far away.

 

Good thing you asked this question in the R59 forum. If you had asked in the R56 forum you would have received an entirely different set of responses; all favoring "get a warranty" or "don't keep the car."

All R59 S models have the newer N18 engine that does not have the same issues as the prior N16 version.

I plan on keeping my 2012 for many years to come, and I will not be getting a warranty.

Instead I "self warranty." Keeping in mind that the Mini is no extremely cheap to maintain Toyota; I save $150 per month to cover maintenance (SoCal rates, less in other parts of the country). This allows me to cover the usual maintenance, to save for the big ticket items to come (clutch, suspension), and to cover the unexpected.

Yes I will save more than I spend, the extra will eventually go towards my next car; in 5-10 years.

btw, I also use YNAB for budgeting. I can't recommend this program enough. Zero sum budgeting using the old envelope method. YNAB - You Need a Budget

 

Donggood, is right... the best is always self financing.

We do the same with car purchasing. Put money aside while owning the one car. Then build a pool of cash to purchase the next. I know, it's easier said then done considering the timing of your initial car investment. But for a warranty it is definitely do-able, though I haven't done that much.

Secondly a car that is carefully cared for and properly maintained will have far fewer problems than the one used with expectation to spend as little as possible.

Last, replacing a car every 3 yrs is not an argument. That's a convenience. Financially it makes no sense. You'll end up spending quite a bit more over time. I'm not objecting to it for people who can afford it. I could, I might. But it is not a way the save on cash.


Our habit has been: No warranty, Buy new and keep the car for as long as possible (or around 10yrs if finances permits) and don't be a scrooge on maintenance. A few hundreds now and then is better than a thousands of dollars at once.
With increased reliability of modern cars, one car with problem will be cheaper than constant cost of extended warranties.

We've had my other car (not a mini) for 11 years now. Paid $29k at the time (Aug 05). My biggest expenses have been: To replace both axles (my bad from having lowered the car), the engine mounts I replaced myself just to keep things tight (easy to do) and last year the timing belt for about $650, something like that. All other maintenance done to a T. I'd say over 11yrs I have paid less than what it would have cost on warranties. And the car still run strong.

My expectation with the MINI is lesser (from its bad rep) but I'm still counting it to last a long time, and I'll pay the repairs when time comes (to a point)

 

I don't do extended warranties (well, maybe one on a heck of a hybrid car "deal" that we fell into because of an extremely good dealership offer that almost scared us off, but so far so good on that one), and I tend to keep cars a long time, especially if I like the car. This Mini Roadster is one of our favorite cars ever, so will try to keep it around as long as it's economically viable to do so. Would never trade this for a Miata, not even the new version. Miata is a great car, but has little room for touring. Our roadster's trunk is huge by comparison and I just like the Mini's dynamics and classic looks way better.

Cars, unless you have a prized collector in the garage, are not a good investment. If you only plan to keep it through the warranty period, then it's not a problem, maintenance expense wise. If you plan on keeping it beyond that factory warranty period, and the car is a daily driver, an extended warranty is just like an insurance policy. There are winners and losers. If the car never ends up needing expensive repair, the extended warranty will save you nothing, but the other way around, and you might come out on the positive side of things. Like someone said in this thread, it's a gamble, either way.

Our Roadster is not a daily driver. We use it mostly on fair weather trips to the mountains, beach, out on dinner dates and sometimes errands, so we decided against an extended warranty. I've done most of the recurring maintenance on our older daily drivers... simple stuff like, filters, oil changes, wheel rotation, brakes and the like. That has saved us quite a bundle over the years.

It also depends how and where you drive. A Mini that gets tracked, or does autocross duty on weekends will definitely require more maintenance and will wear out expensive items like tires, drive line components and suspension bits a lot sooner than one that's more gently driven. I can see where extended warranties would be beneficial in some cases.

Only time will tell if we made a good choice by not going with an extended warranty for our Mini.

 

Some followup comments (been away from home for a few)

Also, the Miata is cheaper than a comparable Mini roadster..
IF you could buy a new roadster! Wife just bought a leftover that had been on the dealer lot for over a year so we got a BUNCH off sticker ... but could have bought a 17 Miata for less .....

I was told that the Miata can navigate a few inches of snow if I put four good snow tires on it
I had mine in DC area for a while when first bought and I drove it to work in about 4 inches once, ONCE. After that the office pretty much expected on a snow day I was gonna work from home! Snow tires are fine, but they don't do nuthin about low clearance ... which is ALSO a MINI issue . . .

Mini suggested an extended maintenance program ... $2000 ( 7 years, 100,000 miles, I think) it covers the clutch and brakes... The clutch is a big deal...
Clutch IS a big deal ..... I've never had to replace one on ANY manual car I've owned, often selling with well over 100,000 miles ... including an 02S, 07S and the Miata of which I spoke (which is STILL on the original clutch at well over 250,000 miles . . .) your performance may vary. {I've got 12+ years on the clutch in the 79 for that matter}

$2000 could be 5 brake jobs - parts - using decent stuff at DIY prices. Or 2 and part of one at most dealer prices . . . using OE stuff ....

 

Capt bj is right on the "money". A lot depends on where, how and when you drive the Roadster. If you're easy on the car, you might get by. If you drive it hard, that extended could be good insurance. Just make sure you know (in writing) what it actually covers and under what conditions, if any.

Miata is not only less expensive to purchase, it's less expensive to maintain. The excellent reliability of the Miata is well known, too.

 

The reliability of the Mini would be a big concern in my decision to buy or not to buy an extended maintenance program.

Parts are very expensive and the Mini is not an easy car to work on when you need to have the entire front end dismantled for service.

Bottom line, you pay now for peace of mind or you pay even more later but something will happen when a major expense or maintenance will come.

Lets say........ one brake job and one oil leak coming from the transmission
seals and / or a timing chain would already cover the $2K warranty up to 100K.

This seems cheap insurance to me and they would be OEM parts.

If I ever make a decision to keep my Coupe any longer than the actual maintenance program, I will definitely consider buying one from Mini.

 

The reliability of the Mini would be a big concern in my decision to buy or not to buy an extended maintenance program.

If this is your metric, the recent "long term review" of a MINI by Car and Driver answers your question

RUN Forrest RUN

 

That review is of a first year Gen3 while the R59 is a late Gen2. Not sure if I myself buy into that "don't by the first version of a generation" logic, but many do.

With 45k miles on the odometer the only unexpected maintenance issue my R59S has had is the oil sensor seepage leak (whatever it was called); and that is a known warranty repair.

Yes the Gen2 dashboard seems designed to creak straight off the assembly line; but fortunately the top goes down and all the noises go away (seriously tho, the creaking is annoying).

I am firmly in the camp that if you properly maintain the car it will last a long time. However "proper maintenance" of a Mini is more involved and more expensive than for your Japanese econo-box.

Elsewhere on this forum Way from Way Motor Werks posted the following Gen2 maintenance info which I basically follow.
I put 140k miles on my 2006 R53 before giving it to my son, who has since put an additional 15k trouble free miles on the car.

I fully expect my R59 to last as long or longer; without using an extended warranty.

I did considered the extended maintenance package, but as my used R59 was purchased non-CPO the $2000 price was not available.

 

OEM oil change are at 10K for the N18 engine.

 

Doesn't matter what BMW/MINI says. 5k if you want it to last.

 

Any Car... including BMW/Mini... very wise words indeed. 5k and quality oil and filter.

 

well if you read much

it appears to me EVERY car manufacturer disagrees

every car mag .. or writer disagrees

and even the OIL companies disagree

and all mention 'oil waste' as a pollution issue

however JIFFY LUBE says change it every 3000 miles

hummmmmmmm

 

And in other news, fox says he would really do a great job in charge of the chickens.

 

If you go to JIFFY LUBE, I don't think it is the right place for your Mini.

Go to your Mini dealer and you will have peace of mind. Again, it is 10K with OEM recommended oil and filter.

Engines are not all the same design among manufacturers. My previous Infiniti needed oil change every 3.5K and I drove it for 36K without any problem.

Being zealous about oil change is a waste of money. Just follow OEM.

 

10k mile oil changes are fine if you use your Mini lightly and in temperate weather conditions. That 10k miles is the recommended maximum interval. If you live in a place where it gets excessively hot, or like here in Maine when it gets down on the chilly side for a few months of the year, it might be better not to go out to that maximum. Right now, we're not driving the Mini extensively during the Winter Salt season to keep it from pitting and rusting as much as we can. Maine Salts and sands roads heavily. The Mini still gets run when roads are clean and dry at least once a week to keep the battery and keys from running down.

So far, because of circumstances beyond our control this year, we're unfortunately not getting to travel nearly as much as we had planned. That forced us to change the oil according to it's one year change anniversary, instead of the 10k mile mark.

Most reputable oil changing shops recycle oil. I do agree that taking a Mini or any car you might want to keep a long time to a place like Jiffy Lube may not be the best idea, unless you know the shop personnel and are sure that they will provide proper oil type, the grade necessary, and a good quality filter. There are places where I've seen oil draining cut short and the plug put back on before the stream cuts off and goes to drips. I like to give it enough time get all the old stuff out. A lot of these types of places are in a bit of a rush. I feel that if a shop won't let you watch the process, that might sent up some warning flags about their methods.

Once this Mini is out of it's warranty period, I'll take over the oil change duties. I don't mind the job, and I do like to make sure that all possible contaminated oil comes out of the drain. So far, and I'm knocking on wood surfaces as I type, in the many years and miles of driving, I've never owned a car that decided to burn oil. Maybe I've been lucky, but I'd like to think that the care that I take changing oil and watching the intervals had a little to do with that.

 

From having done some more reading recently there's one item that will push me to do more frequent oil change and that is the timing chain. While I partially agree that modern motor oils are providing much better durability performances than 20 years ago, and that wasting money or adding to pollution isn't quite a goal of mine, I'm still inclined to do more frequent oil change in order to limite early wear on the MINI's timing chaine design which I don't particularly like...

I don't mind the chain idea. But that plastic tensioner is just an obvious wear item I'm not terribly trusting. That law suits on the N14 engine is just an obvious hint. Yes, the new tensioner is supposed to be better. But it doesn't change the fact that this design isn't exactly the best approach. If just for that reason I'll be doing my oil change more frequently. I think it will be a safer bet with moderate added coast (better lubrication, fewer metal particles wearing out parts). 10k miles is way too long for my level of mental comfort

I'll stick to 5,000 to 8,000 miles likely shortening the time frame as the car gets more miles...

 

I'm following Way's recommended service for the N18 engine. I forget where he posted it, probably in the R56 section.

air filter: needs to be replaced about 30k miles.

Spark plugs: we replace on the Turbo car every 30-40k. Seems early, but we keep finding them at 50-60 with the electrode burnt completely off.

Cabin filter: once a year.

Oil change: every 5k

Drive belt: every 4yrs or 60k miles.


So I don't have to remember mileage I simply change the oil and rotate my tires on the 5k miles. (35, 40, 45, etc.).