I know there are several posts regarding extended warranties and maintenance, but I couldn't find too much definitive information, so I'm starting a new thread to help those who still have questions.

I emailed MiniUSA via the main web site and was informed of a relatively new (only 1-2 months old, according to Rasmussen Mini in Portland, OR) 6yr/100K mi full maintenance. My 4yr full maintenance is running out, so I was looking around to upgrade since I know my BMW/Mini will have problems in the future.

I confirmed that this 6yr/100K mi full maintenance (brakes, oil and maintenance services, etc) does in fact exist and is directly from Mini and is *not* third-party. Here are my price quotes:

(Rasmussen Mini in OR) $1200-1300 to upgrade from 4yr full maintenance
(Mini San Francisco) $995 to upgrade from 4yr full maintenance
(Mini Mountain View, CA) $1595 to upgrade from 4yr maintenance - $1895 to upgrade from 3yr standard full maintenance [both for standard and S coopers, not sure about convertibles]

I was pleasantly surprised that my local SF dealership is cheaper than most quotes I've heard!

Obviously, you have to be in your warranty/maintenance coverage period to upgrade your warranty.

NOTE: you also can only purchase this from your local Mini dealership since they now require your Mini key to confirm milage and eligibility. I inquired about mailing my key to the dealership as a possibility, and it's a small possibility but I didn't pursue further since my local dealership is offering this at a good price.

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NOTE: upgrading the full maintenance does *NOT* include extending the bumper to bumper 4yr/50K warranty (bummer). Mini of Mountain View quoted me $2600 to upgrade my bumper to bumper to a 7yr/100K via their 3rd party company...

 

what is the standard maintenance plan, 3 years, 36,000 miles? I am getting close at 33,500!

 

It's usually...
standard 3yr/36K full maintenance with 4yr/50K bumper to bumper
upgradable to...
4yr/50K full maintenance, bumper to bumper stays the same
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I need to confirm whether or not the 6yr/100K full maintenance upgrade also upgrades the bumper to bumper...

... Confirmed that bumper to bumper is not changed - so you can have full maintenance after your bumper to bumper warranty has expired

 

thank you

 

I dont think MINI of SF is at 995 for the 6 year maintenance plan. I would definitely double check that.

 

I spoke with Shannon at SF Mini, who is the Finance manager at the dealership - perhaps someone else would like to confirm

 

Correction...after re reading your post they are charging you 995 to go from the upgraded four year maintenance to the 6 correct? If so you are probably right. sorry for the confusion

 

A $1000+ just for scheduled maintenance......ouch !

 

Does that math really work?
$1,000 for oil changes, wiper blades, etc? How many of everything on the list of covered items would someone go through in that timeframe?
Just curious if it is really worth it. Sounds like a glorified oil change package to me.

 

It will all depend how many miles you drive your car... if in two years you drive your car 40K mi and run through your brakes a couple times over, and if you don't want to do the labor yourself, then it's definitely worth it. The maintenance package will cover oil changes, wipers, brakes, filters, maintenance checks. Mini states services are at around 10-15K intervals.

 

Since I've just spent over $3k in the past two months that is a bargan...

PS Pump
PS Rack
Alternator
various seals etc

Wallet is still on fire!!

86k on the clock, want to make it to 125k, pray for my CVT

 

I don't think what you mentioned is included in the maintenance package.

 

$1000 then just for oil changes and a few wiper blades?
Why would anyone do that. With all the talk about CVT failures I thought it was a REAL warranty not just fluff

 

If I have a 100K maintenance policy through the dealer and my auto transmission goes out at on my R56 at 85,000 miles, doesn't this mean that they didn't "maintain" my transmission properly and It should be covered under the maintenance agreement. Is my logic faulty?.

 

You know that just bites. I have an '02, which right away disqualifies me, even though I only have 42,000 miles. I think they should allow for fairly low mileage vehicles. Or do they?

 

Nope. It's specific to the date of first title/sale, IIRC.


You're outside the window, for a factory based warranty or service contract.

You could, however, purchase a third party warranty.

 

When I bought my 07 MC in June, I turned down all the 'extra' warranties, except for the extended maintenance agreement. I walked away hoping I wasn't just talked in to something I didn't need, but to extend from 36k milles 100,000 miles, it was $1498. I was told that a brake job alone would cost $1000 and that by the time I reached 100k miles I'd probably have 2 brake jobs.

I did realize after buying it that it wasn't as great of a deal as I had thought. It is supposed to cover, according to the dealership 'all maintenance except for tires'

But, it seems like I read somewhere that that isn't necessarily true. At this point it doesn't matter because I paid for it.

What I'd like to see is a list of things that someone has actually seen done to their car free of charge under a maintenance agreement.

 

Two days ago, I was quoted $1400 for the extended mx (6 yr/100,000) to be purchased before my 3 yr/36000 expires. You probably already know this but this mx is retroactive - the expiration date is 6 yrs from the date of vehicle purchase.

I still have about 5000 miles left on my brakes. I should be due for a service and brakes early next year. We figured there would at least be 1 - 2 oil services, 2 brake jobs, and the 50,000 mile service covered under the extended. I figure that all adds up to about $1400 so I am going for it.

 

[FONT=Arial]Here is what would be covered:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Recommended Maintenance [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Oil Service – annual, or every 15k (which ever comes first)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Spark plug replacement at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Oxygen sensor at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Brake fluid flush every 2 years[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Coolant flush ever 4 years[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Inspection I – Every 30,000 Miles[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Replace pollen filter[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Oil Change[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Inspection II - 60,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Engine air filter every 30k[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Replace poly V belt[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Brake Job – Every 20k? 30k? 40k?[/FONT]

and of course we can't forget the wiper inserts!

the tipping point would be breaks (how many replacements). of course, pads and rotors aren't too difficult to do with all the good DIY posts around-but pads and rotors are still around $300 when you buy yourself.

the program should also help sell your car....if you decided to sell later on..

 

You brought up a good point, this helps resale value, because most people out there are not DIYers...

For me, I'm an extreme DIYer, but since getting married, my wife doesn't want me to spend time on cars anymore (or at least minimally) so DIY projects get pushed to the lowest priority... so I'll throw in the intrinsic value of this maintenance agreement here... _TIME_

Also, if your dealer has the option, getting to drive around a newer mini or bmw loaner car might be fun =)

 

[quote=Zman;1691698]
[FONT=Arial]Spark plug replacement at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Oxygen sensor at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Brake fluid flush every 2 years[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Coolant flush ever 4 years[/FONT]
quote]

FYI about those 100k items. You'd have to drive 16,667 miles a year in order to hit 100k in the 6 years that the maintenance warranty would cover. Fall short, and you don't get those replaced.
Also makes me wonder when you'd get the coolant flush. Sounds like you'd get it once at 4 years, and thats it. Brakes would be good though, flushed at 2 4 and 6 years.

Still hard to justify it in my mind. $1200-1400 is a lot of money to throw around.

 

agreed. it is a lot of money. but owning bmws and minis, we should be prepared to begin throwing...

here is the quote i got from my service person:

This is price of what it would cost you for maint that you would need during that time:
~Brakes frt and rear-$1200
~coolant flush-4yrs-$140
~brake flush-every two years-$140.00 x 2=$280
~2 engine oil services-$336
~Inspection 1 again at 90k=$480
~Inspection 2 at 60k=$750
~Wipers-$100.00 over 6 years
----------------------------------------------------------
APPROX. COST FOR MAINT.-$3,286
Plus O2 Sensor and Spark Plugs (might have to argue with Mini USA since the warranty stops at 100,000, but the service for these two items is required at 100,000


[FONT=Arial]Spark plug replacement at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Oxygen sensor at 100,000[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Brake fluid flush every 2 years[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Coolant flush ever 4 years[/FONT]
quote]

FYI about those 100k items. You'd have to drive 16,667 miles a year in order to hit 100k in the 6 years that the maintenance warranty would cover. Fall short, and you don't get those replaced.
Also makes me wonder when you'd get the coolant flush. Sounds like you'd get it once at 4 years, and thats it. Brakes would be good though, flushed at 2 4 and 6 years.

Still hard to justify it in my mind. $1200-1400 is a lot of money to throw around.[/quote]

 

Cool analysis.
So here's what it'll cost if you don't go to the dealer and DIY it instead. (Roughly... nitpik as you see fit)


~Brakes frt and rear-$200 for EBC pads, add $200 if you want to add new rotors
~coolant flush-4yrs-$0. Skip that
~brake flush-every two years-$20 for speed bleeders and $10 for fluid. Need a little skill here, but still doable by the average Joe.
~2 engine oil services-$40 each time for filter and synthetic (max). Driving 12k a year, do it once a year min. For the three years the extended maintenance runs that will be $120.
~Inspection 1 again at 90k=Skip that.
~Inspection 2 at 60k=$Skipping!
~Wipers-$90 for three years worth at Pelican.

Looks like $680 to DIY and skip the inspections. Hmmmm.. maybe it does add up to a good deal as long as you're near the dealership and use ALL of the options available.

 

Here's a different angle...I'm burning through roughly 25k/miles a year. At that rate, I'll hit it in 4 years.

It seems to me that *IF* this covers the O2 sensor change, spark plug change, AND adds another service 1, it may just be worth it. For me, those two things and the brakes would be key.

 

My dealer was offering the 6/100000 Full Maintenance for $1996. I am glad I turned it down. Sounds like it was on the high side compare to other dealers. I will wait until I hit 30k+ and then decide.