i've been trudging through tons of CVT threads here and on other forums and all it seems to do is get me really paranoid. i have a 2003 MINI R50 with 37k on it. i'm the second owner and i'm considering purchasing an extended warranty. the factory warranty went out 3 months ago and i have found a couple dealers here in socal that will sell me an extended warranty. it's around $2000 to $2500 though w/ no financing options to pay it off. despite contrary belief we're not all loaded here in socal. and some of us out here actually believe in NOT over-extending our finances and driving ourselves into foreclosure.

buying from warranty direct etc., would be awesome choices and i would have already snapped one up. except of course, california being the bizaare government that is -which loves to cripple their citizens- does NOT allow the purchase of an extended warranty unless it is via a dealer. go figure, before i moved out here i thought it was a liberal state ...

anyhow. i just wanted to get some experiences good and bad on the CVT. i'm only seeing negative posts and i KNOW there has to be a ton of folks who have gotten a very long life so far out of their MINI cvt. i am going to get an extended warranty, just in case because a $7000 repair is a bit out of my range on a whim. and i guess if all stays well throughout my MINI's life - which i hope will be long in the 100+k range- i'll have some peace of mind and my next MINI will be a standard "S". but, i've gotten so worried about it that i'm constantly listening and feeling for it to go at any moment. at times it ruins the joy of the MINI experience. too much "research" can be a bad thing sometimes...

 

2 MINIs with combined 46,000 miles, still smooth as a baby's bare bottom.

Don't forget, for every thread you read of someone having a problem, there's hundreds of CVTs out there with no problems.

And the ones that have experienced issues are generally the earlier models.

 

cool. my MINI is a 2003 with a build date of 09/02. am i considered an early build? i had my MINI specialist perform a complete drain and flush on the tranny seeing as that is pretty much the only maintenance i can do. he told me- if this CVT lasts 80,000 miles this MINI will live to see 200,000 miles. it's the initial 80k that concerns me.

 

I looked into the warranty direct. They only quoted me up to 92k. I have 55k right now, maybe that is why. I am still thinking about it. I am paranoid just like you with my 04 cvt.

 

I have an 03 with 48k and 0 problems however I did buy the extended non MINI waranty for about 2k. I have used it already for a Door lock actuator and seat back problem would have been about $500 and cost me $100 deductible. so right now I am -1600 but that is 4 months of ownership.

Knowing the prices on parts CVT (what 8k) Engine (What 6k)
I say bite the bullet and get the waranty one other advantage on this waranty is it is prorated if I sell the car so 1.5 years of 3 left I get 1k back and so on.

 

The fact that Mini went away from the CVT in 2007 should tell you how they feel about the CVT.

 

Not really true Companys make decisions on more than 1 % problems mostly it was a cost issue.

Otherwise you would see the electric power steering pump gone or power window motor!

 

the issue for me in california is that we can only purchase from a dealer due some nutso law. i would have already gotten a warrantydirect plan if i could. if anyone has info about california warranties please chime in. i've found a few leads but, so far only one dealer in L.A. so far. warranty is $2500 all due in one shot- not exactly chump change.