I just bought a 2005 MCSC sight unseen and should have it here in 2 weeks or so. I think it has just a little time left under warranty (48 months will be up in Dec 2008). I am having some major buyer's remorse - it was a lot to spend on a used car that i hadn't seen, let alone driven!

My question is what can i do to maximize the factory warranty while it's still valid? Can I just take it in to the nearest MINI dealer (San Francisco) and ask them to do an all around check? Would they do it for free?

What would be the things I should be worried about? It is a manual transmission, and I will be at least the 4th owner (did i mention buyer's remorse?!?!?), so clutch is a thought. At 30k miles, brakes? tires? oh dear, it is all sounding expensive! Are there any 2005 MCSC poltergeists?

My regular (non-dealer) service guy does VW and BMWs and they said it's the same codes, they can service a mini. what do you think?

Is it worth it to buy an extended warranty? And who from? The porsche dealer i bought it from offered one for $2000, for how long i cant remember, but it sounded like a rotten deal.

 

I took two Ambien and about to zone out.

But I can talk about this in the morning if you want. I have a few ideas, suggestions, and concerns,

Guess I'll read what others say when I get up.

Hope this all makes sense.

 

My suggestion would be to google "2005 MCSC".

 

Sight unseen was really brave of you.
Since it still has warranty left, I would take it right to a MINI dealer and have them give it a complete checkup (don't take it to any other kind of dealer or repair shop).

Yes you can and as for the fee it would pretty much depend on your dealer.
FOURTH owner???? What the .....? Are you yanking my chain? Why would there be so many owners in just a few years?
Maybe it does have a poltergeist as you mentioned, that might be where the other owners went.
So if your driving down the road and your MINI starts to mutter "Step into the light children" stop the car and run.
Again, take it to a MINI dealer only. I don't care if your regular service guy has a cousin that knows someone that drives a MINI.
Unless he sold you a Porsche to go along with that warranty I would stear clear of the Porsche dealer.
If your willing to take your MINI to the Porsche dealer for warranty work why didn't you inspect the MINI there before buying it?

 

thanks for the feedback. I am also wondering why the hell I bought a $25k used car unseen, undriven. Bravery is one way to describe it, complete utter stupidity another. I did regret it the very next day, but there's no cooling off period (I think). I guess it ultimately comes down to retail therapy.

Oh well. I bought it off ebay. Either I'm brilliant, or a chump. Probably the latter. Oh well. I'm replacing a VW Beetle (cute, but a piece of crap) that was also purchased on Ebay. And what other cute car is there? None, except the Mini. So....and i only wanted the Hot Orange, so that meant used, and well, heck, why research and look for somehting locally when you can instantly gratify yourself on ebay?

Cabriopilot, I didnt inspect it because i bought it in Florida and am having it shipped to me in SF Bay Area.

MichaelSF, I'd love your suggestions! I guess you use MINI SF....I am about to throw up thinking about repair costs!

 

Don't fret, Ebay is a great place to buy a car because they do offer a guarantee.
Did the seller at least have a good score?
Is the car not as described?
These are things that can help you recoup some of your money if it turns out to be a lemon.

I have sold several cars on Ebay and I also purchased one from Ebay.
I always look for a seller that has rating of 99% or better (I prefer 100%).

I know you were excited and in a hurry, but one thing this community of MINI owners can do for
you is to checkout a MINI for you if you are unable to see it for yourself.
I myself have checked out cars for out of town friends that were seeking an opinion, but remember its still just an opinion.
Your car should have come with some return options or guarantee's that you might want to check into.

At the very least if it has work that needs to be done I would have them pay for it.

How long ago did you buy it?

 

I have to go work on one of my motorcycles, but will respond later.

No... I am not using MINI SF, don't like then. Take the car to East Bay MINI in Pleasanton. There's a BART about a block away from it.

http://www.eastbaymini.com/HomePage

You should do a CarFax and see the history of the car [after the fact, but oh well.]

http://www.carfax.com/

Also call East Bay MINI. They can run the VIN for you and see what is up with the proper maintenance, etc. Hopefully it has been maintained according to MINI's requirements, or else they may not cover the warranty.

Do you have the eBay listing? I have been on eBay since 1998, so I have a bit of experience with eBay cars. I even bought a few vehicles on eBay.

But don't do anything yet, like calling the dealer.

I think you may want to pay an independent expert that I know of, a professional garage, to look over the car and to tell you what it needs. Have him write it up. I talked to the owner of the garage, seems extremely competent. I have yet to take my MINI in, however.

He got good reviews on the Net.

http://www.cardoctor.com/mini.php

Then take it to East Bay MINI and have them do all the work under warranty, where applicable. Keep in mind I have heard great things about East Bay MINI [competent, professional, courteous and ethical.] My impression is that you may not need to have the car looked at by an independent expert before taking it in to East Bay MINI.

Thank God you have some time left on the warranty, how many miles are left on the warranty. MINI is 50,000 or 4 years.

 

OK, I just found your MINI on eBay, was not that hard.

Looks fine to me, I think you are "worried about nothing." Seems a reputable seller and you got it as an OK price. Not a steal, but not a ripoff either.

It only has 30,000 miles, so that is good. 18,000 miles on the remaining warranty is decent. But as you note, the 4 year warranty expires on December 3, 2008. But four months is a good amount of time to get anything that is wrong with it fixed up.

I have lots of posts in here about extended warranties. I would NOT waste the money [see my other posts, I won't repeat myself in here.]

What causes you to think there were four owners? I see there four mileage reports and some reg renewals, but I only see two. Warning, I can't see too well with my contacts on and I looked at it in a hurry.

I think you can join MINIUSA's "club" and MINI will tell you the history of the car, even when it was last maintained. CarFax is $30. Might as well join CarFax and see what else it up with the car.

I made screen shots of the eBay pages. Can e-mail it to you. Handy in the event something conflicts with what was represented on eBay.

Bottom line: I think you are OK. It looks like the MINI was taken in on a trade for a Porsche. Sidenote: Bet the person on trade-in got killed. Maybe $18K to $20k at most.

 

for eBAy '05 cabrios -- I've loved mine