I am really thinking of buying an extended warranty from them.
I would be buying their most expensive coverage.

My 2005 Automatic R50 has 44k on her and is about to go out of warranty.

I plan on keeping her for another 4 yrs.

The coverage is for 4 yr 100,00 miles and costs 3,000 with 100 deductible.

Anyone here use them and like them?

I do not want to get ripped off!!! They seem to be pretty good but I want feedback from other MINI owners who used them.

 

If extended warranties are your thing, Warranty Direct is by all accounts one of the best out there. Go here for more info on them.

 

I bought an extended warranty from Warranty Direct about a month ago and while I haven't needed to use it yet, they were the best rated and have been professional at every step of the process. They get my vote.

 

Thanks for the link but... that's gonna take some time to read through!

 

From what I was told at the Dealer, they reimburse you on repairs - minus the deductible of your policy.

Anyone know if this is accurate?

 

If you have ANY performance mods on your MINI, this company WILL NOT cover you. I know this is true because I wanted to cover my '03 Cooper. Because I have a catback, a UniChip, and a CAI, they deemed it a "race car", and told me I am ineligible for ANY and ALL extended warranty coverage by anyone out there who does that stuff.

I would advise interested people to really research this company before leaping. They made me get an independent company to "inspect" my car, charged me $99, and then denied me coverage based on the above. That is NOT what I would call fair...more like a DECEPTIVE business practice, to lure you into forking out big money for NADA.

 

Why would you think they'd cover your car with aftermarket mods on it?

 

It's not that at all. It's that many people on here think this company will give them an extended warranty, because that's how they snookered me. They lead me to believe that all I needed was one of their independent "inspectors" to come in and make sure the car was in OK running order, when, in fact, they just looked for anything that would give them a chance to void and keep the money I shelled out for the so-called inspection. What a crappy way to do business. I guess it is fine if you have made NO modifications to your car at all, but, if you have made even a simple catback or a CAI addition...you can forget it.

 

Should have called me. I would have told you to save that $99 for donuts.

Personally I don't think a warranty company is off base by not selling an extended warranty on a modded car. Modded cars are often driven hard & even used at high speeds on race tracks. Seems like a very good question to ask first would be their policy on modifications. You've learned a hard lesson here. Thanks for sharing it. You may have saved someone else from the $99 mistake you've made.

If you feel like they misled you somehow, file a complaint with the extended warranty commission of America.

 

The money lost won't kill me, but it's the principle of what went down. I hope others don't fall for these shenannigans. They were sooo sweet when they figured they had my money for their warranty, and then they were soooo rude when they told me I didn't qualify.

I'll get the dealer's maintenance warranty for the Cooper and just drive it to carshows, etc. [and sparingly at that], as I still have warranty on the MCS.

 

OK, so when my warranty is used up I should drive sparingly. Nope that ain't gonna happen.

 

You can do a search on these "extended warranties" on NAM and see all the postings about them. I'm no fan and Warranty Direct is one of the worst out there. Some attorneys general have banned these kinds of companies from doing business in their states.

In any event, I think someone was looking out for you. Spend $99 to save $2000 on a worthless product.

Just sayin.

 

Ummm...I'm talkin about the CVT [and YOU know that]! The MCS ain't gettin no warranty extension....

 

Thanks for the kind words! In all honesty, I only wanted something like that for my Cooper with its CVT, since nearly everyone on here has negative feelings about the CVT's tendency to fail around 50-60k...tranny replacement being very expensive. My Cooper was rare in '03, both inside and out [and now the colors are discontinued], and so, I want to keep it as long as possible.

As stated earlier, I don't mind losin the $99 [having now posted all about my bad luck with W.D.], as long as it keeps someone else from making the same mistake I made.

 

I bought the "drivetrain only" coverage to cover my '06 CVT. I haven't had to use it yet, but I did not have to have any sort of inspection to qualify - I wonder what caused that??

I bought it just before my factory warranty ran out, specifically to cover the CVT. It was somewhere around $700 to cover the drivetrain to 100k.

 

I have no knowledge as the the specifics and practices, not in detail. But that said:

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the lower the mileage to more likely an inspection would not be required. In my reading the various online materials touting these service contracts I don't recall ever seeing an inspection being required before coverage would be given.

This is mainly because the MINI is still under the MINI warranty so such would not be needed. And the service contract term depletes because the MINI warranty trumps the expiring service agreement that is running at the same time.

The pessimist inside me says: If the vehicle is near the end of warranty and there is no inspection required, maybe that is evidence of an intent to not honor the warranty. Why bother with inspections if one knows the claims will be rejected or limited.

And of course, I always rely on my understanding of how the business works to determine the value of the service provided.

The concept is simple, take in as much as one can in payments from the "insured" [customer or client.] Then pay out as little as possible in claims.

I do not know what profit margin the industry works on nor what the industry considers a fair, decent or great profit. This is critical because the tighter the margin, the more likely a company will abuse the customer [deny claims] so to stay within or exceed projected margins.

As to the earlier MINIs [2002-2005] with a CVT the companies have to know that the cars are problematic and that the only repair is to replace the entire unit at $6000 to $8000. They also have to know that there is a strong likelihood that the CVT will fail within the MINI having 50,000 miles or less.

Knowing all this and on those odds, I can't see any company entering into a service/repair contract with a willingness to pay out $8000 on the CVT alone, especially if they collect only $2000 in payments. [And remember, that's not $2000 to the company because they had to pay a stiff commission to the car dealer, on $2000 about $500 to $600.]

Assuming the above, the only reason a company might enter into the contract would be with the intent escape paying, either because a contract's convoluted terms allows them to escape coverage if the CVT fails or that the company can simply frustrate the MINI owner into going away.

Instead of speculating, I would sure like knowing 1) Who had one of these service contracts where the CVT was actually replaced pursuant to the agreement and at no extra cost other than the agreement's deductible; and 2) who had a service agreement and the company refused to cover the loss.

 

I agree with you, to some extent. This contract is not really an extended warranty, but "breakdown insurance" (I don't have the paperwork handy but it says something to that regard). One of these days when I have the time, I'll scan it all in and someone with a legal tendency can take a look at it and see what they think. I am fairly well-educated in legalese due to working in the medical field and it appeared to me to be fairly legit.

My main theory was, it would cost $700 before the factory warranty ran out, or much more after. Even if it didn't pan out exactly as expected (higher deductible, some costs not covered), as long as I would get my $700 back in some form, I'd be okay with it. However, the paperwork really did look legit to me. They will refund the premium (prorated, of course) if you decide you don't want it any more, as well.

Obviously the goal of any warranty or insurance company would be to pay out less than they take in. However, I think the general theory of insurance is that the math is done in such a way that they *will* take in more than they pay out.

For those interested in extended warranties/breakdown insurance, another way to go is to check with your auto insurance provider about mechanical breakdown insurance. A lot of times it's a lot less expensive than an extended warranty, and more reliable than coverage provided by an extended warranty. I didn't learn this until it was too late, but it's a viable option that people should check into.

 

Anecdotal evidence on a board like NAM is not a proper way to conclude that Warranty Direct is "one of the worst". By my research, they are in fact one of the best. They cover both breakdowns and "wear and tear" items and unlike some others they allow you to pick the mechanic (licensed of course) and accept OEM ($$) parts.

I also learned that they allow you to buy it well before the MINI warranty expires (like, at car purchase if you want); the earlier you buy it the cheaper it is (before endemic problems become apparent).

I don't typically buy warranties for cheap stuff like appliances, but given the cost of quality repair on a MINI I'm probably going to. It's piece of mind as far as I'm concerned. Last time I bought one it paid for itself 3 times over.

You guys do what you want, but please don't blast me for my decision.

 

Well my warranty is up in a week and I did not buy the extended yet. Unsure if I should still. I will have to pay for a pre-warranty inspection now since it will be out of warranty if I buy.

My quote from them was 3k for 100k coverage.

 

Well I would say that anecdotal evidence on these boards is exactly what matters. If one simply posted "I heard" stories then that might be suspect.

Of all, I think experience speaks the loudest. Experience like this.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/...Off0266615.htm

Again, what really speaks above all else is people posting evidence of an actual claim. Those who have been ripped off most likely will not broadcast what happened due to being embarrassed. Most people don't like to tell others "I paid $3000 for an extended warranty and I got ripped off, despite people telling me not to buy one."

In these situations all we can hope for is that they report to a complaint website of some sort.

 

I would not buy it. See that other member's experience with pre-inspection experience.

Also, is that "to 100,000 miles," or an additional 100,000. I suspect you mean the MINI to 100,000.

 

Do you have an actual plan or the sales brochure. If you have the plan I'd like to see it. I have been dealing with such things since 1986. In law.

 

$3,000 WOW that is a lot. That amount will buy a lot of repairs or maybe one large one. I'll bank my money & pay for the repair if it comes. If those repairs don't come I'm money ahead, if they do I'll use the banked money. I'm not a gambler, but this gamble I'm willing to take.

 

WarrantyDirect seems very reputable and they will cover parts and labor for components that have experienced failure by cause of age and wear/tear, not only defects.

They quoted me $3K for coverage on my 2005 R53 S until 100K miles. Mucho dinero. I doubt I'll ever experience a major component catastrophic failure in the next 2 and a half years which is the time it will take me to get to 100K miles.

I saved my money in an interest bearing account and have set aside some for unexpected repairs. Your best insurance against breakdown is to follow factory maintenance to the "T" and to quickly tend to the little things in the car that most people overlook.

Welcome to the post-warranty world of you play, you pay.

 

Same here. Here is another wrong notion that people have about extended warranties.... They are not insurance!

A contract is a legally binding obligation by the provider to provide funds to repair your car if deemed necessary. But it is not an insurance policy of any kind.

If BMW/MINI sold an OEM extended warranty in this country, I would have bought it. Unfortunately, they do not in the US market (In Europe however, you can purchase full OEM extended warranties from MINI).

Your ticket to troublefree ownership is to keep your car in tip top shape.