I am nearing 36k miles and plan on keeping my MCS for another 4-5 years. I have a long commute but am pretty gentle on the car. Should I go ahead and pay for an extended warranty? If so, any suggestions on who to go with or am I limited to the company's recommended to me by the delaership?

 

i would love to hear what people have to say on this one

 

I have never gotten an extended warranty just becuase the simple finances involved. You pay someone who takes a profit, and may pay someone to fix cars. Therefore in total premiums are more than repairs.

I have been told by people in the industry that only about 30% of premiums actually go to repairs. The rest is profits and sales commissions.

Unless you see problems with your car, just maintain it.

Just my $.02.

 

Do you have a good reliable "non dealer" service tech that you trust near you?
If you have to use the dealer to make repairs to your car, and you plan on keeping your car in stock configuration, I would highly recommend an extended plan.

The Mini dealers have been known to charge:
$3000 for clutch
$700 (labor only) for front control arms
$2000+ for air conditioner compressor
$3000 for supercharger replacement (trust me I know this one well!)
??? window motors
??? power steering fan
??? replace a xenon headlight.

All of these repairs can be made for a much more reasonable cost at an independent shop, if you have somebody nearby who you can trust.

Good luck
Donald