[alistaircooke]

All,

I woke up in a cold sweat last night, after having a nasty dream about breaking down in MINNY whilst on our "big trip" up-to the Gold Coast this christmas. I'm sure it was something about her over-heating and me cursing BMW for the 3 replacement coolant bottles still not fixing her "leaking" problem.

So this morning I'd thought I'd investigate what level of "roadside assistance" I could expect from BMW now that the warranty has run out? Do you know if they will still come to my aid, and what they would expect to charge? (let me guess 1 arm and at least 1 leg)

If no-one know or has any experience I'll jump on the phone and find out and share the knowledge. I guess I was also wondering about alternative providers (say NRMA) of roadside assistance and what peoples views were on value, etc, etc.

As ever, any pointers is appreciated. thanks, Al.

[poki]

I believe that you can pay to extend your roadside assistance for up to 7 years. I could be remembering wrong but the cost was less than $100 a year.

As for the level of assistance - I very glad that I did not cancel my NRMA membership when I got the MINI. When the valve capping in Eden happened there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with BMW. After half an hour of calls back and forwards they had woken some builder up with a portable compressor. Dread to think how long it would have taken to get underway if it was more serious. BMW kept insisting that someone amongst us should have a MINI mobility kit standard in our cars. We anticipated tyre trouble and took 1 spare along. We didn't anticipate someone letting all our tyres down.

In the end I remembered that I hadn't cancelled my NRMA membership and called them - they were there in 20 minutes.

Apparently BMW rang them and they refused to come out.

[brett]

Buy a New Mini
Thats what prompted me to upgrade

[enzothemaddog]

Dont worry......
Just before you leave,
1. Check oil levels
2. Keep a big bottle of water in the car
3. Clear your power steering fan of any debris
4. When you have a rest stop, open the bonnet slightly to let the excess heat out

They're probably overkill but you never know, otherwise an aftermarket coolant reservoir would be optimal

[swamos]

They just send you out a letter saying if you want to continue with the roadside assistance, to send them about $80-90. That's what we did and away you go

Don't worry, your car won't over-heat. It's only AussieMINIs that does that!

[IML337]

I honestly think you've nothing to worry about Al

But in answer to your question? "Sell it" :P Well, that's what I'm doing...

But while the bottles leak a little bit, I don't think you'll have issues! Use the a/c (as I found at the dragstrip it actually keeps the coolant temps lower as it uses another fan) and keep your eye on the temp gauge. It's quite possible that the car gets hotter when you're crawling in city traffic than when you're motoring at 100km/h on the highway!

Enjoy the trip and don't worry too much about it!

[swamos]

Check the thread, but on the last Byron run we saw 43.5 on the MINI temp guages, and there was a fair bit of WOT going around If the cars were ever going to overheat, it would have been then. None of them did

[brett]

Quote: Originally Posted by swamos

They just send you out a letter saying if you want to continue with the roadside assistance, to send them about $80-90. That's what we did and away you go

Don't worry, your car won't over-heat. It's only AussieMINIs that does that!

The Roadside Assistance actually follows the car not the person who takes it out.
I just paid it then sold the mini 2 months later and I asked for a refund and they said it follows the car. Still haven't received the card though.

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by poki

As for the level of assistance - I very glad that I did not cancel my NRMA membership when I got the MINI. When the valve capping in Eden happened there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with BMW. After half an hour of calls back and forwards they had woken some builder up with a portable compressor. Dread to think how long it would have taken to get underway if it was more serious. BMW kept insisting that someone amongst us should have a MINI mobility kit standard in our cars. We anticipated tyre trouble and took 1 spare along. We didn't anticipate someone letting all our tyres down.

In the end I remembered that I hadn't cancelled my NRMA membership and called them - they were there in 20 minutes.

Apparently BMW rang them and they refused to come out.

Interesting. I had thought that BMW used Assist Australia (which is owned and operated by the car clubs - NRMA, RACV etc) but your experience seems to suggest that they are using the competition (who's name escapes me at the moment). The competition uses local car mechanics on a contractual basis which is ok if you are in a city area but not too good if your in a regional area where their network is fairly thinly spread at the moment. At least if your stuck in the middle of nowhere, you've got a reasonable chance of getting help from the NRMA. The other thing about NRMA et al is that they are dedicated to getting cars back on the road so they know their stuff and have detailed info on most makes/models of car where as your local garage probably isn't going to have access to this type of info.

Quote: Originally Posted by alistaircooke

I guess I was also wondering about alternative providers (say NRMA) of roadside assistance and what peoples views were on value, etc, etc.

So, I reckon probably better to go with NRMA outright rather than BMW as if BMW use them (through Assist Australia) then you'll get the same service anyway but if they are using the other mob then you will probably be better off vis-a-vis the better service offered by NRMA. Hope that makes sense

Andrew

[alistaircooke]

OK so a relatively helpful Albert at Alto Artarmon has advised me that to extend the warranty by a further 12 months will costs me (wait for it.....) $650. and best thing is that due to the fact that my warranty ran out on the 29th September it would be back dated to that day......suffice to say...balls to that!!!

Albert then suggested I just extend my BMW roadside assistance - which was cheaper and passed me through to 1800 808 111 (general breakdown number).

These guys apologised for the fact that I didn't receive my breakdown renewal letter as unfortunately they aren't linked to the BMW address database (so my renewal was sent to the unit I was renting when I first purchased MINNY).

The cost of roadside renewal - $92. Suffice to say - that's enough peace of mind for another years motoring....I'm not sure on what it actually covers but compared to most NRMA policies costing $100+ I was happy to hand over my credit card details.

So I can now sleep at ease - knowing that BMW are the single point that can be shouted at should I be stranded this summer

Al.

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by alistaircooke

So I can now sleep at ease - knowing that BMW are the single point that can be shouted at should I be stranded this summer

Well at least you've crossed Murphy's law off the list

[poki]

I should note that Eden was my second experience with BMW Roadside assistance. My first was at my office (near Gosford NSW) and I was attended by Assist Australia.

So basically it depends where you are at the time you have car trouble. For what it's worth, I will be keeping my NRMA membership plus extending my BMW Assistance when the time comes. For the relatively small amount of money involved I feel it is worth it for the little extra peace of mind it gives.

PS: Alistair - NRMA Road Service is $77.50 per annum. ( But if i remember rightly there is a joining fee)

[play fife]

What to do when your warrenty runs out ...

SELL SELL SELL

Daniel

[Todd!]

What to do when the warranty runs out...

Everything that would void it in the first place!
Everything that would void it in the first place!
Everything that would void it in the first place!



Todd