[saturdaynight]

Just bought a new Mini - 07 with a full 4 year warranty.
they are offering an extendee warranty for 2 additional years for $2K
Is this worthwhile? What are your experiences

[ScottyBoy]

I would say there is a few things to consider for you....

1, Are you going to keep the car over 4 years.. if so then id say get it if you can afford it.

If not....

2, Will this have an effect on the resale value? if it does then it may be worth getting if you will get more for the car when trade in time comes, then id say yes but will it be $2000 more?

Also if you sell the car privately after say 3 years then it may be more desireable to the private customer if it has a 3 years warrenty stil.

Scott

[humph]

Are they offering you a discount for buying the extended warranty now? if not wait until your standard warranty is about to expire then decide. As Scottyboy says you may not keep the car 4 years, nevermind 6.

[velveteen_mini]

My 2003 CVT is the first car I have owned that I did not get the extended warranty and I regret it. I was told by the salesman that the cars were built so well there was no need for an additional warranty. I have been plagued by problems with this car including the tranny needing to be replaced, thank goodness it was under warranty still.

That being said, I still love my car. I have had one major repair item since running out of warranty. The car had to be taken apart to find an electrical problem. After contacting BMW Canada, my $2000 bill came in at about $600. MINI has also kept a couple of old warranty items open in case we can figure them out. BMW and the MINI dealerships stand behind their cars.

Is it worth $2000? I don't know. Do I think that taking the car to the dealer for all repair work even after the warranty has expired is worthwhile? You bet. There is definitely something to be said for developing a relationship with the dealer. I have always had all my work done at the dealership including oil changes in excess of the recommended. I think this will also aid in the resale value.

By the way, I am now at 98,000k and I was never given the option of an extended warranty when I got close to the expiration of my original warranty. I would ask if it will be available and what the additional price would be. I think it would be pricey.

Just my two cents from British Columbia.

[slider]

Quote: Originally Posted by velveteen_mini (original)

My 2003 CVT is the first car I have owned that I did not get the extended warranty and I regret it. I was told by the salesman that the cars were built so well there was no need for an additional warranty. I have been plagued by problems with this car including the tranny needing to be replaced, thank goodness it was under warranty still.

That being said, I still love my car. I have had one major repair item since running out of warranty. The car had to be taken apart to find an electrical problem. After contacting BMW Canada, my $2000 bill came in at about $600. MINI has also kept a couple of old warranty items open in case we can figure them out. BMW and the MINI dealerships stand behind their cars.

Is it worth $2000? I don't know. Do I think that taking the car to the dealer for all repair work even after the warranty has expired is worthwhile? You bet. There is definitely something to be said for developing a relationship with the dealer. I have always had all my work done at the dealership including oil changes in excess of the recommended. I think this will also aid in the resale value.

By the way, I am now at 98,000k and I was never given the option of an extended warranty when I got close to the expiration of my original warranty. I would ask if it will be available and what the additional price would be. I think it would be pricey.

Just my two cents from British Columbia.

I have just taken out the lux cover with warrenty direct it's £240 for 13 months & includes wear & tear items , except fricton materials , the BMW one was offered at £550 with no wear & tear cover.
Also the bmw is void if you mod the car but the warrenty direct one does not as long as you inform them .

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by slider (original)

I have just taken out the lux cover with warrenty direct it's £240 for 13 months & includes wear & tear items , except fricton materials , the BMW one was offered at £550 with no wear & tear cover.
Also the bmw is void if you mod the car but the warrenty direct one does not as long as you inform them .

Hi Slider,
Is the lux cover the same as gold cover as this is what I have with warranty direct and that cost me £240.00. Also what mods do you have to inform them of, do you mean engine mods etc. As i have few mods like JCW seats, GT airfilter, crystal lights but they never asked, everything else is pretty much standard

Cheers
Nick

[slider]

the lux cover gives a you extra for the convertible electrics + others & iscovered upto to the value of the car not £5000 as per the gold. if you have performace mods they won't cover them unless you tell them. as they only cover the bmw items as factory fitted. i just have a manifold which i told them about.

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by slider (original)

the lux cover gives a you extra for the convertible electrics + others & iscovered upto to the value of the car not £5000 as per the gold. if you have performace mods they won't cover them unless you tell them. as they only cover the bmw items as factory fitted. i just have a manifold which i told them about.

Thanks Slider, I only have the GT airfilter as a performance mod, all others are more cosmetic.

Thanks
Nick

[miniDD]

I personally think that an extended warranty is a waste of money. If nothing goes wrong in the first 4 years, I don't think anything is going to. $2000 dollars can fix a lot of problems. This is just my opinion.

[slider]

I have had £5000 worth of work carried out on mine during the first 3 years & at £100 per hour at BMW it's not going to be long getting your money back. a simple water/ power steering pump should it!!

[nickw]

Quote: Originally Posted by miniDD (original)

I personally think that an extended warranty is a waste of money. If nothing goes wrong in the first 4 years, I don't think anything is going to. $2000 dollars can fix a lot of problems. This is just my opinion.

Hi Mini DD, the extended warranty is costing only £220 for the year, reading some of the posts on here I think £220 for piece of mind is a little price to pay.

Cheers
Nick

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by nickw (original)

the extended warranty is costing only £220 for the year

If it was only £220 for one year, I'd be all over that like a fat kid on a chocolate bar. I believe the price for extended warranty here is much more substantial.

[RS3TURN]

Had to bump this thread to get some opinions...

My warranty is about to expire in 1 month. I got a letter from BMW offering an extended 4 yr warranty. (no price mentioned in the letter, but I am assuming $2K +). Do you think it is worth it?

I have had quite a few little annoying issues with my car, but plan on keeping it 1 year longer at most? Thoughts?

Do you think it will have any effect on resale value?

[RS3TURN]

3 yr extended warranty is $3363 + tax. That is with a $200 deductible.

Umm. No thanks....

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by RS3TURN (original)

3 yr extended warranty is $3363 + tax. That is with a $200 deductible.

What does it cover? Or what doesn't it cover? I've had extended warranties in the past from another manufacturer that have more than paid for themselves.

[RS3TURN]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniVee (original)

What does it cover? Or what doesn't it cover? I've had extended warranties in the past from another manufacturer that have more than paid for themselves.

Similar to the factory warranty with all of the same coverage.
I have yet to have an extended warranty pay for itself...even with my Land Rover

[velveteen_mini]

Ouch! No, even with the issues I've had, I would not spend that much. Especially if you are only planning to keep the car another year. If you were to sell it privately, having an additional warranty might help the sale. Experience has taught me that a dealer will not pass your extended warranty on to the next person. They will sell their own. I still say developing a relationship with a dealer is a pretty decent extended warranty.

[Onurleft]

Extended warranty is just an option the dealership has to make a profit on. So how much profit would they get, way more than what I would consider fair.
I'm on my 9th new auto. How poor would I be if I bought 9 extended warranties, even if it was used x times? As well as I can remember I have never had a car part fail when off the original warranty period. Lots of parts wore out after the warranty, but they would never have be covered.
Exception: Worst vehicle I ever had was a 91 exploder, spent most of the time in the shop, but I kept it for less than two years. If you are in love with an auto like that, then maybe the extended warranty is a good idea.

For selling a car, best thing you could provide is a maintenance record. Think of it as a used aircraft, what would you want; extended warranty or a repair record.

[beken]

I have never bought an extended warranty on any of my cars. If my car breaks after warranty, you can be sure I will not be buying another same make car.

My 05 MCS has been almost (it's been shot at, literally...see AMVIV 4) bulletproof since the initial minor issues when I picked up my car. My dealer service comments they hardly see me anymore. So when my warranty expires, I'm hoping my MINI maintains its reliable ways.

I do have another car that's been an absolute lemon. When I bought the car, the dealer tried to sell me an extended warranty for what I thought to be an outrageous price. I went in with the same attitude. If the car breaks after the warranty period (3 years), it isn't a very good car. So my JD Powers award winning Buick has had constant problems. Less than 100kms after the warranty expired, I was informed my steer rack was shot. While under warranty, a wheel fell off while the car was moving. GM chose to dishonor my warranty and instead, accused the customer of tampering with said wheel. I have since replaced all the wheel bolts as every time I brought the car in for a tire rotation, another bolt would break. Recently, the odometer display went blank and the only way to fix it was to buy a complete dash gauge module. Fixing all these things, other than the steering rack which GM covered under "goodwill" after I went ballistic with them, still cost less than the cost of the extended warranty.

My point is you need to decide (and take a risk) how reliable you think your car will be and what the risk is that you are going need to spend the $2K to $3K it costs for the extended warranty (total term). Realize that the extended warranty does not cover routine maintenance so that is on top of what you would spend running your car. Also, the extended warranty will lock you in to servicing your car with your dealer (at dealer rates), as well as limit you to possible mods you might want on your car.

That's your decision.

Incidentally, as a shameless plug, I have been absolutely pleased with Yaletown MINI's service. They have bent over backwards to keep me happy. Even when my warranty expires, I plan to continue to have them service my car.

[RS3TURN]

I have decided to buyout the remaining year on my lease and sell my MINI.
I am bringing a new car up from the US.