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Big changes to Mini extended warranty!!

25K views 53 replies 15 participants last post by  Umbyboy 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Firstly to the Mods, I realise this thread could go in the warranty/finance section but more people who may benefit will see it here - please don't move it..

Mini extended warranty has had a big update as of 1st March!!

You now have several options in terms of what is actually covered, whether you want road-side assistance, whether you want to pay an excess or how large the excess is etc.
It is now also possible to pay monthly by direct debit.

I have an 05 S (March build) with pretty much every option (£24,000 new) and 17k on the clock.
Quotes were for full cover (everything as per the factory build up to the original purchase price, except wear/tear items) and European breakdown assistance:

No Excess - £557.00 per year or £51 per month DD.
£100 Excess - £442.00 per year or £41 per month DD.
£250 Excess - £352.00 per year (didn't ask for DD price - this is getting very competitive when compared to Warranty Direct)

Personally I'm going for the full cover, no excess - seems like good value to me considering future resale value on a car that will be lucky to do 5k a year and have only ever been touched by a main dealer - if I ever sell, everything will work :biggrin: (+ I'm self-employed so it's a tax deduction).

Before anyone jumps on the "Warranty Direct" bandwagon I've done my reaserch on those guys and spoke to several different members of their staff to try and clarify what they really cover (seems they don't know half the time, just like the insurance companies who consider factory options "modifications").
They will not cover the following items no matter what policy I buy and do not cover up to the purchase price of the vehicle:
Heated Seats, Sat Nav, HK, iPod Link, CD Changer, MF Steering Wheel, Sunroof, Climate Control, Elect Folding Mirrors, PDC.

Nor do they provide Mini breakdown assistance which on the 2 occasions I've needed it was excellent.

miniwarranty.co.uk - I have to wait 24hrs while my details update but apparently you can configure your warranty package and organise payment online.

Hope this info is helpful.
Cheers, Geoff.
 
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#3 ·
Please read the post!!

Mini extended WARRANTY - it's not accident insurance, gap insurance, tyre insurance or home and contents insurance :hmph:..

Your car came with a 3 year manufacturers warranty - if you wish to continue to have this cover after the 3 year period you need to purchase an extended warranty.

Up to the original purchase price means they will not turn around and refuse to pay for your £7000 engine and gearbox replacement because their policy limit is £5000, for example.

Cheers, Geoff.
 
#4 ·
Great news that you can have it as a direct debit I think! For me warranty is a no brainer, MINI have been fab whenever I have had any problems, and mine will be up in a year so probably taking the same route as you, no excess, especially since you don't want to pay the £100 inspection fee every time your taking the car in with something you think might be wrong.
 
#5 ·
I have heard about these changes, but wasn't aware of the detail, so thanks.

My Mini is 3 years old in August and is on 11k miles at the moment, so barely run in. It seems stupid to trade it in at the 3 year point, just to lose more money. I'm more than happy with it, so will look to take out the warranty as well.

After the 3 year warranty expires, obviously you can buy the extended warranty for year 4, is there an age of the car where they won't allow you to continue extending it?
 
#9 ·
Under exclusions:

"Any item that has worn out rather than suffered from a defect"

Just note that places like warranty direct cover for wear and tear after 90 days and pays 100% of the parts upto 60k, hence how I'm getting my worn suspension bushes replaced under warranty from them ;)

I suspect knowing bmw, the word "defect" will be used very strictly in any claim. If it's not a defect no claim... again i suspect.
 
#12 ·
Still undecided!! Getting my PIN in next 24 hours to logon and get a quote but the comprehensive cover also covers " Heated Seats, Sat Nav, HK, iPod Link, CD Changer, MF Steering Wheel, Sunroof, Climate Control, Elect Folding Mirrors, PDC." I don't have most of these and it is a bit unclear on the website.
It states that Comprehensive cover is for all electrical/ mechanical except wear and tear items etc etc but I don't want this cover as i'm not going to pay extra for items above that I don't have.
So, What about the named component cover, it gives a list of items covered and if they're not on the list, tough.
So if I want the best cover I go for Comprehensive even though I am paying for covering things I don't have or the next best ' Named' which doesn't cover me for all the things I want to be covered for??
 
#13 ·
I think you are confusing yourself there :hmph:
What are these other "mystery" components that you want to be covered for??

Comprehensive will cover the entire car as it left the factory up to the original purchase price of the car.
The other option is "Named Component" this effectively gives you the same cover that the Warranty Direct policy provides and covers up to a total bill of £5000:
Engine
Supercharger
Gearbox
Final Drive
Steering
Braking System
Fuel System
Cooling System
Electrical System
Casings if damaged by failure of an insured component
Sundries, oil, filters, coolant etc required as a direct result of a claim

It breaks, you take it to the BMW dealership of your choice and it gets fixed - WD will not pay BMW main dealer labour rates!!
You can also choose to include or not include (the excellent) Mini breakdown cover in your policy.

Cheers, Geoff.
 
#14 ·
The other thing to keep in mind is that the price of the comprehensive policy is aprox £500 per year.

Take the Mini breakdown assistance out of the equation and let's call it say £350ish.

That is less than the average (from what I've witnessed on this forum over the years) cost of 1 dealership visit for repairs - steering column for example, roughly £450.00 and a very common fault..

I needed a drive-shaft and engine mount within a week of my warranty expiring - no wasting time and energy on a "goodwill" gesture, I took it to my local dealership where they assessed the items as a warranty claim and fixed it - that's this years policy already paid for itself!!!!!!

Food for though I think.

Cheers, Geoff.
 
#18 ·
My view is that extended warranties are a waste of money. Just put the money in a savings account and hope for the best.

If nothing goes wrong spend the money on a skiing holiday.

If the engine blows up buy a secondhand one (£700) and swap it at the weekend, then salvage the good bits from the blown up engine and sell them on ebay.

Forgot to say, cars are for thrashing and crashing.
 
#20 ·
Brilliant idea other than the fact that my S isn't some £500 banger.
I can just see myself swapping out the engine on a residential street in London with a couple of mates and a few beers......"piece of cake these modern cars not like the old days, now them engines was complicated"....

Certainly glad I won't be buying your car at any point in the future.. :biggrin:
 
#22 ·
Ms Mouse is just popping in to thank drainaudio for highlighting what he has found re the warranty. Warranties are a mine field to say the least and everyone has the right to say what they feel (within reason of course!) and ask what they need to know or to tell each other of their experiences. Please don't get upset if someone else does not agree with your views. Each to their own when it comes to choosing what warranty is right for you.

Can we keep this thread on track and with everyone playing nicely! :)

Thank you
 
#27 ·
Again and finally, that was all quoted from the site and not from me so why do you say i'm misquoting? Everything i've said is straight from there.
Can't you read where it says that on the site?
It seems that you are stuck with the opinion that yours and yours alone matters and no-one can express a query over this issue without you trying to attack in a seriously patronising way that does look a little childish.

Seriously dude, you need to chill??

Away now, got better things to do like pull my teeth out!!
 
#28 ·
"I'm not confusing myself and I didn't say anything about wanting cover for 'Mystery' components.
Comprehensive cover will not cover the car in its entireity as it left the factory as it clearly says Comprehensive covers ' Most' electrical and mechanical components.
Yet they don't list what components these are and gives an overview as well as including Satnav,PDC, ICE, dashboard displays etc. of what is covered"

The above is from one of your previous posts clearly showing that you cannot seem to grasp the text on the Mini Warranty site, in addition to adding your personal and factually incorrect interpretation of the policy wording you also provide for reference a link that doesn't work.

I'm not going to pointlessly argue with you on a public forum and this has nothing to do with an opinion being right or wrong it has to do with facts that are plain as day if you bother to actually read them.

Again to stop the confusion....... it does not say anywhere on the Mini Warranty website that the policy will not cover the car in it's entirety as it left the factory.
It clearly lists exactly what is not covered for each policy - generally wear and tear items as anyone with a modicum of common sense would expect.
Unless specified as an exclusion all factory fitted mechanical and electrical components of your vehicle are covered by the Comprehensive Cover Policy - Mini's words not mine!!

Seriously, I need to chill?

No, you need to get your facts straight and not misinform other forum users.

Pass on the teeth pulling as you'll need them and maybe spend a bit more time understanding the facts before you start an argument and end up looking foolish.

End of discussion..

I hope the new warranty packages work out well for other Mini 2 members.
As previously mentioned mine has already paid for itself and it was the same procedure as during the initial 3 year factory warranty - had a clicking noise, took it to the dealership, they inspected the car replaced a drive-shaft and engine mount, I got the car back washed and it cost me nothing as I have the "no excess" cover :biggrin: sweet..

Cheers, Geoff.
 
#32 ·
The mini warranty might cover more but I'm not that fussed, it doesn't make clear what it covers only what it excludes. At the end of the day if my head gasket blows or a piston goes through the bonnet it will get repaired by either a BMW dealer (inc. in my policy) of my choice or Paul@1320 without any argument of whether it's a defect or wear and tear failure.

My extras are :
electric pano sunroof - covered.
Air con - covered.
Leather seats - err why would I need them insured?



Thats exactly the point i've made a few times as well buddy;)
 
#34 ·
Another good question... although investigatory work is not paid for, if the fault is a valid claim then the investigative work, labor and parts is all paid for. The mini site doesn't make available any policy documents so it's difficult to make proper view of it.

If its a normal warranty job Chelle then you probably won't pay anything for diagnostics either, just ask the dealer beforehand and tell them to let you know at any point before it starts costing you money (if it does).

Further to extras, you should never fork out for insurance on something you can afford to bear the cost of, airbag & emissions is extra on WD. I didn't opt for it but wish I had now since my airbag slipring was faulty recently.
 
#38 ·
The guy I spoke to was very, very good he prefers to sell DD policies as you never get a renewal quote it always stays the same, plus I got a good discount. Plus his customers tended to stay with them longer so it was good for both parties really.

Basically after telling that I had a modified supercharger pulley and would that affect it he said modifications themselves are classed as uninsured parts, and under the terms if a failure is caused by an uninsured part, all insured parts and labor will be paid for and you would only have to pay for the uninsured part (pulley).

He said as an example if the smaller pulley caused a belt failure which in turn ruined several other engine components the only parts I would have to pay for are the pulley and belt. :D

Also find out how much the cost of extra airbag & emissions cover is, diagnostics and a replacement slipring, labour etc cost me £370. It's unlikely to happen that often (unless you change the steering wheel like i did lol) but if its only a couple of quid more then who cares :)
 
#40 ·
Just ensure you clarify all this beforehand on the phone, they typed this onto my policy document just to be safe I suggest that you ask for the same.

I'm sure the mini warranty is great but personally I am never in a good enough financial situation to write off £250 in excesses that could go towards savings or a holiday if my car breaks lol ;)
 
#46 ·
As above make sure you get the agreement in writing form Warranty Direct - verbal is simply no guarantee!!
I spoke to 3 different members of their sales team on 3 different occasions and they all gave me a different line in terms of how much of the car would be covered and they were not at all sure about mods - I finally gave up after I talked to a 4th person (supervisor) and was given a slightly different story yet again.

I don't know what these excesses are that you all keep going on about - my Mini warranty has NO EXCESS on any claim (up to the original price of the car not a £5000 limit as per WD) and it works (so far) exactly the same as it did when it was the initial 3 year warranty - take it to the dealership if they conclude the problem is a warranty issue it gets fixed, simple :biggrin:

Again re what's covered, directly from the documentation:
"Your Comprehensive Component Cover covers ALL factory fitted mechanical and electrical components of the insured vehicle with the exception of the following" - and then a short, concise list of wear and tear items that aren't covered (battery, tyres, wiper blades, exhaust, brake pads/disks etc, common sense stuff).

As an insurance document it could not be clearer.

Either way I hope everyone who is either with WD or Mini have a smooth ride - we all know how often these cars seem to unfortunately have "issues".

I went Mini because I think it's better value when you take the no excess and Europe-wide breakdown assistance into consideration and believe it will be easier to deal with in the long-term re claims, also I want to keep the car main dealer repaired/serviced all the way.

Cheers..
 
#42 ·
"Basically after telling that I had a modified supercharger pulley and would that affect it he said modifications themselves are classed as uninsured parts, and under the terms if a failure is caused by an uninsured part, all insured parts and labor will be paid for and you would only have to pay for the uninsured part (pulley).

He said as an example if the smaller pulley caused a belt failure which in turn ruined several other engine components the only parts I would have to pay for are the pulley and belt".


Batou, Sounds interesting. Is that written into your policy as well or was that just verbal? I know BMW wouldn't think the same.
 
#48 ·
Batou, Sounds interesting. Is that written into your policy as well or was that just verbal? I know BMW wouldn't think the same.
Written on policy in so many words :D

Personally I think wear and tear is the most important thing because thats what my car 2003, 35,000 miles will start to suffer from, from now on.

Geoff, I meant even with the no excess policy its still £225 extra over the highest excess premium. If you read the post again and do the math it will be clear.

Not surprised you spoke to 4 different people and then a supervisor... you come across as a call centres worst nightmare. No offense.
 
#45 ·
The Mini Extended warranties are with Mondial Assistance as opposed to direct with Mini. 3yr warranties on new cars are direct with Mini aren't they?

Does make me wonder if there are going to be any problems making claims if a 3rd party is involved.

I spoke to my dealer about these extended warranties and they did seem more enthustiastic about Mini warranties than WD, they did say they had had numerous problems with getting WD to payout. But I wouldn't really have expected them to say anything different!!
 
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