MINI2

KAMAKAZI · Mar 21st, 2003, 07:19 AM

4th year of maintenance. US only
This applies to US customers only.

Is it worth purchasing the optional 4th year of scheduled maintenance?

US customers get a 4 year/ 50000 mile warranty
and 3 years/ 36000 miles of scheduled maintenance "free" as part of the purchase.

I was offered the option of a 4th year/50000 mile scheduled maintenance agreement by my dealer but was given limited amounts of information to decide if it was worthwhile. It took a fair amount of effort to get enough information to make a rational descions. I thought I would share the information with members

It is possible to purchase a 4th year/50000 mile scheduled maintenance agreement at the time of automobile purchase or you can add this optional coverage later.

The suggested retail charge for the 4/50000 maintenance is $400, although some dealers have marked this up to as much as $850. You do not have to purchase this from the same dealer from whom you bought your car. If your dealer wants more than $400, you can purchase this extended service over the phone from another dealer, even in another state.

It is difficult to determine exactly what service the agreement covers. The 4th year maintenance depends on your yearly mileage and how your driving affects the service dashboard computer indicator.

As an example, let's assume that you drive approx 12,500 miles per year.

In the 4th year, you will need:

40,000 mile Oil change (approx varies by computer)

4 year brake fluid and antifreeze change (because the antifreeze and brake fluid change is 4 years following the day of manufacture and the maintenance contract is based on the day vehicle purchase, which invariable occurs later, this is covered)

The major service ("Inspection 2") usually occurs at 55,000 mile and probably not be under warranty. If you drive very aggressively, and trigger the computer requiring oil changes every 12,000 miles rather than every 15,000, inspection 2 could occur before 50,000 miles and be paid for under the agreement. This may a good arguement for pushing it hard

The great unknown is the brake service. The maintenance agreement covers brakes and rotors replacement, ONLY if you need it.

If your brakes wear out in 36,000 miles, it would have been covered by the standard 3 year contract. And purchasing this extention would not have benefitted you.

If your brakes don't wear out until after 50,000 miles, they are of course not covered by this aggreement.

If the brake fail between 36,000 miles and 50,000, they are covered by this agreement, and you will have benefitted from the extended warrenty .

If you drive more than 50000 miles in less than four years, the contract will expire first and the brake fluid /antifreeze services will not be covered. On the other hand, if you drive a little (i.e. less than 25000 miles in the first three years but more than 25000 by 4 years), the "Inspection 1 Service" will not be covered under the free three year service and only covered if you have the 4 year agreement.

IN SUMMARY, $400 will most probable buy you an oil (?$50), antifreeze (?$50), and brake fluid change(?$50). It may or may not pay for a brake job(?$250). A few may get inspection 1 or 2 paid for. It's no great bargain for most. Some people will come out ahead, some behind, I think. Plus you will be forced to use the dealer for these services.

Tom F. · Mar 21st, 2003, 07:26 AM

Nice analysis.

It was sprung on me when I did the paperwork, and the sales manager was vague. Your points about not really being able to tell what you will get are right on. If they would have said " e will sell you two more oil changes, a brake job, etc, whenver you need them", at least you could price it out.

I figured that it had to be a questionable offer if they wanted to sell it to me while I was heady with the excitement of picking up my Mini.

Thanks

PigLick · Mar 21st, 2003, 07:41 AM

Yep, good analysis, thanks for that. I went ahead and got the extra. Probably end up being a rip-off, but I drive a lot (~25,000 miles a year) and this is my first new car, so I figured I'd take the gamble and go ahead with it. I also got the extended warranty that goes 7 yrs/100,000 miles, for the same reasons. Neither were probably the best decisions, and I semi-regret getting them, but they do give me some extra peace of mind, which is nice. If I end up not ever needing either (and hopefully I won't need the warranty!) then I'll just chalk it up to youth and call it a lesson-hard-learned, and if I do need them, then it was money well spent!

PigLick

stryder · Mar 21st, 2003, 10:30 AM

Your pricing isn't exact. An oil change (of course it includes other stuff) is like $90 at most dealers. Your dealership should be quite happy to give you the prices of the other stuff, since it would in theory help you with your choice on the 4th year contract. My dealer's labor rate is $85, its pretty easy to get some really expensive service items.

My view on it, (I had heard $350 for the year) is that I'll decide on it sometime around 30K, As far as I know, you can get it anytime until the original maintence expires, so I'll easily know if I'll need a brake job after 36K, or if it'll be covered.

Also, things like the pollen filter (for the A/C) and wiper blades (I'm pretty sure) and the air filter are all rather 'expensive' so can add up to more then $350...

As I don't have the contract, I think I'm rather impartial.

And Pick-Lick, I doubt you'll end up totally regretting your purchases, you may end up only collecting $250 worth of 'free' maintence from your 4th year or something, but I've come to find out, even if the cars are priced 25-50% less then the cheapest BMW the service costs are pretty much equivalent.

KAMAKAZI · Mar 21st, 2003, 09:30 PM

yes, the service cost are not exact because they vary from dealer to dealer. Also the 4th year, there is no real reason to use MINI dealer especially for the people 100's of miles from the dealership. And costs might be far less.
Some owners may choose to do at least some of the maintenance themselves(ie $90 oil changes can cost far less than $90.

I believe when the MINI was introduced the msrp for the 4th years was $350 but was increased to $400 and some dealer mark this up much higher. Also there is no garentee that this offer will continued to be available in the future.

The point was that the 4th year agreement is not a necesarilly a bargain and to provide some information for other owners to calculate the actual cost for them.

Any yes, I would regret paying $350-400 for $250 worth of maintenance.

PS....the pollen a/c filter is provided as part of the inspection 1 service which is covered (usually under the standard 3 yr agreement). It ordinarily is not covered under the 4th year agreement.

sjbartnik · Mar 21st, 2003, 09:50 PM

I don't think I'd buy it. I'd be doubtful that the 4th year maintenance stuff would exceed the cost of the maintenance agreement. I figure when that time rolls around, I'll just do the maintenance myself and it'll cost way less than $400+.

chiph · Mar 21st, 2003, 10:11 PM

KAMAKAZI -

I also got this pitched to me at the last moment. One of the things they said was that BMW does not turn the brake rotors - they only replace them.

Anyone know how much it costs to change the front rotors?

Chip H.

KAMAKAZI · Mar 21st, 2003, 10:21 PM

Dont know how much BMW charges, but you can get performance drilled rotors from minimania.com for about $150 pair and pads for $80 pair.

Dont know about installation cost but one of the other threads extimated 1 1/2 hours labor

D.D. · Mar 22nd, 2003, 04:36 AM

Just remember.......they're out there selling these warrenties for one reason and one reason only.....TO MAKE MORE MONEY!!! I doubt that anyone would warrenty a product out further than the "original" if they really expected that each and every owner had an opportunity to collect on it. That would be poor business. So before you spend your hard earned cash to line the pocket of the dealer,.."think" about it first.

rogbmw · Mar 28th, 2003, 02:38 AM

I have a 1 year old mini with only 1794 miles on it. However I will drive it 27500 a year so in 2 years I will exhaust the program. Would an extended bumper to bumper up to 100000 miles be worth it in your opinion?

eldredjames · Dec 16th, 2003, 04:00 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rogbmw

I have a 1 year old mini with only 1794 miles on it. However I will drive it 27500 a year so in 2 years I will exhaust the program. Would an extended bumper to bumper up to 100000 miles be worth it in your opinion?

rog -- depends on how much it costs. as stated above, the sellers of the policy are in business to make money. Personally, I never buy extended warranties on anything. If you add up the cost of ALL your warranties and compare it to ALL the repairs, you'll see why this is a money-making business. The only time I get the warranty is when I buy a house 'cause there I can ask the seller to pay for it. And I always provide one for a buyer if they ask. Just makes the deal go easier -- but buy one for myself on a washer or TV or car -nah, no way, I'll risk it, which is what I told the finance guy. But if it buys you peace of mind, that something you'll have to price out for yourself.

NEMINI · Dec 16th, 2003, 04:12 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by eldredjames

rog -- depends on how much it costs. as stated above, the sellers of the policy are in business to make money. Personally, I never buy extended warranties on anything. If you add up the cost of ALL your warranties and compare it to ALL the repairs, you'll see why this is a money-making business. The only time I get the warranty is when I buy a house 'cause there I can ask the seller to pay for it. And I always provide one for a buyer if they ask. Just makes the deal go easier -- but buy one for myself on a washer or TV or car -nah, no way, I'll risk it, which is what I told the finance guy. But if it buys you peace of mind, that something you'll have to price out for yourself.

I would normally agree with you, however, in this case concerning the MINI and extended warranty I will disagree. I normally would never consider an auto extended warranty but since NO ONE, can tell us how a MINI will hold up between years 4-7 AND considering the number of faults (especially 5 speed tranny's in my case) I felt the extended warranty made sense for me, at the price my dealer offered. (price being a key factor).
I plan to do my own maintenance so will most likely not be taking out the extended maintainence agreement.

eldredjames · Dec 16th, 2003, 04:15 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by GMINI03

most likely not be taking out the extended maintainence agreement.

Hmm, sounds more like you agree-- but whatever

NEMINI · Dec 16th, 2003, 04:17 AM

I agree on the maintence but not the extended (regular) warranty.

Mar 21st, 2003, 07:19 AM	#1
KAMAKAZI MINI2 Regular Join Date: Jul 2002 Local Time: 01:56 AM Posts: 166 Offline	4th year of maintenance. US only 4th year of maintenance. US only This applies to US customers only. Is it worth purchasing the optional 4th year of scheduled maintenance? US customers get a 4 year/ 50000 mile warranty and 3 years/ 36000 miles of scheduled maintenance "free" as part of the purchase. I was offered the option of a 4th year/50000 mile scheduled maintenance agreement by my dealer but was given limited amounts of information to decide if it was worthwhile. It took a fair amount of effort to get enough information to make a rational descions. I thought I would share the information with members It is possible to purchase a 4th year/50000 mile scheduled maintenance agreement at the time of automobile purchase or you can add this optional coverage later. The suggested retail charge for the 4/50000 maintenance is $400, although some dealers have marked this up to as much as $850. You do not have to purchase this from the same dealer from whom you bought your car. If your dealer wants more than $400, you can purchase this extended service over the phone from another dealer, even in another state. It is difficult to determine exactly what service the agreement covers. The 4th year maintenance depends on your yearly mileage and how your driving affects the service dashboard computer indicator. As an example, let's assume that you drive approx 12,500 miles per year. In the 4th year, you will need: 40,000 mile Oil change (approx varies by computer) 4 year brake fluid and antifreeze change (because the antifreeze and brake fluid change is 4 years following the day of manufacture and the maintenance contract is based on the day vehicle purchase, which invariable occurs later, this is covered) The major service ("Inspection 2") usually occurs at 55,000 mile and probably not be under warranty. If you drive very aggressively, and trigger the computer requiring oil changes every 12,000 miles rather than every 15,000, inspection 2 could occur before 50,000 miles and be paid for under the agreement. This may a good arguement for pushing it hard The great unknown is the brake service. The maintenance agreement covers brakes and rotors replacement, ONLY if you need it. If your brakes wear out in 36,000 miles, it would have been covered by the standard 3 year contract. And purchasing this extention would not have benefitted you. If your brakes don't wear out until after 50,000 miles, they are of course not covered by this aggreement. If the brake fail between 36,000 miles and 50,000, they are covered by this agreement, and you will have benefitted from the extended warrenty . If you drive more than 50000 miles in less than four years, the contract will expire first and the brake fluid /antifreeze services will not be covered. On the other hand, if you drive a little (i.e. less than 25000 miles in the first three years but more than 25000 by 4 years), the "Inspection 1 Service" will not be covered under the free three year service and only covered if you have the 4 year agreement. IN SUMMARY, $400 will most probable buy you an oil (?$50), antifreeze (?$50), and brake fluid change(?$50). It may or may not pay for a brake job(?$250). A few may get inspection 1 or 2 paid for. It's no great bargain for most. Some people will come out ahead, some behind, I think. Plus you will be forced to use the dealer for these services. Cooper S Brg/w sport package

Mar 21st, 2003, 07:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tom F. MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Near Washington DC Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 312 Offline	Nice analysis. It was sprung on me when I did the paperwork, and the sales manager was vague. Your points about not really being able to tell what you will get are right on. If they would have said " e will sell you two more oil changes, a brake job, etc, whenver you need them", at least you could price it out. I figured that it had to be a questionable offer if they wanted to sell it to me while I was heady with the excitement of picking up my Mini. Thanks Tom F. EB/W "S" delivered Aug 30

Mar 21st, 2003, 10:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
stryder Sponsor/Moderator/Other Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Cleveland Local Time: 08:56 PM Posts: 3,267 Offline	Your pricing isn't exact. An oil change (of course it includes other stuff) is like $90 at most dealers. Your dealership should be quite happy to give you the prices of the other stuff, since it would in theory help you with your choice on the 4th year contract. My dealer's labor rate is $85, its pretty easy to get some really expensive service items. My view on it, (I had heard $350 for the year) is that I'll decide on it sometime around 30K, As far as I know, you can get it anytime until the original maintence expires, so I'll easily know if I'll need a brake job after 36K, or if it'll be covered. Also, things like the pollen filter (for the A/C) and wiper blades (I'm pretty sure) and the air filter are all rather 'expensive' so can add up to more then $350... As I don't have the contract, I think I'm rather impartial. And Pick-Lick, I doubt you'll end up totally regretting your purchases, you may end up only collecting $250 worth of 'free' maintence from your 4th year or something, but I've come to find out, even if the cars are priced 25-50% less then the cheapest BMW the service costs are pretty much equivalent. Magic 8-ball was correct. All be in awe of Magic 8 ball.

Mar 21st, 2003, 09:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
KAMAKAZI MINI2 Regular Join Date: Jul 2002 Local Time: 01:56 AM Posts: 166 Offline	yes, the service cost are not exact because they vary from dealer to dealer. Also the 4th year, there is no real reason to use MINI dealer especially for the people 100's of miles from the dealership. And costs might be far less. Some owners may choose to do at least some of the maintenance themselves(ie $90 oil changes can cost far less than $90. I believe when the MINI was introduced the msrp for the 4th years was $350 but was increased to $400 and some dealer mark this up much higher. Also there is no garentee that this offer will continued to be available in the future. The point was that the 4th year agreement is not a necesarilly a bargain and to provide some information for other owners to calculate the actual cost for them. Any yes, I would regret paying $350-400 for $250 worth of maintenance. PS....the pollen a/c filter is provided as part of the inspection 1 service which is covered (usually under the standard 3 yr agreement). It ordinarily is not covered under the 4th year agreement. Cooper S Brg/w sport package Last edited by KAMAKAZI : Mar 21st, 2003 at 09:42 PM.

Mar 21st, 2003, 09:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
sjbartnik MINI2 Senior Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 628 Offline	I don't think I'd buy it. I'd be doubtful that the 4th year maintenance stuff would exceed the cost of the maintenance agreement. I figure when that time rolls around, I'll just do the maintenance myself and it'll cost way less than $400+. Sean Bartnik 2003 MINI Cooper S

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Mar 21st, 2003, 07:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
PigLick MINI2 Senior Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: us Local Time: 05:56 PM Posts: 512 Offline	Yep, good analysis, thanks for that. I went ahead and got the extra. Probably end up being a rip-off, but I drive a lot (~25,000 miles a year) and this is my first new car, so I figured I'd take the gamble and go ahead with it. I also got the extended warranty that goes 7 yrs/100,000 miles, for the same reasons. Neither were probably the best decisions, and I semi-regret getting them, but they do give me some extra peace of mind, which is nice. If I end up not ever needing either (and hopefully I won't need the warranty!) then I'll just chalk it up to youth and call it a lesson-hard-learned, and if I do need them, then it was money well spent! PigLick

Mar 21st, 2003, 10:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
chiph Spectator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Raleigh, NC Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 1,563 Offline	KAMAKAZI - I also got this pitched to me at the last moment. One of the things they said was that BMW does not turn the brake rotors - they only replace them. Anyone know how much it costs to change the front rotors? Chip H. ex-MINI Cooper S owner and all around good-guy

Mar 21st, 2003, 10:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
KAMAKAZI MINI2 Regular Join Date: Jul 2002 Local Time: 01:56 AM Posts: 166 Offline	Dont know how much BMW charges, but you can get performance drilled rotors from minimania.com for about $150 pair and pads for $80 pair. Dont know about installation cost but one of the other threads extimated 1 1/2 hours labor Cooper S Brg/w sport package

Mar 22nd, 2003, 04:36 AM	#9 (permalink)
D.D. MINI2 Regular Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: New Jersey Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 137 Offline	Just remember.......they're out there selling these warrenties for one reason and one reason only.....TO MAKE MORE MONEY!!! I doubt that anyone would warrenty a product out further than the "original" if they really expected that each and every owner had an opportunity to collect on it. That would be poor business. So before you spend your hard earned cash to line the pocket of the dealer,.."think" about it first. Dale

Mar 28th, 2003, 02:38 AM	#10 (permalink)
rogbmw MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: USA Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 28 Offline	I have a 1 year old mini with only 1794 miles on it. However I will drive it 27500 a year so in 2 years I will exhaust the program. Would an extended bumper to bumper up to 100000 miles be worth it in your opinion?

Dec 16th, 2003, 04:00 AM	#11 (permalink)
eldredjames CVT Driver Join Date: Sep 2003 Local Time: 05:56 PM Posts: 31 Offline	Depends Quote: Originally Posted by rogbmw I have a 1 year old mini with only 1794 miles on it. However I will drive it 27500 a year so in 2 years I will exhaust the program. Would an extended bumper to bumper up to 100000 miles be worth it in your opinion? rog -- depends on how much it costs. as stated above, the sellers of the policy are in business to make money. Personally, I never buy extended warranties on anything. If you add up the cost of ALL your warranties and compare it to ALL the repairs, you'll see why this is a money-making business. The only time I get the warranty is when I buy a house 'cause there I can ask the seller to pay for it. And I always provide one for a buyer if they ask. Just makes the deal go easier -- but buy one for myself on a washer or TV or car -nah, no way, I'll risk it, which is what I told the finance guy. But if it buys you peace of mind, that something you'll have to price out for yourself.

Dec 16th, 2003, 04:12 AM	#12 (permalink)
NEMINI NEMINI.org Join Date: Sep 2002 Local Time: 08:56 PM Posts: 7,866 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by eldredjames rog -- depends on how much it costs. as stated above, the sellers of the policy are in business to make money. Personally, I never buy extended warranties on anything. If you add up the cost of ALL your warranties and compare it to ALL the repairs, you'll see why this is a money-making business. The only time I get the warranty is when I buy a house 'cause there I can ask the seller to pay for it. And I always provide one for a buyer if they ask. Just makes the deal go easier -- but buy one for myself on a washer or TV or car -nah, no way, I'll risk it, which is what I told the finance guy. But if it buys you peace of mind, that something you'll have to price out for yourself. I would normally agree with you, however, in this case concerning the MINI and extended warranty I will disagree. I normally would never consider an auto extended warranty but since NO ONE, can tell us how a MINI will hold up between years 4-7 AND considering the number of faults (especially 5 speed tranny's in my case) I felt the extended warranty made sense for me, at the price my dealer offered. (price being a key factor). I plan to do my own maintenance so will most likely not be taking out the extended maintainence agreement. NEMINI.org, NEMINI.us, NEMINI.info, NYMINI.org

Dec 16th, 2003, 04:15 AM	#13 (permalink)
eldredjames CVT Driver Join Date: Sep 2003 Local Time: 05:56 PM Posts: 31 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by GMINI03 most likely not be taking out the extended maintainence agreement. Hmm, sounds more like you agree-- but whatever

Dec 16th, 2003, 04:17 AM	#14 (permalink)
NEMINI NEMINI.org Join Date: Sep 2002 Local Time: 08:56 PM Posts: 7,866 Offline	I agree on the maintence but not the extended (regular) warranty. NEMINI.org, NEMINI.us, NEMINI.info, NYMINI.org

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