[Beppy the MOD]

My One D is coming up to his 3rd birthday at the end of March. Car has TLC and has covered 30,000 miles mixed between London driving for my 8 mile return commute and longer motorway journeys. Unsurprisingly the car shows no signs of wear as you would expect at this age and mileage. Have decided not to trade in for a Cooper D as I still don't feel I've had my value out of the £3k of options ticked, the Clubman does not inspire in the flesh and spending priorities currently lie elsewhere (house renovations). Mondial assistance will extend the warranty for £499 for 12 months which includes European roadside assistance but I'm not sure this is worth it. Any views?

[B1ANK]

hi dude,
having a 53reg one d that is well out of warranty i would advise against buying an extra warranty. the reason being that any common faults that may occur especially if you have had issues already are often covered as good will gesture by bmw. if there are any small signs that anything may be wrong before the warranty is up inform your dealer!
always worth over servicing the car with an oil and filter change between services, greasing bonnet catches etc.
good luck!

[R99]

If you are going to go for an extended warranty then I would advise sticking with MINI. I only say this because I have heard horror stories about 3rd party warranty companies.

My Dad also had a bad experience with a warranty he bought for a Citroen C5. In short they refused to acknowledge and pay out for about £400 worth of work, claiming that the problem lay with the electrical system of the car [which they did not cover] in actual fact it was a mechanical issue, they were just trying to get out of paying.

As you say, your car is in good condition, so it may not need any warranty at all, but I suppose 'you pay your money and take your chances' or not as the case may be.

One thing I will say though is that the cost of parts for the ONE D are staggering, plus the labour should anything go wrong

[minicabrio]

Hi Beppy - long time no see!!

Firstly, steer clear of a third party warranty - they're not worth the paper they're written on. They are effectively an insurance company, so any time there is a claim they will always try to wriggle out of it. Also, even with 5-star policies, should a fault occur, you still have to pay for any diagnostic work the garage carries out. Also, when it comes to the repair, they will only pay labour up to a certain rate (this will not cover main dealer charges), and they will only pay for labour duration in accordance with autodatas recommended repair times. If it takes the garage longer, you're left with the bill. They also reserve the right to use reconditioned parts where possible - for example if an ECU fails, they would send yours off to be reconditioned, rather than fit a new part.

On the other hand, the MINI warranty is a bit more expensive, but EVERYTHING is covered. All diagnostic work, all parts (brand new OEM), and all labour. MINI also do charge a £100 excess per claim - at least that was the offer they gave me last year.

The third option would be to risk it and not take one out.

Your choice, but for heavens sake, don't go for the third party warranty.