2nd Gen R60 Countryman Most liked posts in thread: Mini's Factory Extended Warranty - Is it worth the price?

That depends....

If you have any plans on modding the MINI then to me it's not worth it cause if the dealers are sketchy then they might say no dice to warranty stuff.

Being a 2012 model there have been a few years to work out the bugs. There have been plenty too. But, for most part there have been much fewer issues as the model has aged.

If you plan on keeping the Countryman for more than 3 years then I'd also do more then factory recommended maintenance. The 15K between oil changes, well I'm not sold on that.

If mentally you have the 2400 bucks spent, put it in a savings account as your own insurance to handle something that may come up after the warranty.

Lastly, welcome to Motoring Alliance, thanks for joining.

 

Extended warranty offered by MINI USA.

 

:cornut:Welcome! Welcome! to our little asylum. I agree with what Nathan said above. I was VERY fortunate in having the extended warranty as Margi(08 R56 MCS/JCWm) made the Texas Lemon Law list with out breaking a sweat but, as Nathan said,"those bugs have been worked out."

Jason

 

I am thinking the same thing. I got my 2011 CM used with 10.8k on the odometer. I just inquired again because i know if the tranny or turbo go bad it will cost well more than the 2500 for the extended warraty til 85k miles.

 

Frankly, had I known then what I know now, I would have taken the extended warranty and service. Totally worth it if something breaks.

If you aren't going to go mod crazy and you are going to drive the MINI into the ground, get the extended warranty.

At the time I wasn't sure if I was going to keep the car after the lease or not. I didn't know I was going to like the car this much. Oh well. The only plus for me now if that I can mod like crazy if I want.

 

The factory warranty is 4 years, 50K miles (it is only the included maintenance that is 3-36). If they say the 'extended warranty' is, for example, 6 years, 80K or whatever, that really means 2 more years or 30K miles. That is $1200 a year, for an insurance policy with limitations, not a real warranty. The insurance company that issues these policies probably pays out an average of $500 or less on each one. The markup is huge. So not going with the 'extended warranty' will on average save you money. You might consider investing your $2400 in a fund that you will only use for car repair.

 

I agree with Dave. The reason so many places offer these extended warranties is because they make lots of money off of them -- your money. The statistics on frequency and cost of repairs of different makes and models are precisely monitored and used to set the selling price of the policies, with enough overhead added in to ensure a profit when the costs are amortized over many vehicles, i.e., the more extended warranties they sell, the more likely their profit will match the statistical predictors.

And like an insurance policy, if you run the numbers and decide that you can't absorb the risk of a major repair bill for a problem that would otherwise be covered by a policy of your choice during your post-factory warranty period of ownership (a known future constraint on available funds, for instance) then you might find that the initial payout is worth the long-term peace of mind, even though you're not likely to see a positive financial return on the investment. On the other hand, if you feel you are capable of managing the cost risk of repairs over the life of your ownership period, you're better off saving your money.

 

Had I bought an extended warranty for my MINI it would have been money thrown away. As I went out of the extended warranty without using it I'd have had serious buyers remorse for sure. :mad2:

Like Gil said so well it is a cash cow for the dealers.

 

Like all insurance, it is a game of averages and statistics. A quick (and very limited analysis I did) showed the average MINI ends up needing repairs to the tune of about 1.5 cents per mile. So from 50,000 to 100,000 miles (typical coverage for an extended warranty), the average MINI can expect $750 in repairs. The warranty companies surely have this data and analysis to a much more exacting degree and have figured out they can make money at the price point given.

As noted, if you end incurring a major repair in excess of the cost of the warranty, it seems like a purchase that was well worth it. If you only have very minor repairs or no repairs, it seems like a waste of money. Alas, really no way to know ahead of time where any particular MINI may end up.

 

I'll add if you plan to keep your MINI for a long time & many miles it may pay off. If you are the type of person who changes cars a lot, it is waste of money.

My wife just bought an 08 clubman. The previous owner had paid $2,700 for a 100,000 mile extended warranty & sold the car with 31,000 on the clock. What a waste of money for them. ut: We can not transfer that warranty to us so it truly was throwing money away for the original owner.

It is a tough choice for sure. If I was buying a new one knowing how I take care of cars I'd pass on the extended warranty.

Hope I'm not muddying the waters here, just trying to help.

 

In the case of my father he got both the extended service and warranty on his 2008 MCSa.

First off this isn't a BS, "You pay $200 and we'll cover the rest," insurance policy for repairs. It actually an extended warranty. Parts are covered upto 100k miles. The warranty is for engine & components and drive-train. So, if the stereo dies no help but if the water-pump goes out or the alternator dies it's fixed. Transmission lunches itself? Fixed. Consider the cost as a peace-of-mind knowing that you are covered.

The service coverage also makes sense that the dealer can't make any claims that the car wasn't properly cared for in the case of warranty item. All service done at the dealer. THat being said my Dad doesn't drive a ton (He crossed 45K miles a week or two ago) but he is planning on keeping the MINI into the long forseeable future.

The benefit is that he never has to worry about something critical breaking on the MINI. If it goes sideways he just drops the car off and it's fixed. Due for maintenance? Drop it off and done.

I get the "financial" argument however there is another part of that to be considered. Cash-flow interruption. "Save the $2400 for the next time it breaks." Okay reality is that most folks aren't going to hold onto that. Even if they do what happens if you are amongst the 5% that the $2,400 isn't enough to cover issues upto 100K miles? That can be a big hit to your cashflow. So, by paying out in an incremental term (or paying cash outright like my Dad did) down the line you never have to worry about a big expense for the car effecting your cashflow.

Now, if you are going to dump the car at 50k there is no point is getting it. But if you are going to keep it to 100k then it might be worth looking into.

 

So RB, was your Dad's warranty MINI Factory or third party to 100K

I am thinking I may keep my 07 which has 36K on the clock and drive it to 75K or more.

Don

 

One other thing I was thinking about is that even if you have the most perfect MINI and only need to have scheduled maintenance performed for three years, wouldn't that warranty almost pay for itself. AND...if you do need something beyond scheduled maintenance it would most definitely pay for itself.

I purchased the 100K extended warranty for my Mercedes ML and at 95K I took it into the dealer and told them, it's going out of warranty in 5K, please go over it with a fine tooth comb and fix anything that looks wrong. They did a TON of work. I am now at 200K on that same ML and that last trip to the shop has really saved me enough money to justify the price of the warranty.

So I agree, it is an insurance policy. But, if you pay cash for it (don't finance it so you're paying interest on it) and be sure to be a squeaky wheel when you have it about getting anything repaired, I believe it is worth the money.

BTW! hi! I normally don't post posts like this on my first post but I felt compelled to join in. I just ordered my All4 CM on 2/27, going into production next week...to replace above mentioned Mercedes.

 

Hi Roo, thanks for your input on this extended warranty debate.

Welcome to M/A Good luck with the new MINI.

 

I got the maintenance to 100k package. Still debating the warranty. Luckily, I have until the warranty expires to decide on that.

 

I wish I had purchased the extended warranty on my '08 Clubman. The turbo seized last week. They wanted $4k for the repair. I ended up trading it in for a '11 Countryman. It is with the new Mini certified program, so it comes with a 6 year, 100k warranty. It also got the extended maintenance. The brake jobs alone will probably pay for the maintenance. I still have to pay for tires though

 

:cornut: I'm very sorry to hear that. Good luck with the new one. Just Curious, how many miles did the 08 have?

Jason

 

My Clubman had 59k when the turbo seized

 

:cornut: Thanks Kevnallen and again Good Luck!

Jason