Well, I'm sorry to say that I'm no longer a MINI owner. I have really enjoyed my 08 Clubman S, but since it was going out of warranty, I just wasn't comfortable keeping it. Its been a good dependable car, but the thought of having to pay for some of the repairs I've read about here on NAM convinced me I should get out of it.

I seriously considered purchasing the MINI Extended Motorer Protection, but my dealer (who has been great BTW) wanted just over $3,000 for an additional two years of coverage, which was just too much. I tried to negotiate the price but no deal.

I was also very uncomfortable with the language in the actual customer contract which specifically excludes "wear and tear" issues for parts that it did cover. A quote from the Definitions section of the contract reads: "BREAKDOWN means the inability of any Covered Part to perform the function for which it was designed due to defects in material or workmanship. Parts that fail due to wear and tear are NOT covered under this Contract."

Thus, the nightmare scenario where Service Advisor says to MINI Owner: "I'm sorry sir, but your (vacuum pump) (timing chain) (chain tensionor) just wore out and caused that catastrophic engine failure. It's not covered. A new engine costs $13 grand." or "your turbo just wore out -No defect." For $3,000, I was looking for the peace of mind I had under the original warranty, but I wasn't feeling that with the language and exclusions in the extended contract.

So, instead of purchasing the extended protection, I moved on to OPTION 2: Trade mine on a new Clubman or even a Countryman. Since I have really enjoyed my Clubbie, I wanted to stay in the MINI family. But after building a 2012 Clubman S online with as close to the same options I have on my 2008 S, the price of the car had increased almost $4,000.00 since '08. I took my build sheets in to the dealer and was advised that a lot of the price increase was due to MINI switching the options packages around and requiring the separate purchase of some options like the sun roof and upgraded stereo. No redesign....No big improvements. Although they made a semi-decent offer of trade on my old one, the $4,000 increase in prices wiped away the good residual value I had accumulated in my old one. As to the new one, the dealer only offered a three percent (3%) discount off the list price. So, it was a big no-go on the idea of buying a new one. I guess business is good for them right now.

Anyway, I traded my Clubbie on a new loaded Ford Focus Titanium. I got the full benefit of the equity in the MINI, a big discount on the new car, and have a new vehicle with a low payment and full warranty. I am the first to admit that the Titanium is no MINI, but it does have its good points. Ford has changed a lot since I last owned one. I'm also surprised to see a lot of the features I had on the MINI now showing up on the American cars.

I will definitely miss my Clubman, which has been one of the most "fun" cars I have ever owned, but I just wasn't comfortable keeping it without an extended warranty that I had some faith in.

I've also really enjoyed this forum and wish everyone well!

Rich

 

Hi,

Would you mind to share your trade in value for clubman?
If you dont want to post it here, please send me PM.
I have 08 clubman (mileage ~73k ). I am thinking about the same thing.

Thanks,

 

I would be interested in this information as well. Im at 67K miles and was curious of what people are getting for trade ins.

 

Not a bad choice in replacements. It will not drive or be a MINI but the new Foci (plural of Focus ?) have really stepped up in looks and features in the past few years.

 

Agreed, I had a '12 Focus as a rental car recently and was surprised at how much I liked it. Best of luck!

 

I had 44K miles on mine. My signature line shows how it was equipped. Basically everything but leather and Nav. Fully dealer maintained. Low mileage yearly oil changes, new front brakes and rotors, new tires and a new clutch done under a service bulletin (the clutch didn't fail). Very good condition.

MINI offered $15,000 on trade, then $15,500 and suggested I take it to CarMax (???-Why wouldn't they want it for their lot? They knew the car.). CarMax offered $15,000 and noted on the appraisal that it "showed and drove well". Ford gave me $16,500 for the trade, $1,500 in rebates and about another $2,000 off the sticker on the Titanium. In Maryland, the state off-sets the trade value from the price of the new car and taxes the difference, so trading the MINI saved about $900 in sales tax (rather than selling it outright or to CarMax). BTW, the Ford dealer liked the condition of the Clubman so much he put right out on his used car lot. I think he's asking about $21K.

Rich

 

I plan to follow your strategy in December or early January of next year. My four warranty will come to an end. Most likely, the car will only have 33,000miles on it at that time.

 

Me too, at the end of 2013. I wish they were more consistently reliable so I could keep it with confidence (though mine already rattles and clunks like Yugo), since I usually like to keep cars for a long time. Hopefully by then another car company will have a real alternative that has better quality control and reliability than MINI...but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Yeah, it is a shame, but I couldn't make myself comfortable with the idea of keeping mine. It was the most enjoyable car I've had. But with the reliability issues, the escape-hatch language in the extended protection contract, and the high cost of the contract, keeping the car without some assured protection was not a realistic option for me.

While I will miss the car itself and my dealer was good to deal with, my overall experience with MINI/BMW will not be remembered as a positive one. I don't think I will be considering either brand in the future. It's too bad. I really mean that.

 

hmm. I am kind of in the same position right now. been in the MINI family since 2003, first with a MC that I traded for a Mazda 3 when the MC warranty ran out (had a CVT with notorious out of warranty issues). Liked the Mazda at first but it was such a snooze in a few months and poor on gas mileage that I went back about a year later and got a then new 08 Clubman.

now the Clubman is going to be out of warranty in about 1 month. the car never gave me any issues that were major so far and I drive it ALOT in NYC traffic.
I have a year left on the loan and the thought of also having to pay for some repairs out of pocket at the same time if need be will burn my pocket.

however the extended warranty you speak of IS a MINI backed factory one and the wear and tear items are the usual (brakes, shocks, etc.) ... I would trust that. however I do agree that $3000 is quite a bit for only 2 years extra.

not sure what to do either ... I do need a larger car for a growing family but I love the damn car too much and also have a really good relationship with my dealer for almost a decade.

did anyone else get the extended MINI warranty here? what are your experiences with it?

 

MINI Dealers are a bunch of w*&%3s! They all reach into your pocket as soon as you look away. Wholesale is all anybody will get in trade for their MINI. Resale value is a sham concocted by the dealer to sell you the car. We are all victims of wanting what we don't need. At least if you keep your MINI you know how it was maintained, the timing chain tensioner thingie is not all that bad. Ours has had the 3rd gen fix on for a couple weeks and is still quiet. The extended warranty is not worth it, for anyone. you won't need a new motor unless you run it out of oil, fill it with sand or some other stupid thing. Then you should have a SCHWINN not a MINI.

 

We picked up our 2012 on Feb.28th. The finance guy pressed hard to sell me the extended warranty. He started at $2400. I said no. he dropped the price to $2050. I said no. He dropped the price again to $1750. Said he was pushing to make a month end number. I still said no. I do a lot of my own work and we only put about 8,000 ~ 9,000 miles per year on the car. It just made no financial sense to purchase it. I can buy a lot of parts for $1750 if needed.

 

Uh, yeah. You don't retail the dealership your car. Is this a serious post?

 

Exactly. If you want retail pricing you have to retail it yourself. If you can afford to sit on your car for sometime you can retail it yourself and get the higher price. After all the dealer is in this business to make money. When I traded in my Mini for my Coupe I did my homework and the dealer gave me full wholesale price for an excellent used Mini with the accessories that I had on the car. They knew the car perfectly as they sold it to me new and did all the maintenance on the car as well. And even with all that the dealer still sat on the car for almost 70 days before they sold it. I could not afford to sit on the car for that long. I was happy with the deal I made.

Did I make money on that car?? No. Does anyone every make money on a car? Unless it's a classic that you have had for years it's pretty difficult to make money on a car. It is after all a depreciating asset.

I'm still happy that I did the deal and I really like my Coupe.