Howdy,

Basil is a little over 2 years old now, and starting to see a few things that are making me anxious. So far, have replaced wiper motor, radio, motor mount, fabric top, oil pan gasket, passenger seat airbag sensor, and had new brakes put on (30,000 miles to date) under warranty. I'm getting nervous about keeping after the warranty is done. Has anyone bought the extended warranty from Mini? How well does it cover these kind of things?

Thanks!

 

I can relate to your sentiments. I bought my '08 S in August and it has been to the dealer five times. The backseat hinge came loose after a weekend camping trip. That took two trips to the dealer to fix. Then I had a problem where the window rolled up and rolled back down that I discovered while trying to pay a parking attendant on a sub 10 degree night. Also, I have had a clanking sound coming from the front wheel that is still unresolved after three trips to the dealer. Tomorrow, I'm taking it in once again to have this looked at. My dealer has indicated there will be a regional engineer from MiniUSA that is going to investigate it.

I really want to like this car but all of these little issues are causing me to wonder whether I've made the right decision and like you, whether I will keep it much past the warranty.

 

My 2005 R53 S 6-speed hardtop has 52K miles and the car has been great with the exception of needing 2 clutch replacement and a leaking oil pan. The 1st clutch was replaced under warranty and the second under the provisions of the MINI Extended Service plan that covers the clutch and flywheel assembly for 6 years/100K miles. In both instances, MINI picked up the $2,500 bill to have the clutch replaced (10 hour job).

I have no extended warranty and decided not to get one. These warranties are expensive (MINI does not offer extended warranties in the US but they do in Europe) and only cover to 100K miles. I intended to keep this car to 250K miles or maybe more.... Yes I love it!

After the warranty period ends, you have to invest money into maintenance if you intend to keep the car in tip-top shape and minimize exposure to problems as the miles pile on.

Last week I had the front control arm suspension bushings and lower engine bushing replaced at my MINI independent mechanic. It was a $700 job (Powerflex poly bushings included) but well worth the expense as the factory rubber bushings were totally shot at 50K miles. This is a replacement that every MINI owner has to do on the car past 50K miles.

I figure it is cheaper to maintain the car than to "panic" and go out and buy a new one with the argument of having a warranty. The math doesn't jive.

If you stay on top of the maintenance, you'll be better keeping the car for 7-10 years than buying a new one every 4 years.

Setup an emergency bank account fund for "unexpected repairs" make sure it pays decent interest and have that money aside for just in case. If you never touch the money for any major repairs, you'll get to keep it plus interest. Much better deal than dumping $3K on some dubious extended warranty contract.