Mini Cooper extended warranty

[David M]

I have a 2011 Mini with 28,000 miles. The full maintenance agreement expires at 36,000 miles and the bumper to bumper warranty expires at 3 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.

I have had what I think are an above average number of thing go wrong with the car. Were it a boring Accord, I know I would not have had this number of problems.

The timing chain tensioner can go bad and had to be replaced under a factory recall.

There is a known problem with the engine coolant temperature sensor. Mine went bad and had to be replaced.

The brakes wore out in only 27,000 miles. Both the front and rear pads had to be replaced. Mini says it will not install longer lasting ceramic pads.

The water pump seal failed so the water pump had to be replaced.

The oil pressure solenoid leaked oil which required a new gasket. This caused a wire harness connector to get coated in oil which had to be replaced as well.

The software which runs the entertainment center does really odd and sometimes very annoying things, like losing all my preset stations for a few days and then oddly they come back. Or does not recognize that my iPod is plugged in.

One of the subwoofers in the back creates a noise at certain low frequencies. They have run a diagnostic CD but say they cannot replicate the problem. The implication is that the problem must not exist if they cannot replicate the problem and therefore say they will not cover the problem.

Relatively minor things which have gone wrong...

The rear license plate bulb had to be replaced.

The door sill trim on both sides came unglued which required its replacement.

A Bosch spark plug failed, which is not Mini's fault obviously.

The horrible hard as a rock run flat tires wore out in 22,000 miles, but that was not a warranty or maintenance issue according to them, but was still an expensive $900 replacement issue for me. Mini could have installed tires with better than a 140 tread wear rating. Yeah, it was fun pulling 0.9 g's on corners while it lasted, but it cost me a lot

I asked the service manager what it would have cost me to make all these fixes to the car at my last servicing yesterday if the car was no longer under warranty. His answer was that it would have cost me $2,200!


So I am understandably wondering about the quality of this car. I am considering a manufacturers warranty. With all the things that have gone wrong so far, I am thinking that I may win the warranty bet by purchasing one. Mini wants $3140 for up to 70k miles. They are also offering for $3490 a warranty for up to $100k miles.

Would you consider either of these warranties?

Other than these problems, I like the car a lot. I have really been enjoying a small zippy convertible loaded up with all the options, other than nav. But I have a much better portable Garmin GPS for that, that I can move between my vehicles. It is the least boring car I have ever owned and I spend about two hours per day commuting quite often in slow traffic. Any car that makes my commute less painful is a real bonus.

So I am not selling the car, that is not an option. I have about 3 years of payments left at 0.9% interest.

[glc]

Shop warranty costs online with different Mini dealers. With the Mini's spotty reliability history and high maintenance costs, I'd seriously consider it.

[David M]

Thank's, I did not know different dealers would have different rates for warranties.

[jdeb]

I could not even fit in one of those. Man, that is a ton of issues

[doubledragon5]

Is nimin a foreign made car? I hear Bosch plugs are not recommened in a foreign car.. With all the problems you have had, the EXTENDED WARRANTY will work for you..

[David M]

Originally Posted by doubledragon5 Is nimin a foreign made car? I hear Bosch plugs are not recommened in a foreign car.. With all the problems you have had, the EXTENDED WARRANTY will work for you..

Mini is owned by BMW and the car is assembled in Cowley Oxford England. The Bosch plugs are what comes from the factory with the car.

[doubledragon5]

Originally Posted by David M Mini is owned by BMW and the car is assembled in Cowley Oxford England. The Bosch plugs are what comes from the factory with the car.

My Kia came with nzt I think that is the name of the plugs.. I could have Bosch installed at the time of the tune up. But was told that they did not play nice with foreign made cars..

[EzyStvy]

Consider reading up on the LEMON LAW... Maybe they'll buy it back