2004 Mini Cooper S Convertible: Do I Want Extended Service Warrantee?

September 14, 2015 6:30 AM

I'm picking up a used 2004 Mini Cooper S convertible later today. CarFax was clean, only one owner, 45,000 miles on it. This is my third Mini (second used one) and in my experience, they've been reliable cars with no major issues. The Mini dealer asked if I want Mini's Motoring Protection Program; cheapest cost is $2k for 2 years. Do I want this?

Since the car is used, it's coming with no warrantee other than MA lemon laws. I had my mechanic check it over and they said it looks sweet; nothing to concern them.

This is my first Cooper S and I know they can sometimes have $$$ transmission problems. I've searched the heck out of this online and through Mini forums, but I can't find enough information to make an educated decision.

While I can afford the warrantee, I'd rather not get rooked.

So, is it worthwhile to pay for this? And since there are three levels of coverage, which level seems best?

posted by kinetic to Shopping (7 answers total)

Best answer: Extended warranties are, on average, not worth it to the consumer. If they were a "good deal," then the manufacturers would sell them for enough additional money that they would no longer be a good deal (on average). However, that "on average" is important. There are people who make very good use of an extended warranty, although that will generally be through worse-than-average luck. So, how risk averse are you? If you're someone who generally is OK rolling the dice, skip the warranty. If you just want to not have to worry about it, get it.

HOWEVER, if you do decide to get one, you should definitely shop around for the best price. Notice how there are no prices on that sheet you link from MiniUSA? That's because each dealer sets their own price. We got an extended warranty on our car (a Toyota Prius), but paid WAY WAY less by shopping around and buying from a dealer who sells the warranty for way cheaper online. This was the standard Toyota warranty that is honored at every dealer in the US, just for less than half the price that our local dealership wanted to sell it to us for. So, shop around; you might find it for cheap enough that you just want to spring for it.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:08 AM on September 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Extended warranties are essentially a wager between somebody who has an enormous amount of information about service costs and return rates, and you, who does not. Even if you consider yourself "risk averse", it's a bad bet. It's a bet, clearly, life is full of uncertainty, but it's a bad one.
posted by mhoye at 10:13 AM on September 14, 2015

I had a coworker whose car had an extended warranty that cost her many days of work, because the dealer who did the work was not fast. She would have been far better off paying for her auto work when she needed it, if that had meant she could choose a speedier (and better) auto shop or one close enough to her workplace to give her a ride there.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 1:08 PM on September 14, 2015

Ad-ons by dealers are generally a bad bet, be they cosmetic/anti-rust treatments, or extended warranties. Apart from anything else, the warranties are pretty tightly worded, with (typically) lots of conditions/exclusions. Smart buyers here avoid them like the ripoffs they are, but YMMV (and I know nothing about the BMW Minis). Now if it was a VW, that might be worth looking closely at how an extended warranty might work for transmission repair/replacement.

That's a low mileage car for its age, you have done your homework, and in your case I would back my mechanic's call.
posted by GeeEmm at 3:15 PM on September 14, 2015

I avoid extended warranties like the plague. But I've owned two Minis, a 2007 Cooper S, and a 2010 Clubman. As much as I loved those cars, I might actually recommend extended warranties for older models that are out of the three-year manufacturer warranty. Minis are notorious, as you say, for hideously expensive problems. The S models of certain years are known for carbon buildup on the 16-valve engines. If you feel you've done your due diligence on northamericanmotoring.com and read Consumer Reports for your particular model year, then it may be safe to proceed. but why not just set aside a few thousand for inevitable repairs?

I love those cars, but man, if you're buying a 12 year-old Mini, you'd better have the cash to fix it.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 12:58 AM on September 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

The maximum cover available for the Mini's Motoring Protection Program is 7 years, so for a 2004 model the option ran out in 2011
so no you dont want it because you would never be able to make a successful claim.
posted by Lanark at 11:20 AM on September 15, 2015

I've owned two MINIs: a 2002 Cooper and a 2013 Cooper. The litany of woe I had with my 2002 is long and epic; since you're looking at getting one made in 2004, before the Great Overhaul? Dude, just get the extended warranty. A transmission's a lot more than that.
posted by culfinglin at 3:56 PM on September 16, 2015