I have a 2011 Mini Cooper S 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 believe are far more number of thing go wrong with my car than should happen.

1. The timing chain tensioner can go bad and had to be replaced under a factory recall, or a "campaign" as Mini calls it.

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

3. 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.

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

5. 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.

6. The original run flat tires wore out in 22,000 miles, but that was not a warranty or maintenance issue according to Mini. It though still was 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.

7. 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. It sometimes does not recognize that my iPod is plugged in. The screen on the big speedometer shows the wrong album cover images or wrong podcast images when I am using the iPod It's only a minor annoyance but it is still something that is wrong with the car.

8. One of the subwoofers in the back creates a rattling noise at certain low frequencies. They have ran 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. The rattling occurs a reasonable volume levels not just when the volume is turned way up.

9. The rear license plate bulb had to be replaced. No biggie and understandable.

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

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


I asked the service manager at the dealership where I service my car 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. Yikes.

So I am understandably wondering about the quality of my car. I am considering a purchasing 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 a 100k warranty for $3490. I know that third party warranties are a rip off, therefore those don't interest me.

Would you consider either of these extended warranties?

What are your experiences with mechanical failures with new Mini's, especially with 2011 models? Do you think I have a lemon?

Selling the car is not an option since am making loan payments.

Thanks,
David

 

Did you negotiate when you bought the car or just paid the sticker price ?
How you answered that question would be answering your own question on paying that much for the extended service contract. EVERYTHING is negotiable...