MINIUSA Ups Rust Protection for 2004 Models

Possibly – but BMW has a history of extending warranties when issues pop-up. Like on the E34 5 series with the V8 or the early E46 M3.

I thought moderrn automobile manufacturers had overcome rust. I hate rust. I've owned Fiats (124s) and they rusted so badly they verged on being qualified as bio-degradable.

My Gut Reaction:

Something doesn't feel right about this.

It does leave a bad feeling… How do they do rust protection testing?? do they set their cars up in hyper-corrosive environments and calculate how it relates to real world conditions?

IF your car does start to rust out, what will they do? replace your car?

what is the rust protection for the new 2005 models?

I thought moderrn automobile manufacturers had overcome rust?

No they absolutely have not. I've seen a handful of late 90's E-Class Mercedes recently with rust right around their trunk release to prove that.

I've also seen plenty of 90's era BMW 3 series with rust as well.

Maybe they fixed a potential rust problem with the '04 model year and now feel justified in extending the warranty (i.e. the previous model years might be more prone to rust).

please don't take offense to this, but sometimes you guys worry to much… I know that some of you plan on owning your car forever… but many owners will have there cars for 2-4 years and move on to something else… it maybe another mini maybe not…

I think the reason why they are extending the warranty is because they want to sell cars… What if the current rust proofing methods that they have in place are so good that they found out that the probabiltiy of a car rusting out in 10-12 years is highly improbable and it will cost them absolutley nothing to beable to out do the competition in the rust warranty area… In other words… its a sales tool… The car can alrady handle it and they might as well take advantage of the opportunity and sell some more cars!

Or I could be wrong and there could be a huge issue with rust… i have no idea… i live in arizona, were having your personal car rust is about the same chance as someone winning th lottery…

I have a 2004 Mini that is starting to show rust on the boot, both on the outside and inside. It first appeared on the painted surfaces inside the boot area as small(pin size) areas of rust. Now it is also appearing on the outside. At first it looked like it was just dust and the car needed a wash, but when you look close up, you see the redish rust spots. Makes sense that we received a letter extending the warranty. Now let's see what the dealer has to say, that's always fun.