You can now buy a brand new BMW or Mini in Malaysia for less*

By daryl, 18 January 2021
BMW
MINI

BMW Group Malaysia has rolled out a new pricing structure for BMW and Mini vehicles in Malaysia for 2021. Moving forward, the extended warranty and service package that used to be offered as standard for all models across both brands has become optional. However, customers who opt in continue to pay the exact same price for their new car as they would have before. Effectively, the company has made it possible for owners who are not too fastidious about official aftersales coverage to buy a brand new BMW or Mini at a slight discount. 

Take the BMW 330i M Sport for starters; a car that would have cost you RM293,800 in 2020, inclusive of a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and scheduled maintenance capped at 100,000km. The recommended retail price as per the new structure is now RM280,680 - RM13,120 or about 4.5 percent cheaper than it used to be. But the lower entry price is only backed by a two-year unlimited mileage warranty and no free service. Extending this coverage to five years will cost you an additional RM5,900. If you want to add the five-year/100,000km service package to the mix, that's another RM8,800 on the invoice. Alternatively, customers can bundle both at a discounted RM13,120, bringing the total price back to the original price of RM293,800. Get it? 

The structure is essentially the same for Mini models, with the difference being the length of the extended warranty (four years as opposed to five) and the shorter service package coverage (60,000km). 

Since most factory warranties require owners to maintain their cars at authorised service centres throughout the coverage period, it makes little financial sense to opt for the extended warranty without the service package. Ultimately, the short-term savings in the event of opting out of these extras will largely only benefit customers who change their cars frequently, as well as tinkering enthusiasts who rather reinvest the money towards maintaining or even upgrading their vehicles at their preferred third-party workshop. 

At the end of the day, the cars haven't actually gotten cheaper by measure of what you're getting for your money. But it's definitely nice to have the choice and flexibility.