I purchased a 2002 M5 this week. The car is a true cream puff with 6,089 miles on it and still smells & looks like new. The dealership gave me the next few days to consider an after-market warranty through G.E. The warranty is a 30 month comprehensive program with a $50.00 deductible and seems to me like a pretty safe bet with a price tag of $3,200. Any advice or info on the 02 M5 reliability and repair costs over time as well as anyone who has good or bad experience with G.E. warranties would be appreciated. J-Mac
Great car! 6K miles? Not even broken in yet. Was this a local trade in at the BMW dealership or found on "Mikes Auto Center" lot? Get a carfax at least to verify the mileage. Will the warranty company pay the bill right on the spot over the phone with a credit card? If not, be prepared to sit around for 4-6 weeks until they send you a check. Any service records available? The oil/tranny/differential fluid should have all been changed at 1,200 miles. Even if this car has only been driven an average of a thousand miles a year, the oil still should have been changed at least once every year. I would suspect the valve cover gasket IMHO. Not a big job. Is the mileage unlimited for 2.5 years? What does the warranty cover? Post pics!
Well, whether or not the warranty is worth it is entirely up to you. Can you afford $3200? Would you be willing to pay the higher cost of parts that is associated with an M car should something happen to its hardware? Do you plan on keeping it or will you ultimately sell it? Think about these things and it will help you decide on whether or not its worth it.
I work at an independent shop and delt with GE warranty. They're very easy to work with and I highly recommend them. Get the warranty because you will regret it if you don't. When will the warranty end though?
To answer a few questions from above. The M5 was found at a NJ BMW Dealership which was preparing to sell the car for E-Bay. Previous owner was a Manhattan broker who kept it in a garage. The Carfax and title came back clean as did the BMW service network reports. I have the service records which look fine. They ran the car through the shop and did their normal PDI on it. I am most likely going to get the warranty because of the "unknown" nature of any used car especially considering the ultra high cost on M car parts and repairs. The warranty term is 30 months/36,000 miles from date of purchase.
Prestige BMW? Make sure you burn up the warranty on miles . Good luck with the car. The E39 M5 is..................unbelievable. Too bad I never got to drive one....yet..
Extended warranties J-Mac, As I'm sure you know warranties are just another form of insurance. And like all insurance the company providing it is betting that they will be money ahead at the end of the insured period, ahead and also initially providing a nice piece of profit for whomever is selling this to you. They are many more times right than wrong in that regard, so strictly speaking extended warranties, including those sold and provided by BMW are not a good value. On top of that many indy shops and dealers will and are not required to honor or accept them (Count my shop as one of them) and many things are not covered. In my opinion, have the car professionally inspected to make sure you have bought the cream puff you think you have, and save your $3200.00. One caveat to that though. If you are planning to sell this car privately within that 30 month period extended warranties do seem to offer a decent return in that regard.
Almost forgot the most important thing... A BIG Congrats on the new car, one of my favorite BMW's of all time!
The previous owner of my '02 330Ci bought the GE warranty for $2K as the factory warranty expired. He later experienced the well known "stick rests at 5th gear" problem and the shop replaced the transmission for $3k. GE took care of this cost along with replacing lower control arm bushings, etc. My question is, can you get a quote from GE directly to ensure that the dealer isn't making a markup profit?
Wow they actually replaced the transmission? There's a service bulletin on this which calls for to install a new sleeve for the detent spring. The part is cheap but requires the transmission to be removed. He got lucky! I'm sure GE can give you the MSRP of the warranty because dealers are known to mark them up.
