Hello all, Any suggestions on a good extended warranty company. I have seen a few posts that suggest that you may not need one. However, I am not sure of the direction that I am going in. Some say take the $2,500 - $3,500 that you would pay and put it in the bank to earn money. Others say that their warrantees came in handy. ANY suggestions would be helpful. MANY THANKS!!! Michael
The only one I would consider is the BMW OEM version that is good ONLY if you are original owner of the vehicle. Gives you the same coverage that a BMW CPO vehicle would have. However, it is not cheap and it around the prices you mention. I guess also depends on how long you are going to keep the car and how much piece of mind you want.....
I recently bought an out of warranty 03 M3 from a BMW dealer and bought a 3-year/36k mile warranty at the dealer sold by Zurich. The paperwork suggests that the warranty is fairly comprehensive (everything except parts that will need to be replaced with normal use, such as brake pads/rotors, etc.) For me the warranty is a sleeping pill.
Thanks to both of you for your prompt response. I am not the original owner of the car and I am looking to keep it for 2-3 years. I too look at the warranty as something to help me not worry. However, I have seen a few posts that are aginst non BWM extended warranty purchases. One lady suggested taking the $300o and putting it in the bank earning money instead of giving it away. Another guy pointed out that 5 months into his expended warranty he had a peopblem that was not covered and he had to pay an additional $1200 even with the warranty. I also say a posting where a guy's engin kicked the bucket and he was able to get a full replacement and he paid $100 for his deductable. Decisions...decisions...decisions. Thanks again!!!
Michael--The BMW dealer that sold me the Zurich warranty was able to show me a detailed brochure specifying what is and is not covered. There are often loopholes with these sorts of warranties, but the brochure specified a great many covered items, divided into specific categories. The cost of the warranty was based partly on mileage. Because the 03 M3 I was buying (this was last week) had only 5900 miles on it, the highest form of warranty coverage for 3 years/36k miles cost $1550 (after some wrangling the dealer down from $2000). Good luck! --Gary
Thanks Gary... I will stop by the dealer on Thursday morning when I am off and see what I can do. I feel safer with the warranty. Again, THANKS for the feedback!!! Michael
Warranty and Maintenance I am in the process of buying an 05 530i CPO car. It comes with a 6/100k warranty. the dealer is offering to extend the maintenance to the same 6/100 range for $2400. The warranty is a no brainer on this complex car. When I discussed the maintenance package with my independent mechanic we worked up some numbers and concluded that if you drive the car through this period and they have to change rotors along witht the brake pads etc then it appears to be a reasonable deal. Coupled with the warranty it makes the package bulletproof? If you smash the car after 2 years, it's wasted. We discussed if the experienced DIY'er could do it less expensively but he caustioned that their are so many computers in the car that often times replacemnt parts will not work unless the computers are updated with the latest software. That can not be done by the DIY'er. More to think about. . thoughts?
Extended Maintenance 135735 - If you're seriously considering the 6 yr-100,000 extended maintenance, you could save some money by looking at the special website of an Atlanta-area BMW dealer: www.twinkidneygrill.com I bought the additional years/mileage for $1300 a year and a half ago. I know the price has gone up, but probably not to $2400. It doe not matter which dealer sells the package, as it's entered into the BMWNA computer, and every dealer's service department will honor it.
Thanks for the 411 Hey ExGMAN... Thanks for the info. I will be sure to check it out. Have a good one!
Michael - I think you have a 2002 745, so your vehicle is a little too old to benefit from any extension of the BMW-offered maintenance. Something you might want to do is check out BMWCCA's Mike Miller's various comments about the BMW 7-Series in "Bimmer" magazine. I seem to recall a "market report" on 7-Series a few months ago, and he goes into great detail regarding problem areas, pitfalls, things to replace ahead of schedule and general maintenance. If anything, it could help you create a budget for future expenses, and might obviate the need for an extended warranty.
Extended Maintenance Thanks for the feedback Ex GMAN. I have been corresponding with twinkidneygrill. I can't tell if this is a legitimate site or not. The reply I got from them was a guy using a gmail account not the global Imports BMW dealer so I am trying to track this down. Anyway the price is much better that I was quoted. I ended up paying 2200 which is still more but I have asked the selling dealer to review their pricing. A long shot but worth a try.
Warranty We purchased BOTH the extended warranty and maintenance using the OEM BMW policies, BUT BUYER BEWARE! The extended warranty does NOT cover everything that the original warranty covers, unlike what they will tell you. Our recent experience shows MANY things not covered, hoses, bulbs, wind noise, the list goes on. I had a very good experience with a policy sold by our credit union on a PT Cruiser, cost $800 or so, Mercury INsurance, and it covered everything we needed without question and had a $25 deductible. If you can find a good 3rd party policy, you will save $1000's! If money is no object, buy the BMW policy, but be aware it won't cover any more than one costing 1/3 as much!
You must realize that there are actually 2 extended coverage plans: 1) extended maintenance (6yrs/100k mi) and 2) extended warranty or original owner protection plan. For the E46 engine, the maintenance extension cost about $1400, and the warranty extension costs $2500.
Extended warranty companies? Does anyone have any specific suggestions for 3rd party extended warranties?
