Hello Members, I am new to the forum and own a 2009 328xi station wagon, which we ordered and picked up in Germany. As the original factory warranty is expiring soon, I have been researching whether to purchase an extended warranty. Our local BMW dealer markets one from Fidelity Warranty Services. Does anyone have any experiences with this company or another one? Is this expense necessary, or would it be more advisable to save the money for the potential repair bills down the road?
As a technician I see a lot of aftermarket warranties and personally they don't always pay out like they say they do and wont cover a lot of items that should be. Plus they don't always use BMW parts. In my opinion I would look into CPO extended warranty through BMW. It covers your vehicle 72 month or 100,000 miles and covers almost 10,000 items on your vehicle. Your vehicle really doesn't have to many common issues, some are water pump, valve cover gaskets, vanos solenoids, transmission pan gaskets and some other oil leaks. Almost all of those things I mentioned I know are covered under the CPO program and will of course be replaced with BMW parts and can be done at any BMW dealer. There is a 50 dollar cost for each visit when a repair is done. This plan does not cover any maintenance related items though but you can also purchase a extended maintenance plan that covers maintenance items fr 72 month 100,000 miles.
Definitely look into buying a CPO warranty through your dealer, if that's possible. Otherwise, it's a crapshoot: The question is whether you spend more on the aftermarket warranty than you would on repairs.
CPO doesn't cover many items that fail on BMWs like "Radio/CD player, telephone, navigation system, CD changer, DVD player or any components of those systems; manual transmission clutch assemblies; suspension dampers (shock absorbers/strut elements)". Fidelity does if you choose the right coverage. CPO adds only two years. Fidelity can go longer often for less money. Fidelity will cover repairs you choose to have done at other than a BMW dealership. CPO requires you go to a dealership and pay a $50 service charge per visit. If you like your independent shop, they won't be able to help you with CPO claims. Fidelity will work with them if you choose to go there.
Looks like they have changed their program offering. You can now go pretty much bumper to bumper http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/BMWUltimateProtection/ExtendedVehicleProtection.aspx Under the old system: "There is a 50 dollar cost for each visit when a repair is done." Should say $50 dollars for each covered item. - This ONLY applied to covered items under warranty. So for example: The oil separator fails or begins to fail on your M54. Yes BMW NA will ONLY cover that portion of the repair. The rubber hoses attached to it and the labor to remove those hoses will not be covered. Most hoses and gaskets are not covered, nor was the labor involved in replacing them.
