Extended Warranty on a BMW

stup123 · Post by **stup123** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:24 am

Hi

I have a 3 series 2004 BMW with 70k miles on it.Its out of warranty for sometime and I really never bothered

A couple of weeks back my other car which just came out of warranty(2 years but had more than 36k miles) had some sensors to be changed and I had to shell from my pocket

Keeping that in mind,I am planning to go for out of market extended warranty for the bmw..if its toyota/honda I wouldnt have bothered ..but given how expensive bmw repairs are,I am leaning towards going for third party ext warranty(since I am not in warranty I cant buy one from bmw/dealer).
carchex quoted ard $3500 for warranty upto 125k miles..doesnt cover everything but the highest one can get at this miles

Do you folks have any suggestions/opinions on bmw third party warranties and companies that sell them and your experiences..plz chime in

thanks in advance for your inputs

direstraits88 · Post by **direstraits88** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:42 am

Buying 3rd party warranty is similar to buying visitor's health insurance from India, IMO. There's no guarantee that you'll be paid. So first check if your BMW dealer will work with the 3rd party warranty providers. I know several Acura/Lexus/Honda dealers in my neighbourhood who do not. Last time i spent couple of hours at my dealer for a routine maintenance, I saw a person literally begging the service guy to take a call with the third party warranty company over phone. His repair bill was some 2k and the dealer just gave him an estimate sheet.

Unlike insurance claim where the a claim adjuster will come onsite to the dealer and ok the work, it doesn't work the same with 3rd party warranty. So for any repair work, you need to shell out money from your pocket and hopefully claim it from the warranty guy. Of-course their first instinct will be to deny the claim. Usually 20-30% of people just go away. So perseverance is required to get any claim.

jburu · Post by **jburu** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:23 pm

It only makes sense to extend a factory warranty (which is 2 years) to one more year, other than that anything is a waste. Did you estimate the current value of your car ? paying $3500 for a warranty really makes sense ?

If there is a repair, you can always buy the original BMW parts and get it done in a private workshop. It will be cheaper. I had a 2000 3 series until lat year and except for the regular oil change , i did not encounter any repairs at all. Hope this helps.

stup123 · Post by **stup123** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:37 pm

desipardesi;376411Buying 3rd party warranty is similar to buying visitor's health insurance from India, IMO. There's no guarantee that you'll be paid. So first check if your BMW dealer will work with the 3rd party warranty providers. I know several Acura/Lexus/Honda dealers in my neighbourhood who do not. Last time i spent couple of hours at my dealer for a routine maintenance, I saw a person literally begging the service guy to take a call with the third party warranty company over phone. His repair bill was some 2k and the dealer just gave him an estimate sheet.

Unlike insurance claim where the a claim adjuster will come onsite to the dealer and ok the work, it doesn't work the same with 3rd party warranty. So for any repair work, you need to shell out money from your pocket and hopefully claim it from the warranty guy. Of-course their first instinct will be to deny the claim. Usually 20-30% of people just go away. So perseverance is required to get any claim.

Thanks desipardesi and jburu
atleast with carchex,they give their corporate credit card..so its not like we need to pay upfront and get money back from them
Having said that,third party warranty is also not bumper to bumber,so only a few listed items are covered

but with the amount of computers involved in the car and the prohibiting cost of bmw parts and service are the ones that actually got me thinking

$3500 for another 50k miles

present value of the car might be abt $9k to $10

GutsyGibbon · Post by **GutsyGibbon** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:56 pm

stup123;376467
$3500 for another 50k miles. present value of the car might be abt $9k to $10

Personally, third party warranty makes no sense to me. Paying 30% to 40% of the cost of the car upfront for something major that could go wrong, makes no sense. Consider taking that risk yourself. Save that money now in an investment account that gives you decent returns. Use it for fixing anything that comes up. By the time you are done with the next 50K miles, your car may be worth less than what you paid for warranty. If your transmission drops dead, abruptly without any warning, thats tough luck. That is the risk you are taking. But, if you keep a close eye on your car, watch for abnormal things you will be fine. Even if shit hits the fan (trans fails), a good mechanic, can swap a used transmission for you. Once its back to running condition, ebay that car. I stay away from those steal-ers (dealers), they are for lawyers and doctors

With Euro cars, most issues are with electrical stuff. Power windows, locks, mostly bulbs, and leds all over the car. These are insanely easy to replace. If a minimum wage mechanic can replace it, a person with a master's degree, can do it just as well, (looking at a how-to video on youtube). You can buy these parts dirt cheap. Example: Brake light on my Saab. $2 to $5 online. $50 at a stealer (+ time and gas costs). Smarter option = 5 mins of youtube searching + 10 mins to replace parts = feeling of having saved a ton, and kids yelling - daddy can fix anything - priceless.

I have a similar view about insurance. Its called self insurance. I just have a huge liability coverage, if I am ever stupid enough to crash into a Lamborghini - I would be covered. Consider this -with 5 yrs of insurance and warranty, you can get a new car every 5 years. I am a conservative driver, who just loves cars and driving, I cannot drive the same car too long. So, this way I can change cars more often. If I were ever to total a car with the mistake being mine, then I will have to suck it up and drive a much cheaper used car.

Chakra · Post by **Chakra** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:42 pm

#5 sums it up quite well. Paying $3.5k to buy warranty for a $9k car is insane in my opinion. In my view, insurance or warranty should only be bought for scenarios which can have a significant financial impact. Insurance for home, car accidents, and health care are the only 3 insurance that I would buy. For other cases (car repairs, TV, phone, electronics, etc.) where the costs of repair can be painful, but one can afford it, it is advisable to self underwite. Over your lifetime, you are going to come out ahead. These warranties are fairly high margin business of companies.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:58 pm

#5 -- It is a good suggestion but not everyone likes to fix things. Everyone does not have skill to follow instruction and do it right. One example is myself. Many times I have assembled the furniture in reverse and had to do it all over again. Even filling up the car tire is a big challenge - I overfill and take it to mechanic to get it right. The stupid air pump in gas station has time limit. You have to run fast to reach all the four tires before it turns off. I prefer the Indian setting where you give 5 rupees to chotu who will do this for you. It is a big challenge I tell ya!

GutsyGibbon · Post by **GutsyGibbon** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:13 pm

Old-Spice2;376499Many times I have assembled the furniture in reverse and had to do it all over again. Even filling up the car tire is a big challenge - I overfill and take it to mechanic to get it right.

The macho dad (me) who does not believe in reading instructions always assembles furniture in the reverse the first time around :)) Then listen to the wife about the importance of the instructions, and the microscopic scratches while putting it back together yada yada yada.....

Mechanic for air pressure is a little too much for me to digest. Why not flip the valve cover and let some air out. A digital tire pressure guage in walmart is $4 and is a must for all drivers. If that is a challenge- consider a bicycle tire pump, gives a good workout, and gets the job done. Right tire pressure, = long lasting tire = better gas mileage. See ....so much good by not using chotu :))

stup123 · Post by **stup123** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:48 pm

I am in the Old_Spice2 mould

Dont remember ever doing air filling..Tried once and the stuff at gas station drove me nuts...and the tv stand I bought at Sears 2 years back is collecting dust(after multiple attempts)...oil changes and car washes are done at neigborhood tireshop.but GutsyGibbon post#5 is one hell of a post.Wish I was anyways remotely like him.

I might go with the collective intelligence of the ppl on this forum and stay away from ext warranty and hope everything works out fine.