Buying used 135i, should I get BMW extended warranty?

[taranfx]

I'm buying a 2011 135i convertible with m-sport package at 59,000 miles.
Car is clean, no accidents
1. Do you think I should buy the BMW extended warranty with it. Dealer quoted me around $3k for 30k miles and 3 years. Is it worth it
2. If I add mods (like engine tune) to my car later, does the void warranty?
3. I heard engine has warranty till 80k. Is that true?

[NVHoo]

Originally Posted by taranfx

I'm buying a 2011 135i convertible with m-sport package at 59,000 miles.
Car is clean, no accidents
1. Do you think I should buy the BMW extended warranty with it. Dealer quoted me around $3k for 30k miles and 3 years. Is it worth it
2. If I add mods (like engine tune) to my car later, does the void warranty?
3. I heard engine has warranty till 80k. Is that true?

1. I got a 5 year/50K warranty from CarMax for $2K for my convertible because the mechanism seemed complicated and I was afraid of a repair. Turns out I have had other issues and after 2 years I'm at the break even point already. That said, $3K for 3/30 is expensive and it is doubtful you would spend that much for repairs, particularly if you went to an indy shop. If you have a manual tranny, about the only thing that is likely to fail is the clutch and no warranty covers the clutch.
2. Engine and exhaust tunes can void the warranty according to the fine print. It depends on what goes wrong. Whether it is voided is largely up to the dealership service manager. Otherwise, YOU must prove that the mods did not cause the problem to be covered.
3. A few key emissions control parts of the engine, like the ECU, are covered until 80K by federal emissions laws.

[WingerRed]

I bought an 11 last year with almost the exact mileage. I decided against the warranty simply due to the fact I'm only putting on 5-6k miles a year and parking in the winter. The service records showed a new water pump at 12k miles and a new DCT at 41k miles replaced under a previous warranty. (I'm hoping isn't a bad sign). I did have to do the OFHG, but I still haven't come close to the cost of a warranty and I'd only have 2 years and 12k (my miles) left for something to go wrong.

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by taranfx

I'm buying a 2011 135i convertible with m-sport package at 59,000 miles.
Car is clean, no accidents
1. Do you think I should buy the BMW extended warranty with it. Dealer quoted me around $3k for 30k miles and 3 years. Is it worth it
2. If I add mods (like engine tune) to my car later, does the void warranty?
3. I heard engine has warranty till 80k. Is that true?

Id recommend getting a warranty but not 3k 30k miles. Shop around. Route 66, Endurance, etc they all have better coverage for better rates

[elitesales305]

WARRANTY IS A MUST WITH THESE CARS.. AS STATED ABOVE..YOUR QUOTE IS A LIL HIGH!!
I bought mine with factory warranty on it still..
blew off the charge pipe the first time.. blew a hole in it the second time... all within 6 months..
yea .... I get down!!!

[Matticus91]

1. No, that is not a good deal on a warranty. But i do recommend shopping around for a better rate on a longer coverage plan.
2. Yes, pretty much any mod can be used as an excuse by the company to void the warranty
3. As other dude said for certain components yes

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

1. No, that is not a good deal on a warranty. But i do recommend shopping around for a better rate on a longer coverage plan.
2. Yes, pretty much any mod can be used as an excuse by the company to void the warranty
3. As other dude said for certain components yes

Originally Posted by Matticus91

1. No, that is not a good deal on a warranty. But i do recommend shopping around for a better rate on a longer coverage plan.
2. Yes, pretty much any mod can be used as an excuse by the company to void the warranty
3. As other dude said for certain components yes

I'm curious about modifications and aftermarket warranties. If I hypothetically take my car to an Indy shop for something like a valve cover gasket how would the warranty company know my car has been modified? I don't think they'd send an inspector for anything less than a transmission, engine etc. What benefit would the dealership/Indy shop have in checking to see if I'm modified if they'll be getting paid for the work by the warranty company?

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by asiflicious

I'm curious about modifications and aftermarket warranties. If I hypothetically take my car to an Indy shop for something like a valve cover gasket how would the warranty company know my car has been modified? I don't think they'd send an inspector for anything less than a transmission, engine etc. What benefit would the dealership/Indy shop have in checking to see if I'm modified if they'll be getting paid for the work by the warranty company?

It's dependent on the shop and the warranty company, for both, some are more strict than others. If you go to a dealership I bet they would check and inform the warranty, an Indy might not. As far as the warranty company sending an inspector, that's a toss up and varies from company to company. My warranty group sent an inspector when my trans was replaced, a local 3rd party guy who knew the indy I went to and they weren't at all bothered by the mods done to my car since they were in no way related. However if you're getting for example an issue with your turbos and they find you have a tune, might not be good.

Also, typically once the warranty is voided for any mod, the whole warranty is then garbage and you will not be refunded. Just an FYI. Your best bet is to talk to the warranty company and see what their rules are.

[mr.fabulous]

My car has stranded me twice (water pump and starter cable) and that's well over $1K at a dealer. All the noise the DMFW makes has me waiting for that to explode... but I don't recall anybody with a 6MT having that happen and so who knows (that would be a very expensive repair). And then there's the OFHG and VCG (something a DIY guy can manage, but something I can't imagine would be terribly costly to have somebody else do).

I haven't read anything about the radiators in these cars. BMWs I've owned previously were notorious for radiator tank cracks and the thought of removing the radiator from this car is a bit daunting (that's *tight*).

I thought about a warranty... but instead I use a BMW credit card for just about everything that is not a utility payment and those points can be redeemed at a dealer. I have over $1K accumulated there and that's my warranty for the next failure.

[taranfx]

Thank you for replies everyone! very helpful. I'll shop around for a 3rd party warranty.

[iminhell1]

I got an aftermarket warranty on mine also. Cost around $3k IIRC.
Had OFHG, WP, front control arms, Footwell Control Module all dealer replaced under the warranty. Total bill was over $3k. Warranty paid for itself.

Now granted I could have done all the work myself and saved quite a bit. But me being new to these cars the extra money was worth it to me. Now that I know my car better, owned it for 2 years now, I feel much more comfortable fixing things myself.

I would say if you're mechanically inclined, the warranty isn't a big deal The cars are pretty easy to work on. And most of the common fail parts aren't exorbitantly expensive or difficult to replace. The way my bills worked out, the total cost was half parts and half labor. So $3k in work is only $1.5k in parts.


I am out of warranty now and a little paranoid, but for no good reason. I said it in the past, look at the miles packed on the 335's and the breakdowns they don't have. If you drive the car it won't go to shit. I put almost 50K on in 2 years. Only breakdowns are the ones listed.

[PDXE82]

I'm not one to ever buy extended warranties but I'm sure glad I did when I bought my 135 a little over a year ago. I paid $3660 for the warranty through National Warranty Corp. It covers me for five years or 100k miles on a premium plus package with zero deductible. So far they've paid out over $5,000 for repairs. Two new headlight assemblies/control modules and a water pump. All dealer repairs. I had to corner them though on the headlights when they claimed that the warranty didn't cover sealed beams. I had to go back and forth with the claims rep explaining what a sealed beam was and the BMW headlight absolutely wasn't. They ended up paying the whole claim after sending an adjuster/inspector to check out the car. Other than that they've been pretty easy to deal with.

More good info in this thread...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1437657

[taranfx]

I finally got Delta auto coverage 5 years/70,000 for $2600 for top most package zero deductible. They had ongoing discounts.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by taranfx

I finally got Delta auto coverage 5 years/70,000 for $2600 for top most package zero deductible. They had ongoing discounts.

Well done.

[Gangplank]

Route66 warranty on my 135i has paid for a few items so far (Oil Filter Housing Gasket + belt tensioner and pulley + oil level sensor). I bought it through my credit union. I expect it to break even or come close to it over the long term. In that sense I'm glad I bought it b/c it's insurance in case something big happens down the road. It's 5 years 100k miles.