Ultimate Aftermarket Warranty Review (info, invoices, and receipts, oh my!)

[Matticus91]

The purpose of this post is to outline, in detail, my personal experience with my aftermarket (Non-BMW) warranty on my car. Please keep in mind that each company, solution, and each individual situation will be different.

This post also outlines the exact costs to do the following jobs:
-Failed water pump replacement (at BMW dealer)
-Oil Filter Housing Gasket Replacement (at BMW dealer)
-Fuel Tank Vent Valve replacement (at BMW dealer)
-Transmission replacement (indy performance shop)
-Code clearing (at BMW dealer)
-Brake fluid change (at BMW dealer)

In the invoices and receipts I share, I have omitted information that is either of a personal nature or identifies the warranty or service providers. I have done this to protect both myself and the companies involved. That said, the following experiences have been POSITIVE, this is not in any way an attack or "rant". I have been very happy with my decision to purchase a warranty and would recommend these companies to anyone interested if asked privately. If you noticed something sensitive that I missed, please let me know!

Let's start with the cost of the car and the warranty:

I paid about $23,000 for my bone-stock 2013 135i 6MT M-Sport in Carbon Black with 50k miles on it and nearly every option available, in fantastic condition.

The warranty cost me exactly $3,795, or about 16% of the car's value. This may seem high, but keep in mind the cost of parts for these cars.

Invoice lines from my vehicle and warranty purchase here:


At the time of purchase it felt like a 50/50 shot of this warranty paying off to me. I wasn't sure if I made the right move and somewhat regretted spending all this money. However, this is my second 135i, with every option I wanted, and I intend to keep it for a very long time.

The warranty is in two parts:
Part One is the vehicle wrap, which covers all non-wear components, and even some wear components (ex: the turbo is COVERED for replacement!)
Part Two is the drivetrain coverage, which covers all major drivedtrain components not covered under the wrap, such as the engine and trans.

Each part has it's own $100 deductible: This is, without a doubt, just to be able to charge twice for a deductible if you go into the shop for multiple issues. For example if you go in for a drivetrain item and a wrap item, you'll at least be paying $200 in deductibles.

YOU pay for sales tax on major items: If there's a sales tax, it's passed on to you in certain cases. This is important to consider when looking at high-dollar items like an engine or transmission.

The term is lifetime/unlimited miles: This is what sold me in the end, it's legitimately valid for the life of me, and/or the car, for however many miles I drive it.

Front agreement page for the warranty, there's another for part two that looks just like this:


Case #1: I purchased the car in early February of 2016 - my first use of the warranty came in October when the synchros on 2nd got to the point where it was too bad to ignore. This has been a somewhat common issue on these transmissions from what I've read. I took it to a local performance shop and they had approval from my warranty provider in about a day for the repair. The car was done the next day.

Total cost of the repair came to: $5,201.62 ...Damn.
Out of my pocket went: $602.58 after my deductible and taxes.

So let's look at the tally. $3,795 for the warranty, so far $4,599.04 paid out. Saving me $804.04 overall in the first repair.

Here's the invoice for that repair:


Case #2: A few months later the water pump decides to take a poo at about 60k miles, right on time. This was on Christmas week so the local shops were closed up, I went to a dealership knowing the labor rates would be higher and might be out of budget for the warranty. They also found an issue with the OFHG (typically N55 BS) and a fuel evap vent that needed to be fixed. All 3 items were applied to the warranty, all three approved, two deductibles charged ($200), and 90% of the labor covered. While I was in the shop I also had some other things done, so they are also on this list in the invoice below, a few were cut off when cropped so apologies if the #'s don't add up on the sheet, all math is below.

Total cost of the water pump repair came to: $1,357.02
Oil Filter Housing Gasket: $966.93
Tank Vent Valve: $329.31
Out of my pocket went: $698.43 after my deductibles and taxes (I removed my non-warranty work from the total here).
Aka: $1,954.83 paid out from warranty.

Invoice here, remember some stuff was non-warranty and I cropped a few things out in the interest of image size:



So NOW let's look at the tally once more, $3,795 for the warranty, so far $6,553.87 paid out.

Saving me $3,358.87 overall over the course of just 11 months of ownership. Holy dollas Batman!

I hope this helps someone make a judgement call in the future, these cars are amazing but they are NOT cheap to own. Just because you can afford to BUY the car does not mean you can afford to KEEP it!!


UPDATE
So they finally had enough after I called in for a wheel bearing replacement and they saw the car on non-BMW suspension. Oops. They missed the rest but that's ok lol.

Now here's why this is good news. My warranty agreement states that (paraphrasing for simplicity), "...If your approved vehicle is... modified... we will cancel this contract as of the date we are made aware of such... modification. If we cancel this contract, you will be entitled to a refund computed as of the date and mileage we become aware..."

So yes, the warranty company has to pay out a prorated refund based on the term of the warranty. Even though it is considered lifetime, it somehow counts down from 10 years. I ended up arguing this with them since their contract doesn't state any numbers, percentages, or how the refund is calculated. They eventually agreed, and since there were no specific percentages or rates for the prorated cancellation refund they have decided to refund THE ENTIRE AMOUNT back to me. I'm still in shock lol.

As a final result, I've ended up paying ZERO it's covered $8,800 in repairs, and now I can modify my car to my heart's content. I'd call this a SOLID win in my book!

[Craig in Alabam]

Wow! That looks like money well spent to me! And the lifetime/ unlimited miles makes it even better.

Cheers!
Craig

[tock172]

Nice work! I was running an Excel spreadsheet to track the warranty payback for my 2011 135i. Within only two repairs, it had already paid back 65% of it's initial cost. You've done incredible well for yourself with your warranty. Depending on how you look at it, it has effectively been an investment with a substantial return.

[Esteban]

Yes, you've done well for yourself with that warranty. It's saved you a lot of money. I took a chance and did NOT get an extended warranty when my factory one expired and have been lucky so far. With approx 30K miles, I haven't had any repairs, yet. But eventually... there will be blood! Haha

[dsocold]

i prob hold the title in this segment cpo probably paid out over 30k for me and my tire and wheel warranty paid 13k this far. moral of the story some of these warranty are extremely!!!!! worth it

[mr.fabulous]

Who is your provider (I never know where to start)...

[tomahawk997]

Can't believe you already needed a new transmission at less than 60k miles. Prior owner must have really beat on it. Good call on the warranty.

[tock172]

Originally Posted by dsocold

i prob hold the title in this segment cpo probably paid out over 30k for me and my tire and wheel warranty paid 13k this far. moral of the story some of these warranty are extremely!!!!! worth it

We're gonna need some details.

[Gizmo135i]

Being a BMW tech, I see what these warranties pay out all the time and while some are better then others, it seems like the majority of the time they are paying out wayyy more then the value of the contract... on BMWs anyways deff worth it. I'm even been thinking about getting one myself for the peace of mind... these parts prices add up real quick.

I honestly don't know how some of these companies make money on Bmws

[Gangplank]

They make money b/c not all BMWs need the same repairs. Some do / some don't. I bought the Route66 warranty. Happy with it so far no deductible, and it's good for 5 yrs 100k. I've already had a OFHG done. I expect it to pay for itself over time. If not it's transferable to the next buyer if I ever sell the car. ;-)

[dsocold]

Originally Posted by tock172

We're gonna need some details.

new motor, new transmission, new frm, new belt w pulley, new turbos, later on new turbo seals again, passenger seat(airbag sensor), new power steering pump, new starter, new plugs coils and injectors after installing tune also, and thats really all i can think of right now but i have like 2 binders full of bmw reciepts, my car was practically built at my service center and these were all under cpo besides the motor and turbo replacement were under the original 4 yr warranty. im the second owner bought it 39k miles motor was changed at 50k transmission at 76 and im sittin at 120k right now



as for the tire and wheel warranty i live in ny so yea. lots and oots of flats. and a couple of rims here and there as well and so on....

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Craig in Alabam

Wow! That looks like money well spent to me! And the lifetime/ unlimited miles makes it even better.

Cheers!
Craig

The term really is what sold me, I'm curious to see what the final amount they pay out will be.

Originally Posted by tock172

Nice work! I was running an Excel spreadsheet to track the warranty payback for my 2011 135i. Within only two repairs, it had already paid back 65% of it's initial cost. You've done incredible well for yourself with your warranty. Depending on how you look at it, it has effectively been an investment with a substantial return.

Indeed it has paid itself off and then doubled the return. However I think a more wise investment would have been a more reliable car lol.

Originally Posted by Esteban

Yes, you've done well for yourself with that warranty. It's saved you a lot of money. I took a chance and did NOT get an extended warranty when my factory one expired and have been lucky so far. With approx 30K miles, I haven't had any repairs, yet. But eventually... there will be blood! Haha

For sure! Always worth looking in to - I replied to your PM

Originally Posted by tomahawk997

Can't believe you already needed a new transmission at less than 60k miles. Prior owner must have really beat on it. Good call on the warranty.

Yeah 2nd felt notchy when I first drove the car, and one of the headlights was fogged up. So those two things definitely influenced my decision. THe headlight ended up being fine but the trans, woooo, that was a good call.

Originally Posted by dsocold

new motor, new transmission, new frm, new belt w pulley, new turbos, later on new turbo seals again, passenger seat(airbag sensor), new power steering pump, new starter, new plugs coils and injectors after installing tune also, and thats really all i can think of right now but i have like 2 binders full of bmw reciepts, my car was practically built at my service center and these were all under cpo besides the motor and turbo replacement were under the original 4 yr warranty. im the second owner bought it 39k miles motor was changed at 50k transmission at 76 and im sittin at 120k right now



as for the tire and wheel warranty i live in ny so yea. lots and oots of flats. and a couple of rims here and there as well and so on....

That's insane, new motor at 50k?? AND a trans? What happened?? Also who supplies your tire and wheel warranty? I'm definitely interested, roads here are nuts (DC)

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

Who is your provider (I never know where to start)...

PM on its way - trying to keep the company's names out of this thread

[FreeMan12406]

This is great news to hear, not that you had to go through all these repairs, but that your extended warranty is paying off. I purchased an extended warranty with my '08 135i and began to feel that I may have spent money I didn't need to. But hearing the good that these warranties provide, my mind is at ease. I actually just took my car in to the BMW dealership today for a check engine light. We'll see how that goes if my warranty gets involved.

While nothing has been paid out or used at this point (only had for a month or so) I have Route 66 for those curious. No deductible, turbo's covered, and it's transferable if I sell the car.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

For sure! Always worth looking in to - I replied to your PM

Thanks for the reply Matticus91. Unfortunately, your company does not sell warranties directly to consumers, so they put me in touch with their sister company that works in California that does sell warranties directly to consumers. Unfortunately, the warranty they are offering me is not nearly as comprehensive as yours. I will consider it but probably (in all honesty) will NOT purchase it. Thanks again for the info.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Thanks for the reply Matticus91. Unfortunately, your company does not sell warranties directly to consumers, so they put me in touch with their sister company that works in California that does sell warranties directly to consumers. Unfortunately, the warranty they are offering me is not nearly as comprehensive as yours. I will consider it but probably (in all honesty) will NOT purchase it. Thanks again for the info.

Steve,
Check into the Route66 warranty. It's available through credit union and the price I got was really fair for an aftermarket warranty. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Steve,
Check into the Route66 warranty. It's available through credit union and the price I got was really fair for an aftermarket warranty. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Thanks Josh but I did check with them some time ago and I can't remember the exact reason right now but I couldn't purchase their warranty. I think I had to be a member of a credit union and I couldn't sign up just to get the warranty, I had to be an employee of a company that the credit union was associated with, or something like that.

[Gangplank]

Right but check another. I got mine through SCE credit union. Had to open a $5 account and then could do it. I wound up going w/ them for my banking too. Great service & low loan rates.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Right but check another. I got mine through SCE credit union. Had to open a $5 account and then could do it. I wound up going w/ them for my banking too. Great service & low loan rates.

Actually, checked with a few credit unions, got the same response. Will look into it again. Thanks.

[Hankdoll]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Actually, checked with a few credit unions, got the same response. Will look into it again. Thanks.

Penfed sells route 66 and it's easy to join. I'm thinking about Route 66, but it's $3K.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by Hankdoll

Penfed sells route 66 and it's easy to join. I'm thinking about Route 66, but it's $3K.

Actually, it's $2857, bought it last month. No deductible and for some reason headlights and the radio are NOT covered.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by Hankdoll

Penfed sells route 66 and it's easy to join. I'm thinking about Route 66, but it's $3K.

Price out the OFHG, water pump & thermostat, and window regulator. Those three and your almost there at the dealer or even an Indy.