Warranty opinions

[gabeyts]

I know this topic has been beaten to death but would like members' input on my specific situation.

My car is a 2012 135i with DCT w/ 49.5k miles and so far has had the following covered by CPO:

DCT leak - 2 years ago
Oil pan gasket leak - 2 years ago
HPFP failure - 1 year ago
Water pump failure - This year
Charge pipe failure - This year

They offered me 1 year of BMW Platinum coverage for $2300. Does this seem worth it for only a year? My biggest fear (maybe irrational) is DCT failure which to fix is in the 10s of thousands. Any input is much appreciated!

[captain slowly]

one year for $2300 is too much. Shop around. I personally have First Mile, which is one of the higher rated companies. Warranty prices are based on current mileage, so for me, a 5 year/60000 miles with 0 deductible was less than $1500, but my car only had 6700 miles when I bought it last year. Point is, having a warranty is nice if you're keeping the car stock, but shop around for a decent company to deal with.

[ShocknAwe]

If you can find something that will give you more like 3-5 years of coverage with ~50k miles allowed it might be worth it.

Big gamble. That's why these insurance plans are sold.

[NVHoo]

BMW warranty is way too expensive. I have and would recommend an aftermarket. Got mine through CarMax when I got the car 5 years 50K for $2K and they have already paid double that in my 1.5 years of ownership. Based on Consumer Reports data at the time, I thought the 1er had average reliability but that has not been my experience, nor yours.

[gabeyts]

Originally Posted by NVHoo

BMW warranty is way too expensive. I have and would recommend an aftermarket. Got mine through CarMax when I got the car 5 years 50K for $2K and they have already paid double that in my 1.5 years of ownership. Based on Consumer Reports data at the time, I thought the 1er had average reliability but that has not been my experience, nor yours.

They only sell warranties on cars they sold right? If only it was also any car

[Ric in RVA]

What I want is a cheap warranty with a LARGE deductible. I'll take care of the everything up to say $2500 bucks. I just want protection if a transmission or engine drops dead.

I have yet to find a company that will do large deductible and low premium.

R

[ignote]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

What I want is a cheap warranty with a LARGE deductible. I'll take care of the everything up to say $2500 bucks. I just want protection if a transmission or engine drops dead.

I have yet to find a company that will do large deductible and low premium.

R

Agreed. I would be happy if it only covered the DCT and the engine internals.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by ignote

Agreed. I would be happy if it only covered the DCT and the engine internals.

Yep, I'd buy that.

[NVHoo]

Most aftermarket companies offer a drivetrain-only option. I had Warranty Direct on a car 15 years ago and was happy with them.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by NVHoo

Most aftermarket companies offer a drivetrain-only option. I had Warranty Direct on a car 15 years ago and was happy with them.

Did you use it? If so, for what.

[xlr231]

I've seen a few people posting good things about a Warranty Solutions Lifetime Limited powertrain warranty. I haven't been able a dealer who sells it without also buying a car from them at the same time.

[Gangplank]

Route 66. They have 3 different warranty levels. I got the easy street I think it's called. Pretty much bumper to bumper, no deductible, 5 years 100k mi for about 2500 to 2800 depending on car year. Fully transferable if you sell the car.

[NVHoo]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Did you use it? If so, for what.

I bought a 2001 Audi TT roadster new. It seemed like every 9 months or so some minor thing broke (they tell you not to buy the first year of a car for good reason) so when the new car warranty expired in 2005 I shopped around and Warranty Direct seemed to have a good reputation and was about 1/3 cheaper than an Audi warranty. I got a bumper to bumper for about $2K 4/years 50k and the car continued to have some minor issue about every 9 months and I broke even versus if I had not had a warranty. If I had a drivetrain-only warranty I would never have used it. I traded my 2001with 90K on the ticker for a 2004 Audi TT with 7K on the ticker in 2007 and they had eliminated all of the new car problems by that time and it was trouble free until I traded it for my present 2011 TT in 2013 which has also been trouble free.

There were some items Warranty Direct did not cover and the Audi warranty did. The Audi warranty prohibited a dealer from charging them or me a rip-off diagnostic fee. Warranty Direct would not pay it so I had to battle with the Service Manager to get it removed. Fortunately a new dealership opened in Vegas that did not charge diagnostic fees. Warranty Direct did not pay for the cost of fluids so if you had you automatic tranny worked on (I did not) you would have to pay for the replacement fluid. Also, on the bumper to bumper Warranty Direct did not pay for anything associated with lights as they were considered a wear item and if my self-leveling front headlamps broke it would have cost me $1K. Fortunately they did not. I had all of my work done at the dealer and except for the diagnostic fee issue, it worked very well. So the last time I had dealings with Warranty Direct was 2007 and things may have changed since then.

[HyeWarrior]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Route 66. They have 3 different warranty levels. I got the easy street I think it's called. Pretty much bumper to bumper, no deductible, 5 years 100k mi for about 2500 to 2800 depending on car year. Fully transferable if you sell the car.

Dumb question, does "bumper to bumper" include transmission?

[NVHoo]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Dumb question, does "bumper to bumper" include transmission?

The first is exclusionary. That is, it lists the things that are not covered. This includes most bumper to bumper. The second is inclusionary which means it lists what is covered. Most drivetrain-only warranties are inclusionary. You still need to be careful. Some companies define the drivetrain as starting at the pistons so injectors, air intake system, starter, alternator, etc are no included.

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

Dumb question, does "bumper to bumper" include transmission?

The Route66 warranty I got through my credit union does, yes.