2008.... 1 series: SURVEY

[jonack]

Our warranty is expiring soon.... SO, are you planning to get the extended warranty? If not, why not????

[JefryHorizon]

I'm already on extended warranty, right now I'm considering extended maintenance. It all depends on how happy you are with the car you could say.

[KingOfJericho]

should have made this a poll...

[Venom]

Probably not, all of the nitpicks of my car seem to have been fixed. The ahl's failed twice and have been fixed since. But they failed back to back which makes me think that the first tech didn't really fix the problem.

My 3rd brake light has been creaking, especially after the last wash. And the car has been idling a little funky as of late. <- probably time to look into HPFP #4

I've had the car since last summer and I can say that other than the mixed bag I mentioned above, the car has been clean so I am not worried about much. There is one thing I am curious about though, I have heard that the VANOS system is notorious for failing depending on the model of the bimmer. Is this under (powertrain) warranty or will I have to replace it myself down the road?

I may ask my dealership to clean out any of the infamous carbon buildup and see whether or not BMW denies it.

[jonack]

From the discussions I have had with my BMW rep, there is no powertrain warranty beyond the 50,000 miles / 4 years. However, I believe BMW extended the fuel pump warranty to 100,000 miles because of the pending class action lawsuit....

[ptack]

got one when I bought the car - heh, heh, heh

[zamboni]

My service rep told me not to get the ext maint it's not worth it.

[Guildenstern]

I'm not getting Extended Warranty or Maintenance. Never had good luck with either in the past. I'll feel better putting the money aside for if something happens then throw more of my salary away on the insurance roulette game. They can get fat on somebody else.

[Venom]

Good to know.

Originally Posted by jonack

From the discussions I have had with my BMW rep, there is no powertrain warranty beyond the 50,000 miles / 4 years. However, I believe BMW extended the fuel pump warranty to 100,000 miles because of the pending class action lawsuit....

[MZWIE]

Never, ever buy an extended warranty for anything. Especially a car. Total waste of money.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by jonack

Our warranty is expiring soon.... SO, are you planning to get the extended warranty? If not, why not????

No, because I try to save $$$ wherever possible.

If I had purchased the extended warranty for my E46 (traded in at 97,000 miles), I would have been out at least $1,000.

Tom

[BFD99]

I've been trying to figure this out for months now, I have until March 24th to decide. Had my car since October and I really haven't had any issues. I've put 13,000 miles on the car since I got it, and keep wondering if i was to take the $2000 or so and use it elsewhere and then fix the car myself when something went wrong. I can't figure out what to do!!!

[HIPSI]

Currently @ 57k miles... so far so very good... rollin the dice here

[1speedbike]

Yes, bought the gold warranty (everything but radio/nav covered til 100K).

Why?

Matt/ user BrokenVert:

"Well its apparently official. 6 months after doing the HPFP recall ive had a full injector and sparkplug failure...which apparently has caused $2600 in damage...." @ 71K miles


users K20z3allmotor, 335rocks, balance, sikH335, Turkeybaster115, and many more, plus ar_design's 335 (all N54 motor):

Water pump failure. Varying mileage, from 17K, 67K, 81K, etc. ~$700 part, plus labor times quoted between 3 and 8(??) hours.


user Murph335 (and many others):

Excessive carbon buildup. Not covered under warranty, but carbon buildup can damage the engine and lead to other problems. $850 for engine cleanup (with a 15% off coupon).


user Stinger:

Fuel injector failure, out of warranty, $1,700.


There are many more horror stories, I just searched randomly and picked up these few. I would never want a highly tuned turbo car like this one without a warranty. I think it's worth it. It's really a gamble, and most likely nothing too catastrophic will ever happen, but... what if??

But the maintenance plan isn't, except for helping to pay for new brake pads etc. What do you get? Oil changes that most of us do ourselves more often anyway.. windshield wipers? But that's just my opinion.

[BFD99]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

Yes, bought the gold warranty (everything but radio/nav covered til 100K).

Why?

Matt/ user BrokenVert:

"Well its apparently official. 6 months after doing the HPFP recall ive had a full injector and sparkplug failure...which apparently has caused $2600 in damage...." @ 71K miles


users K20z3allmotor, 335rocks, balance, sikH335, Turkeybaster115, and many more, plus ar_design's 335 (all N54 motor):

Water pump failure. Varying mileage, from 17K, 67K, 81K, etc. ~$700 part, plus labor times quoted between 3 and 8(??) hours.


user Murph335 (and many others):

Excessive carbon buildup. Not covered under warranty, but carbon buildup can damage the engine and lead to other problems. $850 for engine cleanup (with a 15% off coupon).


user Stinger:

Fuel injector failure, out of warranty, $1,700.


There are many more horror stories, I just searched randomly and picked up these few. I would never want a highly tuned turbo car like this one without a warranty. I think it's worth it. It's really a gamble, and most likely nothing too catastrophic will ever happen, but... what if??

But the maintenance plan isn't, except for helping to pay for new brake pads etc. What do you get? Oil changes that most of us do ourselves more often anyway.. windshield wipers? But that's just my opinion.

Speedbike, you may hold sold me..... How much did you pay if you don't mine me asking?

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by BFD99

Speedbike, you may hold sold me..... How much did you pay if you don't mine me asking?

Mine was about $2800 for 6 years/100,000 miles total for everything covered except the radio and navigation (I think the price is "officially" $3000 though). They offer a program below it that covers the essentials (engine, brakes, turbos, tranny, brakes, the whole powertrain pretty much) for about $1000 less. Though if you choose this, if anything cosmetic breaks (for example, my steering wheel trim is peeling off), it's not covered. I think I only went for the "gold" plan because I knew my steering wheel was having issues and my 3rd brake light is prone to cracking, and these are covered under the gold but not the basic as I understand.

They also offer the platinum program, which covers the radio and navigation systems at a bigger price, but I didn't really ask about it. On top of this, you can get the extended maintenance program, but as I said above I think it's a waste unless you plan to go through brake pads a lot (or rotors? if they're a "wear and tear" item, but I'm not sure). Those are the only things I can think of that would ever justify $2000 for extra maintenance.

And obviously, nothing at all may happen to your car. A lot of people post about problems, but some people have no problems at all. I just think the N54 turbo engine is particularly problem-prone, so I like to have peace of mind. The price is a little steep, and sure, most of the things I dug up from the forums cost less to fix than the plan costs, but what if my water pump breaks (strangely common on BMWs in the 50-100K mileage range as I hear it), and then what happened to BrokenVert's car happened to mine? I'd have lost a grand at least. This way, at least I know I already spent the money and it won't be a haedache down the road. But to each their own, and I understand why some people might not agree with getting the extended plan. I think the basic plan is definitely worth it though, since it costs less than BrokenVert's single problem does. I spent an extra $1000 pretty much for cosmetics haha.

[onkloud9]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

And obviously, nothing at all may happen to your car. A lot of people post about problems, but some people have no problems at all. I just think the N54 turbo engine is particularly problem-prone, so I like to have peace of mind. The price is a little steep, and sure, most of the things I dug up from the forums cost less to fix than the plan costs, but what if my water pump breaks (strangely common on BMWs in the 50-100K mileage range as I hear it), and then what happened to BrokenVert's car happened to mine? I'd have lost a grand at least. This way, at least I know I already spent the money and it won't be a haedache down the road. But to each their own, and I understand why some people might not agree with getting the extended plan. I think the basic plan is definitely worth it though, since it costs less than BrokenVert's single problem does. I spent an extra $1000 pretty much for cosmetics haha.

My water pump failed at 48500. Just traded the 1 in for a Golf R.

FWIW, I've replaced both turbo banks due to wastegate issues, all six injectors, HPFP x3, and my water pump, not to mention several dealer flashes, recalls, and overnight stays over the course of three and a half years. The water pump failure while driving on the highway during rush hour was the straw that broke the camels back. I was trying to hold out for the Extended Warranty group buy, but just couldn't. Mechanically, the car was completely stock. I didn't abuse the car, drove it spiritedly, autox it twice.

My advice is if you have a problematic car or early build N54, don't mind the deductible, and plan on keeping it for a while, I'd get the warranty.

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by onkloud9

My water pump failed at 48500. Just traded the 1 in for a Golf R.

FWIW, I've replaced both turbo banks due to wastegate issues, all six injectors, HPFP x3, and my water pump, not to mention several dealer flashes, recalls, and overnight stays over the course of three and a half years. The water pump failure while driving on the highway during rush hour was the straw that broke the camels back. I was trying to hold out for the Extended Warranty group buy, but just couldn't. Mechanically, the car was completely stock. I didn't abuse the car, drove it spiritedly, autox it twice.

My advice is if you have a problematic car or early build N54, don't mind the deductible, and plan on keeping it for a while, I'd get the warranty.

Holy crap! You definitely got a lemon. Everything seems to have been wrong with it. I don't blame you for switching away from the 1, even though 99+% of people will never have stuff that catastrophic happen.

BTW, how's the Golf R in comparison?

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by onkloud9

My water pump failed at 48500. Just traded the 1 in for a Golf R.

FWIW, I've replaced both turbo banks due to wastegate issues, all six injectors, HPFP x3, and my water pump, not to mention several dealer flashes, recalls, and overnight stays over the course of three and a half years. The water pump failure while driving on the highway during rush hour was the straw that broke the camels back. I was trying to hold out for the Extended Warranty group buy, but just couldn't. Mechanically, the car was completely stock. I didn't abuse the car, drove it spiritedly, autox it twice.

My advice is if you have a problematic car or early build N54, don't mind the deductible, and plan on keeping it for a while, I'd get the warranty.

Funny, done all that, as well as the ECU, a few CHMSL's and the tail lights. Also looking at a Golf R. Curious how you like it.

[onkloud9]

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

Holy crap! You definitely got a lemon. Everything seems to have been wrong with it. I don't blame you for switching away from the 1, even though 99+% of people will never have stuff that catastrophic happen.

BTW, how's the Golf R in comparison?

You're probably right, my car was a poor example of an N54 135i. I will however praise the service dept for always fixing whatever was broken, no questions asked, and I always had a decent BMW loaner. Personally, I'm torn. On one hand, I loved it when it was working properly. On the other, it broke down on me and had to be serviced on more times than any car previous. She's like the psycho hot girlfriend who is amazing in the sack but goes completely mental on you once in a while. I will miss it though.

Golf R is not as quick but its not a slouch. It's only got 150 miles so I have barely touched the thing. It slingshots out of corners with no complaints, def handles better than a stock 1. APR will come eventually, stage 1+ (software/HPFP) nets 338/335, slightly less on 91. Needs a DG SSK.

[jo]

Originally Posted by onkloud9

My water pump failed at 48500. Just traded the 1 in for a Golf R.

FWIW, I've replaced both turbo banks due to wastegate issues, all six injectors, HPFP x3, and my water pump, not to mention several dealer flashes, recalls, and overnight stays over the course of three and a half years. The water pump failure while driving on the highway during rush hour was the straw that broke the camels back. I was trying to hold out for the Extended Warranty group buy, but just couldn't. Mechanically, the car was completely stock. I didn't abuse the car, drove it spiritedly, autox it twice.

My advice is if you have a problematic car or early build N54, don't mind the deductible, and plan on keeping it for a while, I'd get the warranty.

chipping in late - i'd get the warranty too. i got my 2008 135i as a CPO so extended warranty was included. since going into the extended period at the beginning of 2012, i've had the driver's side window fall off the track and basically be stuck open (realign and replace window regulator), and then had the water pump fail. all by 40k. so i'd say it's paid for itself.

[jo]

Originally Posted by onkloud9

You're probably right, my car was a poor example of an N54 135i. I will however praise the service dept for always fixing whatever was broken, no questions asked, and I always had a decent BMW loaner. Personally, I'm torn. On one hand, I loved it when it was working properly. On the other, it broke down on me and had to be serviced on more times than any car previous. She's like the psycho hot girlfriend who is amazing in the sack but goes completely mental on you once in a while. I will miss it though.

Golf R is not as quick but its not a slouch. It's only got 150 miles so I have barely touched the thing. It slingshots out of corners with no complaints, def handles better than a stock 1. APR will come eventually, stage 1+ (software/HPFP) nets 338/335, slightly less on 91. Needs a DG SSK.

it's like i've been saying for the past year or so: owning a N54 135i is like being in an abusive relationship.

mine is going back... tomorrow. BMW repurchase under CA lemon law for the HPFP issues. i'm pretty sad about it, but i'm laying off BMW for a while to recover. also thinking about a golf R, coincidentally....