Gold Extended Warranty -

[GM1]

I'm struggling with whether I want to spend the money on an extended warranty or take my chances. I'm sure this has been covered in other discussions but worth revisitng from time to time.

I was quoted essentially $150 a month for 3 years - basically $1,800 a year.

My 135i is 2011 with about 28,000 miles at this point. The car is now out of warranty so any failures/fixes come out of my pocket.

Questions for you guys, looking for some general opinions:

What are the major failures or repairs between say 30K and 100K?
Which are the most expensive?
Any sense how long folks keep these cars? – past 100K etc..

I’m at a point where I need to consider keeping or selling as the car could become very expensive when you factor in payment, insurance and either repairs or extended warranty. It’s a weekend driver only -

Thanks for any inputs

[One35iMT]

2009 135i 72K miles on it, w/extended warranty
Repaired:
-Fuel injectors at 55k
-Water pump and Two turbos at 65K
-One coil at 71K
-planning to visit regards to clunking noise comes from suspension

[DSSG]

You are buying an aftermarket warranty? I assume this isn't from BMW? I wouldn't buy any warranty unless it was from BMW.

Let's assume that this warranty isn't bogus and gives good protection against mechanical failures. To know if this is a good deal, you have to look at the alternative. In your case, selling the car and buying another. That really isn't as simple as you might think. You have to figure the purchase price, financing, insurance, maintenance costs, fuel, and finally the depreciation of the vehicle over the three years. This will give you a total dollar cost.

Next we have to figure the total dollar cost of your current vehicle. We already know the warranty is $150/month plus we need to add in the same above costs for the new vehicle. There are some costs that we can't rightly fully figure like enjoyment or satisfaction which may be negative or positive.

BMW have a notorious reputation for having expensive repairs. Just read a few posts like the one about a battery. There are plenty of others. However, BMW may have created this situation by it's own advertising, The Ultimate Driving Machine. Certain brands attract certain kinds of drivers. Mercedes for example, old fat guys with fat wallets while BMW seems to get its share of gear heads who enjoy hammering their cars in auto crossing or racing around a track!

I think BMW may be trying to change this image plus the brand has lost some of its panache in recent years probably trying to appeal to a broader audience. In any case, I view the car as an enjoyable ride with better than average handling with some extra oomph under the hood. If you take reasonable care of it and don't beat it to death, it may provide you with good service. Notice the word "may".

[ejm3]

I'll be in the same boat in a year from now and I'm already sweating this out.
A few things to consider:
1) $1,800/yr for 3 years sounds high to me based on what Ive read here. I was thinking for the Gold it was more like $3600 for all three years but I could be wrong.
2) Your car has very few miles considering its a 2011
3) Its not your daily driver
4) How long do you plan on keeping the car?
5) Do you plan on putting on significantly more miles than you currently have been (about 7k/yr)

The first thing I would do is shop around to see if that's really the going rate for the warranty.

If I were you and still planning on putting only 7k miles per year on the car I might not bother. At that rate you will likely spend less than $1800.yr on repairs.

Edit: Yes I agree I would avoid an aftermarket warranty in favor on the BMW one.

[GM1]

Originally Posted by DSSG

You are buying an aftermarket warranty? I assume this isn't from BMW? I wouldn't buy any warranty unless it was from BMW.

Let's assume that this warranty isn't bogus and gives good protection against mechanical failures. To know if this is a good deal, you have to look at the alternative. In your case, selling the car and buying another. That really isn't as simple as you might think. You have to figure the purchase price, financing, insurance, maintenance costs, fuel, and finally the depreciation of the vehicle over the three years. This will give you a total dollar cost.

Next we have to figure the total dollar cost of your current vehicle. We already know the warranty is $150/month plus we need to add in the same above costs for the new vehicle. There are some costs that we can't rightly fully figure like enjoyment or satisfaction which may be negative or positive.

BMW have a notorious reputation for having expensive repairs. Just read a few posts like the one about a battery. There are plenty of others. However, BMW may have created this situation by it's own advertising, The Ultimate Driving Machine. Certain brands attract certain kinds of drivers. Mercedes for example, old fat guys with fat wallets while BMW seems to get its share of gear heads who enjoy hammering their cars in auto crossing or racing around a track!

I think BMW may be trying to change this image plus the brand has lost some of its panache in recent years probably trying to appeal to a broader audience. In any case, I view the car as an enjoyable ride with better than average handling with some extra oomph under the hood. If you take reasonable care of it and don't beat it to death, it may provide you with good service. Notice the word "may".

Thanks for the helpful input. ! To answer your question the $150 a month warranty is direct from a BMW dealer.

[DSSG]

Is it a BMW warranty? Dealers often sell warranties offered by other companies than BMW.

In any case, you need to read the contract. Many of them have so many exceptions as to be totally worthless. The BMW warranty is pretty straight forward.

[potxoli]

I will face this decision too on my 29K 2011 135 this coming march. I am most likely going to go no warranty.

I have a much simpler thought process than the above. I budget $2000 per repair incident. It is arbitrary, but short of a complete engine or transmission failure, $2K would cover most other repairs on average.

Let's simplify for sake of argument and let's say your warranty costs $1800/yr and my repair estimate are the same. Close enough. That means if you have 1-2 repair incidents over three years, you are better off not getting the warranty, if you have 3 your break even and if you have more than three you are better off with the warranty.

I've been on this forum for a long time, and the number of people complaining about 4 or more $2000+ repairs in the span of 36 months is very slim. I believe the odds are much more likely that you have fewer than 3 repairs. So I would skip the warranty personally. Just make sure to save the cash you save on a repair fund. Don't spend it on starbucks lol.

One other crazy idea: As a result of having bought my 17 year old son a 2001 Land Rover discovery with 125k miles for $3000, I have lived up to the adage "Land Rover, proudly turning owners into mechanics for over 65 years". So far I've swapped out radiator and water pump, power steering pump, pads and rotors etc. I now feel much more comfortable fixing things myself. So for me personally, I think the $2000/repair estimate is way overblown since really if I can fix it myself, it is just about parts costs. So my advice, use the warranty money to buy a project car. The experience you get on a "disposable" car will save you money in the long run. At least that is one way to justify it to the wife

[GM1]

Originally Posted by DSSG

Is it a BMW warranty? Dealers often sell warranties offered by other companies than BMW.

In any case, you need to read the contract. Many of them have so many exceptions as to be totally worthless. The BMW warranty is pretty straight forward.

Good question - I believe it's a third party warranty but I should clarrify with the dealer - thanks again

[DSSG]

BMW labor rates run $125 -> $200/hour my area. Check out some posts of typical repairs for injectors, Vanos bolts, Vanos solenoids, coil packs, et al. If you buy an extended warrant before your warranty expires, you can buy a BMW one covering mechanical issues for around $2,500 for three years. From what I've seen, that could be close to one repair.

Incidentally, Consumer Reports recommended an extended warranty only for Mercedes and BMW. $800/year doesn't sound too bad for peace of mind?

[DSSG]

Originally Posted by GM1

Good question - I believe it's a third party warranty but I should clarrify with the dealer - thanks again

BTW, you are paying all the money up front not $150/month. If you sell the car or it gets wrecked, you don't get a refund or rebate.

You have a tough choice to make.

[GM1]

Originally Posted by DSSG

BTW, you are paying all the money up front not $150/month. If you sell the car or it gets wrecked, you don't get a refund or rebate.

You have a tough choice to make.

Thanks good point , this would be a monthly payment of 150.00 - with a couple hundred down up front - not a lump sum of $5,400.

[DSSG]

That doesn't sound like anything BMW would sell.

[GM1]

Originally Posted by DSSG

That doesn't sound like anything BMW would sell.

Checked last night - the warranty being offered by the BMW dealer is from a company called Hendrick

[ejm3]

If I were you I would stick with the BMW factory extened warranty, or just roll the dice.

[DSSG]

If you buy Hendricks, are you on the hook for the monthly payment even if you no longer own the car? My advice to you is forget about it!

[saveferris]

A couple other things to consider. Is the warranty transferable? not sure if you plan to keep the car but if you sell it a transferable warranty may be of value.

I've worked in the insurance industry for 25 years, it's life, health, and annuity but if you think of that in terms of warranties on people it's the same game. Every company I've worked for is highly profitable. I never buy extended warranties to save money, I know how much money is made on them.

Put the $150/month in a savings account and you'll have it for repairs if needed. You'll come out ahead in the long run doing that.

If it's better for you to fork over the $150/month because you don't have enough cash around if your transmission goes belly up next month then you should do that but in the end you'll likely lose money.

If you need the peace of mind, if it's something you want to have for resale than get it. But, don't do it to save money because you won't.

[Overpar56]

Everything a dealer sells has a price and then there's the price they're willing to sell it to you for. The finance guy has his nut to make and getting a little lower commission vs you walking away, they'll take the cash. I'm sure they have a margin of 20% to play with.

I'd stick to the BMW warranty since it might be transferable and they'd use genuine BMW parts (one would think). Hendricks is large but it's not BMW.

The BMW I bought my CPO from tried to get me into an extended warranty but the cost was way out of line. Since I'm still covered to 50k and 2016 on the 4 year factory, I'm probably good with just the CPO until 2019/100K.

Good advice is to stick the $150 in a direct deposit account (credit Union) every month and forget about it. Pay for big service costs out of it, not the oil changes and brake pads. Do that and you're not paying some finance charge Hendricks is adding to the cost of the contract over 36 months and you might have more left than you think.

[KyleC]

I'm in the same boat. 2011 135 with 26k miles. I have to make the decision by the end of the month on whether or not to extend.

Are all aftermarket warranties crap? I had one through MBPI on a z06 and it was great. I only used it once but I went to the dealer and they gave me new parts.

[ejm3]

I have several concerns with third-party warranties. What do they cover, where can I take it to get fixed, is it transferrable, will they actually pay and most importantly will they still be in business three years from now?

At least with the BMW warranty you kind of know what you're getting and you're pretty sure they'll still be around in 3 years!

[GM1]

[QUOTE=

Good advice is to stick the $150 in a direct deposit account (credit Union) every month and forget about it. Pay for big service costs out of it, not the oil changes and brake pads. Do that and you're not paying some finance charge Hendricks is adding to the cost of the contract over 36 months and you might have more left than you think.[/QUOTE]

After reading what you guys are suggesting I'm tending to agree with the $150 a month in a special account approach. Makes a lot of sense.

[Overpar56]

GM1

That price they quoted you seems high for third party. I was offered a Mazda extended warranty on my CX7 for something like $2k for 7 yrs/80k miles. I got them down to $1300. The only reaso I got it was the DISI-based turbo is prone to fail at 50K and my wife has no concept of letting the car warm up a bit before throwing it in reverse and flying down the driveway over the curb. So far we're at 51K and no issues. Mazdas are pretty darn reliable.

[mr.fabulous]

Originally Posted by Overpar56

GM1

That price they quoted you seems high for third party. I was offered a Mazda extended warranty on my CX7 for something like $2k for 7 yrs/80k miles. I got them down to $1300. The only reaso I got it was the DISI-based turbo is prone to fail at 50K and my wife has no concept of letting the car warm up a bit before throwing it in reverse and flying down the driveway over the curb. So far we're at 51K and no issues. Mazdas are pretty darn reliable.

i love your wife