Extended Warranty and Maintenance Plan?

[karussell]

Originally Posted by SD Z4MR

The S54 engine, used in the E46 M3 and the Z4 M Roadster and Coupe, require a valve adjustment roughly every 30,000 miles. This service, done by a dealer will easily run over $1,500. Done by an independent would still probably run over $1,000.

A friend with an E46 M3 helped me do my valve adjustment shortly after I bought my Z4 M Roadster at 31,600 miles because the original owner hadn't done it. My friend had the shim kit, which costs almost $500, and had done the valve adjustment on his M3. It took us about six hours, including a lunch break. Parts (gaskets and seals mostly) were less than $200.

AFAIK, the S55 engine in the M3/M4 doesn't have any special maintenance requirements.

bingo. S54 valve adjustment. still not worth paying $2k plus for maintenance extension. and diy just gotta be careful and it costs under a grand easily.

S55 no valve adjustment. but what will be needed is removing carbon deposits. aftermarket also has a cost effective solution there.

[karussell]

Originally Posted by fueledbymetal

Thanks all! I will pass on the maintenance program then. The warranty program is something I am interested in but was going to wait until the factory warranty was about to expire to make the final call based on how reliable the car has been up to that point.

now the warranty is all up to how you negotiate with the dealer. also try a few dealers and get quotes on it. you will find it varies greatly. and normally the later you wait to add the extended warranty the higher the price becomes. its fully transferable but make sure of it. also i recommend highest level to include electronics. every BMW from 1999 on up has similar issues. plastics used for cost savings becomes brittle with age and heat cycles. ecu wiring harness also at risk. gets very costly very quickly once things start snapping off if you even look at them wrong.

[Longbow64]

Getting an extended warranty will be much cheaper if you buy it now. I just bought one through USAA on my F80 with 6k miles on it. It covers 75,000 miles or 6 years from the date of purchase. This was $1450 or $81/month same as cash. $0 deductible and transferable for $40. My '13 X3 has 38k miles and the extended warranty on that was $7500, which I'll pass on.

[karussell]

Originally Posted by Longbow64

Getting an extended warranty will be much cheaper if you buy it now. I just bought one through USAA on my F80 with 6k miles on it. It covers 75,000 miles or 6 years from the date of purchase. This was $1450 or $81/month same as cash. $0 deductible and transferable for $40. My '13 X3 has 38k miles and the extended warranty on that was $7500, which I'll pass on.

and as a comparison i had USAA quote me on my E90 M3 with 40k miles on it at the time and nearing end of its 4th year. quote was over $6K for extra 2 years.

[Longbow64]

Mistyped. The extended service on the X3 with 38k miles is $3300.

[JoeFromPA]

From what I understand, carbon deposit cleaning will not be covered under extended maintenance.

[fueledbymetal]

I had no idea USAA offered an extended warranty! They're my insurer, so I'll get a quote from them.

[VectorRalf]

Originally Posted by SD Z4MR

The S54 engine, used in the E46 M3 and the Z4 M Roadster and Coupe, require a valve adjustment roughly every 30,000 miles. This service, done by a dealer will easily run over $1,500. Done by an independent would still probably run over $1,000.

A friend with an E46 M3 helped me do my valve adjustment shortly after I bought my Z4 M Roadster at 31,600 miles because the original owner hadn't done it. My friend had the shim kit, which costs almost $500, and had done the valve adjustment on his M3. It took us about six hours, including a lunch break. Parts (gaskets and seals mostly) were less than $200.

AFAIK, the S55 engine in the M3/M4 doesn't have any special maintenance requirements.

Ahh yes that was it, thanks for clearing that up. Good to know the new engine is not as maintenance heavy. So I guess I didn't need to get the extension after all. Time will tell... we'll know in 6 years

[dgp]

BMW currently has under website configuration $3495 upgrade for free maintenance for 2 years and 50K miles from original maintenance plan expiring. Didn't the OP say he was quoted $2k? How has the price gone up in just a few months?

[48Laws]

Sales through fear. The only package I would recommend would be the rim/tire package.

[CanAutM3]

It's like going to the Casino. You win some and you lose some, however, in the end, the house always makes a profit.

[Carl L]

Ext maint. plan is always a bad idea, especially at purchase time. Warranty is the only one you want, as karussel said.

[Rx7andy]

Hello,

May be this topic had been discussed previously but I did not find it. Is it worth it to purchase the Extended Warranty if I plan to keep the M3 more than 4 years or to make it easier to sell later?

If so, what kind of price quotes have people been getting for the 3 levels of coverage?

Thanks.

Andy

[harrisch]

Originally Posted by Rx7andy

Hello,

May be this topic had been discussed previously but I did not find it. Is it worth it to purchase the Extended Warranty if I plan to keep the M3 more than 4 years or to make it easier to sell later?

If so, what kind of price quotes have people been getting for the 3 levels of coverage?

Thanks.

Andy

i should be receiving my car this week and can report back with quotes i get for the three levels - i plan on getting the gold plan for 7 years 100,000 mile coverage just coz i love to drive a lot (road trips etc) and plan to keep the car for at least that period of time.

of course if anyone else can chime in before i finalize my deal with information it would be much appreciated as it may help me negotiate better.

[Unixed]

I have a neighbor that does financing for BMW. He quoted me his cost on my F80:
Platinum 6yr 100k
$4940
7yr 100k
$6380

Some how I don't believe his numbers. Maybe that is cost and they keep all of the rebates or something. Cost seems too high.

[Carl L]

Originally Posted by Unixed

I have a neighbor that does financing for BMW. He quoted me his cost on my F80:
Platinum 6yr 100k
$4940
7yr 100k
$6380

Some how I don't believe his numbers. Maybe that is cost and they keep all of the rebates or something. Cost seems too high.

I was quoted $6,680 without negotiating for the BMW NA Platinum 7/100. So if your neighbor is to be believed then the dealer only makes $400 from BMW's most expensive warranty. Certainly warrants (pun intended) further investigation.

[bayarea328xit]

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...contracts.aspx

PDF has coverage information

[funk74]

Originally Posted by bayarea328xit

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...contracts.aspx

PDF has coverage information

From the looks of that the difference between them seems to be that the power train plus excludes all the gaskets and boots, so basically all the rubber stuff in the engine and transmission. I'm sure all of these are high wear parts and probably fail depending on the weather and other environmental stresses placed on the car over 7 years. I'd like to see some data on how long these rubber parts actually last.

the gold includes all of those, but does not include the infotainment system.
after 4-7 years if the radio goes out, i'd just get a new radio/nav system instead of the stock system. probably cheaper then the difference in the price from the gold to platinum anyway.

So for me, if I ever thought about getting it, it would be between the Powertrain Plus and the Gold.

but these warranty prices make me want to go

I'd just wait and see till my included warranty was close to ending to decide. Why do I want to give them a free loan for 4 years???

[///M///]

Originally Posted by funk74

From the looks of that the difference between them seems to be that the power train plus excludes all the gaskets and boots, so basically all the rubber stuff in the engine and transmission. I'm sure all of these are high wear parts and probably fail depending on the weather and other environmental stresses placed on the car over 7 years. I'd like to see some data on how long these rubber parts actually last.

the gold includes all of those, but does not include the infotainment system.
after 4-7 years if the radio goes out, i'd just get a new radio/nav system instead of the stock system. probably cheaper then the difference in the price from the gold to platinum anyway.

So for me, if I ever thought about getting it, it would be between the Powertrain Plus and the Gold.

but these warranty prices make me want to go

I'd just wait and see till my included warranty was close to ending to decide. Why do I want to give them a free loan for 4 years???

For my E90, I paid $2700 for 7yr/70k for PowerTrain Plus. Bought it a week before the 4 years ended. It did not cover the DCT leak however.

[nicknaz]

Anyone here have first hand experience making a major claim to the geico mechanical breakdown insurance?

[3er]

I ended up getting the Powertrain Plus warranty for 6 years or 100k miles. I'm not sure if I'll keep the car that long, but I wouldn't get rid of it for warranty reasons now (it's also refundable and transferable). If I do go beyond the 4 years, I'll sleep well knowing the major components will be covered in the event of a failure.

[Gstone]

Originally Posted by 3er

I ended up getting the Powertrain Plus warranty for 6 years or 100k miles. I'm not sure if I'll keep the car that long, but I wouldn't get rid of it for warranty reasons now (it's also refundable and transferable). If I do go beyond the 4 years, I'll sleep well knowing the major components will be covered in the event of a failure.

What did u pay?