Extended Warranty and Maintenance Plan?

[RocketBoots]

I know a lot of people lease, or plan to change cars within 4 years, but in case some keep it longer, are you getting an extended 6yr/100k warranty? What have been people's cost/coverage? Does that include the free maintenance (original owner only)?

[Carl L]

Through BMW, I think you can go as far as 100k/7 years for bumper to bumper. I'm likely getting this at some point. Price goes up as the miles pass 10k, of course the price is always negotiable. Beware aftermarket ones which dealers sell as official.

Maint. is a different plan and I wouldn't bother with it after the 4/50 expires.

[RocketBoots]

Dealers seem to have many versions of an "official" warranty. Kind of confusing. Had a friend get a CPO 335 with additional 2 yrs warranty, maint included, but it's actually not the BMW one, as he was lead to believe; it's from the autogroup. Still pretty decent, but you have to go to one of their dealerships.

[gearboxtrouble]

You have until the last day of year 4 to opt in. The only benefit to doing it early is in the event of future price hikes. If you intend to keep the car past year 4 the drivetrain extended warranty (lowest tier) is a no brainer. I kept my e92 M3 for 5 and a bit years (waiting for the f82) and I needed to have the mechatronics unit on the DCT replaced (lost all odd numbered gears). This was a US $8000 repair and fully covered under the extended warranty. I even got a sweet 550i loaner for the month or so it took. If they'd had to replace the entire DCT, my SA told me that would have been $16000 in parts alone, also covered by the extended warranty. You definitely need it for the expensive drivetrain bits. The rest is a total waste. If you own an M3/4 you can easily afford 2-3k for major maintenance and minor repairs.

The best thing was that after I got the new M4, I cancelled the old plan and they refunded me 50% of what I paid (pro rated 1 year).

[jeff4598]

Not sure re BMW's policy but when we bought a Mazda I found out they pro-rated the extended warranty from THE DATE OF PURCHASE, not when you start using/ needing it. So if the car has three extra years tacked on to the three year factory warranty and it's stolen at three years and one day you get HALF your money back.

[Wah]

BMW's OEM extended warranty is not prorated. You don't have to worry about it until your 4yr/50k is expiring. Also, extended maintenance is not the same as the extended warranty... a mistake I see here way too often.

[superrobo]

I paid $5K for Platinum 7yr/70000 miles extended Warranty with $50 deductable ...
this is from BMW NA (got a letter from BMW with the contract and a handbook) ...
This will have the same coverage as the 4yr/50000 miles factory warranty.

[kid bootney]

Originally Posted by Wah

BMW's OEM extended warranty is not prorated. You don't have to worry about it until your 4yr/50k is expiring. Also, extended maintenance is not the same as the extended warranty... a mistake I see here way too often.

depends on the state you live in. different states by law have to pro rate cancellations on extended service contracts

[Wah]

Originally Posted by kid bootney

depends on the state you live in. different states by law have to pro rate cancellations on extended service contracts

sorry, I don't know why I said "prorated"... that probably isn't the right word. I meant, the price for the extended warranty doesn't go up as the car gets older as long as it is still in the original warranty period. You can pick it up before the original one expires. You don't have to buy it when you purchase the car unless you want to roll it into the payments.

[Vigilant]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the extended warranty cost from BMWNA through BMW dealer increases as your mileage goes up...you do have the option of waiting until mile 39,999 or 4 years and 364 days to purchase an extension.

[fueledbymetal]

I plan to keep the car for 6 years and average 13k miles per year. It's mostly highway driving, so I don't know if I'd need brakes during that time period. My dealer quoted $2295 for the Extended Maintenance Plan which I roll into the financing if I opt for it (2.29% for 72 mo). Is that more or less than I could expect to spend once the factory maintenance plan expires?

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by fueledbymetal

I plan to keep the car for 6 years and average 13k miles per year. It's mostly highway driving, so I don't know if I'd need brakes during that time period. My dealer quoted $2295 for the Extended Maintenance Plan which I roll into the financing if I opt for it (2.29% for 72 mo). Is that more or less than I could expect to spend once the factory maintenance plan expires?

My personal belief is that this isn't worth it...so you are borrowing money at 2.29% to pay for service you will receive 4 years from now (since first 4 years are included). Pay for it then when you need it. Unless you need absolute peace of mind...but what if you don't keep the car as long as you wished? Can you transfer that to the new owner? Would they pay you for it? You won't make that money back...not a deal IMO.

[JoeFromPA]

You are paying $2300 for maintenance between 50-78k miles assuming you do 13k miles a year and keep the car for 6 years.

Considering in that time you might be covering 2-3 oil changes and, MAYBE, a set of new front pads and rotors (for the 2nd time). An extra brake fluid change too?

Seems like serious overpaying to me.

[karussell]

full set of rotors (oem) for an F8X is about $1K retail. At 13k per year without track use no way they will need replacing in 6 years. you will likely go through a set of brake pads within the 4 years. at least the fronts. The 60k mile service also won't cost you $2k. have an independent bmw service shop do that work outside of your free maintenance. maintenance is not the thing to worry about on this car. its the warranty. if you plan to keep the car beyond 4 years thats what you should spend the money on.

[Mr. Hankey]

Originally Posted by karussell

full set of rotors (oem) for an F8X is about $1K retail. At 13k per year without track use no way they will need replacing in 6 years. you will likely go through a set of brake pads within the 4 years. at least the fronts. The 60k mile service also won't cost you $2k. have an independent bmw service shop do that work outside of your free maintenance. maintenance is not the thing to worry about on this car. its the warranty. if you plan to keep the car beyond 4 years thats what you should spend the money on.

+1

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by karussell

full set of rotors (oem) for an F8X is about $1K retail. At 13k per year without track use no way they will need replacing in 6 years. you will likely go through a set of brake pads within the 4 years. at least the fronts. The 60k mile service also won't cost you $2k. have an independent bmw service shop do that work outside of your free maintenance. maintenance is not the thing to worry about on this car. its the warranty. if you plan to keep the car beyond 4 years thats what you should spend the money on.

Thought BMW - i.e. the dealerships - performed rotor replacements with any pad replacement under any maintenance warranty?

[karussell]

no, they measure the rotor thickness and do a visual inspection. if the rotors are serviceable they are not replacing them.

[RocketBoots]

^^ They're getting smarter and cheaper. The rotors MAY be able to be re-used within 50k miles, but most likely will not at the next brake job, at which point the cost is on you.

But to the OP, for the reasons stated in the above posts, I also believe it's not a good idea to get a maintenance program tacked on. Warranty would be worth it though, IMO.

[VectorRalf]

On an E46 M3 I did not opt for the extended service, but I later regretted this. On that car, somehow the first service after the 4-year expiration was pretty expensive (north of $1,500). I don't recall the details.

For this reason I bought the extended service on the F82 M4.

[SD ///M4]

We just purchased a Platinum 7 year/100,000 mile extended warranty for my wife's 335is Coupe last month as we are approaching 50,000 miles and the end of the factory warranty period. We track the car several weekends a year, sharing the car between us. Already done under warranty:

• replaced defective exhaust flapper valve within a month of redelivery
• ECU was reflashed because cruise control stopped working in 5th and 6th gear within a month of redelivery
• broken right cup holder (the spring went missing)
• front rotors and brake pads replaced because the rotors were warped and the brake pads were cracked
• rear turbocharger failed during a track session (our mechanic says it wasn't related)
• upper charge intake pipe cracked at the intake manifold during a track session (again, mechanic said the two weren't related)
• Cracked brake pad on right front brakes which caused the rotor to have a ridge (note that after the first occurrence, we run Hawk EPS pads at the track)

Note that there are at least three levels of extended warranty and only the Platinum level covers all electronics on the car, including iDrive and Navigation.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to do a 3-year lease on the M4 which I have planned for May 2016 and this is a good part of the reason.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by VectorRalf

On an E46 M3 I did not opt for the extended service, but I later regretted this. On that car, somehow the first service after the 4-year expiration was pretty expensive (north of $1,500). I don't recall the details.

For this reason I bought the extended service on the F82 M4.

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.

[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.