Hey everyone. I've been in the market for a luxury performance sedan for quite some time now and I think I've decided I'd like an E39 540i with the 6 speed. I've got around $17.5k to spend and I've seen quite a few in the auto trader with 60k+ miles for that price, granted they're all over 1000 miles away. It seems like that'd be the best bang for my buck.

If I do purchase one of these, I'm going to purchase an aftermarket warranty along with it. I know nothing about these except what the brochure from my credit union tells me. I'd like to get the best one available so hopefully you guys can tell me which companies are good and which to avoid.

About the car. At what mileage do things start to fail? I know it matters alot on the maintainence and such, but things like electronics and stuff. I'm pretty sure aftermarket warranties won't cover most of the BMW luxury electronics, right? So how many miles is too many?

Thanks guys!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417337

yes, you should definatelly get a warranty. I paid 1500 for mine. I am not sure which company it is though. after owning 2000 540i with 32 K on it for an year I spent 1200$ on repairs. 600$ was paid by the warranty.

Aftermarket warranties seem almost useless because they will only pay a certain dollar per hour for labor. You might save a few dollars per claim but overall what you've paid for the warranty you could have saved and used towards the repair.

Looking at masurati's claim he paid $1500 for his warranty. $1200 for repairs but the warranty only covered half at $600--notwithstanding any deductibles. If he saved his $1500 for repairs then he would have pocked $300.

So in the end, my opinion on these aftermarket warranties is that they are not fungible for the consumer but they are for the warranty companies.

3rd party warranties are a waste...

given the habits of these cars I don't think it's a bad idea. If it was Japanese then that might be a different story.

Find a shop that will work with the warranty company you're being offered (wouldn't hurt to get an opinion from your service manager - they know which warranties are good and bad) and make sure that you get something more comprehensive for these cars. If you do drivetrain only it will probably be a waste. Remember, whine a bit about the warranty price, it's negotiable despite what they say.

I just got done doing several warranty claims with ETHOS group (olympic care) warranty on one vehicle in which I easily made my $$$ back in a year with 2 years left to go, (2000 328CI purchased with 41k and traded at 64K - ate all it's suspension bushings and a few things) and my new car is covered by a GMAC bumper to bumper extended that even covers SRS faults. cost me $2400 and the vehicle has 50K on it. By the time this warranty is over, I'm expecting to use it for the SRS failures, suspension bushings f/r, radiator, window regulators, and maybe even auto trans failure. Yes, I'm expecting this to happen. I'll pay a deductible, and perhaps a few dollars on extras they don't cover but better than getting whacked with a $2k tab if something major breaks. One thing, with these companies if it isn't listed as covered, then it isn't. Be careful, choose something that covers a lot. Your chances of recouping is much better then.

Pay all that out of pocket and do the math.

According to my shop the GMAC is a great warranty and they pay the claims, very little hassle. ETHOS wasn't bad either. The shop that I deal with is a BMW specality shop and the service writer works with these warranty companies all day and knows how to handle 'em. Find a similar shop and let 'em work.

rjp

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114427

given the habits of these cars I don't think it's a bad idea. If it was Japanese then that might be a different story.


No, it would be better to do an automatic draft into a savings account per paycheck than to GIVE your money to these 3rd party warranty companies.

I paid 1200 for an aftermarket warranty last Nov.

Had my engine replaced this June, cost the insurance company over 5k, and me- $100 Deductible.

seems to me I came out over $3700+ ahead

I do not think aftermarket warranties are a waste of money, like insurance, you just never know.

No, it would be better to do an automatic draft into a savings account per paycheck than to GIVE your money to these 3rd party warranty companies.

Maybe I can DIY all repairs myself too? Saves even more cash. Point is, odds are you will spend over $2k (or whatever the cost of the warranty is) in unscheduled maintenance between 50k and what, 80K? Beat that # and it makes sense.

Shoot, between front end bushings and 2 broken window regulators you can hit that #. Add in a radiator and you're there. Price it out sometime at the dealer or do a quick survey and let's find out where we go.

rjp

No, it would be better to do an automatic draft into a savings account per paycheck than to GIVE your money to these 3rd party warranty companies.+1

if something expensive goes out it is worth it but for other stuff not really.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114427


again, READ THIS THREAD CAREFULLY!!! it doesn't matter what blows up or not, if the warrenty company "claims" it's for emission like a CAS/CPS, which indirectly it is, and not pays for it... all that money you put in is WORTHLESS.

just read the fine prints and get everything in writing.

I have one (it's not a warranty, technically, it's a masterguard program through vw or something) but I always have to fight BMW of anchorage to get them to acknowledge it. I whip the card out and they're like 'we don't honor aftermarket warranties!' before I can explain what it is.

The way it's supposed to work, is you take the car in for service, and when they find whats wrong with it they tell you first right? Anyway, at that point, they call masterguard, tell them what needs to be done, and masterguard tells them they'll cover this and that, not that, etc.etc. BMW does the work, car gets fixed, they call masterguard and masterguard pays for the stuff they cover. My masterguard covers everything but the kitchen sink.

However, BMW of anchorage wants me to pay up front for ALL of it, and they refuse to call masterguard after the work is done. Saying 'you pay for it, you call masterguard and they'll reiumburse you'. Unfortunately, when they reimburse you, it takes a few months. And all BMW has to do to get paid is call their number and get the credit card account of Masterguard to pay for it instantly.

So I called Masterguard about it, and they said to take it to vw of anchorage, let vw take it to BMW and let vw do all the phone calling. So I called VW. They don't want to take my car to BMW nor do any phone calls, even though I bought the car and the masterguard thing from them.

Bunch of asshats who don't want to do their job. Only other option is a place called Arctic Import and not sure what quality of work they do.

Don't do it. I had one and my radiator had a crack in it. I paid $3000 for the warranty. They would only cover some parts even though I got the "best bumper to bumper warranty" I ended up paying $400 just for the radiator!! That was almost half the cost! Unless you don't know how to drive or the car is seriously messed up, don't get a warranty. They always try to make major money off of you and they will do ANYTHING not to fix whatever they had agreed to originally.

Another example is, they said "you can take it anywhere and we will pay the full amount" so I took it to the BMW dealership and after it was fixed they said "We will only pay 2/3rds of the labor because they are expensive" I figured whatever needed to be fixed has been fixed and I shouldn't have to worry about anything for quite some time. I cancelled mine after a few months.

I can see the opposition stated. However, if you do the research beforehand - check with some local shops that are decent BEFORE you sign the warranty (biggest thing) and from that find a shop that will accept their labor terms - once again, if they have prior experience with the warranty company in question they should be able to tell you.

The shop isn't obligated to accept the labor terms the warranty company sets, however if the shop is decent, just like an insurance company they can haggle it out with them to get what they need. Who knows? Maybe the shop doesn't want to deal with it, and would rather charge you, the owner. That's a possiblility. It took me a few hours to find this shop that would work with 'em- but it was a reccomendation from the dealership that sold me the warranty. This would be the first time in 10 years I have had a BMW to take to a shop and I was pleasantly surprised.

I had my 328 redone at Eastside Bavarian (Seattle, and great BMW shop) and gave the guys instructions to "do whatever they can get away with" - as a result, over $1400 of work was done in one day. no fuss, no muss.

Once again, do the research.

rjp

One more thing. My friend got an aftermarket warranty fromt he dealership the same day he bought the car. A few months later he took it in to see if there were any problems. BMW made him aware of the problems, but the warranty company wouldn't fix it claiming it was "pre-existing" even though he didn't have the problem when he bought the car. Since they never inspected the car in first place, how would they know it's pre-existing? They could always make up that excuse.

ttp://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426516

things never go wrong, right? fix the link and check it out.

rjp

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426516

things never go wrong, right? fix the link and check it out.

rjp


fixed

Maybe I can DIY all repairs myself too? Saves even more cash. Point is, odds are you will spend over $2k (or whatever the cost of the warranty is) in unscheduled maintenance between 50k and what, 80K? Beat that # and it makes sense.
Shoot, between front end bushings and 2 broken window regulators you can hit that #. Add in a radiator and you're there. Price it out sometime at the dealer or do a quick survey and let's find out where we go.
rjp

Bushings will never be a warrantied item. They are wear and tear. And as said before radiators may or may not be covered as well.

My point isn't what is or is not covered because we all know that these 3rd party companies are inclined not to cover your claim. I am pointing out that these companies have clauses like pre-existing conditions, limits on labor rates, out of pocket maximums, high deductibles, and other NONSENSE.

And to add more flame to that fire they will only cover your car for 1 or two years per policy. It's a waste of money.

Just automatically save your dough every month in an account and don't think about it until you need it. Heck I'll even throw $25 your way for taking the initiative.

ttp://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426516

things never go wrong, right? fix the link and check it out.

rjp


I don't think anyone's saying never. And you'd probably still pay that much with one of these sleezy warranty companies. I'll estimate half of that out of pocket PLUS the two grand or more you put out for that warranty. A waste. Save your dough.

I have a 1998 540/6 that I purchased about a year ago with 72K miles. I purchased a fidelity warranty, offered by the dealer. I purchased the powertrain + silver coverage thinking it would cover a bulk of the "high line items" in the event of a catastrophic failure. The warranty is good until 100K. The care now has 92K miles.

If I had it to do over again, I would either:

A> Not purchase the warranty
B> Purchase the absolute BEST HIGHEST level of coverage offered under a warranty program.

I have found that a lot of little things go wrong that are not covered, and my warranty has a $50 deductable. I've probably spent about $600 on typical small items in just over a year. A premium warranty would have covered these items.

For the most part, the block and drivetrain are reliable and will not fail if properly maintained. The reasons I purchased an aftermarket warranty aren't really valid because of the longevity of the core components (for the most part, we know there are always exceptions).

I would negotiate without purchasing a warranty and then negotiate having the warranty thrown in, some dealer will go for this. Also keep in mind dealers offer certain warranties for a reason, they can make money on them.

If you purchase from a private party, remember a lot of warranties are offered and do not need to be purchased from a dealer.