Best Aftermarket Warranty?

[B00STED]

Hey guys, I'm looking at an 08 135i w/ 90k miles on it. It had turbos replaced and walnut blasting done 20k miles ago, as well as complete service records. Would an aftermarket warranty be worth it? If so, what is a good one to look into?

[jclausen]

there are ones like aul, general, the best claim I ever made was with auto solutions. the car had a transmission issue and I called it in, since it was a costly repair I was prepared for the them to send an inspector which they do when the claim is over $1000.00. well they approved the transmission replacement over the phone. that has only happened once. you have to beware of things like, do they limit there labor per hour, which I don't see that to much. also they use price averaging on parts, so
if the shop has a higher price on a part, the customer pays the difference. also if the warranty has different levels you need do know what each level includes and of course the purchase price goes up. what is the deductible. if you want to see what is not covered look at the excluded items section on the contract. diagnostic time is what they approve, which may not cover it completely. basically with an extended warranty it would work like this. you have a problem you approve diagnostic time after
problem is found the warranty company is called with parts & labor estimates, also at this time they tell the shop what is covered or not. just because you have an extended warranty does not mean your problem is going to be covered. also if you buy a warranty it may not be active right away, there could be a grace period of a month or more before the contract is active. so you would not be able to make any claims at this time and if you did they will write down that you called about the
problem. so when you call again when the warranty is active they could call is a pre existing condition, I know because it happened to a customer of mine.

[BimmerBreaker]

Aftermarket warranties are a type of business model and they are designed to make money. As such their goal will always be to pay out less in repairs then you pay them. If they didnt they would go out of business. So in most cases your best bet is to buy the best car you can up front and set the money youd have spent on a warranty aside for future repairs.

[CaptainStark]

BB is correct. Best not to buy troubles if you can avoid them. If you see a problem on a car, get the cost of that repair deducted from the asking price. Or, take the car in for inspection prior to purchase.

That said, my first BMW came with a one year "extended warranty" provided by the dealer I bought it from. I had zero history on the former lease vehicle so I read the fine print to figure out what they covered and what they didn't. The important thing was, this warranty was sold through the dealership and their service department would cover all items under warranty with BMW parts.

I am not an engine re-build guy. I do service like the old Level I and Level II service and simple stuff like brakes, belts/pulleys, and shocks. That said, I went over the car with a fine-toothed comb and I ended up getting enough "minor stuff" repaired in a couple of visits to cover the cost of the warranty (transmission rear seal, alternator, steering box) -which ultimately I paid for wrapped up in the sales price. Most people don't do that and end up finding problems after the warranty is gone. I think a warranty unused is a waste. If you don't plan to get under your car to monitor what is going on and it has under 50K mi, getting a warranty is likely a waste.

Another recommendation is to find a good local repair shop that is familiar with BMWs. I have a local guy and Greg has seen it all. He is very reasonable and knows the cars very well. If I have anything that is outside my experience, I take the car to him.

Good Luck!

Ray

[jessicashelton]

If you are worried about extreme out-of-pocket expenses from repair bills for old cars, I recommend the car owners the manufacturer's own extended warranty. Do not buy one from the dealer, though, because those are often third party too. Be sure it is the manufacturer's own.


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