e90 yearly maintenance

[blindgoldfish]

I'll be purchasing a CPO 2006 330i (aspen white, manual trans, giggity) in a couple days and have the chance to get BMW's maintenance program which basically extends their 4 yr/48k mi. complimentary through the end of the CPO warranty. It costs $1,800 which equates to about $900/yr after the 4 years of the original plan are up.

I'm looking for approximate costs of yearly maintenance for the 06 330i so I can decide whether this would be a good purchase or not. The car only has 33k miles on it. The salesman said this would cover the clutch if it didn't appear that I abused it, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Thanks!

[mattjw916]

Not worth it... in fact no extended maintenance plans ever are.

[Critter7r]

Well, it depends on how much you drive and how much you plan to DIY.

If you drive 12-15k per year and don't plan to DIY, then it's worth it, because you're going to need pads and rotors at all four corners at least once, and that's a $1200 job at any dealer. Add the 3 oil services ($125 a pop) and a vehicle inspection or two ($125 each), 2 or 3 microfilters ($65) a couple of sets of wiper blades ($65!! a pair), engine air filter ($40?) and spark plugs if you make it that far ($200 at least) and it starts to look like a decent deal.

If you're the DIY-type, then no, it's not worth it, because even if you buy the parts from the dealer, you can do the work much cheaper yourself: brakes aren't tough and oil changes are cake.

[mattjw916]

Meh, if you really "saved" money on these plans, BMW wouldn't be selling them since they would be impacting margins.

You'd be better off taking the money and putting it to work making 5% returns/yr in a conservative investment... Besides, that's what they are doing with your money anyway.

The odds of needing to replace every pad and rotor on his car are pretty small, after all there is no such thing as stop and go traffic in Wisconsin.

Plus, if you add the cost of the maintenance as part of the purchase and then begin paying interest on that the benefit is actually a net loss.

[blindgoldfish]

Well, I bought the car today and ended up getting the maintenance program - but only because I was able to get it for $1,400. As much as I love to work on my toys, I don't think I'll have the time for the 330i. The last selling point was the fact that it covers the clutch. Thanks for the advice.

I commute about 50 miles every day and you would be surprised the amount of traffic that accumulates on the "beltline" in the evenings.

Also, I put BMW's CPO 0.9% financing to work so I can grow my money at quadruple-ish the rate of what it costs me to use their money. Thanks BMW!

[golfinz]

Ya I just found out that their maintenance plan covers the clutch too when I bought my 07 335i today. Im getting the maint. plan before the current one expires just for the clutch bc I know I will be tracking the car

[blindgoldfish]

Ya I just found out that their maintenance plan covers the clutch too when I bought my 07 335i today. Im getting the maint. plan before the current one expires just for the clutch bc I know I will be tracking the car

Don't tell them you are tracking the car because if they deem the clutch was "abused" then they don't have to replace it.

[mryakan]

Don't tell them you are tracking the car because if they deem the clutch was "abused" then they don't have to replace it.
Actually tracking the car voids the warranty on pretty much everything in the car. And just to let you know, some dealers and even BMW NA monitor these forums.

[Zooks527]

You'd be better off taking the money and putting it to work making 5% returns/yr in a conservative investment...

You want to let the rest of us know where we can get 5% on a conservative investment?

Beyond that number, I do agree with the rest of what you said.

[mattjw916]

Various bond funds are capable of returning at or around 5%. Obviously this will fluctuate with the market.

[golfinz]

Don't tell them you are tracking the car because if they deem the clutch was "abused" then they don't have to replace it.

Well thats obvious...Im not telling them anything I do with the car