First out of pocket repair expense

[puckybadger]

Finally at 80000 miles I had to spend some $$$, $800 for cracked crankcase ventilation tubes ($330 labor, $443 parts). My check engine light would come on for a few days , then go away for a week, come on again and so forth. This would have been covered under the BMW extended warranty but I have been a vocal anti extended warranty advocate on a few different extended warranty threads. My motto: Take the $$$ you would have paid for the warranty and put it in the cookie jar to be used for what would be a covered repair, you will come out ahead in the end. So now we'll see, I've got 20000 miles to go to test my theory.

[menelaos]

Couldn't agree more. Extended Warranty will only pay for itself should a major engine/drivetrain problem occurs.

[Kzang]

I have the same mentality... Warranty is only needed for cars that are problematic... and if your car is problematic.. you should be thinking about unloading it.

[turboawd]

Wait. Which tube got replaced? I just broke my vent tube while changing plugs. Cost less than $40 for new part and 5 minutes to put it in.

[OFFWHITEX5]

I did the same thing. Instead of paying for the warranty, I put the money up. I figured unless there was a catastrophic failure, we should be good. These truck are pretty reliable. If any needs to be spent. I have a pretty good indy mechanic I've been rocking with for several euro cars now.

PS. I just saved a bunch of money because my truck just got totaled too. So the theory worked in my favor.

[CeeTeeX5]

So proud of you guys for saving money for the unexpected repairs

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by CeeTeeX5

So proud of you guys for saving money for the unexpected repairs

It's funny, but I don't know how you actually do that: separate piggy bank for car-related expenses?

[CeeTeeX5]

Originally Posted by menelaos

It's funny, but I don't know how you actually do that: separate piggy bank for car-related expenses?

Prob easy enough to just create an additional checking or savings account and transfer a little money in to it each month.

I did use my CPO warranty and extended warranty on both of my previous cars and got more than my money's worth.

My most recent car was a JGC Overland, it was actually super reliable with the exception of the air suspension crapping out a year after the factory warranty expired. I was pretty rough on it though, constantly lowering and raising it and did some offroading etc. I paid about $1350 for the addtl 3 yrs on top of the original warranty. The total cost of repairs to fix the air suspension was upwards of $3000.

I have bad luck though so you know, ymmv.

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by CeeTeeX5

Prob easy enough to just create an additional checking or savings account and transfer a little money in to it each month.

I did use my CPO warranty and extended warranty on both of my previous cars and got more than my money's worth.

My most recent car was a JGC Overland, it was actually super reliable with the exception of the air suspension crapping out a year after the factory warranty expired. I was pretty rough on it though, constantly lowering and raising it and did some offroading etc. I paid about $1350 for the addtl 3 yrs on top of the original warranty. The total cost of repairs to fix the air suspension was upwards of $3000.

I have bad luck though so you know, ymmv.

If you don't want to do time, don't do the crime!

[P1]

I have a thousand miles to decide on this, but with the repairs my E70 saw under warranty, I'm scared not having any warranty. With my luck, my pano sunroof will malfunction a month out of warranty.

[CeeTeeX5]

Originally Posted by menelaos

If you don't want to do time, don't do the crime!

Of course. I like to use my vehicles and not worry about babying them hoping nothing breaks. I'm not going to abuse it of course. It was built for said use.

I was impressed though that the air suspension was the only major feature to fail. That thing had a surprising amount of tech in it for the price.

[CeeTeeX5]

Originally Posted by P1et

I have a thousand miles to decide on this, but with the repairs my E70 saw under warranty, I'm scared not having any warranty. With my luck, my pano sunroof will malfunction a month out of warranty.

What’s the average cost to fix the pano? I hear it can get up there in price.

[P1]

Originally Posted by CeeTeeX5

What’s the average cost to fix the pano? I hear it can get up there in price.

On my E70, it was $4K...

[CeeTeeX5]

Originally Posted by P1et

On my E70, it was $4K...

Wow, brutal! On a semi-related note, when I traded in my E46 M3 the sunroof was the first thing they checked!

[perry8912]

For the first year build model, and with v8 engine, from 50k-80k and you only had one problem?! That’s actually pretty good!!

Any issues during the first 50k miles? And what’s the build date of your car?

[Silververtu]

Originally Posted by CeeTeeX5

I paid about $1350 for the addtl 3 yrs on top of the original warranty.

$1350 is a lot easier to swallow than $5000 extended warranty from BMW. $5k is a point where if it's worth it, or take some lost to trade the car in, or $5k extra down payment toward the new vehicle.

[turboawd]

If you're out of warranty, you need to find an independent mechanic. A dealer will always bend you over.

[puckybadger]

Originally Posted by perry8912

For the first year build model, and with v8 engine, from 50k-80k and you only had one problem?! That’s actually pretty good!!

Any issues during the first 50k miles? And what’s the build date of your car?

No issues. Build date was 06/19/14. In service date was 06/30/14. I purchased 02/14/15 with 6500 miles.

[CeeTeeX5]

Originally Posted by Silververtu

$1350 is a lot easier to swallow than $5000 extended warranty from BMW. $5k is a point where if it's worth it, or take some lost to trade the car in, or $5k extra down payment toward the new vehicle.

I don't disagree. But there are EW options that are less than the EW prices directly from BMW. Many dealerships actually sell and work directly with these EW providers.

As P1ET mentioned, his pano roof crapped out on his E70 and that was a 4K fix. Dealers seem to be really concerned about the pano roof when taking in a trade. It was the first thing they checked on my E46 M3 and now that I think about it, it was one of the few things they checked when I traded in my JGC. Drove it around the block, checked the pano roof, windows and liftgate. They didn't even check the air suspension, which I expected they would.

It's always the random things that one wouldn't expect to break, that ultimately break and cost $$$. Some may not experience any issues whatsover, others will easily exceed the cost of the EW and will be happy they had it.

For me, if I can afford it and don't feel like I'm getting gouged on the cost, will go with the EW if I plan to keep the car beyond the factory warranty. Also, even indy shops around here aren't often too far off from dealer costs for repairs. They are generally more honest about the work needed to be done, but pricing to fix it doesn't differ greatly here when using a reputable shop.

[iconoclast]

i find it funny that some people complain about repair costs or out of pocket maintenance but will spend thousands of dollars modifying the vehicle and replacing parts that are functioning as designed or without issue.

[perry8912]

Originally Posted by puckybadger

No issues. Build date was 06/19/14. In service date was 06/30/14. I purchased 02/14/15 with 6500 miles.

Thanks, any maintenance up to date? Brake? Spark plugs, trans oil, differential oil, etc.? Oil change intervals?

I hope my car will get the same luck as yours....

[Lance Alot]

Here is my real life take. I had a bunch of fuel system related problems on my E70 diesel at year 3 of ownership, and I decided to buy the extended warranty. I literally used it one time in 20 months that I had the car post factory warranty, and it was for a small issue with the factory alarm. In hindsight, the extended warranty was a waste of money, but they are based on actuarial tables. House odds, and the house (BMW) will ultimately win.