Extended Warranty....Is it really worth it?

[footsurg]

I know this topic has been discussed before and perhaps was beaten to death, but from reading the older posts I still have a fundemental question that remains. Is a good extended warranty really worth the cost? I have a 2002 4.4i with 49,700 miles. I have had it to the dealer many times for small things like window regulators, dead battery, turn signal failure, final stage resistor etc. Nothing big for sure. What I would like to know is how many of you out there have an X5 with greater then 50,000 miles on the clock. And of those with >50,000 miles, what sort of issues have come up and how much did it cost to fix? I have a quote from Warranty Direct sitting in front of me right now. It looks like a great warranty and is truly comprehensive and covers everything except exterior trim,radio/nav electronics and of course wear items like brake rotors. They want $4150 for a 4/100,000 policy which includes emissions devices and $0 deductable. I understand that with one major failure like a tranny or engine head this would probably be a worthwile investment. I simply want to know how many of you >50,000 mile owners have actually had repair costs that got in the neighborhood of $4000 AFTER you turned 50,000 miles.

[motordavid]

FootSurg...a bit off vector, but I'd look at a $100 or $200 deduct. w/Warr Direct.; it will reduce your quote cost considerably. Also, keep in mind that "100K" warr is a 100K total odo, not 100 on top of your existing 49,700. You may wanna park it, lol!...they let you pull the trigger much "easier" if you are Under the Warr expiration mileage of 50K.

I committed to keeping my '01 for another year or 2, as I did the 75K total mile deal w/WarrDirect, $100 deduct. and the emissions add-on.

GL with your deliberations.
BR,md

[footsurg]

MD,

Do they actually send someone out to verify the mileage? I have 49,722 right now.

Mark

[bob01]

Mine was - up here in Canada factory warranty ends at 80,000km. The transmission in my '01 4.4 lost reverse gear at 82,000km and needed to be rebuilt. That one incident justified the getting the extended warranty.

That car was possessed though... YMMV

- Rob

[alpac]

Do not go without an extended warranty with this baby. At 55k miles my 4.4 had a problem with the cooling system. They had to replace the entire cooling system (radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, ....). Total cost was around $5000. Everything was covered by the extended warranty. This repair was more than twice the price I paid for the 3 years extended warranty. This is without the few other things I got fixed within the warranty (window regulator, oil sensor). Definitely worth it.

[JV]

All good advice from the previous posters, footsurg. I'll pile on to that with these nuggets:

*BMW hourly rates are very high for labor. Your warranty company may not cover an entire hour at the dealer rate, so you may end up getting them to cover $85 of a $110 per hour labor rate, as I did.

*A BMW dealer or independent shop for that matter may not enjoy dealing with a 3rd party warranty company for a variety of reasons (they send inspectors to approve the work, their reimbursement policy is not to the liking of the shop doing the work, etc.). I'd ask your local BMW dealer or independent shop about Warranty Direct before you buy coverage. Do they do business with them or not? Will they continue doing business with them?

*Whoever does your warranty work may not release your vehicle to you after the work is done without full payment. If your warranty company pays electronically, via credit card or something, then you're good to go. If your warranty provider's policy is to cut a check, move on. Anyone can pay electronically now, and every shop 'cept Cooter's garage in Hazard can take electronic payment. You could take your chances and pay for it and get your warranty to reimburse you, if their policy allows that, but you'll then need to wait for them to cut YOU a check.

I have the CarMax Max Care warranty on my '01 X5. I had some problems with getting them to cover work the first time I threw a claim on them, and it seemed they were going to try and screw me over, but I have a secret weapon for such instances that most people do not, so they take extra good care of me now, even write me letters after my claims are processed.

I've so far had nearly $2,000 in work done through the warranty on my X. I'd recommend you get an extended warranty, but get a SOLID one.

Good luck,

JV

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by footsurg

MD,

Do they actually send someone out to verify the mileage? I have 49,722 right now. Mark

They did not for me...after I bought it on the phone with my Rep, a dork named Matthew but a very informative guy, the "sales mgr" got on to thank me and "verify" the mileage. I actually quoted him a higher mileage # than I had on the odo: 47.6 vs 46.7, as my senior mind was slipping that day, .

I don't know if they would hammer you because you are so close to the bewitching 50...they might have you drive to a nearby "insp. place" for some third party to verify; but, if you are "under 50", you are under 50.
GL,md

[Rob_]

[QUOTE=JVZ104

*A BMW dealer or independent shop for that matter may not enjoy dealing with a 3rd party warranty company for a variety of reasons (they send inspectors to approve the work, their reimbursement policy is not to the liking of the shop doing the work, etc.). I'd ask your local BMW dealer or independent shop about Warranty Direct before you buy coverage. Do they do business with them or not? Will they continue doing business with them?

*Whoever does your warranty work may not release your vehicle to you after the work is done without full payment. If your warranty company pays electronically, via credit card or something, then you're good to go. If your warranty provider's policy is to cut a check, move on.

JV[/QUOTE]

footsurg, take JV's advice and run with it! I couldn't have stated it any better.

[motordavid]

Rob_,
Does that mean "run with the ext warr" or run away from it?!
BR, Ol'UncMtr

[AutoXer]

I have purchased several extended warranties and nobody came out to verify the miles. However, if your car is out of warranty, they make you wait a month before you are able to claim anything. So that's the way they control that. On my BMW's, I had always did better with the warranty. And when my X5's warranty is up, I plan to buy an extended one. Just my 2 cents.