Excited new member

[zracer196]

I can tell you that my BMW service advisor actually told me that the Mercury (I think Platinum version with electronics) was BETTER than the CPO from BMW! It covers more items and they pay well, etc.! I think they cost $4000. I also believe it is for 3 years...Not 2 over the original warrany like the CPO.

I looked at an 05' that was a CPO car...It had about 18 mos left...TOTAL.

May be a route to take!

[antochat]

That's why I"m thinking getting an '06 is the way to go. Pay the extra $$ so I have 6 months to a year warranty left and then get the extended before it runs out. Now I just have to find one! There's two near me in Seattle but they won't budge from $39,000.00, so the hunt continues...

[mark scheurer]

I bought an aftermarket warranty a few years ago from a top rated company and they went bankrupt, took $700 of my money.

I would buy a car that has been well cared for and get an extremely thorough PPI. Maintenance records are key, as is the behavior of the PO. That's why a private sale is always better IMO. If you buy from a dealer you will pay substantially more than a private sale.

If you have to have an 8 cyl motor, that's fine, but the maintenance headaches of the 8 seem to be much greater and more expensive than the I-6, so if you're interested in saving some money and you can live without that extra pickup (the 6 is plenty fast but not blazing like the 8), get the 3.0 and you'll be able to sleep much better at night. I did and I am very happy with the 6 -- plenty fast for me -- this ain't a sportscar.

One last key to owning these cars to to know and trust a good indy. The dealers have no idea how to care for some of the more complex issues and they'll rob you blind.

[noncom23]

Welcome!

[zracer196]

While I do agree with you Mark on some points (and you could find the perfect car from a PO), you can also go the other direction.

My "new to me" CPO 4.8is is a one owner car...My BMW service advisor was able to take the VIN #, and find out exactly how the car was maintained...Since the maint. is free, you would hope that the previous owner would take advantage of that. In my case, all work was done on schedule and no crazy warranty repairs were performed.

Now the 05' that I just sent back to the PO...That guy was clueless...Even mentioned that the tires were "rotated" front to rear when I questioned the new rear tires that were supposedly installed (can't rotate the 4.8 tires). Now of course I know that a PPI would have solved my issues...I made the mistake of trusting a person and thinking he "knew cars" as he told me.

I think the BMW's having the free maint. is a good thing if you can buy one that has some time remaining or was just past the warranty. Someone needs to be really lazy not to take care of the car...And to find out is just a phone call away.

Now my 99' Viper GTS that I bought last year with 15K miles on it...From a PO. I would not have bought that car any other way. These guys are usually enthusiasts...And know the cars better than any Dodge dealer.

Also regarding the warranty...Yes some do go out of business...Just do the research, get the history, ask BMW for their thoughts (since they will be dealing with them), etc. While any of them can go out of business, some are LARGE insurance companies that carry this service as one of MANY.

Also, while I am sure the 3.0 is fun...The 4.8 does actually rival some sports cars!! It really is an incredible handling SAV!! Coming from an 02' M2, an 05' M3 and PLENTY of other high performance cars, this is about as close to sports-car-like handling as you can get.

My .02 anyway!!