Looking for help and opinions on warranty

[JLaw380]

Hey all,

So I have a 2005 x5 4.4i with 99,000 miles. The shop who sells the warranties did a full inspection/fixed a lot of things to get it 100% in order to be eligible for the warranty. I am looking for your opinions and what you guys think about it since I am a new owner. I have no history and lack much of the knowledge you guys have who have owned your vehicles for years.

I have attached 2 documents, the first is the quote with prices for each plan and the months/mileage. Second document is what each plan covers.

Looking forward to what you guys think.... Thank you!

[TerminatorX5]

interested in the opinions as well - subscribing to the thread

[Sweep_the_Leg]

My experience with two extended warranties/service contracts on BMWs:

http://www.xoutpost.com/929748-post2.html

[JCL]

First recommendation is to not refer to it as a warranty. It isn't one. A warranty is offered with a sale, and covers defects in materials and workmanship. This is a service contract. I would call it an insurance policy, but they don't use that term because then they would have to have sufficient assets available to be able to meet their obligations, under various state or federal laws.

So, as an insurance policy, what you are buying is peace of mind (to a certain extent) for out of pocket surprises. If the occurence of a significant repair is likely to cause you cash flow problems, then these policies can make sense. On average though, you shouldn't ever expect to get back what you paid out in premiums. The seller has to make money, so the business model is based on selling for x, paying out y, and x always being greater than y, across an average sampling of customers. Those who think that they are somehow going to win against the house almost always lose. There will always be anecdotal examples of someone buying a policy and getting repairs for more than that amount, but those are rare across the population of customers, or they would be out of business. And incidentally, if they go out of business, you lose anyway.

Apologies if the above is obvious, but there are innumerable posts by people who say they bought a policy for x, got multiples of x in benefits, and so think everyone else should use their example as a basis for a decision.

Another key point is that the inclusion of a component on a list doesn't in and of itself determine coverage (although lack of inclusion on that list can be used to deny coverage). Coverage will also be based on why it failed, not just that it is on the list. Wear and tear isn't covered, even if an item is on the list.

This company has a limited number of complaints on line, many of them from people who didn't understand that pre-existing conditions aren't covered despite any mechanical inspection done; that seals and leaks aren't generally covered; and that the claim procedure must be followed explicitly or the claim may be denied.

In the absence of horror stories about this one provider, they are likely as good as anyone else. Ask your favourite independent mechanic (not the guys selling the policy) if they have had trouble getting claims processed by them before. And consider whether you are just better off to take the $3k or whatever it is, and put it aside for repairs. On average, you will come out ahead. You may come out significantly ahead, or behind, because statistically, no one is really average, only a sample population is. If you think you are going to beat the house odds, then don't bother buying a policy, just go to Vegas and beat the house there, you will make money faster.

Good luck

Jeff

[motordavid]

What JCL said, esp his post section on a part being listed doesn't mean it is really 'covered' based on some reason for failure.

Interesting to me is that an Indie shop, (who did 'some repairs/inspection' to get the car up to some standard for potential coverage), is selling the plan.

Not necessarily good or bad, just different in my experience.

Any BMW sponsored coverage is moot...

The different things that can go boom on E53s come up on this juke box with some regularity, and the decision is really based on beating the odds vis a vis the cost of the plan vs what they really will cover in replacement parts and some low ball labor fee vs the potential expense of an owner paying out of pocket.

Auto trans, shifting problems, intermediate levers, CCV system, valve stem guides, window regulators, and the myriad electric/electronic glitches all lie in wait, and some are serious dough to repair/replace.

It seems the car is new or fairly new to the OP; thus, it's an 8+ year old car with ~100k miles. It could run nearly prob free for a few years, or not.

From a cursory glance at the 'plans', pricing and the list of 'stuff', (not detailed and typical of aftermkt/3rd party 'coverage'), I would pick a powertrain deal for maybe a couple of years max. Then, the OP can see how the car does, how actual coverage is, and hope that major cost stuff is really somewhat covered if a trans or some other pricey item needs repair.

A longer 'coverage', either miles or time, is irrational imo, as one never knows how long they are keeping a used car, or the OP's needs and driving situ.

My 50Cts...
GL, mD

[Sweep_the_Leg]

There's no question that "the house" usually wins when it comes to extended warranties/service contracts. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in business for long. When you're planning on continuing to drive an X much past 100,000 miles, however, you know you're going to start coming out of pocket for some significant repairs. So, it just comes down to whether you'd rather spend money up front on a contract and know that basically anything major will be covered (depending on the plan you choose), OR whether you'd rather set that money (and perhaps more) aside as part of an "X5 Rainy Day Fund". As others have said it's really buying peace of mind, and also, essentially "budgeting" for some large ticket repairs in advance. Plus, there's the added component that you may "win" the bet that you'll have more in covered repairs than you paid for the contract (or would have set aside yourself).

Even if you're not sure you're going to be driving the X through the end of the contract, most of these things provide for either (a) transfer of the remaining coverage to the new owner, or (b) pro-rata reimbursement of whatever coverage (i.e. time/mileage) may be left. That's how I ended up coming out ahead on my 335i warranty (linked above). Of course, you shouldn't count on that happening, and it's probably unlikely that it will. But the transfer/reimbursement option does provide some flexibility if you're worried you won't get that money back if/when you move on from the X. Just be sure to read your contract and verify that those provisions are in there before you sign.

[JLaw380]

I appreciate the help guys. The shop selling the warranty (insurance policy) is an indie BMW repair shop. They recommended (obviously haha) some sort of protection atleast with the 4.4 and transmission. They have a good relationship with them and said they don't have any problems.

Now I do realize that the warranty company isn't in business to loose money... so odds are that I will pay more now and most likely not use every penny. In some situations it may help.

I've just put over $5,200 into the X for repairs the past month. It doesn't leak a drop of anything and everything feels strong and smooth. A few notable items done were;
-Timing Cover Gasket
-Valve Cover Gaskets
-Coolant flush
-New seal for the transmission and also a flush/filter change

Now I haven't done a lot of searching but I have seen people talk about the smoke on idle. I have a "friend" and on extending idling (long stop lights, leaving it sit and running, etc) the X gets the light smoke and then the smoke cloud on acceleration ... From what I've seen it's the valve seals, correct? Throwing that into the mix now, should I opt for a package that would fix this, if it happened to me let's say ... The warranty doesn't cover pre-existing conditions but I already had the 100% inspection done and am eligible to buy the warranty now with no further inspection. So if it happens that my X how much does it typically cost to fix it and is it a concern if left alone?