I chose to go without any extended warranty... I am keeping my fingers crossed that my 3.0 engine stays mainly trouble free like most of the local shops told me.

The dealers here suggest EasyCare... I called EasyCare and talked to them prior to my mfg warranty expiring... I asked them if say a leaking valve cover on its own (without any internal moving parts damaging it) is covered, they said no... leaky gaskets are only covered if they are part of an internal breakdown fix, etc. Asked about the moon roof and the fact that some consider the interior parts of it as 'trim'... he couldn't say for sure. Then, he found out that I am calling from CA, and said they no longer sign any new contracts in CA... I told him that my dealer the night before was trying to sell this to me... he said I should check back with my dealer and have them contact EasyCare.

Anyhow, from all that I have read about these extended warranty companies, it seemed like EasyCare was the best one that most local dealers here were selling, but the coverage didn't seem to be all that comprehensive (unlike what the dealer is trying to sell it as.. 'it is a bumper to bumper warranty'... yeah, rright), and frankly I didn't know if the 'no new contract' stuff had anything to do with the stability of the company.

I said to myself... I will either fix shit myself (with help from here and elsewhere), or take it to an independent mechanic, etc., and take the risk and go without a warranty.

We will see how things turn out.

The fidelity warranty is just as good as the BMW extended warranty. BMW will not sell the second owner an extended warranty. It can only be purchased by original owner. THis is also for people without a CPO vehicle.

The fidelity deductible was $50 at any BMW dealership, $0 at the dealership you purchase it at.

Here are the prices i got for my 2005 4.8 BMW X5 with 17,000 miles.

Also, what i found nice was the warranty was your mileage + the mileage in the warranty. So its not 3 yrs or up to 36k miles. It's 3 yrs or 36k miles PLUS the miles you have. So 36k miles on top of your current mileage.

min yrs 3 / min mile 36000
max 7yrs / 100k miles
$50 reducing deductible (means if you go to where you purchased - you dont pay the deductible)
Platinum 3rs 36k $1754
Patinum 7yrs 100k $4902
Platinum 5yr 60k miles $2655

<Removed Contact Person for Rallye BMW by request. She's getting alot of calls, you can contact your local BMW dealer and ask for the fidelity warranty. If they don't have Fidelity let me know>

This is OUTSTANDING information. Thanks for updating everyone. I spoke to a few dealers and they too HIGHLY recommended Fidelity as the extended warranty program of choice. Evidently it is even better then the BMW CPO warranty since that apparently doesn't cover i-drive (for cars that have it) while this one does. I didn't know about the reducing deductible, very nice added benefit!

BTW, did you have to pay tax for that warranty?

is there anything like fidelis in canada?

Ask JCL, that dude knows everything!

im a newbie here so i don't know who jcl is

Look him up (do a search) and send him a private e-mail

Oh dear.

Bmwboy, PM answered.

Gotcha!

BMW just updated it's pricing for Extended Maintenance as of 2/2009.

The good news is for the E53 X5's the prices have NOT gone up. Same goes for the E70 X5's except for the upcoming diesel model which will cost $200 more. (Interestingly the B7 can't be covered and the M5/M6 owners will be shelling out $2,995 MSRP, OUCH!) BMW still offers the extended enrollment option for cars that are no longer within 4 years / 50,000 (whichever comes first), BUT still within 5 years / 60,000 miles (whichever comes first). Both these programs will extend maintenance TO 6 years or 100,000 miles (they will not extend maintenance BY 6 years or 100,00 miles (please understand the difference)). Keep in mind that covers, as indicated, oil service with microfilter change, Inspection I, Inspection II, annual oil change, brake service, brake fluid flush, windshield wipers, topping off of fluids, and so forth.
BMW North America
They also offer a 5 calendar day unenrollment period in case you change your mind.

Another good reason to know about the program is that as long as you are still within 5 years/60,000 miles and let's say your Inspection II pops up along with your brake lining light and you take it to the dealer who quotes you $2,000+ for both jobs. You can buy the extended maintenance plan under the extended enrollment option on the spot and BMW will allow the work to proceed under your new maintenance plan!

In summary:

Cost of Extended Maintenance for 4/50 enrollment for the X5 (E53) X5 (E70 except diesel) X6 (E71)

$1,495 dealer cost
$1,695 MSRP

Cost of Extended Maintenance for extended enrollment for the X5 (E53) X5 (E70 except diesel) X6 (E71)

$1,695 dealer cost
$1,895 MSRP

This is now the latest pricing effective February 2009.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Dealers can charge whatever they want for these plans with some reportedly charging $500+ above MSRP + tax!

AS FAR AS I KNOW THE BEST DEAL STILL AVAILABLE IS ...

BMW OF MACON. IN MACON, GEORGIA
FOR X5 WORLD / X OUTPOST MEMBERS THEY WILL CHARGE YOU EXACTLY $100 OVER DEALER COST (SO FOR AN E53 X5 THAT COMES TO $1,595 TOTAL) PLUS NO TAX IF YOU ARE OUT OF STATE.

The contact people were previously Kirt Reimschisel and Josh Dyal, however AS OF APPROXIMATELY 9/2009, MR. RYAN LEE - FINANCE DEPT BUSINESS MANAGER (478) 757-7000 IS THE NEW CONTACT PERSON.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PRICING AND DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN UPDATED BY BMW EFFECTIVE 7/1/2009 and 3/2010. PLEASE SEE POST # 136 & # 159 FOR ALL OF THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION. All of the pricing information in this post is now OUT OF DATE.

(BTW, Full credit for the discount I believe should go to 'Rob' who set it up a while back)

I've attached a scan of a BMW brochure I found on the net that discusses this program and the original owner protection program which is essentially an extended warranty offered to the original owners of new (not used) BMW's. For the sake of this post just ignore the stuff in the brochure about the original owner protection program.