2 years passed, good thing I didn't get extended warranty!
 

Hi everyone,

It has been just over 2 years and 35k miles since I bought my 2005 3.0i. It had 3 months of orig warranty left and only had 42k miles on it.

During the first three months of my ownership, it was still under the orig 4yr/50k warranty, and a few sensors and issues got replaced/resolved by the dealer during that period.

Here is an old thread that I started back then asking others on this forum if the problems I was having were common problems or were specific to my car:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-problems.html

This forum has always been a good source of information and helpful people chimed in. At the time of posting the above thread, I still had a few days to get extended warranty from BMW dealer to cover me until now.

If I had gotten any such warranty, it would have expired now, and I would have ended up not using it.

I am simply glad that I haven't had any big problems that needed such repairs, and more glad that I ended up saving the warranty money for future repairs. I know there is some value to peace of mind that comes with having a warranty, and surely I did not have that kind of peace of mind over the last two years.

Here is what I thought about when I decided to NOT get the warranty:

- a bunch of sensors/etc. were just fixed under the orig warranty, and still would be covered under their individual warranty for the following two years anyway

- the car had only 45k or so miles on it, and I would still be below 80k miles in two years... it seemed like most problems would start at 70-80k miles and above.

- the car was a California car, and it would remain in California, immune from harsher weather and all the extra stress/problems that it can bring with it.

- it had the 3.0i engine, which was easier on transmission and less problem prone as per feedback from a few local independent shops, and was easier/cheaper to work on if a problem came up.

- I could fix some of the problems myself (leaking radiator hose / temp sensor, for example), and I could live with some of the other issues (occasional water dripping from the center-top console after heavy rain).

- I figured $2400 or so for extended warranty could be used for any major repairs that could come up at an independent shop.

- Brakes and other things like valve cover gasket, etc. , were not covered under extended warranty anyway (changed both front rotors/pads recently)


I am happy to report that the car is running absolutely beautifully; it has been maintained well but also used well too: I have put about 35k miles on it in just over 2 years.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share this with you all, and also perhaps highlight the point that the answer to an often asked question of 'should I get an extended warranty?' is not always a 'yes'. This question should be answered on a case by case basis.

Of course, I could be one of the few lucky ones. Who knows. :)

Thanks for the great website. Happy X5'ing.

Thats great... I wish I could get the 3.0 But for my location and going up into the mountains. I just can't deal with the power issues it will have.

Hope your tranny hangs in there. $2400 warranty is piece of mind IMO.

I think it's a toss up, on the tranny. You should be fine and with Xoutpost you can do most of the repairs yourself. $ 2400.00 will buy you alot of parts and it sounds like you are willing to work on your X. Enjoy your X. I find the harder you drive them the longer they last.

Congrats! Hopefully it will continue rolling on with minimal issues.

congrats. we had the same situation, only ours is a 2004 3.0, so we are one year ahead of you. working great and no issues. the 3.0 is so easy to work on I love it. no power issues either as the tranny keeps the engine in its power band.

It's still worth having.

If you lived in Colorado I'd actually reconsider the 4.4.... The 3.0 sounds nice as far as maintenance goes..

I would agree, if one can't afford the cost of likely repairs and wants to finance the insurance policy in with the vehicle cost.

But the fact of the matter is that most people will not come out ahead, as the insurance companies are making a profit just fine on these warranties. Can't all be winners and beat the house. The OP's experience is as expected, he did better on a cash flow basis by not buying insurance.

Thanks guys, I too hope it will continue to run as it has been for the next couple of years.

Wally, I kinda agree with you... the harder you run the BMW cars, the better they seem to work. They definitely don't like to be used 'less', that is for sure. :)

smileyboy, I am not sure about the affects of the mile high air pressure on the performance, but at the sea level and going to LA a few times, crossing over 2000+ feet elevations, I have not seen ANY reason to be dissatisfied with the 3.0i performance. (and I have a 160+ hp zx14 sportbike, so I am no stranger to performance.) But there is no denying: 4.4i is more powerful and more satisfying in the end.

kloogy, there is no price that one can put on one's peace of mind. I spend a lot on other insurances, and my friends think I am an idiot for doing so. I like peace of mind, and if the above conditions that I described in my original post above were different, I would have probably gotten the extended warranty just for the peace of mind. But as it stood, I thought the odds were in my favor, and they ended up working out for me.

In the end, all that this thread is about can be simplified to:

A happy out-of-warranty X5 owner who suggests considering the car-specific circumstances before deciding on buying extended warranty. :)

I originally extended my warranty by 2 years (to 6 years total) for around $2500, and am now almost off the warranty. Ended up getting around $2700 worth of work covered but paid a $200 deductible 3 times so came out around $400 behind. To me that was well worth the "peace of mind".

I just purchased a new vehicle (2011 Audi S4) and was considering selling the X5 but have decided to hang on to it for another 2 years...such a great vehicle, couldn't stand to sell it. I have again extended the warranty for another 2 years (Coverage One "Platinum") and will be paying $2400 with a $200 deductible. With the years and KMs starting to build, I may come out on top this time...but I'd be OK if I never had to use it :thumbup:

guys, don't forget to include the opportunity cost of the money that you spent. at 10% you could have had an extra $1,000 over those 3 years that you gave up...

I like to self insure on the smaller things, but for large capital items or income protection I do insure.

You are right about that, but I made up for a couple of them with my share of warranty work. In 2007, we purchased our 2002 4.4i with about 60,000+/- miles and got a 3 year 30,000 (or 36,000, can't remember) mile warranty. I thought they were absolutely crazy offering me a warranty on a V8 X5 with that many miles for $1,800+/- and I was right. We had around $7,500 in repairs performed over the life of the warranty. There is just something about a BMW between 60,000 and 100,000 miles where everything seems to fall apart. I would take the warranty on a BMW with this mileage any day. Especially one with a V8.

Wow, 10% return on my money? I'll invest in that. Returns that high over the last 3 years are rare. And, if you could find it, the risk factor would probably be quite high.

nah, you just have to do your homework, and by no means would i 'bet the farm' an any single thing. any index fund would have given you these gains easily, as well as many stocks you may have heard of. how many examples would u like? businesses are created to make money, just find the ones that are strong and go for it...

I know they're out there but I'm at the point in my life that I'm happy with 6%-7% steady return without very much risk. But, a diverse portfolio is important. Back to the point of warranties. If the car was Japanese, I wouldn't purchase one. However, being German and being prone to more and higher cost repairs, I would actually purchase one if available (but only backed by BMW). Third party warranty companies tend to go out of business without notice and should, for the most part, be avoided. I consider it peace of mind. Most of the time, things break or give out on a BMW and hopefully, the warranty will cover it. It's all a gamble and if it gives you a little peace of mind, why not? Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes not. A good indy helps a lot!

Buy low, sell high ;)

I had the Warranty Direct on our '01 X, and the X ran well, as I only 'recovered' about $500 of the $2Gs I paid way back when, for the coverage. I passed on re-newing, though our X is nearing 80k miles and getting into potential KaBoom! Land.

I had a 2 yr GMAC extended warranty on our '02 Vette; it too ran problem free, and I never got a penny out of that ext warranty. Passed on renewal, also.

I used to beat the drum here for 'extended warranties' of some kind, as I felt that safety net was absolutely necessary on these beasts. It may be still, for some.
Pick you poison & Good Luck...

OT...
I get a kick out of these 7% and 10% 'returns'...
Yes, individual stocks, or even ETF baskets, or most Indices have done very well since the floor of the bust, a few years ago. However, 2 1/2 years of Recovery & HappyTimes don't make anyone a 'great investor'.

I have several very smart, (and richer than I am), friends, but they all struggle chasing that 'magical return', even with their giant ego'd hedge fund handholders, the ones that get '2&20'. Real 'returns' of more than a few percent, in aggregate across one's portfolio, are very difficult over several years, or a decade or more...the stats from any 'starting point' of the past 30+ years, to now, tell the tale.

I have made the same proposal to every Svengali/investment guru I've bumped into over the past 35 years, I always ask this simple question:

"If you can guarantee me 3% NET, Net, net per annum, over the next decade, I will give you my entire portfolio. But, you must be willing to return that entire amount to me, or my estate, with that annual 3% N,N,n, after that period."

No one has ever taken me up on my proposal...that triple net is obviously after all taxes, Fed, state, and fees. Sounds easy to me, but of course it is not.

Keep funding your 'port', and remember the principal never sleeps, if done properly.
GL, mD

Exactly. I've got plenty of experience investing in a broad variety of equities and investment instruments. It's always easy to "look back" and discuss returns on investments, especially since the crash...the tough part is "looking forward" with any confidence. Common practice is to NPV using the current "risk free" return (more like 4%-5%) and then you need to consider taxes on investment income. 2 years on $2400 might "cost" me around $200. Yeah, they can have that too.:thumbup:

fair enough on the hindsight comment, but I was looking forward when i bought the investments. sure, not all of them pan out, but that is why not everything is in one basket.

besides, i'd rather invest in my time, tools, and abilities and use DIY as part of the guarantee to make these fine automobiles work.

Just like anything else in life you can't look at special cases/instances when it comes to insurance or investment (even gambling if you will); there is always story on how someone win big in casino but in reality average rules in my book.

Everytime I am buying a new car the finance manager always offers me ext-waranty cause he/she makes comission and insurance co makes tons money on it, else you have to bring Bubba to force them to sell it to you:D.

BTW, just read somewhere that oil-separator was not cover under CPO cause it falls under emission.

That was the first thing I checked for when I extended...and it is covered. I think it depends on what insurance provider you extend with.

Hers is a thread that seems to indicate that the CCV problem is covered under BMW CPO. Search Tab is our friend. ;)
GL, mD

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...under-cpo.html