BMW extended warranty advice please - worth it or not?

[blackburnbmw]

Hi all. I've had my '02 330ci sport auto just under 12 months now, and it has done 39000 miles. I bought the car from a BMW main dealer as part of the Approved Used Car scheme and as such it came with 12 months warranty. The car has been to the local dealer once in the last year, to have the auto 'box "re-programmed" under warranty and has been fine since. Should I pay-up to extend the warranty for another 12 months? Or are "after-market" warranties worth looking into? I know these schemes are effectively an insurance policy, but would be interested to hear what experienced owners think... Thanks in anticipation.

[paoloh]

blackburnbmw said:

Hi all. I've had my '02 330ci sport auto just under 12 months now, and it has done 39000 miles. I bought the car from a BMW main dealer as part of the Approved Used Car scheme and as such it came with 12 months warranty. The car has been to the local dealer once in the last year, to have the auto 'box "re-programmed" under warranty and has been fine since. Should I pay-up to extend the warranty for another 12 months? Or are "after-market" warranties worth looking into? I know these schemes are effectively an insurance policy, but would be interested to hear what experienced owners think... Thanks in anticipation.

The extended warranty covers everything and the nice thing is that you can have a moan at a person in person rather than some phone monkey who doesn't give a toss!!

I say, is is worth the extra money just for peace of mind.

[eliot]

How much to renew the warranty?
I used to renew my warranty until they cranked the prices up a few years ago.

[MitchT]

blackburnbmw said:

BMW extended warranty advice please - worth it or not?.

I wouldn't bother. Used to be great value and covered everything. These days the prices are significantly higher, there's an excess to pay and there are loads of exclusions. In 2005 when my renewal jumped to £720 (had been £510 in 2004) I decided they were taking the piss... and rightly so. In the three years since I told them to shove it I haven't spent £720 on fault-fixing.

Aftermarket warranties... Don't even go there... Slippier than Max Mosley!

[phatmanace]

MitchT said:

Aftermarket warranties... Don't even go there... Slippier than Max Mosley!

I think for regular beemers, it's probably not worth it. If you bought an M-Power car, the story might be a little different as the potential cost of stuff going wrong is so much higher!

-ace

[blackburnbmw]

eliot said:

How much to renew the warranty?
I used to renew my warranty until they cranked the prices up a few years ago.

BMW are quoting me £427 for comprehensive, £380 for "named component" which doesn't seem to be fully explained, and £322 for "driveline". There is an option to add an excess which I assume will reduce premiums slightly. Half of me says I should pay, the other says that the car will be fine... Thanks for all opinions so far.

[Arachnid]

If you are unclear about the various cover levels try looking at www.bmw-warranty.co.uk.

If the one-off premium is a worry you can choose a monthly option. Adding/removing an excess and Emergency Service can reduce/increase the premium level.

If you want peace of mind then buy it.

[wobert]

blackburnbmw said:

eliot said:

How much to renew the warranty?
I used to renew my warranty until they cranked the prices up a few years ago.

BMW are quoting me £427 for comprehensive, £380 for "named component" which doesn't seem to be fully explained, and £322 for "driveline". There is an option to add an excess which I assume will reduce premiums slightly. Half of me says I should pay, the other says that the car will be fine... Thanks for all opinions so far.

Don't forget that the extended warranty also gives you pan-european breakdown assistance, which the AA or RAC would charge 150gbp for.

I've just replaced my warranty on my 120d for 400gpb with BMW......I look at it as cheap compared to the 100gbp an hour the dealer charges, and negating the cost of the breakdown cover, means the car is covered for 250gbp.