Aftermaket Warranty Information Database - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

MMM5MMM · 13th February 2007, 06:58

As our beasts approach an age at which the original manufacturer's warranty is running out, CPO or BMW warranty is not an option for number of reasons, including not being an original owner, and we are faced with the decision of obtaining an aftermarket warranty or living on the wild side by taking a chance without warranty, there may be more questions than answers. I am sure that I am not the only one with this thought, and I have come across some threads discussing this issue, however I have not seen significantly definitive threads that will help us choose a reputable warranty with a good reimbursement rate. This can be especially cumbersome for California residents, as there are ridiculous laws in place that do not allow free-market choice of warranties to be offered online, and we are left to the mercy of the dealers and brick-and-mortar shops to sell us warranties. To aid all interested parties with this sometimes difficult decision, I propose the following unifying thread based on personal experience which everybody can use to make an informed decision regarding a purchase of an aftermaket warranty:

Post your answers to these questions:

1. Your Beast info (year, color, miles, mods, miles at warranty purchase)
2. Your state.
3. Name of the warranty company and company website.
4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online).
5. Coverage (name, description, months/miles, exclusions, inclusions, etc.)
6. Cost for the warranty.
7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair).
8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty.
9. Experience with denied repairs.
10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos, Carbon buildup, Navi, etc.)
11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away")

Thanks for your participation.

phid_bombadier · 13th February 2007, 07:50

1. Your Beast info (year, color, miles, mods, miles at warranty purchase)
2001, silverstone, 77K, UUCSSK, 75K

2. Your state.
WA

3. Name of the warranty company and company website.
Fidelity Warranty (don't have it handy)

4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online).
Barrier Audi

5. Coverage (name, description, months/miles, exclusions, inclusions, etc.)
Platinum, fairly comprehensive coverage on major parts including MAFs, 2yr/24K, Inclusion list based

6. Cost for the warranty.
2500 (close to that since it was part of my purchase package deal)

7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair).
100

8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty.
MAFs - Took to BMW and had them diagnose and replace. Fidelity paid out for the full repair and parts, minus $100 deductable and TAX. No hassle - credit card payment to BMW directly.

9. Experience with denied repairs.
None yet

10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos, Carbon buildup, Navi, etc.)
I think Vanos type parts are covered, not sure about carbon buildup. I'll try and get back to this when I have the list handy...

11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away")
Still too early to say definitively but so far so good.

a_ok2me · 13th February 2007, 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMM5MMM

...Thanks for your participation.

Do you work for EasyCare? Because my shop screw you guys over and you let them

.

maxhendriks · 13th February 2007, 17:24

I've done some recent research here in California and purchased my extended warranty through Total Shield.

Mercury was one of my options, and a lot of dealers were quoting Mercury. I happened to call Mercury and it turns out that they no longer cover M5's (as off 1/15/07). One other option I was considering was Easy Care offered through Beverly Hills BMW. I opted for Total Shield as the Easy Care coverage was a lot more expensive and the coverage details seemed very similar. Easy Care also required a special inspection if my mileage was above 45K.

1. Your Beast info (year, color, miles, mods, miles at warranty purchase)
2003, Titanium Silver, 46110, No Mods (yet

), miles at purchase 45307
2. Your state.
California
3. Name of the warranty company and company website.
Total Shield - Supreme (highest) coverage - Administered by Prizm Administrative Solutions, Inc (877) 387-6824
4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online).
Century West BMW - Bryan Antonio - (818) 432-5805
5. Coverage (name, description, months/miles, exclusions, inclusions, etc.)
Total Shield - Supreme Coverage - 3 years / 36,000. Examples of what's NOT covered: glass, lenses, sealed beams & light bulbs, brake rotors, drums, pads & shoes, exhaust & "some" (?) emission systems, spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor, battery, shocks & clutch assembly, safety restraint systems, wipers, hoses, belts & fasterners, bumbers, body work & wheels, trim, moldings, upholstery & carpet. Please obtain full contract for details.

I specifically asked the dealer about the following issues:

Clutch/Flywheel NO
Camshaft Sensors YES
MAF YES
IAT YES
Nav system YES
Post catalytic o2 sensors YES
Pixels in dashboard YES
Vanos YES
Final staging unit for HVAC system YES
Valve cover gasket YES
Oil pan leak YES
Rear view mittor NO

6.Cost for the warranty.
$2900.00
7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair).
$100.00
8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty.
No experience...just purchased warranty on 2/7/07
9. Experience with denied repairs.
See 8.
10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos, Carbon buildup, Navi, etc.)
See 5.
11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away")
Can't say yet...will keep everyone posted.

I also purchased the BMW extended maintenance for 2 more years, up to 100,000 miles for $1,400. Lower prices (the lowest price I was able to find was 1,295) were available through dealers not in California, but I felt more comfortable purchasing everything from a local dealer, hoping that the $4,300 spend will buy me some goodwill in case things go wrong.

I hope this is helpful. Any questions, let me know. I now need a beer (or multiple beers)

to make me feel better about the $4,300 spend...

FallbrookM5 · 13th February 2007, 20:27

1. Your Beast info (2000, TISI, 65000, Dinan software, 55000)
2. Your state. CA, but purchased online using my RI address
3. Name of the warranty company and company website. AAAUTOWARRANTY, .com
4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online). ONLINE
5. Coverage (Encompass Platinum, bumper to bumper, 120/100K total miles,as usual does not cover clutch, brakes, exhaust. Does cover MAFS etc, etc.)
6. Cost for the warranty. 2775
7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair). 100
8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty. Just had motormounts replaced, valvecover oil leak, and a couple of dashboard buttons (temp) covered no problem.
9. Experience with denied repairs. They did NOT cover rear cupholder the kids stepped on ??
10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos YES, Carbon buildup dunno, Navi NO, etc.)
11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away") so far so good.

MMM5MMM · 23rd February 2007, 07:41

I have only got 4 responses to my original thread. I understand that this is not a sticky thread, but hopefully I can recycle the original thread or perhaps somehow make it sticky.

As our beasts approach an age at which the original manufacturer's warranty is running out, CPO or BMW warranty is not an option for number of reasons, including not being an original owner, and we are faced with the decision of obtaining an aftermarket warranty or living on the wild side by taking a chance without warranty, there may be more questions than answers. I am sure that I am not the only one with this thought, and I have come across some threads discussing this issue, however I have not seen significantly definitive threads that will help us choose a reputable warranty with a good reimbursement rate. This can be especially cumbersome for California residents, as there are ridiculous laws in place that do not allow free-market choice of warranties to be offered online, and we are left to the mercy of the dealers and brick-and-mortar shops to sell us warranties. To aid all interested parties with this sometimes difficult decision, I propose the following unifying thread based on personal experience which everybody can use to make an informed decision regarding a purchase of an aftermaket warranty:

Post your answers to these questions:

1. Your Beast info (year, color, miles, mods, miles at warranty purchase)
2. Your state.
3. Name of the warranty company and company website.
4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online).
5. Coverage (name, description, months/miles, exclusions, inclusions, etc.)
6. Cost for the warranty.
7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair).
8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty.
9. Experience with denied repairs.
10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos, Carbon buildup, Navi, etc.)
11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away")

Here's the link to the original thread:
Aftermaket Warranty Information Database

Thanks for your participation.

Nabio · 23rd February 2007, 07:52

1. 11/99 build, MY2000 Jet Black, bought car and warranty at 52000 miles.
2. Bought in Illinois, registered in MN, now in CA.
3. Easycare Totalcare package. They don't really have a website I don't think.
4. Luxury Motors in Ogdenville, IL
5. It's the Totalcare package, 3 years / 36000 miles . Says bumper to bumpers, it's an exclusionary policy. Covers all of the usual stuff, heard of VANOS repairs being covered but haven't had one myself (thank god)
6. ~$2000? I negotiated a price for the car and warranty together, as it wasn't a CPO and I knew I wanted one.
7. $200.
8. Great. They've never denied me, and from what I hear from the shops I've been in they are fairly easy to deal with. Debated over a MAF once, but replaced it along with the DSC controller.
9. None.
10. Like I said, I've heard of them covering VANOS repairs on this board, but do a search. Don't know about Carbon Buildup but I doubt it.
11. Highly recommended. Their reps were very nice on the phone, they just establish what's wrong and listen to the mechanics. Also they rented me a car. They are underwritten by Ford / Jaguar, so they'll be around for awhile is my guess.

ard · 23rd February 2007, 08:09

Merged threads. DO NOT simply start a new thread! Just post onto you old thread and it will bump back up to the top.

I'll add a data point. I got a CPO, cost me 1800 including 1300 for the cpo and 500 for the PPI and paperwork.

The CA laws also protect consumers from rip offs, they are, however, primarily designed to protect dealership offers.

Laidback · 23rd February 2007, 08:44

Here's my take,

1. Your Beast info (year 00, color Imola, miles 70k, mods 91 octane, miles at warranty purchase 59k )
2. Your state. CA

3. Name of the warranty company and company website. VPP (the selection)...the same company as tech serve

4. Name of dealer/shop from which purchased (if not purchased online). Southbay Bmw

5. Coverage? upto 3 yrs upto 100k... heres the link http://vpp.bz/Selection%20Schedule%20of%20Coverages.pdf i have Superior.

6. Cost for the warranty I think @ 3k

7. Deductible amount (per visit or per repair). $100.01

8. Experience with repairs that were covered and amount billed to warranty. O2 sensors replace with no problem just paid the deductible...

9. Experience with denied repairs. I hope not...

10. Coverage of frequent M5 ailments (Vanos, Carbon buildup, Navi, etc.)

11. Your overall rating of the warranty ("Highly recommend" to "Stay Away") Too early to say and i have heard good things about them but you'll never know...

Trojan01 · 23rd February 2007, 11:40

I have a question regarding this. Hopefully somebody can answer. Mine does not have the CPO warranty and the original warranty just expired about 2 1/2 weeks ago before I purchased it. That being said, can I have it inspected and get the CPO warranty? I don't know if that is an option at this point, thought I'd ask.
A lot of the warranty companies I'm looking at don't offer coverage for the M5. WarrantyDirect.com which gets very high reviews doesn't cover m5's. What are the options for warranties?

MMM5MMM · 23rd February 2007, 18:09

You can only get a BMW warranty if you are the original owner, otherwise you have to buy an aftermarket warranty. You can still buy and extended maintenance plan from BMW for an additional 2 years or until 100K miles regardless of ownership.

Trojan01 · 23rd February 2007, 18:44

I see! Are there any good warranty companies that warranty M5's? The good ones from the reviews I've been searching don't do M5's. Thanks mmm5mmm for the info.