extended warranty - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

little · 15th January 2003, 02:53

Anybody still covered by bmw extended warranty in the uk?
Just curious if there's any nastiness hidden in the fine print, it says it covers almost everything mechanical, but after 7 years do they have a get out clause?

Mmm-Five · 16th January 2003, 16:58

My extended warranty expires the end of January, and the renewal has gone up £150. I have asked and asked for a copy of what is/is not included and they keep sending my the old brochure which excludes cars with more than 100k on.

As far as I can tell, the only thing the warranty covers is mechanical failure due to manufacturing faults. Any damage or wear and tear is not included, nor is anything they say has been abused (such as my flywheel which was damaged when the clutch wore out and proceeded to eat the flywheel, less than 200 miles from feeling the clutch slipping to needing new clutch, release bearing, flywheel, etc, and not a penny from BMW).

The other thing it is supposed to cover is any MOT failure item - but then goes on to list things that are not covered, including brakes, seatbelts, bulbs, etc. My hazard warning lights failed on my last MOT and according to the warranty they are covered, but BMW just couldn't quickly track down an electrical fault and could not supply me with a courtesy car for the (up to) two weeks it would take to strip the interior out to find the problem (the two obvious relays were replaced without rectifying the problem).

I'm now able to take my M5 to a independent specialist and save £400 on my Inspection II, without worrying about invalidating what little there is of my warranty.

I spent over £6k last year on repairs and servicing, and not one penny was covered under the warranty.

M5 powered · 16th January 2003, 18:32

I agree with Mmm-Five

Warrenty cover is at best peace of mind against the gearbox and engine going which are big ticket items on the M5. After researching nearly all the offerings. In the end i took third party cover out (£400) which covers up to 15K for two years.

It basically covers mechanical failure but not wear and tear items such as shocks and some electrical aspects.

When you leverage in the agro in dealing with warrenty companies that will ALWAYS find some way to avoid payment, I think its best just to put the money you would have spent into a car fund and find a good specialist for any work that has to be carried out. Continue to use main dealers for servicing though.

Regards

M5 powered

Redder than red · 17th January 2003, 01:44

M5 powered - your warranty is a good
deal.
BMW refused a warranty claim on my
old E34 - over 100k but in the 5th year
extension at the time.
Wrote and cancelled the warranty as
I had not bought the car from a main dealer
and the warranty was not transferrable.
I know....
Best option as you can take the car to
a specialist and get best value as well.

M5 powered · 17th January 2003, 13:54

'I had not bought the car from a main dealer
and the warranty was not transferrable'.

Redder than Red Are you sure? when I bought mine off the previous owner who had BMW cover he produced all the forms for it to be transferred. Even after talking to Sytner, as long as it was all BMW FSH they were prepared to take my money but after looking at the price (between £450 to £500 if I remember) and the list of what it didn't cover... I walked away.

In retrospect it looks like I had a lucky escape!!

Kindest Regards

M5 powered

Redder than red · 17th January 2003, 14:57

Yes -

I was amazed at the response from BMW Bracknell
customer services direct.

They had just replaced the dual mass flywheel costing them
£ 800. - stated they had spent enough on the car - the camshaft
had started to wear on a bearing face and the dealer advised
replacement - he thought it would be warranty.

I approved the job and paid £ 1250.00 for it as the warranty
would not cover it. Full BM history from new, just had a 2500
head job 1000 miles previously through Rydale cars BM dealership
in Birmingham - just before I bought it.
This work was to cure the vibration at tick over - Cooks Ferry
engineering diagnosed it as the flywheel and back it went
and done under warranty - we thought.
BM dealer however was sure it was the injection or the valve
clearances - so I paid £600 for nothing in spite of showing them
the bill for the 2500 job just completed. Only then would they
move and take out the box.

After having the warranty cancelled - they then wrote and asked if I would like to extend it for another year at £525.00. !!!

Excellent opportunity.

Why do I not trust main dealers at £100 per hour and 20 year
old mechanics ?

Kind regards.

Andy G · 17th January 2003, 18:17

Well my story is slightly different. I don't have an M5, but an M3, I have the BMW warranty, and have had to claim 5 times in 3 years, & so far all have been met without problems, i.e. serious amount of head work, vanos unit, damaged rear springs etc. & including one for an Mot failure item.
It covers the repairs up to the purchase price of the car in any one claim (apparently), however the one thing that concerned me was the engine & drivetrain, so for £8 per week to me is good piece of mind in my eyes. I don't fancy laying out in one payment £1500 on the vanos etc (maybe I just put the £400 away each year to cover repairs and if there isn't anything major to do I could be quids in).
On a seperate note on aftermarket warranties, I have now heard from a number of M3 owners that have RAC/AA etc aftermarket warranties and they refuse to meet the full cost of Vanos units etc, or any other known weak point on the car, and would only pay for the cost of parts plus a percentage of the labour. So genuine BMW for me I'm afraid.

M5 powered · 18th January 2003, 13:03

Andy I think if BMW had been reasonable and I had any confidence in the main dealers nearby (which I don’t) I’d have stayed with them. Sounds like you have a good one.
My lot can’t even do an oil change without *’(!ing something up like the wrong oil etc.
I now even leave a note in the engine bay!

As for anyone considering third party warranties shop around and asked for an extra helping of small print as Andy pointed out. Some firms only partially cover labour costs while otherwise will only pay a certain percentage to the part. Also run through hypothetical scenario’s with them including what happens after 100K?

Needless to say ALWAYS make sure the cost of a genuine part is covered in full and you have the option of using a specialist of your choice not theirs (probably find your car at Kwik Fit otherwise).

If you find yourself doing less than say 10K a year of none track use a warranty probably isn't worth it so stick £550 quid in a pot for an engine and gearbox fund (which by the way) is all that is pretty much covered under any warranty.

Have a good W/E

M5 powered

little · 21st January 2003, 20:00

Thanks for the feedback, just trying to find out if the bmw warranty is too good to be true, had mine transfered when i bought the car about 3 months ago and no problems there.
As far as the warranty info booklet states it covers everything except for brakes, clutch and tyres as long as they are not abused or neglected (there's a few other consuambles but nothing expensive). The MOT check says it will cover "all steering and suspension components" this would seem to include the hugely expensive edc shock absorbers. It seems for £500 the peace of mind would be worth it as even minor problems seem to run into four figures.
Am i missing something?

M5 powered · 22nd January 2003, 00:14

'this would seem to include the hugely expensive edc shock absorbers'

NO it doesn't. Replacement of EDC shocks was a scenario I asked the tech before I eventually declined taking mine out.

Sorry this one is wear and tear. The only item of a shock covered is a spring snapping which (note) could still even be contested but honoured basically because they are 50 quid each!!

Regards

M5 powered

M5Paul · 5th April 2004, 17:31

Hi Guys

Just to let you all know that BMW have just agreed to replace my rear EDC shock absorbers under their warranty.

The car failed its MOT because they were leaking so my dealer contacted BMW and they agreed to replace them under the MOT insurance which is included in the warranty.

My car is a 1994 840Ci but there is no reason why they wouldn't replace the shocks on the E34 M5 in a similar situation. So bear that in mind those of you that still have the BMW warranty and were in two minds whether to continue with it or not. I'm surprised to hear that some of you have had bad experiences but i think that is probably more to do with the dealer's warranty guy than BMW. I use Godfrey Hall in Coventry and Harry Fairbairn in Glasgow and they are very good at pushing claims through. I have heard that other dealers aren't interested or don't try as hard.

Regards

Pardeep

PS They are also replacing the water pump, N/S headlight adjuster and checking the driver's seat wiring for me and they have also recently replaced a seized rear caliper. All in all the warranty has saved me thousands this year alone and all for £650.

Mmm-Five · 5th April 2004, 17:42

I failed my MOT on a broken hazard warning light switch.

Took it to BMW who said they didn't have time to look at it straight away and could I book it in - the earliest slot was 4 weeks away and my MOT ran out in 2 days!

I ended up taking it to the independent over the road and never did get another warranty.

They kept sending me warranty renewal letters 2 months late, so I would go into the dealer and ask to renew, they would say it was too late and I would point out the date on the warranty renewal letter. Then it was a case of only covering cars to 100k miles, then it was unlimited miles, then it went up from £440 to £520 and finally to £640.

The only item that was ever repaired under warranty was my timing chain tensioner and I believe that was their fault anyway as I had just picked it up from an Inspection!

It's not just the initial cost of the warranty that galls me, but th