BMW warranty - Why do people purchase?
- Thread starter Engram
- Start date
Depending on the car you have, something highly complex or high performance will go wrong. You simply chose how you want to prepare for this.
The 'gamble' as you put it, is only a gamble depending on the factors involved - the car type, the amount/type of use, the age, the value, the normal running costs.
The 'gamble' as you put it, is only a gamble depending on the factors involved - the car type, the amount/type of use, the age, the value, the normal running costs.
Some white goods can easily run into the cost of cars. Some LG fridges are £3k+
"Gamble" is an accurate term to be honest, you pay a yearly premium and if you don't claim during that year that money is effectively wasted.
As a rule of thumb if you can be religious enough in putting money aside each month for a rainy day then you could avoid getting a warranty. The danger then becomes if you end up with a several thousand pound repair bill early on for something that would've been covered by the warranty.
"Gamble" is an accurate term to be honest, you pay a yearly premium and if you don't claim during that year that money is effectively wasted.
As a rule of thumb if you can be religious enough in putting money aside each month for a rainy day then you could avoid getting a warranty. The danger then becomes if you end up with a several thousand pound repair bill early on for something that would've been covered by the warranty.
Warranties do one key thing - spread the cost of repairing something when it goes wrong over its total life. People buy the BMW warranty so when something breaks they don't have to suddenly find £1000, and pay a smaller amount on a regular basis for that convenience. It makes it easier to budget if you do not have bundles of cash spare, and it makes it possible to buy and use something before you necessarily have the money to repair it.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
A modern BMW is a complex and advanced car. This means that when it works, its outstanding, but when it breaks it can be tricky and expensive - VERY expensive. Sadly these failures can occur rather more than you'd expect from a high end car but its an inevitable side effect of rapid, largely EU-mandated progress.
The BMW warranty is an absolutely excellent package. With the comprehensive cover, its as good as an AUC warranty which itself is virtually the same as the new car warranty. There is rarely any hassle, faff or quibble.
The car breaks. BMW Emergency Service collect it. You drive away in a shiney loan car. Somebody else sorts out the resulting mess and the bill. You collect repaired car and drive away.
It's an absolute no brainer on a modern BMW and the cost is very reasonable - reasonable enough that its an amount nobody buying a car of this type should really notice.
It is not like buying an aftermarket warranty from a third party where authorisation is needed for claims and any excuse made not to pay out. It is seamless and hassle free.
The question here is why would you NOT buy it, not why would you buy it. It's NOTHING like an extended warranty on a television. Nothing at all.
A third party warranty is there purely to generate money for the insurer. The same is not true of the manufacturer backed warranty. A secondary objective is to provide peace of mind for owners to encourage the purchase of used cars or, perhaps, new cars. Many people plan to own for more than the 3 year warranty and the availability of a decent, no faff extended cover can be a purchasing decider. It doesnt need to be a profitable product in isolation.
Many people also overstretch when buying cars, especially on finance. Numerous people think because they have £300 a month left after bills, that means they can finance a 3 year old 335i or something. This means that when it blows its high pressure fuel pump up they simply dont have the £1000+ spare to get it sorted. £40-£50 a month for the BMW warranty, however, and they are freed from this sort of problem.
The BMW warranty is an absolutely excellent package. With the comprehensive cover, its as good as an AUC warranty which itself is virtually the same as the new car warranty. There is rarely any hassle, faff or quibble.
The car breaks. BMW Emergency Service collect it. You drive away in a shiney loan car. Somebody else sorts out the resulting mess and the bill. You collect repaired car and drive away.
It's an absolute no brainer on a modern BMW and the cost is very reasonable - reasonable enough that its an amount nobody buying a car of this type should really notice.
It is not like buying an aftermarket warranty from a third party where authorisation is needed for claims and any excuse made not to pay out. It is seamless and hassle free.
The question here is why would you NOT buy it, not why would you buy it. It's NOTHING like an extended warranty on a television. Nothing at all.
A third party warranty is there purely to generate money for the insurer. The same is not true of the manufacturer backed warranty. A secondary objective is to provide peace of mind for owners to encourage the purchase of used cars or, perhaps, new cars. Many people plan to own for more than the 3 year warranty and the availability of a decent, no faff extended cover can be a purchasing decider. It doesnt need to be a profitable product in isolation.
Many people also overstretch when buying cars, especially on finance. Numerous people think because they have £300 a month left after bills, that means they can finance a 3 year old 335i or something. This means that when it blows its high pressure fuel pump up they simply dont have the £1000+ spare to get it sorted. £40-£50 a month for the BMW warranty, however, and they are freed from this sort of problem.
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Show me a BMW worth buying for 3k that will be at an acceptable mileage for the warranty.
I agree with Fox. It's not only the fact that you are covered for any repairs, but it's also the convenience factor - you literally don't have to worry about a thing.
To give you an idea, i have a 56 plate E92 335i. The manufacturers warranty is only 2 or 3 years i believe, so when i bought the car it didn't come with any. I paid £464 for a year's comprehensive warranty with BMW and it has been fantastic.
Since the warranty i have had the following all free of charge, and as fox explained, each time i have been given a lovely courtesy car whilst the work has been carried out (in the most recent case i got a 61 plate F10 520d MSport
):
2 Turbos replaced and actuators
Ignitions coils
Fuel pump & sensors
4 Injectors
Full Engine De-coke
+ some sort of drive belt that was whining, can't remember its exact name.
Thats around £8-10k of work, the de-coke would have been over £2500 alone and the turbos would have been £3500+
BMW warranty? An absolute must have.
To give you an idea, i have a 56 plate E92 335i. The manufacturers warranty is only 2 or 3 years i believe, so when i bought the car it didn't come with any. I paid £464 for a year's comprehensive warranty with BMW and it has been fantastic.
Since the warranty i have had the following all free of charge, and as fox explained, each time i have been given a lovely courtesy car whilst the work has been carried out (in the most recent case i got a 61 plate F10 520d MSport
):2 Turbos replaced and actuators
Ignitions coils
Fuel pump & sensors
4 Injectors
Full Engine De-coke
+ some sort of drive belt that was whining, can't remember its exact name.
Thats around £8-10k of work, the de-coke would have been over £2500 alone and the turbos would have been £3500+
BMW warranty? An absolute must have.
How does the extended BMW warranty work?
Are there limits on the ages of the car? Does the warranty have to have been continually extended from after the manufacturers one ran out?
Could you buy, for example, a 2007 BMW that has done under 60k miles privately and then phone up BMW and purchase the fully comprehensive warranty on it?
I assume it will have to have been serviced at a BMW dealer at all the correct times/intervals e.t.c.?
Are there limits on the ages of the car? Does the warranty have to have been continually extended from after the manufacturers one ran out?
Could you buy, for example, a 2007 BMW that has done under 60k miles privately and then phone up BMW and purchase the fully comprehensive warranty on it?
I assume it will have to have been serviced at a BMW dealer at all the correct times/intervals e.t.c.?
You can take out a BMW warranty on any BMW seemingly irrespective of age or mileage. As mileage increases, the price goes up and level of availabilty covoer decreases. You dont need an existing warranty, though its cheaper if it already has BMW warranty.
If the car has under 60k miles you can buy the comprehensive cover.
If the car has over a certain mileage, I'm not sure what this is, you can only buy named component or driveline cover, and there is then another even higher limit where they will only sell you driveline cover.
They will, for example, happily sell you a driveline policy on a 150,000 mile 2001 car.
The price of the warranty increases at 60k miles - often by double. It increases again at the next milestone, circa 100-120k I think.
Really interesting information from Fox, big4000 and others. Thank you.
I hadn't realised just how hassle free the BMW warranty process is and it's also interesting to consider the BMW warranty as an incentive to buy a BMW, not just as a profit making enterprise.
I hadn't realised just how hassle free the BMW warranty process is and it's also interesting to consider the BMW warranty as an incentive to buy a BMW, not just as a profit making enterprise.
So, every year when you haven't had to claim on your car insurance for an accident or stolen car etc is a waste of money
Do you go out and stuff your car into a tree, before the year is up so you can get your money's worth? I think not.
I agree with Fox. It's not only the fact that you are covered for any repairs, but it's also the convenience factor - you literally don't have to worry about a thing.
To give you an idea, i have a 56 plate E92 335i. The manufacturers warranty is only 2 or 3 years i believe, so when i bought the car it didn't come with any. I paid £464 for a year's comprehensive warranty with BMW and it has been fantastic.
Since the warranty i have had the following all free of charge, and as fox explained, each time i have been given a lovely courtesy car whilst the work has been carried out (in the most recent case i got a 61 plate F10 520d MSport
2 Turbos replaced and actuators
Ignitions coils
Fuel pump & sensors
4 Injectors
Full Engine De-coke
+ some sort of drive belt that was whining, can't remember its exact name.
Thats around £8-10k of work, the de-coke would have been over £2500 alone and the turbos would have been £3500+
BMW warranty? An absolute must have.
eek sounds like a dreadful car ! how can so much have gone wrong on a relatively young car ?
About £400ish for the comprehensive zero excess policy, £500ish with Emergency Service.
The old shape Z4 though is one of the last cars where the warranty isnt a no brainer, though. They are pretty reliable, bar roof motors.