BMW extended warranty, costs and repairs

Associate
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My parking sensors on my 535 failed front and rear. "Please park manually and visit a service centre" flashed up on iDrive. I checked the fuses etc but this was a hard fault.

BMW diagnosed a faulty control module after having traced the wiring. They even had the cheek to say beforehand that if the wiring was broken due to a mouse or insects then this would not be covered. Seriously.... I thought I was dealing with BMW here, not Bill and Bob on the dodgy back streets....

Anyway, after them keeping it for four days and a load of back and forth they repaired it under warranty. £1886.76 inclusive. I can't believe that BMW repairs cost what they do as per my recent encounter. The part in that case would have been £532 + VAT. The module, a common component across all BMW cars, has to be programmed according to the car it is fitted in (different lengths/widths etc) and that takes two hours and it likewise charged at the hourly rate.

I am on extended warranty so in the end it just cost me my excess of £100. But seriously.... the thick end of £1900 and labour rates of £180 per hour plus VAT?

Is this a chicken and egg of repairs being so high that you have to have the warranty that forces the warranty costs up that in turn make it that everyone has to have the warranty to save themselves from ludicrous repair bills like that which in turn creates a situation where BMW can charge more. Is this a cartel? A deliberate rig and price fix to drive maintenance costs up?

I asked the Sytner service advisor who said about 90% of the cars are under extended warranty. I can see why. No way would I not haver this car covered. And I see why that BMW/Audi etc only offer 3 years standard new car warranty and not 5 and 7 years like the Japanese and Koreans do.... It must be a massive money earner for BMW.

I paid extended warranty on my 5 series for two years and didn't need to make a claim. That two years cost me £1700 in total. I was tempted to not bother this year but reluctantly continued on the monthly plan (at £91 per month). I am glad I did.

Just sharing an experience. Apologies for the War and Peace.
 
Caporegime
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I had my 5 series under warranty for a couple of years, the whole experience was frustrating and my experience of the local BMW dealership was pretty much the entire setup was a scam.

Now I just let my local garage deal with whatever comes up at sensible prices and no fear of being done over.
 
Soldato
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Try a lexus if you want something reliable.

That said I don't know which generation your car is but someone may have devised a repair to the module which would make it work again without any reprogramming etc saving the ridiculous repair costs.

The service advisor would say most cars are under warranty as people out of warranty and without a plan probbably wouldn't take it to a dealer for repair.


And yes the whole thing is a scam, it's the Gilette razor blade business model.
 
Soldato
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In my experience, extended warranties have proved their worth, but that was with BMW M cars where the potential for big bills was likely.

Normal BMWs are so complex these days, I'd probably want a warranty in place regardless. My Porsche came with 2 years warranty and I will extend it after that (German cars are far from infallible). However it appears significantly cheaper at around £1200 for 2 years cover.

My Lexus ISF cost £700 for 2 years extended warranty. I though that it was very reasonable, but a total waste as the cars hardly go wrong. BMW should learn a thing or two about reliability from Lexus.
 
Soldato
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they repaired it under warranty. £1886.76 inclusive.
That two years cost me £1700 in total. I was tempted to not bother this year but reluctantly continued on the monthly plan (at £91 per month).

So you've actually just gone past breaking even at this point? 2 years @ 1700 and 2 months at 90, plus 100 excess, makes your total warranty bill so far 1980...

Warranty is just an insurance. You could pay another 2k for two more years of cover and not need a claim at all. If you're begrudged on paying the price, you'd probably be better off sticking that £90 into a savings account each month, and then going to an indy for a repair.
 
Associate
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Wouldn't dream of running my car with out it. Just picked it up after two weeks which was just ment to be it's inspection 2 + mot. Instead on top of that it's had some non warranty work bringing the cost to 1500. Along with 1500 ext vat covered by the warranty, I did 2500 miles in it since it had its last service a year ago.

In the five years I have owned it I have had at least one claim a year that's at least broken even and plenty more that have reached 3/4k. That's with my warranty being £80 a month + 250 excess now.

I have also never had a claimed rejected or any issues like that (including the replacement of the roof motor damaged due to water, which is meant to be a pain to get them to accept).
 
Man of Honour
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I can't be bothered to deal with random garages and I like the zero hassle peace of mind the BMW warranty gives me. Financially it's undoubtedly cost me more than it would have to not bother.
 
Associate
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BMW diagnosed a faulty control module after having traced the wiring. They even had the cheek to say beforehand that if the wiring was broken due to a mouse or insects then this would not be covered. Seriously.... I thought I was dealing with BMW here, not Bill and Bob on the dodgy back streets....

Rodent damage is more common than you think and at lease they were up front about it.

I had a customer that had a engine bay wiring loom chewed through by rats/mice and was the best part of 2.5k to replace, customer claimed on their insurnace and another that have the wires coming out of the main ecu and also injector wiring chewed through, was best part of £800

Alex
 
Man of Honour
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And yet the cars are still sufficiently uninspiring that many of us instead put up with having to buy warranties for German cars.
 
Soldato
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And yet the cars are still sufficiently uninspiring that many of us instead put up with having to buy warranties for German cars.

German cars are all pretty dull too these days.

Also most of them are ugly now, especially the recent BMWs with that downs syndrome grille.
 
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Soldato
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The badge. Sheep follow the badge and want to look down on their neighbours. Why else would people put up with the expense and poor reliability from a supposed superior brand?

Loads of German car owners aren't even car enthuisats, so you can say it's because of better driving dynamics.
 
Soldato
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While people still buy the cars and covet the brand, BMW will have no interest in doing anything extra that benefits the customer. In my experience all manufacturers are the same. Sickening really.

This is true, for now. I honestly think they're on a downward slope and they don't seem to be doing anything about it. I had 3 in a row, but can't see me going back. Maybe if the i8 replacement is any good.
 
Associate
OP
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I can't be bothered to deal with random garages and I like the zero hassle peace of mind the BMW warranty gives me. Financially it's undoubtedly cost me more than it would have to not bother.
My thoughts too.
Running this car without extended warranty is a recipe for financial disaster IMO. A major engine or gearbox issue can spit out a five figure repair bill and even some of the indies (I did my research beforehand) say that some jobs need to be done by BMW and that they do not have some of the diagnostics and software tools.

I concur about Lexus, I was very impressed and this 5'er maybe my last German car.
 
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