BMW and M Power Owners

Man of Honour
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mine was an AUC renewal, the operator over the phone said that the discount applied
mine would've been ~£600 w/o the discount, apparently
Did they get in touch with you or did you have to call them? Come to think of it I don’t recall getting any AUC paperwork.
 
Soldato
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Insurance is a legal requirement, not quite the same thing. I'm just wondering how many 4-6 year old cars develop faults which make the extended warranty viable.

I'm not talking about car insurance. The BMW Insured Warranty is an insurance product underwritten and administered by Allianz.

You will almost never be in a situation where you can expect to claim more than the cost of the insurance on average, at least not based on something like age which is known to the insurer. Not only is that because of claims, but premiums have to cover the expenses BMW and Allianz incur.
 
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Man of Honour
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Did they get in touch with you or did you have to call them? Come to think of it I don’t recall getting any AUC paperwork.
apparently you should get a letter 4-6 weeks before your AUC finishes, but i didn't receive mine because they got my address wrong lol
its very easy to call and sort it all out over the phone anyhow...so i wouldn't stress about not receiving anything through the post
 
Soldato
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I'm not talking about car insurance. The BMW Insured Warranty is an insurance product underwritten and administered by Allianz.

You will almost never be in a situation where you can expect to claim more than the cost of the insurance on average, at least not based on something like age which is known to the insurer. Not only is that because of claims, but premiums have to cover the expenses BMW and Allianz incur.
Sorry was sure you mentioned car insurance (had a few beers). I understand the premise behind the premium but wondering how many on here actually made use of it. Like I said, I doubt I'd go for extended based on the prices I've seen.
 
Man of Honour
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Is it just me or do all the warranty prices I've seen posted here seem quite a lot? How often has anyone actually saved money with one?

It is priced by series not model, a 1 series is very cheap and a 7 series is very expensive despite sharing many components.

The prices quoted here are 5 series prices, in my opinion the price of the 5 series policy is expensive, quite close infact to being too expensive. If you drive a 1 series or a 3 series it's much cheaper - I have just renewed our Mini for 300 quid.

It'll be very cheap for your 1 series renewal I'd imagine.
 
Soldato
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It’s expensive for me but then M cars can throw massive bills. I’ve no interest in modifying mine so I’ll just put it down to M car ownership costs and have peace of mind.
Chris, that price seems wrong to me (maybe right for >60,000 miles). I have my M3 (now on 83k miles) under BMW warranty, comprehensive with the £250 excess. I took it out when the car was on about 52k miles (when my AUC warranty expired) and I chose the pay monthly option to ensure I keep the lower price. It ends up costing just a smidge over £1k / year this way. Ive had that warranty for two years now and in that time I've had about £1800 of warranty work done, so it's not really paid for itself, but then the car's also not thrown any major wobblers either. It is, as you say, peace of mind.
 
Man of Honour
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Chris, that price seems wrong to me (maybe right for >60,000 miles). I have my M3 (now on 83k miles) under BMW warranty, comprehensive with the £250 excess. I took it out when the car was on about 52k miles (when my AUC warranty expired) and I chose the pay monthly option to ensure I keep the lower price. It ends up costing just a smidge over £1k / year this way. Ive had that warranty for two years now and in that time I've had about £1800 of warranty work done, so it's not really paid for itself, but then the car's also not thrown any major wobblers either. It is, as you say, peace of mind.
I’m assuming it’s because it’s quoting me a new policy and not a renewal.

What work has yours had done?
 
Soldato
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I’m assuming it’s because it’s quoting me a new policy and not a renewal.

What work has yours had done?
6 spark plugs, igntion coil, diff seal, rear spring, bump stops, exhaust mounts, couple of other bits and pieces I can't recall. I didn't see the actual bill so I'm guessing at the price, but they had the car for two days so there was likely a good 6+ hours of labour in there bumping the price up no end.
 

OG

OG

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That'll be fine then, BMW warranty gets very expensive when renewed after 60k.

Sounds like a great car.

Not sounds like. Definitely will have. They wouldn't get any money when you renew the BMW warranty in a year's time.

Also I like how they say all dealerships will honour it. It's not a dealership that honours a warranty. A dealership will do any work as long as they are paid properly by any warranty provider.

They sent through the terms sheet, although it is comprehensive it has the following exceptions (below) which on paper sound ok but considering the amount you pay for the warranty I definitely would want it to actually include everything the BMW warranty includes. Asked the dealer if they can do anything with the BMW warranty and if not, at least I tried :D

WHAT IS NOT COVERED

Whilst you have a high level of guarantee cover available, there are certain items which this guarantee specifically does not cover and this includes, but is not limited to, the following:

∙ Body components such as strikers, hinges or any component which may require adjustment from time to time

∙ Body panels, paintwork or glass

∙ Interior trim

∙ Recharging of the air conditioning unit (unless required as part of a valid repair)

∙ Renewal of brake components due to wear and tear

∙ Renewal of any clutch components due to wear, incorrect adjustment or misuse

∙ The clearing of fuel lines, filters, throttle bodies, injectors and pumps and damage to components due to the use of incorrect or contaminated fuel or the use of bio fuel outside of the manufacturer’s recommendations

∙ Airbags and connections, fuses, batteries, bulbs, exhaust systems, wiper blades, wheel balancing and alignment, wheels, tyres and water ingress (including damage to covered parts caused by water) ∙ Lubricants, filter elements and any damage caused by frost or lack of anti-freeze or by impact, accident or negligence

∙ Weather strips and body seals

∙ Any loss caused directly or indirectly by the claims or the event that caused the claim ∙ Damage resulting from the failure of a timing belt which has not been replaced as per the manufacturer’s recommendations (proof required)

∙ Batteries

∙ External charging system components (charge connector and cable, home charging dock and fast charging port)
 
Soldato
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How accurate are the BMW fuel gauges that give you a remaining mileage readout?

510 miles with a full tank, 297 with 3/4 of a tank, so I’m guessing not very? :p

Also is there a way to adjust both sides of the dual climate control together rather than 1 and then the other?
 
Man of Honour
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How accurate are the BMW fuel gauges that give you a remaining mileage readout?

510 miles with a full tank, 297 with 3/4 of a tank, so I’m guessing not very?

They are in my experience very reliable. Remember, it constantly recalculates remaining range based on the driving you're doing. So, if you drive from Newcastle to Southampton at 70mph on the cruise control and then fill up you'll have an enormous predicted range which will then fall very quickly if you start driving round and round town instead.

Also is there a way to adjust both sides of the dual climate control together rather than 1 and then the other?

Yes, depending on the age and model of car there will be either an 'All' or a 'Sync' button on the climate panel - if this is turned on, the driver side control will adjust both together. If this button isn't present then the answer is no. Pretty sure its an F Series onwards function.
 
Man of Honour
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It’s not for everyone, it’s the level of risk you’re willing to accept.

Exactly this. I'm now into Year 8 of 530d ownership across 2 cars and in that time I've had either AUC, New Car or BMW Insured warranty. From a purely hindsight financial perspective there is no way I can argue that the warranty was money well spent - in-fact I think the total value of claims I've made under the insured warranty is zero - I had a few bits under the new car one. I've been paying for it on my current car for about 3 years now so do the maths on how much money I've wasted. We also have the policy on the MINI too, which is now into its second year of insured warranty, but this is far cheaper. But again, the amount I've claimed on it is zero.

So why do I bother?

For me, it changes the entire ownership experience. I grew absolutely fed up with things going wrong on my car and then having to join the lottery of independent specialists hoping to find one that is half way credible or risking the potentially huge bills paying main dealers to do investigative work. With the warranty, this problem goes away which makes me far happier to keep my cars longer and reduces any real imperative to replace them. I am quite risk averse and this played heavily into my decision. I would now not run any car without one, but I accept somebody elses balance of risk may be different.

The cheaper the policy the more sensible it is to maintain it I think - the MINI is about 300 quid a year which is trivial really and therefore it makes no real sense to not. By contrast the 5 Series is much more expensive - it's right on the balance now between being worth the bother and not, if it gets much more expensive then I'll have to seriously rethink how I do things, especially against the backdrop of other manufacturers now having far more competitively priced policies.

It does annoy me how the policies are priced - every car in a range is the same price, irrespective of reliability, specification or what mechanical parts are fitted. So, a 120d is hugely cheaper than a 520d despite the fact that it'll have the same engine, the same gearbox, the same idrive system, etc etc. Ditto a 730d is hugely more expensive than a 530d despite, yup, you guessed it, the same engine, the same gearbox, the same infotainment system... People with smaller but better optioned cars do much better out of the value aspect I think. The 3 Series seems to be a fairly good sweet spot in terms of the value the policy offers. It's pretty much what has put me off a 7 Series - I won't run one out of cover and I won't pay £2k a year for a warranty.
 
Man of Honour
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Agree with the above. £2.4k to extend the warranty on my 730d doesn't make sense. Of course everything could blow up and go pear shaped, but on balance that isn't likely, and many parts are shared with the cheaper models and readily available.

The only obscure thing I can think of on my car (that you don't find on a 330d etc) is the rear air suspension, and the dynamic anti-roll bar.
 
Man of Honour
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Which you'll also find on a 5 Series Touring or a 6 Series GT..

An option available for my car which, if fitted, wouldn't affect the warranty price :D

Indeed, although I bet this has bigger rear air springs than the 5 Touring. They are massive.

I will review it when I get the renewal offer through, do you know what the discount is (if one applies)? I doubt it will be much.
 
Soldato
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Agree with the above. £2.4k to extend the warranty on my 730d doesn't make sense. Of course everything could blow up and go pear shaped, but on balance that isn't likely, and many parts are shared with the cheaper models and readily available.

The only obscure thing I can think of on my car (that you don't find on a 330d etc) is the rear air suspension, and the dynamic anti-roll bar.

Doesn't 730d have all round air suspension?
 
Man of Honour
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Was I meant to have received AUC paperwork or an email after I bought my M3? I can’t find anything so if I should have I’ll chase the dealer.
 
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