Extended Warranty

[hotlips69]

My manufacturers warranty runs out in about 3 weeks, and I've been thinking about some sort of extended warranty, but not sure the best route, i.e. extending with BMW or a 3rd party.

Does BMW write to you with extension options? :?
Are there "levels" of warranty extension cover?

I'm with the AA and they offer a "Breakdown Repair Cover" with costs about £70/year and covers up to 4 claims a year up to £500 with no excess (from memory).
I've had a read of the t&c's and the cover is pretty comprehensive (for the money). 8)

 

[marchantsuk]

Does BMW write to you with extension options? :?
Are there "levels" of warranty extension cover?

From memory, yes. Before it expires they give you the opportunity to extend, it's time limited so you have something like a month to sign up, after that you can't extend. There are 3 levels, drive train, named parts and comprehensive. I went for comprehensive and paid £470 for the year on a 2007 2.5 Z4r.
So far they have refused to pay out on broken rear spring (the dealer did a deal, so I only paid the equivalent of £40 more than I would have done with the policy excess). Now they are trying to get out of the roof motor failure, so we are currently locked in discussions :evil:

 

[ZedFourM]

So far they have refused to pay out on broken rear spring (the dealer did a deal, so I only paid the equivalent of £40 more than I would have done with the policy excess). Now they are trying to get out of the roof motor failure, so we are currently locked in discussions :evil:

I have had the BMW Extended Warranty on my M5 for about 6 years now. I also have it on the Z4M and on my wife's Mini Cooper S. All 3 cars have under 40k miles on them.

My experience (and my local Service Advisor, who I have a good relationship with, agrees with me) is that it is getting harder and harder to claim under the warranty. A large number of items are classified as "trim", even though they are nothing of the sort, and are excluded. We have the nonsense where a roof motor (which is not listed in the exclusions, is not part of the maintenance schedule, and which is not subject to any warnings in the owner's manual) is being disputed. Even things which are definately covered are refused first time, and only paid for if you argue.

It used to be that the BMW Warranty was an excellent one - basically if anything went wrong, it got fixed. Now that it's run by an insurance company, they have no interest in maintaining BMW's reputation or its relationship with its customers, and the only criterion is how little they can pay out.

I'm seriously thinking of cancelling all 3 policies, and putting the annual £2.5k cost (the M cars are £915 each) into a contingency fund instead.

Please do keep us updated on how you get on with roof motor.

 

[marchantsuk]

So far they have refused to pay out on broken rear spring (the dealer did a deal, so I only paid the equivalent of £40 more than I would have done with the policy excess). Now they are trying to get out of the roof motor failure, so we are currently locked in discussions :evil:

I have had the BMW Extended Warranty on my M5 for about 6 years now. I also have it on the Z4M and on my wife's Mini Cooper S. All 3 cars have under 40k miles on them.

My experience (and my local Service Advisor, who I have a good relationship with, agrees with me) is that it is getting harder and harder to claim under the warranty. A large number of items are classified as "trim", even though they are nothing of the sort, and are excluded. We have the nonsense where a roof motor (which is not listed in the exclusions, is not part of the maintenance schedule, and which is not subject to any warnings in the owner's manual) is being disputed. Even things which are definately covered are refused first time, and only paid for if you argue.

It used to be that the BMW Warranty was an excellent one - basically if anything went wrong, it got fixed. Now that it's run by an insurance company, they have no interest in maintaining BMW's reputation or its relationship with its customers, and the only criterion is how little they can pay out.

I'm seriously thinking of cancelling all 3 policies, and putting the annual £2.5k cost (the M cars are £915 each) into a contingency fund instead.

Please do keep us updated on how you get on with roof motor.

You hit the nail on the head, the policy is now run by an insurance company (mondial assistance), I have no experience of the previous warranty run by BMW but this one feels just like any insurance policy, where you know any claim will take a fight.
Well Mondial picked the wrong fight this time. I will go to court and the FSA to get this sorted. Perhaps an open letter to BMW UK (and Munich) should also be considered. I'm sure we have more than 50 people on here that have been affected by this, and this is only a tiny proportion of those affected.

 

[ronk]

How long ago dit it become a Mondial run set up -Its about three years ago that the extended warranty coughed up for the motor on my old E85 - no wriggle whatsoever. The policy booklet and docs didnt appear to change, I wonder if this was a ploy!!!!

Keep up the fight and dont let them off the hook!