Thoughts on keeping BMW Insured Warranty going..

[nickw6666]

I know this is a topic that has been raised before, but I'd like to get some fresh views on whether people think it's worth keeping a BMW warranty going.
I have a BMW Insured Warranty on my 2007 Z4MC which costs me over £80 per month and I've had it going for the past 10 years. When I add the money up, that I've paid, I cringe! Of course, you are effectively buying a level of insurance with the warranty, and my claims to date have only been a gear lever knob (M-light stopped working) and a set of rear springs after one of the originals snapped.
So I'm thinking now of stopping the warranty and just saving the money towards any repair costs, which would total nearly £1000 per year.
My car is very low miles at 34k and it's a 2nd car kept in the garage when not using. I don't use it much at all through the winter keeping it periodically on a CTEK charger.
What are people's thoughts on the this? I have fully comprehensive warranty but dropping the level of cover doesn't actually seem to reduce the cost much.
Would you keep it going or stop it and save the cash?
.

 

[-Tom-]

Haha, I’ve been paying mine for 6 years or so also. I’m on around 60k Miles now and my premium is slightly more. I debate this same point with myself way too often.

From my experience, It’s actually more than covered itself which is crazy. That being said, I think the car is at the point now where it should be pretty well sorted, and I do maybe 1000 miles a year if I’m lucky.

Are you thinking of selling any time soon? And there raises the question if you are ... will it help the sale being able to pass the warranty over?

 

[-Tom-]

And if you think of stopping the warranty ... an exit plan could be to take it to a decent indie for an early inspection and ask them to be as pedantic as possible to highlight any issues that could be looked at under warranty before finishing it ?

 

[Silverstar]

From your own maths you can see that it does not make sense. I would put the money aside in case the car needs repairs at some point in the future and if it does not then well the money is in your pocket and not in that of the warranty company. Just like insurance most of the time you do not need it! I have always thought that it's best to use cars on a regular basis rather than keep them laid up for weeks and months on end, it actually keeps them in better condition.

 

[mmm-five]

It’s a much harder sell for low mileage cars, but I kept mine going until I reached 100,000 miles, and it easily paid for itself with an engine & diff (plus little bits like window regulator, wheel bearing, 2 sets of parking sensors).

I was however doing 10,000 miles a year on my quietest years, and 25,000 miles a year on the busier ones.

 

[nickw6666]

Thanks for the feedback so far, some really interesting points.

'Tom' - you are in similar position to me. With regard to selling with warranty, I was initially told by BMW Insured Warranty that if the warranty lapses it can't be renewed, but this is not true as you can renew on a car that doesn't have warranty. So if I was to sell, the new owner could start paying for warranty etc but as mine is paid monthly, it would not be transferred as such although I suppose the premium could be 'taken' over which would keep it lower cost than a new warranty purchase. So maybe some benefit in keeping if you are selling, which I might be doing early next year.

'Silverstar' - I have been thinking along the lines that you have suggested, the numbers don't really add up, unless of course you have an engine failure or the same work that 'mmm-five' has had. But then that is a high mileage/ high use car compared to mine!

'mmm-five' - Wow, that's some serious cost there! Did you have to have a brand new engine and Diff?

 

[mmm-five]

'mmm-five' - Wow, that's some serious cost there! Did you have to have a brand new engine and Diff?

Yes, brand new engine at 23,000...just after an Inspection 2.

 

[srhutch]

I’ve had my ///M for 8 years now and not bothered with warranty. I’ve replaced in that time and 17k

Battery
Ignition switch
O2 sensor
Entire ABS pump
ABS sensor

Done all the work myself and total cost under £800, a tenth of what my warranty costs would have been.

 

[Silverstar]

'mmm-five' - Wow, that's some serious cost there! Did you have to have a brand new engine and Diff?

Yes, brand new engine at 23,000...just after an Inspection 2.

That is seriously unlucky to be needing a brand new engine and diff at such low mileage. Mind you even if the engine and diff can be refurbed at much lower costs main dealers won't do it, anything related to the drivetrain engine gearbox diff etc they will simply want to put in a new replacement unit. If you remove the warranty find a good independent specialist where you can get most jobs done for a fraction of the costs.

 

[markos]

When I add the money up, that I've paid, I cringe! Of course, you are effectively buying a level of insurance with the warranty,

Also worth bearing in mind that all that outlay has bought you peace of mind, knowledge that you're covered should the worst happen. That's definitely worth something. The irony is – with or without warranty – we all prefer a car not to have problems, and had yours had lots of problems you'd have got rid long ago!

 

[bjd]

I struggle with this every year...

It's insurance, it's peace of mind. If it's a daily driver and your only car then yes, I would have the warranty (and I do). My ABS pump went so thats paid for itself last year. It's the connivence of being able to say to a garage, "it's fooked, sort it out" whilst knowing you haven't got to splurge out on unexpected costs which is quite nice if you already budget monthly costs for the insurance premiums.

If it's a second car laid up and you can leave it for a few months until you have cash to fix it if things are tight then no, I probably wouldn't have it.