Warranty - is it worth it.

B

Broads

Member
 Melksham
So I have nearly had my Z for a year, and the warranty that came with the car, is about to expire.

Very kindly :p I have had a call from "AutoProtect" asking if I want to renew. Basically has anyone had to use AutoProtect or can recommend a good warranty. I know some people have commented on warranty in the past, but I cant find the post. Typically I don't think I am covered due to a remap, but that's in discussion with them at present.

"The policy will only cover manufacturer fitted parts. Any part that has been remapped would not be covered on the policy and nor would any part that may have failed due the effects of the remapping."


I think the normal quote that applies is warranties aren't normally worth the paper there printed on, but open to your thoughts.
 
1 Is the BMW warranty worth it? Yes. Mine costs less than £500 a year. Last year, they paid out £2k+. It's a no-brainer.

2 Will they cover remapping? No. (Would you? :) )
 
Depends on actual car ( as in how long owned & how well you think you know it) the cost of warranty & model of Z .
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old twin turbo with say 60k id say well worth it as they have known fails that aren't cheap fixes
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old 2.0i single turbo with 60k id probably not bother .
Often its not free to make claims depending on who you are with so could be costs incurred on top of the premium
At the end of the day its nothing more than a insurance policy & we all know how that works
 
I have a 3.5 is and paid £486 for my BMW warranty this year. Gives me peace of mind. :thumbsup:
 
Some valid points from mrwilks :thumbsup:

I would add that it depends on your stance on risk/probability (and DIY skills :wink: )
You can 'insure' just about anything.

Personally in over 40 years of motoring I've never had a warranty or breakdown cover, or needed either
My thoughts for sometime now are that if I breakdown or have an issue with our cars I'm still 'quids in'
I also wonder with a warranty about all the exemptions, which when you study them are exactly the items that are most likely to fail.
(they're not daft are they :) )

But each to their own - you pays your money and takes your pick
 
Thanks all...

Pretty much my conclusion.. I have never had a warranty on a car till now, and this one is somewhat newer than all of my previous cars. If I can fix, all of them with no issue, then surely something newer should be less likely. :|

Going official BMW route may be expensive, but there are many garages equipped to fix issues, and more DIY'able jobs can be done yourself.
As someone else says warranty is piece of mind on paper, but when it comes to an actual pay out pretty sure they will find the get out clause.. Which is even easier as I have had mine mapped. I'll save my £500 and use it towards a fix if I need it.
 
Work on the principal, can I afford to fix it in the unlikely event it goes pop. It's insurance, if you can underwrite it your sellf, then over time that will end up cheaper than paying a middle man. :wink:
 
Another thing I wonder also is if you modded your Z with say suspension components, LSD, third party alloys and visible performance engine parts .. do you insure it anyway? Is there any warranty company that offer modified cars that way or it’s just a repair pot you save up ? I mean a roof repair (outside of a modified scope) for example can cost thousands ...
 
I have the warranty on my 35is. £50 per month.
My oil filter housing cracked two months ago pissing oil all over. Replaced and repaired under warranty.

Active suspension strut leaking and MoT failure. Replaced and repaired under warranty.

I would dare not run a 35is without the warranty. There are some eye watering expensive issues.

All that said, there are some exceptions. Apparently, leaking gaskets are not covered.
 
step_change said:
I have the warranty on my 35is. £50 per month.
My oil filter housing cracked two months ago pissing oil all over. Replaced and repaired under warranty.

Active suspension strut leaking and MoT failure. Replaced and repaired under warranty.

I would dare not run a 35is without the warranty. There are some eye watering expensive issues.

All that said, there are some exceptions. Apparently, leaking gaskets are not covered.
Click to expand...

£50 a month seems reasonable with a N54 , Is there a cost to you with each claim ?
 
£100 per claim. That seems reasonable to me. Had I gone for the £250 option, it makes you think is it worth taking the car in if you got to shell £250 out.

There are ferocious bills on these potnetially if you start getting gearbox and/or turbo issues and the warranty is pretty much mandatory in my opinion.
 
mr wilks said:
Depends on actual car ( as in how long owned & how well you think you know it) the cost of warranty & model of Z .
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old twin turbo with say 60k id say well worth it as they have known fails that aren't cheap fixes
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old 2.0i single turbo with 60k id probably not bother .
Often its not free to make claims depending on who you are with so could be costs incurred on top of the premium
At the end of the day its nothing more than a insurance policy & we all know how that works
Click to expand...
Yes, you're right. I should have said that my good warranty experience is because of the known probable expenses of a 35iS.

That said, unlike you :wink:, I'm a 'keeper' of any car I buy. I see 100,000 miles as a minimum. This is because I buy cars I like and, unless they go bang, like my 911, or I crash them (in the same week), like my 4.2 Jaguar, I keep them, often 2 or 3 at the same time. In these circumstances, extended warranties can also make very good sense.

In my experience, the BMW warranty is a good one.
 
Busterboo said:
mr wilks said:
Depends on actual car ( as in how long owned & how well you think you know it) the cost of warranty & model of Z .
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old twin turbo with say 60k id say well worth it as they have known fails that aren't cheap fixes
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old 2.0i single turbo with 60k id probably not bother .
Often its not free to make claims depending on who you are with so could be costs incurred on top of the premium
At the end of the day its nothing more than a insurance policy & we all know how that works
Click to expand...
Yes, you're right. I should have said that my good warranty experience is because of the known probable expenses of a 35iS.

That said, unlike you :wink:, I'm a 'keeper' of any car I buy. I see 100,000 miles as a minimum. This is because I buy cars I like and, unless they go bang, like my 911, or I crash them (in the same week), like my 4.2 Jaguar, I keep them, often 2 or 3 at the same time. In these circumstances, extended warranties can also make very good sense.

In my experience, the BMW warranty is a good one.
Click to expand...
My thoughts too, Buster. I meant to say mine is the BMW warranty as well.
My 35is is a keeper for the next few years. It is garaged and well looked after. Once over 100k then I'll take my chances without warranty and if a big bill comes in I'll write it off. That way, other than initial outlay, routine running costs and £50 per month is what I amortise into my thinking.

Also have the extended warranty on my 535 Msport, fully loaded and immaculate nick. 2014 plate and 51000 miles.

I do about 12000 miles a year across both cars so neither of them is doing monster miles.

Changing these cars regularly to keep them newish under the original new car warranty is an expensive game. If you think the warranty is expensive - which it is - it is a lot less than upgrading the car to a newer one (my car plus a £25k cash sum) then that £25k depreciating to nothing after three years.
 
Busterboo said:
mr wilks said:
Depends on actual car ( as in how long owned & how well you think you know it) the cost of warranty & model of Z .
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old twin turbo with say 60k id say well worth it as they have known fails that aren't cheap fixes
For £500 a year on a 8/9yr old 2.0i single turbo with 60k id probably not bother .
Often its not free to make claims depending on who you are with so could be costs incurred on top of the premium
At the end of the day its nothing more than a insurance policy & we all know how that works
Click to expand...
Yes, you're right. I should have said that my good warranty experience is because of the known probable expenses of a 35iS.

That said, unlike you :wink:, I'm a 'keeper' of any car I buy. I see 100,000 miles as a minimum. This is because I buy cars I like and, unless they go bang, like my 911, or I crash them (in the same week), like my 4.2 Jaguar, I keep them, often 2 or 3 at the same time. In these circumstances, extended warranties can also make very good sense.

In my experience, the BMW warranty is a good one.
Click to expand...

As a keeper though as time goes by BMW will put the warranty cost up as they have more failures due to age etc.

As stated above though it comes down to how good you are with spanners and how essential the car is to your daily life. I had trouble with the ABS pump on mine back in April (yes I know E85) but the £4k I would have spent on warranty for this would have been my second claim and I fixed for £600. The first was an O2 sensor which cost me about £85.

These E89's have more electrical system on them, turbos and other items more likely to be prone to failure.

At the end of the day its risk and cost, but if you are going for a warranty the BMW one does seem to be the best and at similar costs to other warranties.
 
I have a 35i with 27000 miles and I paid £1100 for 3 years complete cover far in excess of what BMW offer.
My second zed with this warranty. Last one paid out over £4k in a year with no worries.

Biggest bonus is they cover wearing parts, so you don't have to wait for a lifter to fail before they change it, they also cover anything that fails in MOT, excepting tyres and the like.

There is no better product available
 
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