2006 325 warranty... what gives?

I was thinking of buying one of these things, but I wanted to investigate the extended warranty since german cars aren't really known for their reliability. I dont want to own a money pit.

Their website doesn't tell much about the warranty, and asks me to talk to a dealer regarding coverage details. What sort of nonsense is that? I don't want some dealer to "give me his word" on what is covered, I want to see the full details of regular and extended warranty, all inclusions and exclusions in writing. Will the dealer give me this BEFORE I plonk down $35k?

Better yet, does anyone already have this information they could share here? I realize that pricing of the warranty could be something up for negotiation, but I at least need to know whats covered before I buy one of these things.

Reply to
Choder
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Sure about the money pit thing?? We own 3 BMWs, none of which have failed "reliability". Only 1 has an extended maintenance warranty, but we aren't so sure we needed it.

Kathy

Reply to
KJM

An extended warranty is a form of insurance, and therefore not sold at a loss. So to benefit from buying one you have to be more unlucky with problems than the average.

I didn't take up the offer on my E39, and am many hundreds of pounds better off as a result.

Others will have different stories. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I just have friends that had 2002-2004 3-series and they are in the shop for 200 bucks here, 300 bucks there all the time. I seem to be a little "harder" on a car than most, because american cars don't last long at all with me driving, I've had success only with japanese models.. thus my interest in extended warranties. It also worries me that the new 3-series is brand new, and Im wondering if I should wait till 2007 for them to work the bugs out.

Reply to
Choder

Who said that the german cars arent known for reliability?? Thats the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!! Maintainance is the only key.. take care of your vehicle and it will take care of you. I have seen bimmers running up in the 350-400k range on original powertrain components with no major (over $500) work done on them. If you are planning on buying a bimmer and then driving it into the ground like a honda or a toyota, then dont buy it.. your car will fail and it will be expensive. Sure you can get a honda or toyota to the

150k miles range but it will drive like a big hunk of crap if not maintained. Same goes for the bimmer, but your honda, toyota, whatever, will never give you the driving experience of a well maintained bimmer.
Reply to
Corey Shuman

I think that's generally true. But as I said in an earlier thread, I seem to have worse luck than average with regard to reliability.

Also, I like not running into expensive surprises, I'd prefer to operate on a fixed monthly budget that stays relatively constant. Even if paying for repairs out of pocket turned out to be a few bucls more than paying for repairs as they arise, I like avoiding the stress of an expense here, an expense there, etc.

Reply to
Choder

Consumer Reports and other ratings boards show a clear disparity in overall reliability between German and Japanese brands. Do not compare BMW to Honda or Toyota, compare them to Acura and Lexus... and yes you can certainly get an equivilent if not better in some cases driving experience.

Anyway, my question is what exactly is or isnt covered under the basic and extended warranties. It wasnt to debate reliablity statistics across brands.

Reply to
Choder

As the website says, go talk to your dealer. They are not going to "give you their word", they have all the info you need and will be able to answer any questions you have. You will (presumably) go to the dealers to look at the cars, so ask about the warranties then. Can't really see what you have a problem with?

Reply to
zerouali

Then you'd need more than an extended warranty and add something like a fixed price maintenance scheme, since many things will be wear and tear and not failures.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The problem is that to even know if I am remotely interested in the car, I would like to see what the warranty covers. I don't want to drive halfway across town and spend an hour or two talking to a salesman, because time is money to me (as it is to him), and if the warranty is inadequate I am not interested in the brand. I could discern this in 5 minutes if I could read the warranty itself. The web offers a perfect opportunity for them to publish this information. Manufacturers of other goods do it routinely, so why do car dealers need to be so elusive about their warranty information?

I didn't come here to complain, I posted the original postprimarily to see if anyone had this info they could share. Failing that, maybe I will just call up the dealer and ask them to e-mail me a .pdf or other document with the information. The year is 2005 and this information should really be on the web in this day and time. If they can invest the time to write all the marketing spiel, they should make the warranty information public without having to listen to a sales dog and pony show or in-person visit to the dealer. Unless they have something to hide.

Reply to
Choder

I suspect you're right, but I would like to see the warranty options and evaluate things for myself before making a decision.

Reply to
Choder

To be perfectly honest, in my experience of BMW's the warranty is as good as you'll get anywhere. BMW are one of the few (if not only) manufacturers who will honour known problems with your car even when it is out of warranty, as long as it has been dealer serviced.

BMW's are no less reliable than any other performance marque. Everyone raves about Japanese reliability, but this is often just good marketing. For example, the Mitsubishi Evo 8 is a great performance car, but has a service interval of 4000 miles. Compare that to an M3 which has a c.15000 miles service interval and equal, if not greater performance.

Seriously, take a couple of hours out on a Saturday afternoon and go to the dealer. If you're thinking of spending $35k I think the least you can do is invest a couple of hours in it.

Reply to
zerouali

Reply to
Keith Kratochvil

From the BMW web site:

BMW Full Maintenance. A whole different kind of fulfillment.

Maintenance is one of many hidden costs to consider when you're looking at a car's sticker price. For most cars, that is. Fortunately, BMW offers one of the most comprehensive maintenance programs in its class. Not that service is needed often, only every 15,000 miles or so. Just about anything your BMW might need replaced or serviced-brake pads, wiper blades, oil change, checkup-is fully covered for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Full Maintenance covers all factory-recommended maintenance on all MY 2004 vehicles and newer vehicles, as determined by the Service Level Indicator, for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. Exclusions from coverage: gasoline, gasoline additives, windshield washer additives, tires, wheels, wheel alignment, tire balancing and rotation. All work must be performed by an authorized BMW center. See the Service and Warranty Information booklet for more details and exclusions.

That last sentence indicates that there is a booklet that explains the warranty. Call your dealer and ask them to mail it to you.

Reply to
joe_tide

I hear you brother but please understand 2 hrs = roughly $400 of billable time for me, (yes I often work saturdays because I dont want to work forever) or time I could spend with my family which is valued higher than that.

If other car vendors are willing to put warranty information online, BMW is not above the industry norm. The cheesy 80s are over and nobody is going to feel better saying "I drive a bimmer!" these days. Quality is everything.

Reply to
Choder

I'm with you Keith. I buy the car, not the warranty.

Reply to
joe_tide

I tried to find the *UK* warranty conditions for a Toyota Prius online (just for interest ;-)) and failed.

Seems to me you're looking for an excuse not to by a BMW. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Does *any* company have its warranty information on the net? Is it only BMW that has something to hide? Emanuel

Reply to
E Brown

The BMW will require more preventive maintenance than a Honda or Toyota, but given that (and in the US, it's free for the warrantee period of 50K / 4 years) the reliability is exceptional. OTOH, I would follow BMW's pre-free-maintenance-era schedule for such things as coolant, differential, transmission and power steering drain and refill. (I think 2 years for brake fluid is adequate.) That would reflect an over-and-above cost that could be a couple hundred dollars during the free maintenance period.

I find it hard to believe that you have friends with relatively new cars that require significant maintenance on their nickel. The warrantee and maintenance offered by BMW should cover the average driver for 3-4 years. What specifically are your friends spending their money on?

If you're inclined to under-maintain your vehicles (late with oil and various filter changes, never drain/refill fluids, never check tire pressure, etc) an extended warrantee might be a good thing. But under those circumstances, I think your needs would best be served by the aforementioned Japanese cars. They absorb the punishment of neglect better than German or Detroit iron.

R/ John

Reply to
John Carrier

Heh.. trust me, I want one of these puppies. Just dont want to be sorry I did.

Reply to
Choder

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