[stlgirl]

Ok, I was wondering something. I almost signed up for the extended warranty when I picked up my X3 about a month ago. The sales guy made it sound like I had to get it that day (date of purchase) or I'd lose my chance. Now looking at the BMW usa website, it looks like you can purchase an extended warranty while the car is still covered by the 4yr/50K--essentially I could purchase one now?
Does anyone here have a grasp on these things?
I am sort of kicking myself b/c the sales guy did tell me that if I didn't use the extended warranty, I would be reimbursed (almost) all of my money....not sure why I didn't sign up AND not sure if the one I can buy now thru BMW would have that same refund clause.

Thanks for any info regarding your opinions on/ experience with extended warranties.

[Mako]

You can buy it whenever you want before your current warranty ends... As far as I know you can't get your money back though, warranty goes to next owner...

[tuco44]

The salespeople like to make you think you must buy the extended at time of delivery; but that is untrue (at least in Canada). You can buy the extended at any time up the expiry of the original warrantly. It might cost a bit more at that time, but I never would buy one at deliverly.

[Nahoa]

Why not buy at delivery?

[Mako]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

Why not buy at delivery?

Why would you? What if you want to sell it before 4 years then you just wasted $2200 or whatever it cost.

[MA78]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

Why not buy at delivery?

You can SOMETIMES get a better deal if you wait. Also, if something happens to the car or if you sell it, that's money down the drain.

[jaymk5]

Originally Posted by stlgirl

Ok, I was wondering something. I almost signed up for the extended warranty when I picked up my X3 about a month ago. The sales guy made it sound like I had to get it that day (date of purchase) or I'd lose my chance. Now looking at the BMW usa website, it looks like you can purchase an extended warranty while the car is still covered by the 4yr/50K--essentially I could purchase one now?
Does anyone here have a grasp on these things?
I am sort of kicking myself b/c the sales guy did tell me that if I didn't use the extended warranty, I would be reimbursed (almost) all of my money....not sure why I didn't sign up AND not sure if the one I can buy now thru BMW would have that same refund clause.

Thanks for any info regarding your opinions on/ experience with extended warranties.

My car had extended warranty once and I believe they all work very similar irrespective of the brand of the car. Its a 2007 honda crv, I bought warranty when I purchased the car with some discount, its for 6yr/72000 miles, but for the first 3 years all my fixes are covered under factory warranty and I owned the car for about 3.5 years and then sold it, so when I cancelled the warranty after 3.5 years, it was prorated for 3.5 years usage, whereas I actually used it only for .5 years, so my advice is not to buy the warranty during the car purchase, in other words I will never buy extended warranty when I make a car purchase. We can always buy one before the warranty expires, if we feel its needed and if decide to own the car after its factory warranty period, so why to spend money now.

Coming to the refund clause you will get a refund if you choose to cancel the warranty (irrespective of when you buy it) but remember you will be prorated for the days / miles of usage whichever is beneficial to the warranty company.

[acove]

My dealer said it was a little cheaper if you get it when you buy the vehicle rather than adding after. In the past I have added it after the purchase. If you wreck the car before the extended warranty kicks in, you're out all of that money.

[MA78]

Originally Posted by acove

My dealer said it was a little cheaper if you get it when you buy the vehicle rather than adding after. In the past I have added it after the purchase. If you wreck the car before the extended warranty kicks in, you're out all of that money.

The finance guy will always tell you that it's cheaper to buy at delivery. Simply not true. They will send you a letter around the time your warranty is set to expire with a "special deal" if you want to extend the warranty. Call them and try to negotiate a few hundred off and you'll usually be able to.

[jaymk5]

Originally Posted by MA78

The finance guy will always tell you that it's cheaper to buy at delivery. Simply not true. They will send you a letter around the time your warranty is set to expire with a "special deal" if you want to extend the warranty. Call them and try to negotiate a few hundred off and you'll usually be able to.

Agreed, they will always give some or other deal. No need to rush on these ones since you are anyway covered by the factory warranty for 4 years

[Mako]

Originally Posted by MA78

The finance guy will always tell you that it's cheaper to buy at delivery. Simply not true. They will send you a letter around the time your warranty is set to expire with a "special deal" if you want to extend the warranty. Call them and try to negotiate a few hundred off and you'll usually be able to.

Finance guys (girls) at BMW are horrible, I went with my father when he picked up his M3 2 years ago (just to see the car) and was in the finance office with him, they tried selling him on 10 different warranties! I kept telling him no on all of them, but they suckered him into buying the wheel/tire one, saying with 19" wheels and being in Chicago, one pothole could be $1K-$2K in damage. So he bought it, 2 years later, has not used it. Plus in Illinois we are required to have car insurance and if you have comprehensive (which most of us do because its really cheap) I would think that covers pothole damage to your wheels!

As far as extended BMW warranty, it can go up in price from year to year, so that might be why they are saying its cheaper. But you can always get a discount, no matter when you buy it. Although on the previous 3 BMWs I owned I was always told once you buy it, it sticks with the car, no refunds, but the next owner will have it and you can use it as a selling point.

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by Mako

Finance guys (girls) at BMW are horrible, I went with my father when he picked up his M3 2 years ago (just to see the car) and was in the finance office with him, they tried selling him on 10 different warranties! I kept telling him no on all of them, but they suckered him into buying the wheel/tire one, saying with 19" wheels and being in Chicago, one pothole could be $1K-$2K in damage. So he bought it, 2 years later, has not used it. Plus in Illinois we are required to have car insurance and if you have comprehensive (which most of us do because its really cheap) I would think that covers pothole damage to your wheels!

As far as extended BMW warranty, it can go up in price from year to year, so that might be why they are saying its cheaper. But you can always get a discount, no matter when you buy it. Although on the previous 3 BMWs I owned I was always told once you buy it, it sticks with the car, no refunds, but the next owner will have it and you can use it as a selling point.

Not all finance people are that bad, the one at the dealership here is quite good, and understands that once you say "no", don't keep asking the same question. As to being "suckered" into the tire/wheel warranty, I think that one is quite useful, particularly with RFTs and poor road conditions. I have bought it in the past, and likely will again.

[MA78]

Yeah, tire and wheel insurance is actually a pretty good purchase.

[Nahoa]

Most insurance does not cover wheel/tire damage from potholes. Friend used the insurance and it paid for itself. I didn't get it last time and spent more in the first year on replacement tires than the insurance would have cost or five years.

My finance guy offered a bunch of stuff, but it was the softest, most polite approach I've experienced. Didn't come way feeling like I'd doomed the future of my children and their children for not buying.

[ssbrad]

With the caveat that I prefer paying for insurance rather than surprises AND I'm planning on keeping my X3 for 5 to 6 years, I bought both an extended warranty (not the BMW one but JMA) for 7/70 for under $1,500. I also bought the 5 year wheel and tire insurance (the BMW one). Went out to my car last Friday and there was a screw sticking out of the driver's rear tire - just got my new tire today completely covered under warranty...

[Nahoa]

You got screwed for free!

[MA78]

The BMW wheel and tire insurance covers potholes. It covers pretty much everything really. Not a bad deal. Some dealerships try to charge and arm and a leg for it though. I paid $799 for 5 years, but I've heard of others paying $1500!

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by MA78

The BMW wheel and tire insurance covers potholes. It covers pretty much everything really. Not a bad deal. Some dealerships try to charge and arm and a leg for it though. I paid $799 for 5 years, but I've heard of others paying $1500!

Around $800 is about right based on my experiences.

[stlgirl]

Oh great, the tire and wheel coverage is the one thing I did get. So many potholes in St Louis. It was 1500 dollars. Had no idea that these costs varied from dealership to dealership. I've got lots to learn!