[hybridel]

I'm curious what everyone's opinion is regarding 3rd party warranties and mods? Specifically a tune

In theory, the 3rd party warranty company wouldn't have access to the same system BMW does, so they wouldn't be able to see that a car has been flagged due to a tune.

And wouldn't it be in the service department's best interest to help get the claim approved, since it would be $$ coming into the service department that isn't being paid out by BMW?

[FLX4M]

I would think so. The SA gets paid as does the Dealer.

FWIW, I have had great experience with Fidelity's aftermarket warranty. I bot the platinum for my Explorer Sport and had ZERO issues with any claims.

[hybridel]

I'll ask the service advisor next time I visit the dealer if they're a little more lenient with an aftermarket warranty since BMW isn't footing the bill

[Radman_F97]

Following

An SA and SP told me that a few performance shops cover a warranty claim if denied by BMW. The performance shop would have had to install the mod in question.

[paxton306]

Following

[hybridel]

Spoke with a local independent shop about this.

The shop foreman told me that depending on the severity of the warranty claim, the 3rd party warranty company will send an adjuster to investigate.

They don't have access to the same system the dealer does, so it wouldn't be automatically flagged from a tune.

The adjuster will talk to the mechanic and/or shop foreman. With this shop, both are mod friendly and will say the car isn't modified. It's in their best interest to get the warranty claim approved since it's $ in their pocket.

With that being said, I'm going to purchase an extended 3rd party warranty to supplement the bmw warranty.

hope this helps!

[Mike02z]

Here is the issue. Let’s say you tune it and your engine pops. Even if not related to the tune, BMW will require a dump of the DME. That will tell them it’s been modified and they will deny the claim. They cannot void your entire warranty but they can refuse if the mod could have led to the failure. From what my son told me ( he specializes in BMW repairs) that even a piggyback can be detected if it alters the boost such that it causes it to stray from the factory max boost setting. Not sure I 100% believe him. After all he is only 25..LOL.

[hybridel]

This isn't a BMW warranty, so they wouldn't have access to a DME dump.

It's a 3rd party warranty.

The adjuster pretty much goes off of whatever information the shop foreman tells him.

In this case, the shop is mod friendly, so they would do everything they can to get the claim approved.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by hybridel

I'm curious what everyone's opinion is regarding 3rd party warranties and mods?

And wouldn't it be in the service department's best interest to help get the claim approved, since it would be $$ coming into the service department that isn't being paid out by BMW?

Tbh, our opinions don't really matter. Carefully read the contract for any third-party service contract (not a warranty) provider. Almost all of them exclusively prohibit any modifications. It's actually not in the service department's best interest to get the claim approved because they can charge you more for the same repair. The service contract companies often negotiate lower hourly rates, or will only pay for remanufactured parts. The service department can charge you true book hours and for all new OEM parts.

If you're planning to mod the vehicle, save whatever money you were planning to put toward a third-party service contract for when something breaks.

[Stereolab42]

Better yet: if you mod your engine, instead of scheming on how to scam either BMW or 3rd party companies, just be sure you have enough financial resources of your own to cover the cost if it blows up. If you don't, then don't mod your engine.