[manujaws]

Hello everyone - I am getting ready to buy my first BMW this coming Friday. its a X3 xDrive with Parking, Premium and Driver Assistance Package. As with any new car purchase, I am sure that I will be asked about Extended Warranty and Care Plans for tires etc. Could someone share some light on what's typically offered by BMW Dealers. I know BMW offers some level of maintenance the first 3 years and you can buy more years if needed. But is there any use of these things? I expect this car to run between 8-10K miles per year (closer to 8 mostly).

Any help here is highly appreciated. So excited to be part of the BMW family!

EDIT -

You guys are all AWESOME! thanks so much for responding with your thoughts. Just got home with the new car. Feels amazing to have fulfilled one of my dreams to own a BMW. I of course followed your guidance and didn't purchase any of the extended warranties. Came out super pleased. Thanks again. I will search and also possibly put some new threads for a new BMW X3 Owner. Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.

[Bob in IL]

At 8k per year, you'll still be under factory warranty after 4 years. You could postpone buying a warranty until later on after you're sure you like the X3 and want to keep it or any other reason(s) you may not have after 4 years. Extended warranties are very profitable for the dealers and you might be better off keeping that money in your pocket vs. theirs.

[chassis]

Extended warranties and protection plans are nothing more than insurance policies that are designed to collect more in premia than is paid out in claims. Generally, they are not in the best interest of most consumers. They are sold based on fear, which is not a good reason to buy anything.

I'm not up to speed on the latest BMW maintenance offerings. Oil changes at one time were included for a period of time, for the original purchaser. I don't know if that has changed. For Mercedes, buying packages of pre-paid maintenance is a less expensive option than paying for the same services a la carte. So in that case, and in my view, a good buy.

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

At 8k per year, you'll still be under factory warranty after 4 years. You could postpone buying a warranty until later on after you're sure you like the X3 and want to keep it or any other reason(s) you may not have after 4 years. Extended warranties are very profitable for the dealers and you might be better off keeping that money in your pocket vs. theirs.

This ^ Solid advice

[manujaws]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

At 8k per year, you'll still be under factory warranty after 4 years. You could postpone buying a warranty until later on after you're sure you like the X3 and want to keep it or any other reason(s) you may not have after 4 years. Extended warranties are very profitable for the dealers and you might be better off keeping that money in your pocket vs. theirs.

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

At 8k per year, you'll still be under factory warranty after 4 years. You could postpone buying a warranty until later on after you're sure you like the X3 and want to keep it or any other reason(s) you may not have after 4 years. Extended warranties are very profitable for the dealers and you might be better off keeping that money in your pocket vs. theirs.

Is this what they mean by extended warranty. I got confused when they say extended care.

[chassis]

"Care" means maintenance. It does not mean "warranty".

Advanced purchase of "care", or maintenance, often is a good buy, because the manufacturer or dealer offers a discounted advance payment price. If you are the type of person who maintains a vehicle according to manufacturer's specifications, you will consume these services with certainty.

In the grand scheme of things, the advantage is small. If you want to do it, then do it. If not, don't lose sleep over it.

I would avoid, however, extended warranties or "coverage" or "protection".

[Yobyot]

Originally Posted by manujaws

Hello everyone - I am getting ready to buy my first BMW this coming Friday. its a X3 xDrive with Parking, Premium and Driver Assistance Package. As with any new car purchase, I am sure that I will be asked about Extended Warranty and Care Plans for tires etc. Could someone share some light on what's typically offered by BMW Dealers. I know BMW offers some level of maintenance the first 3 years and you can buy more years if needed. But is there any use of these things? I expect this car to run between 8-10K miles per year (closer to 8 mostly).

Any help here is highly appreciated. So excited to be part of the BMW family!

Spending money on this pack is a waste. Instead, keep your car clean (that protects the paint), check your tires monthly, splurge on a winter wheel set if you need them and, most importantly, make sure to use the four-year warranty liberally to make sure you get all the bugs worked out.

X3s are pretty well built. But they are complex cars. If you get a lemon, complain long and loud _right away_. Over time, BMWs are no worse than any other car unless you did get a bad unit -- which is rare. The real difference between BMWs and, say a Toyota, is repair costs. Those are astronomical.

Extended warranties, even the BMW one, are so chock-full of exclusions they are essentially worthless. If your engine dies at 50,001 miles BMW will replace it under goodwill anyway, so save your money.

[b.guggenmos]

I was also a first time BMW owner and bought my X3M40I last year. I worked at a Ford dealer for 17 years and the extended warranty was one of the single largest profit items during the sale. I always recommended against and extended warranty.

Fast forward and I will admit I was scared about a BMW. The F&I guy made it easy to say no because he annoyed the hell out of me and was the only bummer in the entire order/purchase process.

A few weeks ago I had my car back in for the first time since purchase for the camera recall and emission recall. I ended up talking to the service advisor for awhile and asked his opinion about the extended warranty. He said wait until about 3 1/2 years and you will know whether the car is a keeper or not. If it only goes in for normal service don't buy the warranty. If the car has lots of problems get rid of the car.

He also did not care for F&I at the place he worked.

[Replicant]

I think it just depends on the product and the brand. For instance Audi does not offer standard maintenance. I purchased the Audicare package for about $800 which covered everything up to 45k outside of brakes and tires. That same maintenance at a dealer without the package would easily be $2k, especially with the transmission flush at 35k which is $5-600 on its own. But that’s a specific case where it’s a no brainer. Personally I have not, and don’t plan to purchase an extended warranty from the dealer. But I did add the extended warranty through my Geico insurance which is about $100 a year and will cover me bumper to bumper to 7yr and 100k. Figure for $700 max, it was worth having the extra 3 years of warranty as I plan to keep the vehicle about that long or maybe even a little more and that is when things get expensive as far as problems. But these extended warranties costing many thousands are ripoffs IMO.

[pritchd]

This is my third BMW - I'm something of a compulsive record keeper, and on my previous two, each of which I kept for 7+ years, my repair costs would not have come close to exceeding the cost of an extended warranty.

My personal theory is that you take the money you would have paid for an extended warranty and put into a savings or easy to access investment and use it to pay for out of warranty repairs.

[Moniquersvp]

I called Geico and the person I spoke to said extended warranties are offered for only 1 years and concomitant with car purchase, it made no sense, any specific words you used to get a Geico extended warranty quote?

[Replicant]

Yes, you have to add it to the car within a year of purchase I believe. So basically you are paying a bit each policy for the coverage even while in warranty. That’s why it is so cheap. They are betting you probably won’t keep the car past factory warranty anyway.

[Moniquersvp]

So Geico told me the extended warranty was $100 every 6 months.
Do you know how this compares to the BMW warranty?
What is deductible?

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Moniquersvp

So Geico told me the extended warranty was $100 every 6 months.
Do you know how this compares to the BMW warranty?
What is deductible?

You need to read the document that Geico provided you, when they gave you the quote for $100 every 6 months.