Spiffyjiff

i could have sworn i got mine for <$400 a set a couple years ago but i just checked pelican and suncoast and i guess theyre about $500 now?? ...unless i'm missing something?

fastm3

I knew you couldn't resist chiming in on this discussion USMC, and I was sure I'd again be the beneficiary of your knowledge and expertise.

The reality of the matter is I don't have even 10% of your skills in this area, so I am, as you put it, P-dealer dependent for sure. This question came up because I'm in the process of trying to decide whether it's worth my while to spend roughly $3K to $5K for a 4 to 5 extended warranty. I have another open thread in fact, asking about people's experience with the CNA and Costco warranties. Since I am P-dealer dependent, I can certainly see myself potentially shelling out at least $3K to $5k in the next 5 years, and that's assuming that something catastrophic doesn't happen.

As I said, I've already spent a couple of grand on this and that in the past 9 months. At this point my PCM is acting funny and it might need replacement. If I add to that the cost of replacing a water pump, alternator/battery cable, and shift cable, I'm already at or over the cost of the warranty. Then there's all the other stuff that's been mentioned and not mentioned, like malfunctioning of various switches, motors, the HVAC, etc.

I guess I'm just trying to get a handle, and put a value on some of the things that could go wrong in the next few years, to try to justify the cost of the warranty.

USMC_DS1

In this case an extended warranty would be worth it. Check the coverage, however, as many don't cover electronics/Nav such as the PCM. They know that electronics are a high failure item. We got bitten by this on my wife's prior x5 which had a so called "bumper to bumper platium/diamond/etc" policy except you know what. $1,500 to repair a Nav unit we didn't ever use. Also go for the monthly payments. I prefer to pay upfront for most everything to avoid finance charges/interest... this was the one time I was bitten by that lifelong habit with my prior M3. We secured an extended warranty for it via a company which the reseller/dealership and my Indy recommended. No fly by night operation. Been in business for 25+ yrs but they went belly up 4 months into my 48 month policy. 10 yrs later we rec'd a $150 back from the $2K+ policy we paid for upfront from a class action settlement. So be careful and check out the BBB ratings of whomever you decide to go with... in fact, try calling them to check them out. It's pretty scary what gets passed as a legitimate business nowadays. GL and let us know what you discover and experience. BTW, my CPO is up next summer so I may be in the same boat as you then... although I'm looking for a catastrophic policy since I've DIY'd all my projects. Only thing my original warranty and CPO covered so far is two TPMS sensors or ~$200 worth of parts/labor I could have done at local tire installer.

acao

When I bought my car in March 2008, it was 2 years old with about 20k on it. I bought a vehicle service contract for about $1800, which covered the car to April 2013 or 75k, whichever came first. The contract was an exclusion contract, meaning it covered everything except what was on an exclusion list. The deductible was $500. My purpose in getting the contract was to cover IMS catastrophic failure. Everything else I could (and was willing to) afford.

Over the past 5 years with the contract, the contract did not pay for itself with coverage. As you can see from my list, it was a handful of small repairs that barely crossed the deductible.

The contract covered some things that would not have been under the manufacturer's warranty, such as the HVAC, water pump, and axle seal well after the original warranty period.

If things go well, insurance is a waste of money.

Chris from Cali

My car is CPO until April 2014... What do you guys think about having an independent do a thorough ($500) PPI on the car before then (say Jan 2014) and then take the list to the dealer?

FWIW, the only issue I've had was the alternator harness replacement. The guy told me all the work would've been a $2100 job. The tech found it by just doing a routine check on my voltage - he noted a drop and took care of it under warranty.