RE: Warranty Gold Advice/Feedback?

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Eduardo E. Silva" <esilva@domain.elided> wrote:
> alex.fadeev@domain.elided wrote:
> "Eduardo E. Silva" <esilva@domain.elided> wrote:
> >
> > I also have a sedan 98 M3. I've got an extended warranty at the BMW
> > dealer. The reason I did this is because not all warranties are honored
> > at the BMW dealers.
>
> --Ed,
> --Funny you should put it like that.
> --Incompetent and overpriced BMW dealers are the biggest reason I would
> --NOT recommend buying BMW extended warranty.
> --If you go with an aftermarket warranty package most dealers will still
> --accept but you will ALSO have an option of taking your car to a
competent
> --independent. BMW warranty charges the same $50/incident deductible but
only
> --pays for the work done by their dealer network.
>
>    I agree to an extend with this. I am not a handy type person, or even
> mechanically inclined. I don't even change my tires when they are flat,
> since I have AAA to do that -- the reason I pay too. I will top-off
> oil, coolant and other 'easy' to do tasks --  including tire
> pressure..;). Beyond that, I take the car to the dealer, period.

Eduardo,
Sounds like you and long-term warranties are a good match.
Still, my point about non-BMW warranties stands: if you get BMW CPO
warranty it is only accepted at BMW dealerships. Non-BMW warranties are
much more widely accepted giving you a greater pool of mechanics/shops to
choose from.

> > I paid for my $2600 dollars, since my car was 47k miles and two months
> > away from expiration. M3 are not cheap cars to maintain and or repair,
> > because of all of the technology they have. You can also put away
> > $100-$200 every month to fix any breakdowns...;)
>
> --M3s are not that different from most other cars.
> --One thing that E36 M3 have are a lot of flaky electrics and
electronics.
> --If those head south, new units (which is all the dealer will install)
> --are pretty expensive. Used ones are dirt cheap (which is an option with
> -- an independent).
> --Another way of looking at this is if you always take your car to the
> --prefer dealer, a warranty might have a chance of paying for itself. If
> --you competent independents, most likely it never will. Unless you are
> --really unlucky or thoroughly neglect your vehicle.
>
>    M3 are quite different than most cars, if they weren't why is it they
> are the best handling sedan?

Handling has nothing to do with 'technology' or expense of maintenance.
'95 M3 that earned such a high praise in the handling department did not
have ANY traction control gizmos.
Card handle great when they are relatively light weight (unfortunately can
not be said about E36 cars), have a low COG, good syspension gemotry and
good tires to hold them to the road.

> Well now is the M5!.

Really?
I do not believe M5 has won any handling awards from anyone outside of BMW
HQ.
See the light weight requirement for good handling.

> I might put used parts on my 84 VW Golf that are not electrical or
> mechanical -- mirrors for example. Can you take your M3 to any shop?

You bet.

> Will any shop know what even to do?

I do not know what 'it' is, but 95% of the time the answer will be 'yes'.

> Will you take it to MIDAS -- no offense -- for a tune up?

E36 M3s do not required a 'tune up'.
But most importantly, what make the difference between a good and a bad
service experience is the wrench who works on your car. The BMW dealers,
independents and MIDAS have their share of careless morons working for
them. If you take your car to a BMW dealer you will most likely never even
get to meet your wrench. If you take the time to find a good independent or
MIDAS wrench your results will always be superior to that at the dealer's.

> Even for an oil change?

Yep. It isn't rocket science, you know. And on E36 cars you can change the
oil while wearing a tax.
For me my time is too important to waste it on BMW dealers or MIDAS. Thus I
change my own oil on my cars in under 10 minutes in my drive way.

> Not me pal!. My car has only been touched by BMW dealers, and I
> intend to keep it that way -- no, I am not Bill Gates.

Are you referring to his wealth or intellect?

> > I can bet that within six years you will be spending more than you
> > paid for insurance. $2600/5years = $520 per year ( $43.33 per month).
>
> --That logic is fundamentally flowed in that it assumes that on average,
> --a warranty company will pay out more than they charge for their policy.
> --if you do not see a problem with the above assumption, I suggest you
> --head out straight to Vegas on the next flight and get rich fast.
>
>  I don't get this one,

Man, between this and the Bill Gates comment you are leaving yourself wide
open ...
;-)

> since you will have breakdowns with the M3 period.

Any car will.
But that's hardly a secret for the insurance companies who price their
policies to stay in business and make a ton of money. Thus the reference to
going to Vegas and winning at the gambling table. Same business model.

>  I asked an independent BMW shop in Anaheim Hills how much an oil
> service was. He said $70! Dealers charge $50. They don't even wash
> the car and they don't take you to/from work/home. Do they have
> loaner cars ? Nope!

And that alone should be telling you something.
I had a dealer in VA that did $20 oil changes. Wanna guess if they made any
money on it? Wanna guess where they made up for the short fall?

> Have you ever seen notice how many mechanics don't use the proper
> torque most of the time ? How do I know that ?

You must be psychic, since you certainly haven't seen anyone work on your
car at the dealership.
In fact you probably don't even know the name of the mechanic who touched
your car since the only person the dealer's service department will let you
talk to is the service advisor (SA). When you drop the car off at a BMW
dealership you don't even know who will be working on your car (answer: one
of SA;'s 3-6 mechanics in no particular order). Let alone if they own or
use a torque wrench.

> they don't use tools that have torque settings!

That tool to which you are referring is called a torque wrench.
Does the dealer mechanic have access to BMW torque specs? Absolutely.
What about an independent? The same.
Will either one stick to them - depends on how much they care about you or
your car.
Your chances of being someone worth caring about increase exponentially
when your mechanic knows you.

alex f

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