After market warranty coverage experience?

[dtox9]

I just bought a new-to-me F25... 65K on the clock... well out of warranty.

Anybody have any "good guys" / "bad guys" experience with 3rd party warranty coverage folks?

I typically haven't thought I needed extended coverage before...
After all... cars will be cars... and certain maintenance after certain mileage is part of it...

but with the potential costs of repairs on this machine... maybe it's worth some consideration?

[dgoldenz]

Fidelity Platinum exclusionary coverage is the only warranty worth anything, or the Carmax warranty if bought through them. They used to use Fidelity Platinum, not sure if they're still outsourcing the warranty or doing everything in-house now but it's the best warranty around. Their warranty pricing for German cars is criminally underpriced...

[GenXer]

They all suck. I've bought an aftermarket warranty on the 500SL and I had to replace a smog pump but since it wasn't a "critical" part it wasn't covered. It costs me $750 to get it replaced. In Addition to the $1500 for the insurance. Read the fine prints. The only one I would recommend is GEICO multi-risk addendum but it's only available on a new car.

[gosi]

You are better off having your own “insurance” ie. some leftover cash. Any warranty for used vehicles is going to be average yearly cost of repairs + some profit margin. Also if you have a warranty you are more likely to claim every little thing and go through a more expensive dealer vs an indy shop if it was your money. Hence such a warranty doesn’t make sense for anyone.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by GenXer

They all suck. I've bought an aftermarket warranty on the 500SL and I had to replace a smog pump but since it wasn't a "critical" part it wasn't covered. It costs me $750 to get it replaced. In Addition to the $1500 for the insurance. Read the fine prints. The only one I would recommend is GEICO multi-risk addendum but it's only available on a new car.

I have had Fidelity platinum on several cars and they have paid out every single time with zero hassle. There is a big difference between an exclusionary warranty and all other warranties.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by gosi

You are better off having your own “insurance” ie. some leftover cash. Any warranty for used vehicles is going to be average yearly cost of repairs + some profit margin. Also if you have a warranty you are more likely to claim every little thing and go through a more expensive dealer vs an indy shop if it was your money. Hence such a warranty doesn’t make sense for anyone.

If you buy a Porsche from Carmax and they tell you they will cover everything bumper to bumper for 5 years 100k miles for $3k, and you don't take it, you are an idiot. One repair pays for the whole warranty. Whether it is a good value or not depends on the pricing. I am of the strong belief that Fidelity/Carmax have mispriced their warranties for German cars.

I was looking at R8 V10's and you can get a bumper to bumper 7 year 70k warranty for $4700. There is almost no chance the warranty would not pay for itself over 7 years.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by tayone415

Were your vehicles modified? I looked at different warranty companies Route 66 (through credit union), the main one that advertises through TV commercials (can't remember the name) and a couple others. Most customers say their claim was denied because they didn't have all service records or something was modified even if it had nothing to do with the part or something wasn't replaced the same time as another part and that's why the other part broke or not all parts were OEM or because the name in their warranty agreement isn't the same a shop used in an invoice, even though it was the same part.

If you mod the car you're taking a warranty risk whether it's OEM or aftermarket. I have never had a warranty claim denied in my entire life. Service records aren't required for warranty claims, but if you're an idiot and haven't changed the oil in 50,000 miles that caused an engine to blow, then you deserve it.

Like I said, Fidelity Platinum and Carmax. Only non-OEM warranties worth buying.

[OkieSnuffBox]

The only other suggestion I would make, is talk to whatever independent shop you plan to use for maintenance/repairs and ask what aftermarket companies they have had good luck with when a customer brings in their car.

[cfm56d7b]

dtox9, how long are you planning to keep your vehicle and how many miles will be driven? This can can influence the decision to buy the extended warranty. Previous maintenance records are just as important of course.

[argentic]

where you can purchase Fidelity warranty from?

[VisualEcho]

These after-market extended warranties only work if you keep the car stock. Just like BMW, if they can trace an issue back to a modification you did, they will deny the warranty.

Not sure about you, but the moment my warranty runs out I'm modding my car "a bit."

[Crimson92]

Had easy care on my e92. Easy to deal with. Never rejected a claim. Reasonably priced.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by argentic

where you can purchase Fidelity warranty from?

http://fd-warranty.com/index.html

[quick]

@ 65K miles, regardless of what and where you buy, it's not going to be cheap, period.

Warranty companies look at few things that helps them price the car
Year: The older especially past 5 years, gets expensive
Still under manufacturer warranty? (best time to buy one is, few months prior to your original warranty expiration)
Miles: < 30, < 40, < 50, 50-75, 75-100 and above 100. The higher the more expensive.
Modifications: Make sure they cover the mods
Exclusionary vs Inclusionary: Always get an exclusionary where they tell you what's not included
Miles driven: If it's a weekend car, make sure they know that too
Garaged: Discount for garaged vehicles
Price: Never buy the cheapest or on price alone. There's a reason why 3 companies are close enough and the fourth one is $1500 cheaper.
Best extended W company is the one who your local dealer recommends or better yet, ask them about the one you are interested in

[dtox9]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

dtox9, how long are you planning to keep your vehicle and how many miles will be driven? This can can influence the decision to buy the extended warranty. Previous maintenance records are just as important of course.

I normally keep a daily driver 5-8 years.... after just coming out of a divorce, this hopefully will take me to 5'ish drama free years from here...

Mileage per year is under 10k miles... I work close, and travel is light.

Stock is fine for me... bimmercode out the seatbelt dinger and program the remote and mirrors and rear hatch.... new tint and wheels.... and that's the extent of my mods... I'm a pretty vanilla kinda guy.

(I may upgrade the audio of course.)

Guy at the tire shop confirmed Fidelity... along with the general theme of this thread... I'll probably give them a look-see and maybe save a little piece of mind moving forward that if something does come around, I'll be able to have it accounted for.

Thanks everyone for your input for this newbie !

[David70]

Extended warranty companies price their coverage to pay sales commission, overhead, claims and still make profit. Then most do whatever possible to sell the coverage and deny the claims. Some customers will come out ahead but on average they won't even come close. If customers on average received even close to what they paid the companies wouldn't be remain in business.

Exactly how insurance works, customers on average have to pay in more than they will receive which is why I only buy insurance on items that would cause me long term financial problems (homeowners, car, health) and then set the deductible high.

With car warranties I am not buying, I only buy cars I can afford to fix and then self insure with expecting some amount of repairs as they get older (which also reduces depreciation expense).

I find it funny when I see people that constantly buy a new BMW as the warranty runs out because they are afraid of what repairs might cost. I much prefer the possibility of a high priced repair over the guaranteed igh depreciation cost that will come with the new car. Get the new car if you want it but not because of the warranty.

[F32Fleet]

Had good experience with the BMW extended warranty.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by David70

Extended warranty companies price their coverage to pay sales commission, overhead, claims and still make profit. Then most do whatever possible to sell the coverage and deny the claims. Some customers will come out ahead but on average they won't even come close. If customers on average received even close to what they paid the companies wouldn't be remain in business.

Exactly how insurance works, customers on average have to pay in more than they will receive which is why I only buy insurance on items that would cause me long term financial problems (homeowners, car, health) and then set the deductible high.

With car warranties I am not buying, I only buy cars I can afford to fix and then self insure with expecting some amount of repairs as they get older (which also reduces depreciation expense).

I find it funny when I see people that constantly buy a new BMW as the warranty runs out because they are afraid of what repairs might cost. I much prefer the possibility of a high priced repair over the guaranteed igh depreciation cost that will come with the new car. Get the new car if you want it but not because of the warranty.

Not everyone has the physical space or ability to DIY.

Besides most BMW's are leased anyways.

[David70]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

Not everyone has the physical space or ability to DIY.

Besides most BMW's are leased anyways.

I never said anything about DIY and the OP is asking about buying an extended warranty on his 65k mile car. If you lease none of this applies to you. If you lease you are also paying for depreciation just in a different sort of agreement.

[kring]

Be very very careful with 3rd party warranties. most of them have serious fineprint so comb through every word thoughtfully on them. the most common gotcha's I've seen are:

1.) limits on repair costs - i.e. Max $2000 for blown engine, won't cover a fraction of the actual cost of BMW engine swap.
2.) Not to exceed the face value of the warranty on some really shady ones
3.) Repair facility choice limits - no dealers, only shops in their network
4.) Part choice limits - like no OEM parts, only aftermarket parts they will cover, you want that BMW part for $950 but they will only pay out the 3rd party part for $175
5.) some make you pay your own repairs then file reimbursments later which takes a while and may get rejected
6.) Labor rate limits - BWM here is like $172/hr... they may only give allowence for $65/hr

Typically - there's a reason they are in the business of selling warranties - to make money, I have not stats so I'll make one up I would say for every time a warranty worked out good for someone, 50 people got ripped off and another 50 didn't use it. They are mostly house-favored odds.

Between personal, family and immediate friends - have experience with about a dozen or so of us. had 2 good wins where they were thankful - most never used it... had one really bad experience on limited max payout for a blown tranny that was something like $1200 when it cost $6000.

The OEM ones are usually worth it, like BMW, or going through CarMax I've heard good things on from a few close friends, actually both those wins I know of were both through carmax.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by David70

I never said anything about DIY and the OP is asking about buying an extended warranty on his 65k mile car. If you lease none of this applies to you. If you lease you are also paying for depreciation just in a different sort of agreement.

So you're budgeted for a $10k repair?

[David70]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

So you're budgeted for a $10k repair?

I could pay for it needed. What do you think the odds are of this $10k repair 1 in 100? 1 in 1000?

Assuming we are still talking about the possible aftermarket warranty saving the day on this highly unlikely $10 repair, are you sure the aftermarket warranty company will pay for it, what would be the process as they require you to take it to the shop of their choice and deal with their procedures. I think people are mistaken if they think a $10k aftermarket warranty repair will be a simple situation or turn out perfectly.

Getting a roof put on my house and rental house soon, package deal put it well over $10k. I wouldn't have purchased these houses if I couldn't afford the repairs.