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BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

4446 messages,  Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 12:04 PM

You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan


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#4272 of 4446
Rear A/C not a blast by ez2do
Jun 08, 2009 (7:04 am)
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I have a 2009 328i. Has anyone noticed that the rear a/c at max doesn't blow very hard? I want to hear from the masses if this is normal. Thanks.
#4273 of 4446
Extended Warranty by idoc2
Jun 09, 2009 (12:46 pm)
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I'm soliciting comments on purchasing an extended warranty and maintenance agreement for my 2007 328xi with 47K miles. The car has been a bit of a lemon with regard to electronic gremlins so I'm concerned about ongoing problems after the warranty expires. The price I've been quoted is $2975 for the warranty and $1595 for the maintenance both to 100K miles. Neither covers AC, suspension radio and a variety of other minor issues. The dealer has said that the price is essentially non-negotiable for both. He said the maintenance agreement is worthwhile because a brake job alone which likely will be needed is covered and would be $2,000. What do people think and what are their experiences?
#4274 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [idoc2] by ponytrekker
Jun 09, 2009 (5:10 pm)
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Replying to: idoc2 (Jun 09, 2009 12:46 pm)

a car that's given you problems is not one you want to keep. I'd look to move on, by trade or whatever.
#4275 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [idoc2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Jun 09, 2009 (7:43 pm)
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Replying to: idoc2 (Jun 09, 2009 12:46 pm)

Sounds like it might be one of those "demon seed" BMWs you see once in a while. I'd consider just trading it in or selling it as the factory warranty expires and putting the $4570 as a down so that you'd start off with equity or near equity on a new one. Basically at the rate you're piling up miles you'll be at 100K in 30 months or so--so this warranty is extending your payments by $152 a month. Gee you could lease a new 328i for $350 a month with $3500 down.
 
And suspension is not a BMW strong point, and yet its an exclusion on the extended warranty. If this were a 750 I might think differently but this doesn't sound like all that good a deal for you.
#4276 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [Mr_Shiftright] by idoc2
Jun 10, 2009 (6:46 am)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jun 09, 2009 7:43 pm)

Interesting point of view. I own the car. Of course I'll get hammered on the trade-in as they'd give me only about $18K, That amounts to $10K depreciation/year. Leasing a BMW does not seem like a good option for someone who drives about 20K miles/year. A new car will also depreciate at that high rate whereas the current car which looks and drives like new will depreciate much more slowly at this point. I believe its almost always fuzzy logic guided by the desire to have a new car that makes one conclude its cheaper to re-lease every three years as opposed to own for 6-8 years. I agree that the $4600 over two years is a big hit but I think I have to suck it up. Of course one really has to separate out the extended warrant ($3000) from the maintenance agreement ($1600) and view each on its own merits. If the car had a perfect track record I wouldn't buy the warranty but might buy the maintenance agreement so the unplanned hit is $3000. The "electronic gremlins" have never effected the cars operation. The "check engine" light was repeatedly coming on. The dealer was never clear as to why this kept occurring. Each time I was told it was a different error code. Everything from a fuel system leak (never found) to oxygen sensors. It was not clear to me if these codes were simply false positives due to a computer malfunction or real sensor errors. Again the car has always run 100% its just that I'm gun shy about being exposed given the very high cost to repair a BMW. Honestly I have not had a problem now for 6 months so perhaps its all behind me. The other issue is the wife. No way would she let me buy another BMW if I had to tell her after 2 years I needed a new car. I'd be heading directly to some Asian auto dealer.
#4277 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [idoc2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Jun 10, 2009 (8:10 am)
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Replying to: idoc2 (Jun 10, 2009 6:46 am)

Oh, well, that's a somewhat different scenario from what I first interpreted. I thought the car was bedeviling you, but really it was just annoying you. As for the "check engine" light, I think on German cars this is randomly programmed to go on and off for eternity. They should have a voice command that says "ENGINE LIGHT OFF!"
 
And you're right, leasing is not an option if you are high miles driver.
 
My main gripe with extended warranty is the EXCLUSIONS. One has to very carefully read and understand the yes list and the no list..sometimes the sneaky weasels will not state the exclusion directly, only infer it by not including it on the *Inclusion* List!! Now that's dirty.
#4278 of 4446
Auto industry questions? by pat HOST
Jun 10, 2009 (8:18 am)
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Join Consumer Advice Editor, Phil Reed, and other Edmunds staff for an auto industry chat TONIGHT, Wednesday, 9:00 -10:00 pm/et (6:00 -7:00 pm/pt). To enter the chat, click on the banner at the top of the page.
 
See you there!
#4279 of 4446
Re: Auto industry questions? [pat] by idoc2
Jun 10, 2009 (11:23 am)
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Replying to: pat (Jun 10, 2009 8:18 am)

Assuming that I take the leap and buy the extended warranty and perhaps the maintenance agreement has anyone had any experience with price negotiations? Its hard to believe in this economy but the two dealers I've spoken with here in CT have basically said "the price is the price."
#4280 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [idoc2] by nyccarguy
Jun 10, 2009 (7:23 pm)
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Replying to: idoc2 (Jun 10, 2009 6:46 am)

Leasing actually can make sense if you do 20K miles per year, but you are not going to be paying anywhere near the advertised price for a 3 series. Your lease payment will be higher than usual, but the best part about leasing is that you are guaranteed no matter what happens the car will not depreciate more than the bank's set residual value.
 
My Dad pays $960 per month to lease his '07 X5 3.0si with Premium/Sport/Cold Weather. He leased the truck for 30 months with a 20,000 mile per year allotment. So after 2 1/2 years & 50,000 miles he walks away from the truck (He's under the warranty/free maintenance period for the duration of the lease). He drives to work every day with 2, 2 year old Great Danes who shed like crazy no matter how often he gets the car vacuumed out.
 
Lets say for arguments sake that he financed the X5 and his payments were $1000 per month for 5 years. After 5 years he'd have an X5 with 100,000 miles (which is not unreasonable) worth how much? Now in addition to the $1000 per month he pays for his hypothetical loan, he'd have to shell out for an Inspection II major service (60K), an oil changes (75K), & another Inspection I major service (90K), plus since the X5 isn't exactly a light vehicle there is a good chance he'd chew through a set of (4) pads and rotors. I know all about indie mechanics, but they don't provide loaner cars and my Dad CANNOT be without a vehicle (He is the president of our family's plumbing supply business & my boss).
#4281 of 4446
Re: Extended Warranty [nyccarguy] by idoc2
Jun 11, 2009 (4:45 am)
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Replying to: nyccarguy (Jun 10, 2009 7:23 pm)

I'm sorry but your math is very fuzzy. Frankly every time I work the numbers with our company's accountant its ALWAYS cheaper to own not lease. This assumes you plan to keep your car for 6 or more years. Now if you want a new car every 30-36 months the difference becomes marginal. With that said the accountant prefers we lease because its cleaner to write-off a lease payment than to run a depreciation schedule on a car you or the corporation owns.
 
Your analysis fails to mention the "capitalization reduction cost" (down payment) on the lease. Also, there is no way you can buy a $60K car and pay $1000/month for 60 months. And yes after 100K miles an X5 would have at least $10K of value if you sold it.
 
Don't kid yourself, leasing is not cheaper in the long run its simply a play on cash flow. The most cost effective way to buy any vehicle is pay up front with cash (and if you can aggressively depreciate it as a business expense)

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