You have saved this page | See all saved pages
BMW 5-Series Extended Warranties
58 messages, Last post on Dec 22, 2012 at 2:26 PM
You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum.What is this discussion about? BMW 5 Series, Car Warranties, Sedan, Wagon
#49 of 58 Re: 2001 BWM 530 warranty question [shipo] by danclaw
Oct 11, 2009 (7:10 pm)
Replying to: shipo (Mar 01, 2008 1:40 pm)
Yeah, this response is a year and a half later... However...
That's some of the best advice I've read on the subject of reliability and warranties.
In my experience (sample size of one person), major repairs only come long after extended warranties have expired. Ie: 100k+ miles. Thus, the huge profit margin for these companies. They're selling security blankets.
Plus, your opinion reinforces my practice of fixing my own vehicles.
#51 of 58 I wouldn't buy United Auto Care warranty again! by pointfinder
Dec 21, 2009 (1:19 pm)
Thumbs down!I bought their top-of-the-line extended warranty a year ago.
They fixed a couple of small things that came up, but I just paid $250 because they denied the claim on fixing my HEATER! It was a fan resistor that failed, and they don't cover that part.
Note the two ways they got me:
1. Although this was marketed to me as an "extended warranty," it's actually a promise to fix a very specific list of parts that might fail. So if your heating and a/c fails, it might or might not be because of a covered part, so they might or might not fix it.
I thought that "of course they'll cover a broken heater" but they referred back to the contract, pointed out that the "climate control fan resistor" is not listed in the contract, and denied my claim. So I have no legal recourse. But I can say that I feel misled, that it was my local BWM dealer that sold me this warranty, that I won't buy this warranty again, and finally that I'll reconsider my planned purchase of two new BMWs this year.
2. I called the customer service number and spoke to a live rep in a reasonable period of time. He referred to the contract and said that my claim was denied. When I told him I was not satisfied, he would not refer me to someone (e.g. manager) who could work with me and would not provide a direct dial number. So they did not provide a way for me to appeal or resolve my issue.
Bottom line, my experience has been THUMBS-DOWN!
- shipo (Dec 21, 2009 1:59 pm)
- schnout (Dec 22, 2012 2:26 pm)
Replies to this message:
#52 of 58 Re: I wouldn't buy United Auto Care warranty again! [pointfinder] by shipo
Dec 21, 2009 (1:59 pm)
Replying to: pointfinder (Dec 21, 2009 1:19 pm)
As a general rule, you will not make out on an extended warranty (even if it's from a reputable company that honors both the letter and the "spirit" of the contract), and if you buy them for every car you own, you will virtually never make out on such warranties over the course of many cars. Case in point, I bought an extended warranty on a car I purchased in 1988, a warranty that cost more than what it actually provided in covered repairs. I learned. Since then my wife and I have purchased eight new cars, some of which saw the 200,000 mile mark before we turned them over, and we didn't opt for a single extended warranty (and didn't spend some $15,000 on said warranties in the process). Over that same period of time we've yet to spend a total of $5,000 in unscheduled maintenance making for a savings of over $10,000. But wait, there's more! Of that four thousand dollars and change of unscheduled maintenance, $2,600 was caused by a transmission failure that happened 39,000 miles beyond the point where the extended warranty would have covered that particular failure, so in essence, I would have had to spend nearly $18,000 (the eight warranties plus the cost of the tranny) and gotten only about $2,000 in covered repairs from said warranties.
In the end, I'm over $16,000 ahead by self insuring.
Best regards,
Shipo
#53 of 58 Warranty Direct Extended warranty by newfort
Jan 20, 2010 (9:52 pm)
I am planning on getting a 08 528i with 24k miles from a non BMW dealer and was wondering when is the best time to get a extended warranty. I know the longer we wait the more expensive it can get. I do have a quote from warranty direct and wanted to know more about this company and its experience from this forums many experienced BMW owners. So, I would like to get any feedback if possible. Also, is it better to wait to buy extended warranty just before it ends or better to get it when the car is just 2 years old. Any info is greatly appreciated.#55 of 58 Extended warranty for 2008 535i by christinef
Apr 07, 2011 (1:53 pm)
My new vehicle warranty will end within the next couple of month (I am currently at 47500 miles into my 3rd year). I am wondering if it makes sense to purchase a bumper to bumper warranty (both maintenance plus mechanical plans) or just maintenance plan alone hoping no major problem will occur before I sell it (I usually keep my car for 5 years). I was given a quote of $2295 for 5yr/100,000 on the maintenance plan and $3340 for 5yr/100,000 on the mechanical plan. So together would be $5635 to keep my car and piece of mind for another 2 years and 2 months.Anyone has any thoughts or advice? I welcome all your inputs and will make my decisions soon. I live in Los Angeles area.
#58 of 58 Re: I wouldn't buy United Auto Care warranty again! [pointfinder] by schnout
Dec 22, 2012 (2:26 pm)
Replying to: pointfinder (Dec 21, 2009 1:19 pm)
I ADVISE THAT READERS OF THIS POST AND OF THIS FORUM SHOULD NOT PURCHASE A VEHICLE FROM UNITED BMW ROSWELL GEORGIA OR ANY AFFILIATED UNITED AUTO DEALER OWNED BY PENSKE. I ADVISE FURTHER THAT YOU SHOULD NOT PURCHASE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FROM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES, WHICH ARE ALIASES FOR THE SAME PENSKE-OWNED COMPANY:
- “THE WARRANTY GROUP”
- “THE WG”
- “RESOURCE AUTOMOTIVE”
- “UNITED AUTO CARE”
- “CONSUMER PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS”
I FURTHER ADVISE THAT – SHOULD YOU EVER DO BUSINESS WITH ANY PENSKE COMPANY – YOU SHOULD BE VERY CAUTIOUS SO AS NOT TO SUFFER THE SAME POOR TREATMENT AS DESCRIBED BELOW.
Here are the facts of my experience with United Auto Care and United BMW, both Penske companies. You should read for yourself before taking the risk of doing business with any of these Penske companies.
January 19, 2010: I test drove a used 2004 BMW M3 convertible at United BMW of Roswell – a Penske company. After the test drive, I fell in love with the vehicle which is the epitome of “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Upon returning home that evening, I performed extensive research on the vehicle, and found many great reviews confirming that the BMW M3 is one of the most favored sports cars available anywhere!
However, one finding caused me great concern: the hydraulic oil pump for the automatic transmission had been known to experience premature failure; sometimes as early as 40,000 miles.
The following day, I spoke with United BMW’s used car salesman to discuss my concerns about the oil pump defect with this vehicle. The salesman reiterated at that time that the vehicle was being offered “as is,” but that the vehicle had been thoroughly inspected and that there were “no problems with the transmission.” At that time, the salesman also suggested that I could purchase an extended warranty that “would cover any transmission problems should they occur in the next 36,000 miles.” I informed the United BMW salesman that – if the warranty policy was reasonably priced, I would still consider purchasing the vehicle with the extended warranty.
January 20: I returned to the United BMW dealership to discuss my concerns with the salesman, and to discuss the extended warranty. At that time, the salesman informed me that the extended warranty by United Auto Care – also a sister company owned by Penske “would definitely cover any problems with the transmission oil pump”. At a cost of $3,000 for the Hi-Tech coverage option, the extended warranty seemed like an excessive cost for the coverage, but the salesman indicated that – if there were to be a problem with the transmission, “the repair would cost even more than the $3,000 warranty premium.” I was amazed at that statement, but after much discussion, I agreed to purchase the vehicle complete with the $3,000 additional extended warranty program as peace-of-mind for this potential transmission problem.
It will become apparent later in the story, why it is important to note that this Penske United BMW used car salesman had a verified history of misrepresenting the vehicles that he sold. When he sold the vehicle to me, he informed me that the vehicle was equipped with Bluetooth hands-free mobile phone connection. Only after the vehicle was purchased, did we discover that the vehicle did not – in fact – have Bluetooth capabilities.
When I informed the salesman of my dissatisfaction with his misrepresentation, he informed me that “I’m sorry. I was wrong and there is nothing I can do about it.” It was later determined by United BMW that the salesman had – in fact – misrepresented the vehicle as being equipped with Bluetooth.
Fast forward 3 months…
I began to notice a vibration in the transmission during start off from first gear. I brought the vehicle to United BMW, informing them of the vibration in the transmission. United BMW was unable to identify the problem, and had no idea as to what might be the cause of the problem. Over the course of the next two years, I brought the vehicle to United BMW no fewer than five different times requesting that they identify the cause of the problem.
It ultimately became clear that United BMW had no competence for troubleshooting this transmission problem. It was clear that they had no understanding of how the vehicle operated, and that they were not competent to perform inspection, troubleshooting, or repairs to this vehicle.
After two years of tolerating the poor performance of the LEMON that Penske United BMW sold me, I finally drove the vehicle to an independent repair facility (indy). My indy was quickly able to recommend inspection of the flywheel, which is a common cause of this particular symptom. Although the flywheel is a “covered component” according to the extended warranty, United Auto Care refused to pay for the cost of troubleshooting. I, therefore, authorized my indy to tear down the transmission at my cost to perform the inspection and troubleshooting process.
Upon inspection, United Auto Care’s inspector confirmed that “the flywheel showed abnormal wear, and needed to be replaced.”
This is where the TOTAL HELL of PENSKE and UNITED AUTO CARE begins:
I called my indy to check status of the repair, to which he responded “The warranty company is denying your claim. They are saying that this is not a covered failure.”
I contacted the warranty company, and after spending several hours on hold and speaking to a variety of different “claims representatives,” I finally was able to escalate my case to a supervisor – Mr. Andrew LaPorte – who continued to argue with me that my claim was not a covered item. I proceeded to question Mr. LaPorte as to why he was denying coverage for an item that is explicitly covered in my contract. After extensive argument, and PENSKE United Auto Care refusing to replace the flywheel, Mr. LaPorte conceded to “machine the damaged flywheel” instead of replacing it, even though this was NOT an approved BMW procedure. It is unacceptable that Mr. LaPorte should be allowed to force me to accept an inadequate repair that is not approved by BMW safety specifications.
During reassembly of the transmission, it was discovered that the automatic transmission oil pump had also failed.
November 2: While I was traveling in Asia for business, the indy initiated an additional claim to the warranty company to repair
To POST a message, please
Sign In.
Advertisement
Most Popular in Forums
Search Forums
Enter Keyword(s):
Learn More, Do More
Edmunds Community
Advertisement