Quote:
Originally Posted by jailonacs99
One of Consumer Reports' latest issues showed BMWs (I was actually a respondent in that) are pretty low maintenance/repair cost the first 5 years. After that costs can mount for major replacement parts or break downs.
That being said, for my 2011 335is, I purchased an extended warranty and sold it in early 2017. Not a single claim. I purchased a third-party extended warranty for my 2015 F82, and sold it a few months ago and the only claim was the passenger side door lock actuator. Was ridiculously an $800 job, but never a major mechanical issue.
My 2000 328Ci needed major work on the other hand. No warranty, but e.g. we replaced the Vanos seals and that required taking the entire engine apart. Subframe was replaced in like 2008/9 by BMW (admitting no fault or recall).
Main message is, these cars have gotten better with reliability over time. Early generation change builds are likely to have issues, but most will be sorted under warranty. One of the reasons I'm buying new from dealer (instead of late model used) for my G82, is the rationale for saving on used vs. dropping $4-5K on an extended warranty. But I hardly ever used that warranty anyway! Force of habit/peace of mind. I'll probably still pick up a year of extended warranty from a reputable outfit for the last year of my note, but that's it. 5 years is when I'd sell it anyway, and that would be keeping it longer than I have most of my cars.
So think of how long you plan to have it and what you could do with that money otherwise. At the very least, make sure you get an extended warranty from a reputable outfit that actually pays out claims, and also that refunds the unused portion if you cancel/sell. If you plan to keep it more than 5 years, you should be into fixing most things on the car yourself anyway (including oil, brake pads, etc.), or know a good indie shop that charges 30% of the cost of a BMW dealer but still uses original or OEM parts.
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Regardless of this, sellers of extended warranties have all the data so they can price the warranties higher than the average payout. A warranty for a car that will likely have expensive repairs will be higher than one that is more reliable. Can they get the pricing wrong? Yes, but an industry dedicated to this make that unlikely.
Can you win money in Vegas? Absolutely. Your expected outcome is to lose money though.
The only way to look at extended warranties is the same way you look at any insurance product. Is the premium paid worth the piece of mind? Can you afford the risk without insurance?
Me? I have life insurance, a very high umbrella liability policy. I also never get extended warranties, and I also have high deductibles.
If you're looking for an economic answer, extended warranties never make sense. If you live paycheck to paycheck and/or worry about a big repair, get it.