Vehicle Protection Plan

[southern6er22]

My issues over the last month or two have made me think a lot harder about upgrading my protection plan. If the cars self destruct after 36 months, then I either need to (a) completely jump ship or (b) get some protection. The first option isn't at all appealing since I purchased my car. Thus, the protection plan seems to be my best option.

I got some quotes today, and the 7 year/70,000 mile *Gold protection plan is going to run in the ballpark of $5,200. There is a 7 year/100,000 mile version, but I doubt I'll need that given that I'm over 13 months into ownership and have just passed 9,000 miles.

What are my options here, guys? And let's say selling at the end of 4 years is out of the question for the purposes of this inquiry. Should I shop around with different dealers to see if one offers a better price than another?

Also, I'm considering the Maintenance Plan, but I'm thinking I may pass on it. It is about $3,500 for 6 years/100,000 miles. It covers the same things as the factory maintenance plan (oil change and filters, wiper blades, brake pads, etc.). While these things are not exactly cheap, I struggle to believe that I'd spend $1,7500 a year an oil change and a pair of wiper blades. Maybe I'd gave to top off some fluid levels and a few other things, but I think it's still a bit excessive. Thoughts?

One nice thing to note is that they told me I can finance the Protection Plan at 0% interest for 18 months with 10% down. That definitely softens the blow of spending five grand on something I hope to never need.

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*Gold = covers drivetrain issues, breakdowns, engine, fuel system, cooling system, transmission, final drive assembly, steering, ABS, electrical, heat, and A/C. The only thing it doesn't have covered that is covered by the Platinum plan is the audio, entertainment, navigation, etc. The deductible is $50.

[BMWMilan]

You don't have to decide now.

You can buy either plan -- warranty and maintenance -- when you are about to hit the end of the standard 4/50k period.

I would just wait.

And when you do decide, definitely shop around. Also surf the various BMW forums, there's always group buys going on. Jump on those.

(And between us chickens, I'm not really keen on keeping any Bimmer beyond 5 years.)

[southern6er22]

Thanks for the reply!

I agree that keeping it longer is going to lead to trouble. I'm going to have to run some numbers and weigh the benefits of keeping it longer than 5 years when I get to year 4. Even with the plan, the inconvenience of constantly going to the shop gets old really fast and is thus worth some amount of money by itself.

[Bönz]

Waiting will also give you an opportunity to see if the problems persist (I hope the do not). Definitely shop around. These things are negotiable.

OT: All this expensive repair talk (both forums, multi-threads) has made me decide to trade my wife's 2008 Infiniti EX35 (trouble free to date) on a new 2013 EX37. They gave me 22.5k for it plus 5k off sticker.

[southern6er22]

Good point. I certainly don't want to deal with a dud for that long. I also hate to throw $5200 into a car I'm about to dump - definitely won't get much of that back at resale.

Congrats on the new car!

On a side note, how do you like Infinity's infotainment system compared to iDrive? I've heard good things about it. I think iDrive gets unfairly beat up on because of the early versions of the system. It is the best I've used, but I'm curious.

[BMWMilan]

Originally Posted by southern6er22

Good point. I certainly don't want to deal with a dud for that long. I also hate to throw $5200 into a car I'm about to dump - definitely won't get much of that back at resale.

Congrats on the new car!

On a side note, how do you like Infinity's infotainment system compared to iDrive? I've heard good things about it. I think iDrive gets unfairly beat up on because of the early versions of the system. It is the best I've used, but I'm curious.

The problem with a car that has lots of nagging issues, or even serious ones, isn't so much the $$, it's the hassle of taking it to the dealer, getting a loaner (a fucking Active Hybrid??), and then not being able to drive your car.

Because let's be honest for a minute here. For those of us who are buying and driving a 100k car, the cost repair is at best an inconvenience. The cost of not having peace of mind, and the hassle of taking the car to get fixed, is the real dealbreaker -- at least for me.

So even with an extended warranty plan, it at best only solves the first problem of $$ (which, like I said, in the grand scheme of things is an inconvenience), but does nothing for the latter.

Like Bönz up above, I had a G35 Coupe for about 9 years, put a little over 200k miles on it. Not. One. Single. Problem. Changed the oil, put on new rubber, changed belts, filters, etc. and it probably ran better the day I sold it than the day I drove it off the dealer's lot.

My ex had a M56, and I though the Infotainment system was fine. I think most of the ones one the market are probably about the same, it just depends on what you're used to.

It's like Droid v. iOS6 ... it should not be a question of which OS is better, but which one suits your needs and lifestyle better.

Cheers.

[M6-4KIX]

Hey Southern........ IMHO !!!...... buying extended warranties/maintenance packages etc is like buying life insurance!! You are betting you're going to die!.. or at least your car is going to die!!!!!!! With only 9,000 miles on her now, you're not racking up the odometer. Low miles equals better resale value! You have less than 3 yrs before you "off" it for something new........ M4 I suppose???

Ours has 6500 miles on it and we'll be gone for 5 months to Mexico this year, so we're certainly not racking up the mileage either. The only thing we got was the tire/wheel protection plan. Dealerships sell these options to make money... period.

Hey, what if you sell it sooner than the 4 yrs?? Maybe a marriage?? More wasted $$$ ?? $5200 will go a long way in options for the next ride !!!

Good Luck with the thought process

[Bönz]

Infiniti info system is okay. Not better, not worse, just different like ipsedixit said. But I'm happy with the BMW system. So maybe I'm the wrong person to ask.

I can say this. My wife drove a 120d when we lived in England with Gen 1 iDrive. It sucked.

Don't have the new car yet. Had to bring it in from another dealer so it could be a few days.

[southern6er22]

I agree completely on purchasing this to avoid the hassle. For most issues that would be the case, but I certainly don't want to be nickeled and dimmed (and by that I mean hundreded and thousanded lol) for a couple years after the factory warranty runs out. A major engine issue would also be a fear.

I've just read time after time about these cars imploding once the warranty is up. While I've had some issues with my dealership, they have been logistical rather than financial. Knowing I drop it off, they fix it, and I pick it up for the price of a signature is comforting.

[M6-4KIX]

Originally Posted by southern6er22

I agree completely on purchasing this to avoid the hassle. For most issues that would be the case, but I certainly don't want to be nickeled and dimmed (and by that I mean hundreded and thousanded lol) for a couple years after the factory warranty runs out. A major engine issue would also be a fear.

I've just read time after time about these cars imploding once the warranty is up. While I've had some issues with my dealership, they have been logistical rather than financial. Knowing I drop it off, they fix it, and I pick it up for the price of a signature is comforting.

Well then, I guess you would call that ..."Southern Comfort" !!!

[southern6er22]

I think $5,200 is a bit rich for Southern Comfort lol.

[M6-4KIX]

Baby that thing (which I know you do) then it's on to the ...... M4

Did you know there's a whole lot less stress thinking positive, rather than dwelling on the negative things?? It kinda sounds like you're "falling out of love" ????????

I'm thinking next spring will be just fine to order that M4 with the ED of course!!

Think of all the crappy rain and 44 degree temps I'm getting right now!!! Heading to New Orleans in a couple of weeks then a Florida vacation with some friends! Gotta keep warm.

[Bönz]

Originally Posted by southern6er22

I think $5,200 is a bit rich for Southern Comfort lol.

No joke. I once saw a Japanese guy spend 60 large on a bottle of whiskey in a specialty shop in London's Gatwick airport.

[southern6er22]

Originally Posted by M6-4KIX

Baby that thing (which I know you do) then it's on to the ...... M4

Did you know there's a whole lot less stress thinking positive, rather than dwelling on the negative things?? It kinda sounds like you're "falling out of love" ????????

I'm thinking next spring will be just fine to order that M4 with the ED of course!!

Think of all the crappy rain and 44 degree temps I'm getting right now!!! Heading to New Orleans in a couple of weeks then a Florida vacation with some friends! Gotta keep warm.

I wouldn't say I'm falling out of love as much as I'm disheartened by the events of the last month. I had 11 wonderful months of 6er perfection, and then I started having to change my routine to include regular stops by the dealership. It's one thing to go to check out new cars on the lot, and it's another when I'm having the "I told you so" discussion with service.

Every time I get in my car, stomp the throttle, and listen to it roar I fall in love all over again. I still look back at my car as I'm walking away from it, and I still get a stupid grin on my face every time I feel like the car's about to take off like a plane on a straight. I just want to be problem free again and not be haunted by the future. I'm sure I'll feel better about it in a month or so assuming I can keep my distance from the dealership.

I definitely think an M4 will be on the short list next time around. I just hope they make the engine sound better than most of the current I6 engines.

[Mentos]

My comments are based on the general depreciation pattern for new vehicles in the UK. I would imagine they are similar in most western markets around the world (I know they are in most of the EU).

Generally for a premium brand one would expect a vehicle to lose 50-60% of its value over the first 3 years of its life. After this depreciation usually tails off significantly. Therefore, depreciation is almost always the biggest cost of ownership, pretty much dwarfing other costs. From a financial perspective keeping your car longer is almost always going to be the most prudent decision you can make.

It is of course understandable to have concerns about maintenance and repair costs once a vehicle is outside of the manufacturers warranty (we only get 3 years BTW ). However, over a lifetime of car ownership (60 odd years given lifespans these days), you'd have to be extremely unlucky for such occurrences to outweigh the cost of regularly changing cars and taking the massive depreciation hit that entails.

As an example say a 100k car loses 50-60% of its value over its first 3 years of life and then halves in value again (generally a good rule of thumb when calculating depreciation on used cars). Keep one for 6 years and you'd expect to lose 75-80k. Buy two 100k cars over that period and you'd expect to lose 100-120k. That's an extra 25-40k you have to cover repair costs in the 3 years the car is out of warranty. Cars would have to be very unreliable if over the long run (10 cars you'd own over 60 years) repair costs even came close to bridging that gap. We certainly wouldn't be seeing extended warranty costs in the few thousands.

I generally buy cars early in the model life cycle. Just as you have in this case. I do this for two reasons:

1) I find new fresh designs alluring. Given the average 7 year model life cycle (aside from minor LCI changes) my car will remain the current model for as long as possible. This helps to stop my eye wandering
2) I can keep the car for 6 years and still sell it while its the current model, which almost always helps depreciation.

There are some negatives:

1) The best deals come later in the life cycle
2) Later in the production run issues are likely to have been ironed out.

To mitigate against the later I keep an eye out for know issues and make sure I bring them up with my dealer during the warranty period (wether my car presents these issues or not). And should they arise later I refer back to those conversations and question why I should pay for them to be rectified when they knew about the issues and didnt bother to rectify during the warranty period.

If you have owned a car from new, it hasn't done excessive mileage (better still its done below average mileage) and you've had it maintained within the main dealer network you should get significant good will from the manufacturer if a major issue arises.

As an example I owned an E46 coupe from new, which I bought on release. Five and a half years later (2.5 years after the warranty expired) the rear suspension struts fell through the chassis. I questioned how this was acceptable after ~45k miles and less then 6 years. The next day the dealer called me to say BMW apologised and would cover the repair. Given the far more litigious nature of your society I can't imagine they'd be any less forth coming in NA.

I've probably waffled a bit too much and taught you to suck lemons in many respects. So I'll close by admitting I don't always keep my cars for that long. But the decision to change early is always instigated by my heart, my head always says dont do it

[Bönz]

I don't necessarily agree with all your assumptions, Mentos, but I do generally agree with your premise. I do not want to get into a debate so all I will say is:

A life with only 10 cars, is not a life worth living.

[Mentos]

Originally Posted by Bönz

I don't necessarily agree with all your assumptions, Mentos, but I do generally agree with your premise. I do not want to get into a debate so all I will say is:

A life with only 10 cars, is not a life worth living.

As my last paragraph alluded to, my heart often over rules my head . But purely as a rational decision comparing potential repair costs/depreciation my head always tells me its cheaper to keep the car longer.

[Boomersooner89]

Originally Posted by Mentos

My comments are based on the general depreciation pattern for new vehicles in the UK. I would imagine they are similar in most western markets around the world (I know they are in most of the EU).

Generally for a premium brand one would expect a vehicle to lose 50-60% of its value over the first 3 years of its life. After this depreciation usually tails off significantly. Therefore, depreciation is almost always the biggest cost of ownership, pretty much dwarfing other costs. From a financial perspective keeping your car longer is almost always going to be the most prudent decision you can make.

It is of course understandable to have concerns about maintenance and repair costs once a vehicle is outside of the manufacturers warranty (we only get 3 years BTW ). However, over a lifetime of car ownership (60 odd years given lifespans these days), you'd have to be extremely unlucky for such occurrences to outweigh the cost of regularly changing cars and taking the massive depreciation hit that entails.

As an example say a 100k car loses 50-60% of its value over its first 3 years of life and then halves in value again (generally a good rule of thumb when calculating depreciation on used cars). Keep one for 6 years and you'd expect to lose 75-80k. Buy two 100k cars over that period and you'd expect to lose 100-120k. That's an extra 25-40k you have to cover repair costs in the 3 years the car is out of warranty. Cars would have to be very unreliable if over the long run (10 cars you'd own over 60 years) repair costs even came close to bridging that gap. We certainly wouldn't be seeing extended warranty costs in the few thousands.

I generally buy cars early in the model life cycle. Just as you have in this case. I do this for two reasons:

1) I find new fresh designs alluring. Given the average 7 year model life cycle (aside from minor LCI changes) my car will remain the current model for as long as possible. This helps to stop my eye wandering
2) I can keep the car for 6 years and still sell it while its the current model, which almost always helps depreciation.

There are some negatives:

1) The best deals come later in the life cycle
2) Later in the production run issues are likely to have been ironed out.

To mitigate against the later I keep an eye out for know issues and make sure I bring them up with my dealer during the warranty period (wether my car presents these issues or not). And should they arise later I refer back to those conversations and question why I should pay for them to be rectified when they knew about the issues and didnt bother to rectify during the warranty period.

If you have owned a car from new, it hasn't done excessive mileage (better still its done below average mileage) and you've had it maintained within the main dealer network you should get significant good will from the manufacturer if a major issue arises.

As an example I owned an E46 coupe from new, which I bought on release. Five and a half years later (2.5 years after the warranty expired) the rear suspension struts fell through the chassis. I questioned how this was acceptable after ~45k miles and less then 6 years. The next day the dealer called me to say BMW apologised and would cover the repair. Given the far more litigious nature of your society I can't imagine they'd be any less forth coming in NA.

I've probably waffled a bit too much and taught you to suck lemons in many respects. So I'll close by admitting I don't always keep my cars for that long. But the decision to change early is always instigated by my heart, my head always says dont do it

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