Who's actually had to file a claim with an aftermarket contract?

[Move Over]

My experience was that all of the online ones that could give me a 5yr 100k mileage warranty were BS.

I got a powertrain only through EasyCare. It was 3k, with a 250 deductible. They actually approved my differential being replaced at 65k miles due to a whine and a clunk. Think it was normal but worth a shot through my local indy shop. They approved and the work was about 7k. Two thumbs up for easy care. Maybe a bit more expensive, but worth it to me how much i was into tracking.,

[BimmerRules!]

Originally Posted by CheetoNYC

Just bought a contract from Delta (4 yr/48k miles for $3.1k on an '11 w/ 33k miles). Pretty sure it was a mistake. I'm awaiting the paperwork to confirm my suspicions and then I'll likely cancel. Some not so nice reviews out there on their unwillingness to pay. I also got a quote from Omega (who are backed by a smallish insurance company in FL). They quoted a 3 yr/75k TOTAL mile pkgs for $3.1k. They seemed a bit more legit.

BMW Dealer quoted me a 3rd party (JM&A) for 2/24k at $3,462 or 3/36k at $5,404.

Zurich and Easycare told me they only sell through a dealership.
Endurance and Carchex "don't cover any M-series model from BMW".

Hey folks,

i was lucky and recently got a wonderful 2011 e90 with 42k miles from an enthusiast in our forum. I am researching into getting an extended warranty. As the poster I quoted above helpfully pointed out, Zurich and Easycare sell only thru a dealership. Same with Fidelity.

Some BMW dealerships I inquired with said that car has to be within 6 years of the first in service date for them to offer any coverage and so mine is excluded.

Anyone has some thoughts or guidance on other companies that I can pursue - or avoid?

I am also checking with autopom based in CA. I know, name does not sound promising but a member in bimmerfest highly recommended them.

Thanks!!

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by BimmerRules!

Hey folks,

i was lucky and recently got a wonderful 2011 e90 with 42k miles from an enthusiast in our forum. I am researching into getting an extended warranty. As the poster I quoted above helpfully pointed out, Zurich and Easycare sell only thru a dealership. Same with Fidelity.

Some BMW dealerships I inquired with said that car has to be within 6 years of the first in service date for them to offer any coverage and so mine is excluded.

Anyone has some thoughts or guidance on other companies that I can pursue - or avoid?

I am also checking with autopom based in CA. I know, name does not sound promising but a member in bimmerfest highly recommended them.

Thanks!!

I have a 5 year/100k 0 deductible warranty from a company called National... I've made a claim and it went fine however the only thing is in my case since the repair cost was high so they had to send a adjustor out.

This caused extra labor ( and i had to out of pocket pay ) since the shop couldn't leave my car torn apart for 2 days holding up a rack waiting for the adjuster to come.
ended up replacing all 4 vanos solenoids and rod bearings. total bill was close to 5k and i had to pay little over 1k. My warranty didn't pay for fluids and misc parts.

[BimmerRules!]

Originally Posted by 65fastback

I have a 5 year/100k 0 deductible warranty from a company called National... I've made a claim and it went fine however the only thing is in my case since the repair cost was high so they had to send a adjustor out.

This caused extra labor ( and i had to out of pocket pay ) since the shop couldn't leave my car torn apart for 2 days holding up a rack waiting for the adjuster to come.
ended up replacing all 4 vanos solenoids and rod bearings. total bill was close to 5k and i had to pay little over 1k. My warranty didn't pay for fluids and misc parts.

Thank you! Glad to reach such positive reviews.

Did you purchase thru a dealer or directly?

Also, did you have the repairs done at a indy shop or dealer?

Thanks again,

[Kenith]

I’ve been considering concord auto protect. They are fairly aggressive on the sales front, but I’ve gone through their “coverage” and they seem to be fairly close a real bumper to bumper warranty. $25 deductible and wheel/tire protection for a reasonable cost. I’m just unsure what will happen if there was a claim.

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by BimmerRules!

Thank you! Glad to reach such positive reviews.

Did you purchase thru a dealer or directly?

Also, did you have the repairs done at a indy shop or dealer?

Thanks again,

Bought it when i bought the car from a used car lot, repairs/claim was done at a well known local indy shop.
Took it to my local bmw dealer first and they told me my "check engine " light was due to low voltage issues because i have a NON bmw branded battery & a small power amp i use for a small sub ( this had ZERO to do with the real issue)
........bottom line they did NOT want to touch my car because of this, and sent me on my way with a check engine light on and car in limp mode. My situation was very unusual and not the norm.
For this reason ( and a few others ) i will NEVER set foot in BMW of seattle,

Not sure if BMW dealerships in general are ok with 3rd party warranties?

[kawstik]

I've had EasyCare since I bought my car 4 years and 30k miles ago. I'm covered up to 100k miles regardless of time.

They've covered throttle actuators, engine and trans mounts, as well as a half dozen small claims, as my $100 deductible was less than all repairs needed.

There was never a question asked and they always were happy to cover my claims. The warranty has paid for itself 3x over. It has been a phenomenal experience.

To me, it's a no- brainer simply for piece of mind. Obviously, as with anything, YMMV.

[aus]

I purchased a Century Service extended warranty at Infinity Cerritos, CA in 2015 right before my BMW warranty was going to expire. You really want to purchase it while you still have a little warranty left.

I just got the rod bearings and DCT leak covered at AutoTalent. They wanted a lot of paperwork. I was able to show them all the dealer services and then receipts for BMW oil filters and multiple oil purchases at Walmart. They sent an adjuster, who took pics of my wheels, coilovers and exhaust.
It took a while and the Mike at AutoTalent was awesome to work with. In the end, they covered around $3,300 in repairs, but like others have said, they don't cover filters and some fluids.
The warranty has more than paid for itself now.
.

[RowanBuds]

Originally Posted by kawstik

I've had EasyCare since I bought my car 4 years and 30k miles ago. I'm covered up to 100k miles regardless of time.

They've covered throttle actuators, engine and trans mounts, as well as a half dozen small claims, as my $100 deductible was less than all repairs needed.

There was never a question asked and they always were happy to cover my claims. The warranty has paid for itself 3x over. It has been a phenomenal experience.

To me, it's a no- brainer simply for piece of mind. Obviously, as with anything, YMMV.

Originally Posted by 65fastback

I have a 5 year/100k 0 deductible warranty from a company called National... I've made a claim and it went fine however the only thing is in my case since the repair cost was high so they had to send a adjustor out.

This caused extra labor ( and i had to out of pocket pay ) since the shop couldn't leave my car torn apart for 2 days holding up a rack waiting for the adjuster to come.
ended up replacing all 4 vanos solenoids and rod bearings. total bill was close to 5k and i had to pay little over 1k. My warranty didn't pay for fluids and misc parts.

Either of you guys mind sharing what your costs and specific terms (Mileage/dates on the car when purchased and how much further is covered) for the warranties?

[kawstik]

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

Either of you guys mind sharing what your costs and specific terms (Mileage/dates on the car when purchased and how much further is covered) for the warranties?

I bought my EasyCare warranty at the time of vehicle purchase 4 years ago, and have roughly 30,000 miles in remaining balance. My terms were 100,000 miles (65k miles remaining) and unlimited time.

I'm sure the coverage packages have changed in the 4 years since I bought mine, but at the time it was the 'platinum package' or something like that. I paid $4,100 for it. To date, it's probably paid for around $10,000 in repairs.

Throttle actuators and engine / trans mounts alone were $7k.

I look at it as piece of mind. I bought the car with 35k miles on it. I knew the actuators would need replacing at some point. The complete warranty was slightly more than the actuator repair. No brainer.

Something goes wrong, I take it to BMW, they put me in a loaner and I'm on my way. They deal with EasyCare, who has yet to deny any repairs. It's been a wonderful experience, so much so that as soon as the warranty is up on my wife's C300 in 6 months, my first call will likely be to EasyCare.

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by RowanBuds

Either of you guys mind sharing what your costs and specific terms (Mileage/dates on the car when purchased and how much further is covered) for the warranties?

My 2013 e92 had 31k when i bought it on 10/31/16, the warranty cost me $3800 its a 5 year or 100K which ever comes first. zero deductible

I had a small down payment and brought some neg equity from my trade in and my loan is a long 84 month deal my payment is Big! so.... i basically had to buy a warranty so i could sleep at night. Others will argue and i see both sides but in my case it just made sense.

[GrandpasE90]

USAA for the win on this one.

[Move Over]

Originally Posted by GrandpasE90

USAA for the win on this one.

Only available through military banks though right?

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by GrandpasE90

USAA for the win on this one.

What makes USAA better than others?

[m3jala]

Anyone know of a pinned thread on best warranties with solid claim handling out there? I've been calling around and am getting declines for the M3 and the ones that say YES seem to be BS.

If not, anyone in the market now interested in partnering up to call around and log some 2018 results together? Spread the effort.

Who knows, maybe there will be a group buy

[JCN83]

Originally Posted by m3jala

Anyone know of a pinned thread on best warranties with solid claim handling out there? I've been calling around and am getting declines for the M3 and the ones that say YES seem to be BS.

If not, anyone in the market now interested in partnering up to call around and log some 2018 results together? Spread the effort.

Who knows, maybe there will be a group buy

Subscribed! Would love to hear what's currently out there and the fan favorite.

[zipper228]

Originally Posted by kawstik

Throttle actuators and engine / trans mounts alone were $7k.

Sounds like your EasyCare experience has been great but I feel like the value of the warranty gets distorted when the work is being done by the dealer. From what I've seen on here, TAs are typically about a $2k job and I know I had engine mounts done for about $600. I guess the stealership could gouge someone $7k for this, but when assessing the value of the warranty, I think its important to compare the cost of these jobs at a more reasonably priced shop, no?

[kawstik]

Originally Posted by zipper228

Sounds like your EasyCare experience has been great but I feel like the value of the warranty gets distorted when the work is being done by the dealer. From what I've seen on here, TAs are typically about a $2k job and I know I had engine mounts done for about $600. I guess the stealership could gouge someone $7k for this, but when assessing the value of the warranty, I think its important to compare the cost of these jobs at a more reasonably priced shop, no?

Absolutely. I'm strictly talking dealership prices for parts and labor. And looking back at my work orders, it looks like it was closer to $6k than $7k.

Again, for me, it's more piece of mind than anything. These are not cheap cars to fix. I saw the $4,100 cost of my warranty as the price to play. I knew going into my purchase, my car was going to cost ~$5k more than the sticker, and I was able to negotiate the warranty cost down a bit.

Though I send my oil for analysis every oil change, I don't have to worry about rod bearings for another 35k miles, because if the engine grenades, I get a new one. Water pump and thermostat? $1,500. Another set of actuators? $2,500. Idle control valve? $3,000+. These are all pseudo common repairs I simply don't have to worry about.

The warranty, even at indy shop prices, has already paid for itself, and to be completely honest, I wouldn't own an E92 M3 without one, being that an engine failure clocks in at $20-$25k. As with anything, YMMV.

[m3jala]

I'm at it on a current warranty search and here's progress so far:

These declined citing it's an M3: PenFed, EasyCare, Endurance

AutoPOM - $3,642 payable in 24 payments of $136 and down payment of $364. Deductible $100, 60 months or 50,000 additional miles. Plan is called "CarGuard Platinum Plus Exclusionary". It has a cap to $12,000. Lol #1.

I wrote BMW of Fairfax over the weekend and their crappy website turned my request for quote into a request for info on a new car. Lol #2.

Car of concern: 2013 e92 m3 with 23,500 miles. No mods other than corsa cat back. Car purchased from private seller.

Search continues... anyone has one they bought recently, love to have you give me a shout.

[Mcircle]

Best inexpensive exhaust sound with test pipe

[BimmerRules!]

Originally Posted by m3jala

I'm at it on a current warranty search and here's progress so far:

These declined citing it's an M3: PenFed, EasyCare, Endurance

AutoPOM - $3,642 payable in 24 payments of $136 and down payment of $364. Deductible $100, 60 months or 50,000 additional miles. Plan is called "CarGuard Platinum Plus Exclusionary". It has a cap to $12,000. Lol #1.

I wrote BMW of Fairfax over the weekend and their crappy website turned my request for quote into a request for info on a new car. Lol #2.

Car of concern: 2013 e92 m3 with 23,500 miles. No mods other than corsa cat back. Car purchased from private seller.

Search continues... anyone has one they bought recently, love to have you give me a shout.

When I spoke to Easycare, they said they sell it only thru dealerships and none in my area where BMW. One was a Rover, another a Hyundai and I was unable to speak to anyone at the service.

I went with autopom but now rethinking not because i doubt them (they have excellent reviews and are great to deal with) but because my car has a Akropovic exhaust and K&W shocks. The exhaust is tremendous to experience and I would rather drive the car with it. Indifferent to the shocks but inclined to bring back the OEM as my car has the comp package.

In any case - my worry is that both mods can make an adjustor declare the contract as void. That is based on my read of the fine print.

And since these are not simple parts for me to take out and put them back, I am forced to weigh if the joy of driving the car with the mods is significantly > risk of incurring all the typical issues that could crop up.

The first world problems some of us face...

Since mine is a 2011.5 make (e90), some experienced members suggested that there is a very good chance that my car might not have any of those actuators and rod bearing issues as BMW had done a lot by then to address those common failures that hit the previous E9x models.

In addition, the PPI on my car at my trusted local BMW dealership came back as excellent.

So, rethinking the extended warranty cost as I might as well keep that money saved as a rainy day fund in case any issues crop up and enjoy the car as it is.

[kawstik]

Originally Posted by BimmerRules!

When I spoke to Easycare, they said they sell it only thru dealerships and none in my area where BMW. One was a Rover, another a Hyundai and I was unable to speak to anyone at the service.

I went with autopom but now rethinking not because i doubt them (they have excellent reviews and are great to deal with) but because my car has a Akropovic exhaust and K&W shocks. The exhaust is tremendous to experience and I would rather drive the car with it. Indifferent to the shocks but inclined to bring back the OEM as my car has the comp package.

In any case - my worry is that both mods can make an adjustor declare the contract as void. That is based on my read of the fine print.

And since these are not simple parts for me to take out and put them back, I am forced to weigh if the joy of driving the car with the mods is significantly > risk of incurring all the typical issues that could crop up.

The first world problems some of us face...

Since mine is a 2011.5 make (e90), some experienced members suggested that there is a very good chance that my car might not have any of those actuators and rod bearing issues as BMW had done a lot by then to address those common failures that hit the previous E9x models.

In addition, the PPI on my car at my trusted local BMW dealership came back as excellent.

So, rethinking the extended warranty cost as I might as well keep that money saved as a rainy day fund in case any issues crop up and enjoy the car as it is.

I wouldn't worry about it. My M has just about every performance mod possible short of a supercharger. EasyCare has never even blinked at any repair request, 100% of which were performed at the dealership at dealership prices.

First off, the dealership is not in the business of turning away repair business, which is by far their highest profit offering. They don't care about your exhaust or coilover. They want to repair your car. They are going to submit your claim to your warranty provider regardless. It is up to the warranty provider to refuse repairs.

Second, should the warranty company push back and attempt to refuse repairs, they have to prove that your mods directly caused the failure of whatever you are trying to get repaired. They obviously aren't going to cover anything that goes wrong with your 3rd party parts, but being able to prove your coilover caused issues with, say, your control arms, or subframe bushings, is near impossible. It's even quite difficult to prove things like a supercharger directly causing engine failure. In 99% of cases, it just isn't worth the warranty company's time (at least with a reputable warranty company).

Warranty compaines are in the business of taking calculated risks, which in most cases, work out in their favor. Most people pay more for their warranty than they file claims for, which is why there are dozens of warranty companies to choose from. In my experience, they are usually more than happy to write a check because investigations are expensive, and rarely have conclusive proof in their favor.

TLDR - You're good.