mancho

I need some insight from you smart guys. I posted this at the fest and no replies, so apparently the smart folks are here.

Ok, here's the deli'm. It's a lease. I have 22 months left (exp Nov 2014). However, this 550i is a GREAT CAR, w very little maintenance, w exception to the list below.

Right now, I can buy the premium warranty for 5K and ride it till 100K miles OR 3 years. I'll get to 100K before my lease is up. I'm at 77K right now with the 22 months. I'm averaged 1,160 miles a month in the last 25 months, since I picked her up at 48K.

So, here's the fun part, the RESIDUAL on my lease is 10K! LOL Wait, if I do the math, that means a 15% assumed reduction in value (I price it at mid 25K, maybe I'm insane, but that's KBB valuation w what the car has, not counting all the Dinan add ons to make it a Dinan5). I can actually BUY the car from the leasing company in 22 months and SELL it for a PROFIT! I have a buy out clause for the residual of 10K.

Maybe I'm nuts, but this car puts more smiles on me than a biscuit, if you know what I mean. Gravy too. I really like this car, it's a rough ride, but I think I'm still going to be into it for another 6 to 8 years. Depending on how it holds out.

So, with that in mind, what to do? See the list of repairs right now, While the FRONT is the largest, the leak is very minimal but the indy mechanic says it's gonna need to be replaced.

I have GUESSED some of the "fair repair valuations" below, tell me if I'm way off and if I should just sell the car in 22 months. There is always the unknown if the transmission blows (figure 4K minimum if I beg my indy) then obviously an extended warranty would be sweet. My indy reminded me today I'll blow the transmission up LOL. gee thanks. I dont' down shift the tranny with the paddle shifters anymore

Anyway HELP! Any thoughts on this delim? Put the 5K and ride it out, or just keep it granny style for 22 months and sell it then for some profit? Note, below my TMPS control board under the spare got wet and my indy has yet to replace it... that will decide the main board if that has to be replaced.

Front Seats extension motors Both $375
Driver seat lumbar bag $250
Front ball joint/ctl arms $450
TPMS Board replace $300
Possbile replace main CPU if TPMS board fails to work $1700
Fan bearing bad in center console fan $225
Alt Brake vacumm pump $940
Lower radiator hose $340
Front Sway Bar leak $2750

DanL

Did you already do all of the repairs in the list, minus the TPMS board? I doubt the warranty will cover the TPMS module or any other electrical issues which were the result of water in the trunk. Also, if you haven't already repaired the other items in your list you might have problems getting them covered as well since pretty much all extended warranties exclude preexisting conditions. So unless you're positive you can get the warranty company to cover the stuff in your list I think your question comes down to "should I pay $5K for a 23K mile / 20 month warranty". If I was in your place, I'd put the $5K in the bank and keep my fingers crossed for the next 1 1/2 years.

flyingpuck

If you love the car, keep it and get a warranty! I would never own a BMW outside of warranty and just hope. I've been down THAT road before, so I know how nerve wracking EVERY trip to the dealer was! I also want to mention that I have a guy at Mercury Insurance who sells warranties for our cars that cover more than the BMW warranty and at a lower price too! I must also mention I get nothing out of his selling warranties here, I'm just passing along a good deal to fellow members here! PM me if interested, and good luck with your decision!

mancho

Yes, I can't find a PM button on your profile, perhaps they moved it. email me at mark@webix.com, I'd love to get a quote from your guy, I'm still seriously considering doing the investment.

Yes, while they also might look like pre-existing conditions, they are very very minor to the point that they can hardly be called a problem at this point. My indy knows what to look for.

Regarding the TMP board, it is actually covered under this premium warranty offered by Mercury and I would recommend this warranty over the ones I have read a couple of years ago. I know it changes and I would be open to other warranties if the company looked solid.

My indy recommends this particular warranty because he says they pay EVERYTHING, or at least more considerably than other warranties.

mancho

Dan, thats assuming you'd dump the car... but I'm more in the 80% plus that I would like to buy it at the end of the lease and keep it until it rides on out through 200K... so another 6 to 8 years.

None of the repairs are done, and none are seriously a problem. If I turned the car in today, and said im done w the lease, I bet they would only catch the front control arm bushing pop when you back up slowly. The leaks are super minimal and the only thing a big issue is the TMP board and if the main board needs to be replaced.

If I was going to let them have it back, I would have to repair the front arms and TMP problem obviously. Not near 5K in value.

tonyb635

5000 for 22 months seems like quite a lot of dough... But, the bad part is one or two medium type repairs can suck that right up. Luckily you have owned the car so you kinda know it, but still things are unknown, just not as bad as if I were buying it. I looked into a warranty last year and I recall that once you purchase it, there was a grace period where you could not file any claims so you would want to look into this as well.

mancho

Thats correct, it's about 90 days or so... nothing that can't wait. TMP has been out for 4 months, I can survive it. I do check tire pressure anyway with 19" M6 wheels. My sig photo is dated :/

DanL

No sir, I assumed you were going to buy back the car. The warranty you want to buy is 100K miles or 3 years, whichever occurs first. It's not 100K *more* miles, it ends once your car hits 100K miles. You said you put on an average of 1,160 miles a month on your car. That means you're going to hit 100K miles in less than 20 months at the rate you're going and even if you put less miles on your car a month, your new extended warranty is going to expire in only 23K miles regardless.

beesh

Do not invest in extended warranty unless it's from BMW. I just bought a 2007 525i w 70K and bought a 2year warranty 3month ago. I'm having issues w the car now and they rejected my claim and the reason is preexisting issues. I went back to where I bought it from and they will try to press the warranty company. if not I will be getting a full refund. I will never buy an extended warranty ever again. I will deal w issues as they happen. Good luck w ur decision.

tpaxadpom

beesh do you mind sharing the company name you have bought the warranty from?