Tony808R1

Hey guys,

So I took the plunge and sold my 545i to get into a low mileage 06 M5. It's really hard to compare the two as they are built with completely different purposes. Although I enjoyed my 545i and do miss certain things about it like the better gas mileage, I have to say that driving the M5 puts you in a whole different arena. First off, the power is incredible and really puts a smile on your face as you slap the paddles through the gears. The suspension is spot on and I really enjoy the fact you can adjust the dampening on the fly to suit your needs. The downside to this additional power is the awful gas mileage. Yes I knew it was going to be bad but man, my old Dodge Ram Hemi wasn't nearly as bad on fuel. In all honesty though, it's worth every drop of fuel this beast sucks up for the performance return.

Now the modding begins. I kept my old rims I had on the 545i which were Joe's old Iforged Fabulous rims and threw on some spacers and all is good. What I noticed was that on my old 545i with sport package, I didn't feel the need to lower it as they looked good with very little fender gap. On the M5 though, the front sits really high and just doesn't look as good as it did on my old car which I'll be fixing with a set of H&R springs. Everyone on this forum knows Joe with Trinity and his reputation for top notch service and I wholeheartedly agree. I am currently living in Hawaii and as some of you may know, Joe's on his honeymoon in Hawaii. He really hooked it up by lugging a bunch of stuff with him therefore saving me a bunch on shipping alone.

So without boring you guys too much longer, my final question is where can I get the best deal on an Easycare extended warranty? My one and only BMW dealership in Hawaii does not offer any third pary warranties. I've gotten a price quote from Easycare directly but i've heard you can get it cheaper through negotiating with a dealer or a broker. Also, are my options limited to places that offer Easycare in Hawaii or can I go through a dealership or broker in the mainland where they may offer better deals? Although I only have 24k miles, i've heard alot of horror stories about the smg in these 06 models and don't want to get stuck with a fat bill. Thanks for any info you guys may have!

floridaBMW

Fidelity seems to be a recomeded "aftermarket" extended warranty company. I personally choose the factory extended warranty, Platnum plan 7/100k and its pretty robust..SMG and other major components including AC and NAV.

willbishop

I have had good luck with a company called CNA.......they have paid on a variety of expensive to non expensive repairs ($2,600 head gasket replacement to a $125 hood sensor for the alarm) and have a $75 deductible that you pay. They paid my dealership directly. Think they are out of phoenix, az...if you google them you will find them. Bought my car at Carmax and they operate under the "MaxCare" name if that helps...

Tony808R1

Thanks for the tip guys. I need to get something soon as I don't want anything to break and be stuck with a massive bill. I just got the car not too long ago and it only has 23k miles on the clock. I checked the service records and so far other than the standard oil change and a battery issue, it hasn't been brought in for any of the transmission faults/fixes. I'd like to be prepared for what seems to be the inevitable smg issue to occur. Anyone on here actually have smg issues while on a third party warranty and have them pay for the repair to include clutch and flywheel?

On a side note, will running in m mode speed up the smg wear granted I drive conservatively majority of the time?

skunkd

You guys all assume the worse cause you read all the people who's cars have broken down on the forums when you really don't think about the thousands of people that haven't had issues and are without a warranty and don't have any need to post because they are out enjoying their cars and not worrying about the next repair. My advice is crawl out of your little shells, grow some balls, and drive the car like it was meant to be driven. Invest that money and you'll be better off in the long run. I just crossed 59k, no problems out of the ordinary other than some wheels bending do to the extremely poor roads in NY. Have some faith lol

Tony808R1

Glad to hear you're not having any problems with your car Skunk'd but thats not what I asked. There's nothing wrong with having a little piece of mind a warranty offers in the event one of the quite frequent smg problems decides to present itself. I'm sure if you were slapped with a big bill, you'd be singing a different tune. No worries though, some want an extended warranty and some don't. Let's just try and stay on topic and provide feedback that is productive and not useless.

skunkd

Actually, I wouldn't be singing a different tune. I bought a car I can afford to maintain. And again your assumption that smg problems are frequent is based on shit to say the least. You read a few forum posts about smg problems but get this... The majority of M5 owners don't even belong to any forums, let alone post to one or have any interest in bragging that their car actually works (instead of being broken which obviously you'd post about). So, until you have statistical data that BMW builds SMG transmissions to break at frequent intervals please, save me the headache of continuing this argument.

Enjoy your piece of mind, I was just offering advice on how investing money that you're going to spend on a warranty is better piece of mind and if you don't need to use it its not wasted in the long run and you can spend it on other necessities. How hard is it to understand that the warranty company ALWAYS makes out in the end play your odd's its your money... just my 2 cents

C's Bimmer

Ask Eurocarfan where he got his extended warranty. He seems very happy.

Tony808R1

Thanks for the tip C!

EuroCarFan

I got the EasyCare warranty from my dealer here in the San Jose area, Stevens Creek BMW. I paid about $3100 for an additional 3yrs/36K miles with a $500 deductable and bought it right when I was about to reach the 50K mile mark. I don't know if that was a good deal or not but I did talk them down from the original quoted amount of about $3600. Your actual cost will depend on your mileage and how long till your original warranty expires.

I wasn't going to buy an extended warranty originally because my car is heavily modded but my dealer hasn't given me any issues with those upgrades so far. I figured since they work with EasyCare and I know my SA pretty well, that I won't get that much hassle when it came for warranty repairs. I had also been getting the red cog periodically on cold starts in the morning and the dealer had never figured out why. It got more frequent so I finally decided to just get the extended warranty.

About a week or so after I got the warranty and after my 50K mile mark, I brought my car in again cause of the red cog which at that point, has been coming on every morning for a second or two. This time, I guess they found a Service Bulletin regarding this issue and called and said they would do a full clutch replacement. The weird thing is, they did it as a goodwill repair against my original warranty instead of claiming it through EasyCare. I think they may have done this because I've reported this problem several times already before my 50K mile mark OR, perhaps because there was a Service Bulletin, they had to do it as part of a recall repair?

Then came my first repair work through EasyCare. About a month ago, my car started getting a high battery drain warning. First time I took it to the dealers, they said everything checked out fine. But of course, I still got that warning light so I took it back. After about a week, they said it was a problem with the CAS module. Thank goodness EasyCare had no issues with authorizing the repair which was close to $1500. Again, with all the mods on my car, I'm glad they gave me no hassles. Turns out, I still had the same damn warning light the very next day. Brought it back two weeks ago and it's been there ever since. Now they said it's an issue with the IBS (Intelligent Battery Sensor) and that will be taken care of as a goodwill repair.

So....guess my gamble with the extended warranty is beginning to pay off. It's definitely a good thing to get to give you a peace of mind, regardless of the debate around what percentage of M5 owners actually experience SMG/Clutch issues.

And to skunkd, your so called attempt at "offering advice" came across in a pretty insulting way. Telling someone to "grow some balls" and that their assumptions are "based on shit" is not "offering advice" in my book. How about being a bit more tactful the next time around if you're really trying to help someone? Just my .02.