Maintenance Program Upgrade - Is it worth it?
 

For $2,295 I can upgrade my free maintenance program for an additional 2 years or 50k miles (making it free for 6 years or 100k). Does this extend the warranty also or no? I plan on driving probably 15k mi per year, so i'd get to 50k before the 4 years are up. Would I spend more than $2,295 on routine maintenance between 50k and 100k miles? Does this really include everything (breaks, oil change, transmission fluid, radiator, transmission, tire rotation, etc) or just basically oil change? Right now I have a '98 Acura CL so i get my oil change at Jiffy Lube for 20 or 30 bucks. How much does an oil change cost at a dealer for a 2012 528xi?

I had the upgraded maintenance on mine and it was well worth it. I paid about ~1200 for my car at the time (which was back in 2005, IIRC). The dealer changed all of the brakes and rotors twice during that time...in addition to Inspection I & II, and an oil service. I think they also changed the oxygen sensors because I took it in right before it hit 100K.

However, I wouldn't bother buying it now. Buy it when you are close to 50K. For whatever reason you may decide not to keep the car or your mileage needs may change. And when you decide to get it, shop around. You might get a better deal by just calling around and you don't even have to buy it in person...you can just use a key and mail it to them so they can get the mileage from it.

The best part about having this and the extended warranty together is that the car gets serviced like a new car till 100K. There is absolutely no haggling with the dealer about any kind of fine print. Defective part, worn part, whatever...it gets fixed.

Does the F10 need tire rotations? I thought BMW stopped requiring those (at least they don't require it on my E46) and as such, the dealer doesn't perform them. Basically this will cover anything listed under the scheduled maintenance or that is showing normal wear and tear.

So this is separate from an extended warranty? I didn't see the extended warranty option on the BMW website, is that dealer specific? But the extended warranty is if something major breaks, right? I can't go to the dealer at 99k and be like "hey, can you guys replace my radiator and transmission so it's like new for the next 100k?" Can i also buy the extended warranty at any time?

Yes extended maintenance and extended warranty are 2 separate things. I bought them together and paid somewhere around 3-3.3K for both (can't remember the exact figure). It is for things that break. The dealers typically sell their own versions of extended warranties, but BMW sells one as well, and that is the one that I got. Even with that, I had issues with the sunroof, control arm bushings, and power window regulators that needed to be addressed.

I don't think you can get the radiator/transmission stuff covered by either of these because those are purely preventative. Are they even recommended in the BMW service manual?

Are you saying your sunroof, bushings, and regulators were not covered and you had to pay out of pocket to fix them??

And that was exactly my point about the radiator. It's preventative if i just ask them to replace it, and it wouldn't be covered by the warranty. But if it actually breaks then it should be covered by the extended warranty.

Sorry if it wasn't clear. They were all covered by the extended warranty. I always knew when the warranty was being used, because I had to a $50 "service fee" each time I used it. They waived the service fee for the sunroof, but I had to pay it for the power window regulators and the control arm bushings.

In 2009 I toyed with the idea of buying an extended maintenance policy for several months. I did my homework and learned a lot for the various forums. One thing that came out was BMW dealers could charge what ever they wanted. Some of the prices were in the $3,000 range. Most were in the low $2,000 range with a few in the high teens.

I won't debate if they are a good purchase or not. That has been beaten to death. I decided to go ahead and buy one. I called several local BMW dealers in the Los Angeles area and found the wide range of prices as I mentioned above. One was $1,695 plus tax. Nice try, there is no tax on these policies.

In my search, I came across a posting that recommended United BMW of Gwinnett in Duluth Georgia. The Internet Sales Manager, Justin Hoisington, handles the sales of the extended maintenance policy for the dealer.

I sent him and email with the year (2006), Model (530I) and mileage (33,000) and he quickly emailed me back a price of $1,695. I sent him the key with a credit card authorization form that he emailed me and it was a done deal. I have no affiliation with Mr. Hoisington besides being a satisfied customer.

Here is his information;

Justin Hoisington
Internet Sales Manager
707 622-8251 direct line
478.918.7093 mobile
jhoisington@penskeautomotive.com
United BMW of Gwinnett
3264 Commerce Ave.
Duluth, GA 30096
www.gwinnettbmw.com
770.476.8800 main line
770.623.8933 fax

So Chuck,. you purchased the maintenance through this dealer, but will leverage that coverage through the local dealers that you work with now? What a great deal, and what a great look into the variance of pricing out there for that offering...

Yes. However, before I bought it from an out of state dealer, I asked my local dealer to match the offer. They wouldn't. It is just like buying a car. Each dealer has their own profit margin that they adhere to.

Why is there no sales tax on these policies? If the documentation fee and training fee are all taxed when purchasing a car, isn't buying anything from the dealer afterwards also taxable?

I also heard that they offer insurance on tires for $1000, so if i need a tire replacement, which is a def and expensive possibility with the run-flats, it will be a good investment that will pay off. Any thoughts on this? Is this insurance also negotiable, or do all dealers have the same price?

But unlike the extended stuff i think our festers said the tire insurance should be purchased along with the car.

I must've missed that. I hope i can still get it after purchase. I'll ask the dealer when i go there to pick up my car.

Don't bother, it will only cover the tires on your car or replacements from that dealer. Sounds like you're going to get aftermarket rims / tires so....

Don't buy BMW Maintenance Upgrade Program
 

I paid for Maintenance Program Upgrade for my 2008 535xi. Not only I had issues with the car (mostly turbo related problems), this Maintenance Upgrade was a waste of money and I consider it as "scam". BMW will not provide maintenance unless oil, break, ... etc are worn out to a point they are damaging the car. Never buy such a upgrade ever again. Don't fall for it.

It may be that the kind of service you receive is dealer (or even service advisor) dependent. My experience was the opposite. They did a lot of things on my car using the maintenance plan including new pads/rotors all around at 100K (which then lasted me to 200K).

My daughter bought one for her '07 328I. She put 100,000 miles on the car in five years. As a result, she got her monies worth out of the policy ($1700). If you don't put many miles on your car, save your money.