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A $3000 service trip to the dealer

4K views 31 replies 22 participants last post by  Saintor 
#1 ·
You just gotta hate it when you have to leave $3000 at the dealership for service. I have an 08 335xi coupe with only 45K. I took it in for a transmission fluid leak on the garage floor after the car sat for a while. After I drove away I had a new Mechatronics sleeve, A new LF axle shaft seal, A new Thrust arm on the RF with alignment, A new Valve cover and trap door to address low crankcase pressure resulting in an oil leak and one selective item in a transfer case fluid change! Yikes!! Oh well I do love this car but right now it is a love/hate relationship! :cry:
 
#2 ·
Wow, sorry to hear BW. As I just turned over 46k in my xi, hopefully that's a service trip I can soon avoid (albeit an MT dodges a few of your troublesome items).
 
#5 ·
it really sucks that you had that much to pay for repairs with your car especially since its an 08 and only 40*k miles, a lot of ppl have urged me not to extend my warranty on my car but I seriously think I will be getting it, my car is currently at the BMW dealership now for a turbo issue and I haven't had the car for 20 days yet, being that it was a previously leased vehicle there shouldn't be any issues, luckily for me I will not have to pay out of pocket and I think having warranty will just keep me as a peace of mind if there are any future major problems. HOPEFULLY u will no longer have any issues with yours
 
#12 ·
Most of the items listed in OP might not even be covered by the CPO.

If axle repairs are deemed suspension items as wear and use you are SOL.
Wheel balancing and alignment are not covered (even under factory original warranty).
Fluids changes are not covered by the CPO unless are part of the repair process, etc.
 

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#8 ·
Extended warranty's are pretty expensive insurance. They would not even be available unless the seller's were making good margin on them. For everyone in the OP's position, there are literally dozens of extended warranty buyers that may as well have flushed the cash down the toilet.
 
#11 ·
And there's the price point you should keep in mind on BMW extended warranties.

The CPO warranty is better than the BMW extended warranties you can get as far as items covered. It's also a pretty fixed price from what I've seen here, which would seen to indicate that the dealer has no negotiating leverage with BMWNA or even a lot of price room on his end.

So, $1500 would seem to be a good starting point for how much BMW thinks it will need to pay out in repair claims on average for an extended period with a 3-series. Paying more than this for warranty coverage would therefore seem to be a bad bet, again on an average basis.
 
#15 ·
Ouch. www.bimrs.org , www.bimmershops.com

I just bought a 2011 335i with xDrive yesterday. It has just over 17,000 miles. It was not CPO but I asked to see if they could add it. They charged me $1,500 to do it which I considered cheap insurance for the peace of mind it gives me.
Wise choice. That price is barely over the dealer's cost to BMWNA, about $1,300. Makes me wonder what, if anything, they did to bring the car to CPO standards. Get them to give you a copy of the CPO Inspection Checklist, they're required to under the CPO program rules. Also, get them to give you a copy of the work order showing whatever work they did to bring the car to CPO standards.
 
#16 ·
Originally Posted by bwillia
You just gotta hate it when you have to leave $3000 at the dealership for service. I have an 08 335xi coupe with only 45K. I took it in for a transmission fluid leak on the garage floor after the car sat for a while. After I drove away I had a new Mechatronics sleeve, A new LF axle shaft seal, A new Thrust arm on the RF with alignment, A new Valve cover and trap door to address low crankcase pressure resulting in an oil leak and one selective item in a transfer case fluid change! Yikes!! Oh well I do love this car but right now it is a love/hate relationship! :cry:
Ouch. www.bimrs.org , www.bimmershops.com

Originally Posted by Bubbs
I just bought a 2011 335i with xDrive yesterday. It has just over 17,000 miles. It was not CPO but I asked to see if they could add it. They charged me $1,500 to do it which I considered cheap insurance for the peace of mind it gives me.
Wise choice. That price is barely over the dealer's cost to BMWNA, about $1,300. Makes me wonder what, if anything, they did to bring the car to CPO standards. Get them to give you a copy of the CPO Inspection Checklist, they're required to under the CPO program rules. Also, get them to give you a copy of the work order showing whatever work they did to bring the car to CPO standards.

Actually they have to do the full inspection required by BMW. If I didn't get the CPO, I would be picking it up today. With the inspection they are doing, it will be next Monday before its available. They said I will get a list of the inspection items they are required to do and also advise if any repairs are needed as a result of the inspection.
 
#17 ·
Actually they have to do the full inspection required by BMW. If I didn't get the CPO, I would be picking it up today. With the inspection they are doing, it will be next Monday before its available. They said I will get a list of the inspection items they are required to do and also advise if any repairs are needed as a result of the inspection.
Just fyi - So, the cost BMWNA charges the dealer for the warranty is about $1,300. If the dealer finds any relatively pricey repairs (very unlikely) that need to be done to bring the car to CPO standards don't be surprised if they add that cost to the $1,500 CPO price they've quoted you. Since the car has such low mileage they probably won't have to make any repairs and the only thing that will be required is the inspection.
 
#19 ·
Were you advised what needed to be done .... and did you approve the repairs? Did they return (or offer to) the replaced parts?

I really question why you needed a head cover and trap door for a transmission leak. Or a thrust arm ....

In PA. if you don't approve the work before it's done .... it's free.
 
#21 ·
It was a service loaner. They guaranteed no additional cost when I made the deal as they knew how well it had been taken care of. They also stated if there was a major problem discovered during the inspection, it would be covered under warranty.
 
#25 ·
I've purchased the extended warranty for every new car I've bought in the last 15 years and I've at least broken even compared with dealer retail prices. If BMW asks $1500 for an extended warranty, they expect it to cost them less than $1500 on average. But I don't think BMW NA could pay a dealer the same shop labor rate that a retail customer is charged, and no matter what the invoice says, they are supplying the parts at a fraction of the retail cost. By buying the BMW warranty I am prepaying for expected repairs, which BMW discounts.

Alternatively, if I have an out-of-warranty car, I'll be sure that I have a tame independent shop to take it to when it breaks.
 
#26 ·
I bought a AAA autoguard extended warranty for my 2007 335i soon after I purchased the car. It covers everything but wear items (including "luxury electronics", e.g. iDrive) for 7 years/100K miles. The cost of the warranty was $3000 and, at just over 72000 miles, it has paid out over $4500 in parts and labor. Most recently was new waste gates, water pump failure and the second time the oil filter housing has sprung a leak. I would not have an N54 out of warranty and have started window shopping via Internet. I truly love driving the car and regret that the F30 offers nothing of interest and at a high premium so I'm wishing the Japanese would produce a decent looking sport sedan.
 
#28 ·
I just had a mechatronics sleeve replaced also. How much did you pay? Mine included replacing the eletronic device inside of there (sometimes the dealership does not do that) and the tranny fluid.

I went into the dealership for free service checkup and they hit me with three items. i wasn't ready to pay $1,300 so decided to take it home. Called my indy shop and they thought it weird the mechatronics sleeve needed to be replaced...they confirmed it did. The dealership also said my oil gasket was leaking but the garage said it was not.

Mechatronics sleeve (including the electronic component and trans fluid change)
Oil Change
plus one other item

1300$
 
#30 ·
Give it some times, more E90ers will do more DIY.

Majority numbers od DIYers usually people who buy the car on second market, they are more resourceful than the original owners. especially if 40% of original owners are leasing where the car is always under waranty.
 
#31 ·
Agreed. As these cars fall off warranty and the younger crowd picks them up then they will be modded more. Who wants to heavily mod a brand new car (that probably still has tons of bugs) while under warranty? You change the lightbulb, the gasket blows and all of a sudden you are not under warranty because that new BMW light bulb that you replaced at an indy shop, instead of at BMW, is the reason.
 
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