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What major repairs @ which milage

7K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  maybellineo 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I'm doubting to renew my CPO because of the costs. It will cost me approx 1250 euro's (say $1500) a year for the highest coverage (which covers everything except tires, breakpads, etc.)
So I need more than $1500 on repair costs to make the CPO worth the money.

I was wondering which repair costs you all ran into @ which milage?

What is your opinion in my case? The car is a 2006 650i vert. with approx 22000 miles on it. It's not a daily drive thus I'll drive not more than 4000 miles a year.
 
#2 ·
My experience is as follows, these are the repairs, all were warranty or CPO, I am including estimated cost from DEALER if I didn't have the warranty:

Steering Wheel angle sensor - $ 1200 @ 32,000 miles
Mechatronics sleeve - $ 1200 (?) @ 33,000 miles
ARS Block (dyamic drive) - $ 1800 @ 35,000 miles
Dash gauge cluster - $ 1500 @ 38,000 miles

My car had 27,000 miles when I bought it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I've had mine for 15,000 miles and two years... form 64k to 80k which should be bad from maintenance required perspectives.

Needed:
Transmission reprogram ($300) Not really maintenance Not covered in CPO
Convertible top sensors ($1100) Not covered in CPO
DCS failure ($600) COVERED in CPO!!!!!!!
Brakes (DIY for $160) Not covered in CPO
Trans filter & fluid (DIY 220) Not covered in CPO
Tires ($ Long story, but essentially free as they came on my M6 wheels almost new) & not CPO
CCV valves (DIY for $60) Not covered in CPO
Thermostat (DIY for $90) Not covered in CPO
Coolant hose (DIY for $49) Not covered in CPO
Filters and Oil (DIY for $???) Not covered in CPO
. Not covered in CPO
. Not covered in CPO
. Not covered in CPO



My point... My car came with a CPO and I found that BMW found a way to wiggle out of every single opportunity to pay on it. There was always a technicality. The big ticket item: The roof was non CPO because it is in their eyes "an accessory!" As I've said before, I wonder how many Cabrios they have sold without this accessory. Another illustration..... defective transmission programming... and it is not considered part of the "drivetrain" and hence not covered. Really? The software is integral to the transmission. It can't work without it. It is defective by their admission, and unchanged since delivery, and not subject to wear AND Not covered?

I wouldn't waste my money on their CPO. Understand your car, maintain it well, and don't flog it, and it will last you a good long time. I may be more lucky than most, but despite my relatively high mileage, no majors expenses. Just meticulous maintenance of the fluids and systems AND careful use. Drive hard, but without potholes, low fluids, dirty fluids, right pressures etc.

But it does disgust me to have had to pay some significant coin to repair two engineering defects that BMW refused to cover under CPO. Simply stupid image management to not take responsibility for their engineering. Especially on what is one of their flagship products with what would presumably be the sweet spot of their target customer base.

Maintain well and use the money from the CPO for beer. It will make you feel better than BMW will when they refuse to pay on a technicality.
 
#6 ·
Well, I also had tires, oil changes, brake flushes, microfilter change and other adjustments that were not covered by CPO. But I never expected my CPO to cover operational wear items so I am not upset, the items that were not covered were clearly listed in the exclusion list in my case. I agree about the top issue, they should cover that no matter what since it is an engineering failure.

Since the topic was MAJOR repairs I didn't really bring up the minor stuff. But there is plenty of that in a car of this caliber!
 
#7 ·
The main point to remember is that warranties are sold to make a profit. They don't push them on you for the good of their health.

If you have the cash flow to handle the unexpected occasional $1,500 repair then I would skip the CPO. I would definitely skip CPO if you work on your own car for minor maintenance items like brakes and oil changes.

That said, a few people on the board have cars that required several big $ repairs and the CPO really paid for itself. I still feel this is the exception.

My '06 650i has had zero issues over the last 2.5 years other than normal wear items. Car has about 68K miles (110K km) on it. I drive the crap out of my cars (I also track the 650i occasionally) and have used it for several very long road trips to mountain roads where I thoroughly flogged the car.
 
#11 ·
The main point to remember is that warranties are sold to make a profit. They don't push them on you for the good of their health.

If you have the cash flow to handle the unexpected occasional $1,500 repair then I would skip the CPO. I would definitely skip CPO if you work on your own car for minor maintenance items like brakes and oil changes.

That said, a few people on the board have cars that required several big $ repairs and the CPO really paid for itself. I still feel this is the exception.

My '06 650i has had zero issues over the last 2.5 years other than normal wear items. Car has about 68K miles (110K km) on it. I drive the crap out of my cars (I also track the 650i occasionally) and have used it for several very long road trips to mountain roads where I thoroughly flogged the car.
+1 here. I am into my fourth year with the 650i and do the basic fluid changes on my own. The only warranty repair I can recall post delivery has been the passenger side sill plate that was no longer lighting up. It has lowish miles (bought with 13k and 37k now) so obviously it's not a daily driver, but it has been perfect. Oh, and I hook it up to a battery tender if it is going to sit for more than a couple of days.
I had the original 4 year / 50k miles BMW warranty the first two years and was debating getting additional warranty coverage when it expired, but in my case it would have been a waste.
To date, I have paid for oil (motor, trans, and diff), filters (oil, air, and cabin), tires, a short shift kit, and a boot legged 2013 map update. I hope the trend continues.
 
#9 ·
Yorgi absolutely nailed it.

If on average they weren't going to take more money from you than they were going to pay on repairs, they wouldn't sell the policy.

My gripe however is that they even refuse to pay on what they SHOULD.

This makes it particularly worthless IMO.

And to TampaMark's point, and one I was trying to make... Most of what you will spend is routine maintenance and wear... which isn't and is not expected in the CPO.

Once in a while, someone does have an engine replacement on the CPO. One should look a them the same as you look at the Jackpot winner in a casino. Lucky, not smart.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the info all! I know regular maintenance is needed now and then. I spend approx another 1500 euro's on it last year. (New rear tires, replacing oil and other fluids etc..) and te opinion of the BMW dealership was that the car was in top condition and tat's the way I want to keep it thus it gets all neccessarry maintenance in time. I also don't drive it like I stole it. Just once drove it to it's limiter. Great to live near Germany where they don't have a speedlimit on most of the highways :)
Anyways it looks like the repairs Mark mentioned are uncommon. I can handle one unexpected 1500 to 2000 euro repair. Just as much as the costs of te aftermarket CPO.
Hope too see more opinions and experiences :)
 
#14 ·
I have had mine for a little over 2 years. I got it at 67k. the only issues I have had besides normal fluid changes etc is around 80K my radiatior went out, the expansion tank needed replaced soon after. I have 90k on it now, been real happy with it. Car has been well maintained all its life.
 
#15 ·
With a low mileage BMW with 26k miles, I would roll the dice. Change your oils at 7500k miles or less, & you will probably never see any major engine problems. Change your oil at 15k miles between changes, you might need to have a CPO. BMW is gambling that they will never see a major drive train problem, until their warranty is over. They encourage you to go with 15k mile oil changes, because they are the ones who will reap the profit in the long haul! :dunno:
 
#16 ·
I have never had to disagree with Yorgi and same this time!

CPO (or any other warranty) is for the provider to make money... thats the bottom line, else they won't be offering it.

With that being said, if you do all the maintenance yourself and with a little bit of good luck, you will do well without the CPO.

Of course there are cases where you have a major repair and the CPO will come in handy... (same goes for home fire insurance, flood insurance...)


Back to the OP's question, at 22k miles, you really should not have much to worry about (again, don't come beat me up if you had to unfortunately have a bill repair bill...lol)
 
#17 ·
I'll add one more idea to this discussion about this (and any) insurance.

The people selling the policies are in a position to know the real risk much better than any of us. They have the actual data. Given that data on claim patterns, they price the policies, and the price them so that they still make money.

Unless you have a solid reason to believe that your case is likely to be different from their general experience, then you are betting against a card counter.

Not that you cant win, but its bad poker if you don't have a better counting system... which most of us don't.
 
#19 ·
Everyones analysis like this "CPO (or any other warranty) is for the provider to make money... thats the bottom line, else they won't be offering it." is wrong. What they do is spread the risk over a large group so that overall, the costs of repair do not exceed the cost of the coverage. They also have hits and misses, as it is a guess (past performance does not guarantee future performance). At the individual level it is a much trickier analysis. Do you trade certainty (XX dollars for Y years) with risk (repairs may be less or more than XX in the same YY period). Given BMW's complicated design, high cost of parts and labor and the likelihood of at least one major item failing in YYY years, I personally opted for the extended warranty.

As an aside, I bought a 2004 Audi Allroad in 08, one owner, full service, clean carfax and only 35k miles. in 1.5 years and 17k miles it had over $17,500 in required repairs. All but $1k covered by my extended warranty.

Check out my car blog: http://carfisheye.blogspot.com/
 
#20 ·
your point is exactly right too... While they are in it to make money, it like everyone chipping in a little into a pool of cash, and whoever needs it from a "catastrophic issue" gets to take cash out of the pool, and not suffer a major financial blow. (again just like any other insurance)

Everyones analysis like this "CPO (or any other warranty) is for the provider to make money... thats the bottom line, else they won't be offering it." is wrong. What they do is spread the risk over a large group so that overall, the costs of repair do not exceed the cost of the coverage. They also have hits and misses, as it is a guess (past performance does not guarantee future performance). At the individual level it is a much trickier analysis. Do you trade certainty (XX dollars for Y years) with risk (repairs may be less or more than XX in the same YY period). Given BMW's complicated design, high cost of parts and labor and the likelihood of at least one major item failing in YYY years, I personally opted for the extended warranty.

As an aside, I bought a 2004 Audi Allroad in 08, one owner, full service, clean carfax and only 35k miles. in 1.5 years and 17k miles it had over $17,500 in required repairs. All but $1k covered by my extended warranty.

Check out my car blog: http://carfisheye.blogspot.com/
 
#25 ·
With only 22K miles on the car and you only drive 4k miles a year, you should as you did get rid of the CPO. You should open another savings account name it CPO and put around $900 a year into it and consider it a CPO.
By the time the car starts needing repair you would have saved some cash to cover lots of things. I commute to work in mine 1.5 hours one way and I have not had crazy problems purrs like kitten and roars when needed.
But I do keep it well maintained as I used to be an automotive tech. for 8 years- but not on BMW's still learning these beasts.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Probably I'll change my mind on prolonging the CPO in my 6. I can get a deal only paying the months I'll have the car on the road. Here in the Netherlands we have to pay monthly roadtax ($120/month for the 6-er :X) and if it's suspended the car cannot be on the puplic road but offcource then I'll pay nothing. Due to the dutch wheater I'll only drive the car 6 months a year and the other monts it's suspended from road tax and in hybernation in my garage.
Anyways, I can get a deal to have extended factory warranty for $130 a month. If I will only use the car for 6 months the insurance company will spread the fee for 1 full year over 2 years :) SO I can drive my car as I planned with extended factory warranty costing me less than $800 a year, covering almost everything. (except tires, regular maintenance, brakepads etc. ofcource).

I forgot to mention that I get a 10% discount on the fee because I didn't claim in the previous year.
 
#27 ·
Hi all,

I'm doubting to renew my CPO because of the costs. It will cost me approx 1250 euro's (say $1500) a year for the highest coverage (which covers everything except tires, breakpads, etc.)
So I need more than $1500 on repair costs to make the CPO worth the money.

I was wondering which repair costs you all ran into @ which milage?

What is your opinion in my case? The car is a 2006 650i vert. with approx 22000 miles on it. It's not a daily drive thus I'll drive not more than 4000 miles a year.
Man, that is cheap. Over here I was quoted $3300 for something similar.

Maybellineo
 
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