[rickyjones1209]

Ok, so I haven't got a warranty at the minute and with talks of injectors, fuel pumps, turbos and gearboxes being expensive fixes I'm starting to think that maybe getting a warranty wouldn't be a bad idea.

My car is a 2008 335i auto and it runs sweet as a nut. I've had no concerns of it breaking and this is why i haven't looked at getting a warranty sooner. However, with 66k miles on the clock an expensive repair could only be around the corner, as I suppose is the case with a car of any mileage, especially a 335i.

So I suppose my question is, is it worth it? And what options are available? A quick search online and I've found gocarwarranty.co.uk. Their Ultimate Warranty looks to cover all the major components including those listed above and I've been quoted £254 for 12 months. Is there a BMW warranty that compares? Has anyone used gocarwarranty or anyone similar with any feedback they can share? Are there any clauses or get out cards they can use and also any excess I should know about?

http://www.gocarwarranty.co.uk/car-warranties/

For me £254 seems reasonable if it meant 12 months worry free motoring.

The other option of course is to buy an approved used M3 but £254 is a lot less than the extra 7k I'd need for an M3!

Thanks for your helps guys

[Hotcoupe]

Ricky,if your car is modified in any way,I'd forget any form of warranty,you'd be wasting your money.

If you read the Policy wording of the Go Car Ultimate warranty,specifically the T&C's on page 6, exceptions/exclusions include the following:

"Non standard,customised or modified vehicles"

You'll find the same with most warranty companies,including Mondial who provide the extended BMW warranty.

[blackrabbit]

I bought a braxus warranty when I bought my 08 320d. Im not sure it would ever pay out if needed as I have read bad reviews of them.........Hopefully i will net need to find out!

[Sparky68]

Why would you pay for a warranty that you have such little faith in ?

[rickyjones1209]

Well currently the car isn't modified at all. I was however hoping to get a jb4 and some spacers in time for summer. How does it work though, do I take the car to BMW in the event of a problem and they send the bill to the warranty company? Or do the warranty companies have approved garages that do the work?

How have people got on with their warranty with jb4? I can't imagine BMW giving a shit if they knew they were sending the bill to someone else surely.

[mistryn]

Have you got full bmw s/h?
Only one i would look at it bmw extende mondial warranty

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by mistryn

Have you got full bmw s/h?
Only one i would look at it bmw extende mondial warranty

Yeh it has full service history. How much is the Mondial warranty?

I think I'm going to get some form of warranty just for the piece of mind. I want to know a little more about how it works so I'll be dropping gocarwarranty an email today.

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

Yeh it has full service history. How much is the Mondial warranty?

I think I'm going to get some form of warranty just for the piece of mind. I want to know a little more about how it works so I'll be dropping gocarwarranty an email today.

Depends on mileage and what you want it to cover. google bmw warranty

[zltm089]

I would stay away from warranty direct...

BMW extended warranty way to go...

[rickyjones1209]

Well, I've just spoken with gocarwarranty and I have some answers:

· How many claims can be made
Unlimited claims

· Is the a claim limit in terms of cost of repair or limit on hourly rate of labour
Any garage that is vat registered can do the work up a £100 labour rate and they pay up to the purchase price of the car on repairs

· Consequential loss – covering parts that are damaged as a result of another part failing
They won't cover a part breaking as a result of a another part failing

· In the event of a breakdown do you cover breakdown cover?
£49

· Is there an excess if works needs to be done
No excess

· If I were to opt for the 2 year warranty would the warranty expire if the car turned 80k miles before the 2 years are over or would I get the full 2 years?
Unlimited miles as being purchased under 80k miles

· Do cosmetic modifications void the warranty? (The car is currently completely standard)
No modifications are covered but doesn't void warranty

· Do performance modifications void the warranty? (The car is currently completely standard)
No modifications are covered but doesn't void warranty

· If I were to sell the car can the warranty be transferred to the new owner?
Yes


£235 for 1 year
£340 for 2 year
12 month interest free available and £49 a year break down cover is an option through call direct

So I think I've answered all the questions I had and I'm happy with it I think. I can't see how they could just refuse to pay when this is the whole point of having the cover. The price is good too.

Anything else I should have asked?

[mistryn]

Did you get a quote from BMW warranty website?
http://www.bmw-warranty.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

I have not had expereince of the said above company so cannot comment on their service but I will say is be very carefull. I would still highly suggest bmw extended warranty as mine has been in without any fuss, no time messing about getting work authorised or you paying first then claiming it off via cheque etc. Simply book in, they say you must pay for diagnositc fee but if it turns out to be a fault covered under warranty then you dont pay the fee just your excess (if you have set one), job completed using genuine parts at a BMW garage, parts guaranteed for 2 years...job done

One of the things I would ask is how does payment work if repair is carried out i.e. do you pay first and claim back or do they pay directly to the garage?
Also do you have to pay for daignostic fee or is that covered?
The parts that are replaced can they be genuine BMW parts?

Again (can you see hint) have a look at BMW warranty...

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

· Do performance modifications void the warranty? (The car is currently completely standard)
No modifications are covered but doesn't void warranty

So I think I've answered all the questions I had and I'm happy with it I think. I can't see how they could just refuse to pay when this is the whole point of having the cover. The price is good too.

Anything else I should have asked?

Yes,you should have asked for the name of the person who gave you all the answers,because should you go ahead with buying the warranty,what you've been told conflicts with the wording in the policy,which is in effect the contract you are entering into.

According to the policy, any form of modification to a car is not applicable,so you could buy the warranty, but the warranty wouldn't cover your car if it's modified at the outset of the agreement,or is modified during the term of the cover.

You need to read the policy document,rather than speak to someone who is only interested in getting your money,and his/her cut,and has no interest in the shite you'll go through once you discover that the warranty you bought in good faith,is worth cock all!

http://www.gocarwarranty.co.uk/polic...r-warranty.pdf

Hey ho,forewarned is forearmed.

[Guvernator]

I haven't heard of the particular company in question but most of the 3rd party warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on. Warranty Direct for example are one of the biggest and yet they are woeful, doing anything and everything to get out of paying.

The BMW extended warranty is brilliant and it only costs me £40 a month with no excess, fully comprehensive cover, breakdown assistance included and no hassles, book the car in, get it fixed, pay nothing and drive away. To be honest I'd either go for thre proper BMW warranty or not bother at all.

[Chris100]

I just extended my BMW warranty and it stated that this was my only opportunity to do so, once the BMW warranty expires you no longer have the option to obtain a genuine BMW extended warranty.

[jimpom23]

Baffles me that people spend so much on such a good car only to go with 3rd party warranty providers to save a few quid.

I've heard nothing but good things of BMW/Mondial and nothing but bad of every 3rd party warranty provider I've ever looked into - at the end of the day you get what you pay for and if you go with a cheaper deal and have to claim, you might start to wonder if the hassle and danger of being stung outweighs the 200/300 'saving'. You say you want piece of mind? If so then there is only one real choice.

[jimpom23]

Originally Posted by Chris100

I just extended my BMW warranty and it stated that this was my only opportunity to do so, once the BMW warranty expires you no longer have the option to obtain a genuine BMW extended warranty.

I don't believe that is the case, it certainly wasn't when I looked into it this time last year

[rickyjones1209]

There is all this talk of 3rd party warranty companies not paying up but on what grounds are they not paying? Surely it's like every other contract, you cant just pay for a service then get fuck all back for it if its legally binding.

They must be able to say 'we are not paying for this reason' and that reason must be legitimate otherwise the company just wouldn't exist at all. I'm all for saving money, just like everyone else, but I can afford a BMW warranty if I need to, but I just feel people will pay a premium to say they have an extended BMW warranty when actually it's just the same as any other warranty. I get that feeling that anyone that has paid the extra to get a Mondial BMW warranty is trying to justify the extra cost when they are not really getting anything extra at all in way of cover and protection.

I've searched for poor feedback online and found nothing, I'm sure there are many more happy customers than unhappy customers of these warranty companies.

[mistryn]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

There is all this talk of 3rd party warranty companies not paying up but on what grounds are they not paying? Surely it's like every other contract, you cant just pay for a service then get fuck all back for it if its legally binding.

.

Excuse - "Wear and tear" in majourity of cases

Have you googled warranty direct reviews? Yes, the company you have mentioned may/doesnt have poor reviews but I am talking from experience from having Warranty Direct cover and RAC cover 3rd party warranty and both occasions they failed to pay and have linked it to wear and tear or found some way to wriggle out of it

Let me give you an example with RAC warranty - Calipar binding = new calipar needed - my garage phoned up RAC warranty they refused to pay inital investigative fee. i ended up paying £45 to my local garage, found out the calipar needed replacing (this is a garge i trusted so knew they were not making a quick buck). They then phoned up RAC warranty again they wanted the calipar sending off to them for inspection (even though the T&C stated I can use a garage of my choice and mentioned nothing about parts being inspected). What am I meant to do in the meantime?

I ended up paying for a new calipar out of my pocket, sending off the old one and them turning around it is wear and tear that it had seized and would not budge even after a report from my garage saying its not wear and tear.

Please dont take this the wrong way but it appears you have already made up your mind to go with said company. Maybe I was just unlucky who knows. But Ive had over £700 warranty work carried out throuh BMW warranty with no fuss.

At the end of the day what i have said is from personal experince, but it just looks like you are trying to get approval on something you have already decided

[djgandy]

One other thing, I bet third party warranty co's won't pay the BMW labor rate .

They probably cap at £100/hr, some BMW garages charge £175/hr.
For something like turbos paying the extra £75/hr is going to be a hefty bill.

Third parties will probably try and wriggle out, say both your turbos go, they'll say one blew and put load on the other causing it to blow. They'll replace the first one but say the second one was damaged due to another part. That's how they get out of this shit.

[MrPogle]

Originally Posted by Guvernator

To be honest I'd either go for thre proper BMW warranty or not bother at all.

+1

I had BMW warranties for quite a few years. Everything I needed doing was done with zero fuss and zero questions. I don't bother with warranties nowadays but if I was getting one I would get a genuine BMW one.

[dakhu1]

My two-pence worth - I have Auto Protect (3rd party warrenty) on our e90 and e87. I have successfully claimed for 2 actuators on the e90 but that was through the selling dealer who went through their "rep", so an easy one for us.

Regarding the e87, the CCC failed and the bill from BMW was £800 for parts/labour. Rang Auto Protect who said its an entertainment/navigation module so wasntnt covered (like most things LOL). Spoke to my VAG mastertech buddy, who said tell them its a driver interface module and its primary function is to display vehicle information, reset service info, adjust vehicle settings, tyre pressures etc and whilst the entertainment/navigation is a function of what it does, it is not its primary function. Long story short, they agreed to cough up £800 - ended up getting the work done from Birds Iver for £1,000 (who inspired more confidence in me at the time and touch wood, no issues since replaced) and we paid the £200 difference.

My experience/views on 3rd party companies - most likely they will try and wriggle out of every claim but you have to sit tight, fight back (with valid technical points) and wait it out - the whole process took us 3 months but we got our cheque in the end. We didnt have to chase them for the cheque i.e. they agreed to pay and did quite promptly. In the meantime I paid Birds out-of-pocket

Personally, we got 2 years cover at £150 per car, so it was a no-brainer but I have just bought a 535D and would go with BMW all day long, but gather it will prob cost the earth, so will probably do some preventative maintenence and ride it out and sort any issues out-of-pocket!!

Famous last words !!

[Guvernator]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

There is all this talk of 3rd party warranty companies not paying up but on what grounds are they not paying? Surely it's like every other contract, you cant just pay for a service then get fuck all back for it if its legally binding.

They must be able to say 'we are not paying for this reason' and that reason must be legitimate otherwise the company just wouldn't exist at all. I'm all for saving money, just like everyone else, but I can afford a BMW warranty if I need to, but I just feel people will pay a premium to say they have an extended BMW warranty when actually it's just the same as any other warranty. I get that feeling that anyone that has paid the extra to get a Mondial BMW warranty is trying to justify the extra cost when they are not really getting anything extra at all in way of cover and protection.

I've searched for poor feedback online and found nothing, I'm sure there are many more happy customers than unhappy customers of these warranty companies.

I don't think anyone is trying to justify anything tbh. You've come on here asking for advice and been told by MANY people who have personal experience of 3rd party warranties that 9 times out of 10, they aren't worth the paper they are written on and the few hundred quid you'll save is a false ecomony on a £20k car

We've also stated that the BMW warranty is excellent and worth the little bit extra in a lot of peoples experience due to the excellent hassle free service they have received. However instead of taking that advice in good faith as it was given, you've decided to have a little snide snipe at people because they aren't reinforcing your opinion on something that you've obviously made you mind up on already.

Here is my alternate advice then, take the 3rd party warranty and save yourself a couple hundred quid, that's obviously what you want to hear.