[NoSlow5oh]

My water pump crapped out on my way home last night. I had it towed to the BMW dealership and put my info in the night drop off. I also emailed my SA last night to let him know the car was there and provided my Route 66 warranty info. I called him a minute ago to find out what the issue was, and he stated they already replaced the water pump and Route 66 would pay for the repairs. I thought that was great, I didn't have to deal with it at all. He didn't give me a total but stated I would have to pay diagnostic fee, liquid, taxes.

I called Route 66 to confirm and I think it's pretty retarted. They advertise no deductible, but don't advertise no diagnostic fee. I'd rather pay a $50-100 deductible than BMW an hour of labor.

Anyone ever had BMW eat the diagnostic fee since repairs were done? My SA didn't seem like that was an option.

[derrick603]

I've always had to pay the diagnostics fee with Route 66. It's in the brochure:

DIAGNOSTIC TIME, DOWN TIME, TAXES, FLUIDS, ALIGNMENTS, FREON AND SIMILAR A/C COOLANTS, SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEMS AND SHOP SUPPLIES ARE NOT COVERED ITEMS.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

With some dealers (all the ones I've dealt with on many platforms) the diagnostic fee is waived when you opt for work to be done, you could try arguing that point.

[racermp]

Diagnostic, taxes, that all shocked me. Damn they always get you. I have it on my x5. Won't ever get it again. Oh and they sometimes want to go used parts.....

[derrick603]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

With some dealers (all the ones I've dealt with on many platforms) the diagnostic fee is waived when you opt for work to be done, you could try arguing that point.

My dealer doesn't do this, but my indy does, so that's another possible option.

[caltrinity]

I had work done by my local BMW dealer. Route 66 would NOT pay for original BMW parts. They only paid for "aftermarket" cost of the part and I had to pay the difference. Overall though, the final out of pocket cost is still cheaper than if I had gone to the dealership and paid full cash price without warranty since Route 66 negotiates with the BMW dealership for reduced labor and part rates.

That being said, you may have better luck going to a reputable bmw shop and just paying cash prices, rather than buying the Route 66 warranty depending on what breaks down.

Also, as stated above, most service advisors at BMW dealers will waive the cost of the diagnostic fees if you do the work there.

However, you are responsible for "shop fees" and "taxes" which seem pretty arbitrary and there is no rhyme or reason how they determine the fees.

Here is a direct quote from my Easy Street "exclusionary" policy:

"At the option of the Administrator, failed parts may be replaced with new, like kind or good quality remanufactured, rebuilt, used, or after-market parts. The Administrator reserves the right to select the methods of repair and/or repair facilities."

So in other words, you really have no choice but to go by what Route 66 deems as a reasonable cost for reimbursement for a given part. If you choose a repair facility that has higher part costs and labor costs than what Route 66 thinks is reasonable... well then you are out of luck and have to pay the difference -- this can be $100s of dollars! Or the alternative is to keep shopping around to find a bmw shop that will charge cheaper prices and hope that Route 66 will accept it... btw, they do not help you find said bmw shops... you are on your own.

For example, Route 66 can decide that a given aftermarket water pump should cost only $100. If BMW dealer charges you $600 for the original BMW water pump... well tough luck... you are stuck with paying for the $500 difference out of pocket... really kinda shady if you ask me as they can single handily decide how much they want to pay for each part -- and you can't really say anything.

This is very misleading and it is how Route 66 and other warranties can get out of paying for complete repairs and control their costs. So buyer beware!

[NoSlow5oh]

I just got back from picking the car up. Total cost for the water pump and thermostat came out to $1617. Wow. Nothing else was done.

I paid $230 out of my pocket for an hour of diagnostic, coolant, and sales tax. I'm just going to be glad I didn't have to pay the top number and received new oem parts with a 24m/24k warranty.

[caltrinity]

Originally Posted by NoSlow5oh

I just got back from picking the car up. Total cost for the water pump and thermostat came out to $1617. Wow. Nothing else was done.

I paid $230 out of my pocket for an hour of diagnostic, coolant, and sales tax. I'm just going to be glad I didn't have to pay the top number and received new oem parts with a 24m/24k warranty.

Nice! At least it wasn't $1600!... Here is the BMW Service warranty.. so theoretically it is 2 yrs and unlimited miles: http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/service/warranty.html

"If you buy a new BMW, you'll want driving pleasure to come as guaranteed. For this reason, your BMW Service Centre now offers a warranty for the bodywork of twelve years and three years for the paintwork. For the entire automobile (excluding the replacement of worn parts), Original BMW Parts as well as Original BMW Accessories, a warranty of two years regardless of the mileage is offered. Service you can count on - we guarantee it."

[derrick603]

Originally Posted by NoSlow5oh

I just got back from picking the car up. Total cost for the water pump and thermostat came out to $1617. Wow. Nothing else was done.

I paid $230 out of my pocket for an hour of diagnostic, coolant, and sales tax. I'm just going to be glad I didn't have to pay the top number and received new oem parts with a 24m/24k warranty.

That's how I see third party warranties. It's not "fix everything for free", it's "drastically reduce repair costs". Speaking of which, my mechanic just called me back and said that Route 66 is covering my VANOS solenoid and turbos replacement. $6k of work, $700 of which is coming out of my pocket (he found a few other issues that weren't covered, like vacuum leaks, etc.)

[ThatRWD]

I got a code reader and e90post, I normally tell the stealer if I even go to them what needs replacing. They verify codes, give codes to route66 and no diagnostics cost.

[Swizzie7]

Originally Posted by derrick603

I've always had to pay the diagnostics fee with Route 66. It's in the brochure:

I second this, I have Route 66 on my car, an its been a pleasure so far dealing with them, I already exceeded the amount I paid for the coverage in repairs. Never a hassle

[Dark_Knight_335]

I don't know many warranties that will- I believe that even includes the best BMW warranties out there.

[AZDesertBMW]

This is an interesting thread. My CPO ends mid November and I have been considering a Route 66 warranty or century which is what my local dealerships sells. Cost difference is 3k vs. 4K, so it's good to see that there are people who are happy with the Route 66. I've had my car for 2 months and already had to use my CPO for 2 repairs, hpfp and charge pipe.

[dasmako]

Originally Posted by Swizzie7

I second this, I have Route 66 on my car, an its been a pleasure so far dealing with them, I already exceeded the amount I paid for the coverage in repairs. Never a hassle

I've also broke even with Route 66 Warranty. Never had any issues or hassles, read the fine print and paid for what was expected.

Like the others say, I've always had the diagnostic fee waived when work was performed.

[Efthreeoh]

I'd ask for the diagnostic fee back. They have to reset the trouble code when the pump goes out, so the dealer is hooking the car up to BMW's GT1 diagnostic tool anyway. Then again you got the t-stat done for free, so maybe it's even. Just because the pump goes out doesn't mean the t-stat needs to be replaced.

[Ozzie335i]

Has anybody with a Route66 warranty had work done without first taking off bolt ons such as aftermarket turbos or PI? The warranty sounds worth it, but if you blow an engine do they come snooping around looking for bolt ons to invalidate the coverage?

[derrick603]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

Has anybody with a Route66 warranty had work done without first taking off bolt ons such as aftermarket turbos or PI? The warranty sounds worth it, but if you blow an engine do they come snooping around looking for bolt ons to invalidate the coverage?

If you need major work, they may send someone out to inspect the car. That was the case with my turbos replacement, but I don't think they sent anyone out for my ECU replacement. I can't comment on how thoroughly they check the car for aftermarket parts.