[nlk10010]

At the risk of being , I wanted to ask members of the forum for their opinions on keeping my current 2018 X3 M40i ONE MORE YEAR.

In service date was end of April, 2018, so I've just received my last "free" maintenance and I have another year on the car's warrantee. Given the relative difficulties in getting a new car, I thought I'd keep my old one for a fifth year (I usually get out at the end of the fourth). For that I'd need two more years of maintenance and one year extended warrantee. I drive very little (the car's got 14,000 miles on it now, don't anticipate I'll break even 17,500 by next April).

Given the above, would it pay to get a BMW Ultimate Care+ package for two years plus a BMW Extended Warranty for the fifth year or maybe "self-insure" the maintenance? I know there is at least one dealer on these forums who discounts the warranty, but apparently not the extended maintenance. I'm a senior who is pretty handy but the days of working on my own car are long gone; further, I'm quite risk averse at this stage of my life. But I'm open to all opinions. I realize it's personal preference, I just ask because with that low mileage the scheduled maintenance may not be that expensive.

BTW, if there are threads on this same question I profusely apologize, if you could just "point" me to them I'd be appreciative.

[TXSchnee]

Originally Posted by nlk10010

At the risk of being , I wanted to ask members of the forum for their opinions on keeping my current 2018 X3 M40i ONE MORE YEAR.

In service date was end of April, 2018, so I've just received my last "free" maintenance and I have another year on the car's warrantee. Given the relative difficulties in getting a new car, I thought I'd keep my old one for a fifth year (I usually get out at the end of the fourth). For that I'd need two more years of maintenance and one year extended warrantee. I drive very little (the car's got 14,000 miles on it now, don't anticipate I'll break even 17,500 by next April).

Given the above, would it pay to get a BMW Ultimate Care+ package for two years plus a BMW Extended Warranty for the fifth year or maybe "self-insure" the maintenance? I know there is at least one dealer on these forums who discounts the warranty, but apparently not the extended maintenance. I'm a senior who is pretty handy but the days of working on my own car are long gone; further, I'm quite risk averse at this stage of my life. But I'm open to all opinions. I realize it's personal preference, I just ask because with that low mileage the scheduled maintenance may not be that expensive.

BTW, if there are threads on this same question I profusely apologize, if you could just "point" me to them I'd be appreciative.

With such low miles you aren't looking at more than one oil change per year, even at a dealer that isn't terribly expensive. The 30,000 mile service will probably run about $500+, depending on what all needs to be done. I would personally skip the maintenance warranty and just get the extended to the length you want, as these are expensive cars to repair (all new cars are). It really depends on how risk adverse you are, and how much money you are wanting to spend.

[rob175]

I'll "bite".....lol.

IF your car has been well maintained and you haven't had any issues.....then why waste the money on an extended warranty for one year???

Save the premium money and hold it in reserve should you develop an issue next year. Accept some "risk" although it's hardly much of one.

[zukmeister]

Oil changes, tire rotations. That thing is barely broken in.

Drive that shit for 10 years

[nyalpine90]

i would just trade it in for new one.
You will have equity to play with given that used car market is in high demand.

[zukmeister]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

i would just trade it in for new one.
You will have equity to play with given that used car market is in high demand.

And new car demand is down, right?

[nlk10010]

Jeez, I asked for instant email notifications of replies and got nothing, so I figured no one was interested in replying. Go figure!

Thank you all for your posts, with respect I think, at this point, probably the purchased extended warrantee plus self-funding maintenance is a good way to go. If I was someone who didn't get any value from changing cars just for the sake of changing I'd probably keep it for several more years, but I do look forward to my ritual of car shopping every four years. Someone recently asked me if my 2003 M5 was the best car I'd ever owned, and I responded: "I hope I haven't bought my best car yet". But time is running out.

As I say, if there wasn't this issue of difficulty in the supply of new cars I wouldn't give a sale or trade-in a second thought. It just seems there's some sort of efficient market out there: Used car values are high but so is the supply (price) of new ones.

Again, thanks to all for trying to help me out.

[CINCYFAN]

I realize everyone has different experiences, all vehicles are different, and I've only owned one BMW out of warranty (2010 E90) but I would recommend saving the extended warranty and service plan $$. I owned that E90 for two years out of warranty and had less than $1000 in repair costs (I think it was $600 or so as the headlamp washers started leaking). I also found a good BMW indy mechanic (several actually) and had them do the services...including an ATF service. I haven't owned that car since 2016 but I've seen via Carfax that it's still running today w/ north of 165k miles...hell, I miss that car and would buy it back if possible.

Anyway, we plan on keeping our X3s for many years but I couldn't even justify the discounted BMW extended warranty prices I found online. I expect I'll simply pay for any repairs and services out of pocket. Realizing I've owned the X3s less than three years, they've both been relatively rock solid and the 2019 model has excellent reliability ratings (again, I realize it's early).

Of course this could all change if the vehicles fall apart at 4/50k but I don't think that's going to happen...

Good luck!

[Jen4BMW]

I personally believe manufacturer extended warranties are nothing more more than a giant cash grab and simply line the pockets of the manufacturer. If you had a major mechanical issue with mileage this low I can almost guarantee you BMW would offset a significant portion of the repair cost. I know this from personal experience. Granted, it helps if your a loyal known customer.

[CINCYFAN]

Originally Posted by Jen4BMW

I personally believe manufacturer extended warranties are nothing more more than a giant cash grab and simply line the pockets of the manufacturer. If you had a major mechanical issue with mileage this low I can almost guarantee you BMW would offset a significant portion of the repair cost. I know this from personal experience. Granted, it helps if your a loyal known customer.

I tend to agree with this approach...that said, it all depends on the price you pay for the extended warranty.

I purchased an Acura Care 5/100k warranty for our 2011 MDX w/ Tech a couple weeks before the original 4/50k expired. The warranty, which cost about $2k, expired in April 2020 when the MDX was nine years old and 93k miles. The Acura Care eventually paid for itself but not until years eight and nine...still hard to believe I had a car under a manufacturer branded warranty for nine years. The reason I bought it in the first place was we had a 2002 Honda Odyssey and the extended warranty paid for itself 2.5 or 3x over...I'm not a "Honda/Acura has the best reliability"-disciple.

Anyway, I would definitely extend the BMW warranty for another five years/50k miles for $2k...hell, I'd do the extra three years/25k miles for $2k. Of course, you'll never find a BMW warranty at that price.

Good luck!

[ckneasel]

14k miles over 4 years and you’re worried about extra warranty...?

[nlk10010]

Originally Posted by ckneasel

14k miles over 4 years and you’re worried about extra warranty...?

14K over three years, but point taken.

Well, you know, I had a 2011 550i that had multiple "Engine Malfunction" errors before it hit 12,000 miles. It once went into limp mode in the Queens Midtown tunnel during rush hour (that was an experience I'll never forget) and needed to be towed home. So these cars (all cars, actually) can break down regardless of the mileage and are of course quite expensive to repair, as I'm sure you know.

That said, the X3 hasn't exhibited anywhere near this kind of behavior (only had a few minor issues) so I wouldn't expect any significant problem to arise. However, it CAN happen and I'd rather have a warrantee. I appreciate Jen4BMW's point, it's interesting, but I don't consider the expected expense when deciding whether to buy insurance; rather, I look at the likely maximum possible expense. Insurance is always a bad buy after the fact when you haven't had to use it.

I appreciate ALL the input, and, again Jen4BMW's point is one to consider (I've had five BMWs since 2003, my first car was a 1971 2002) so that might qualify me as a loyal customer.

[Rbrown]

My car is 3.5 years old and 21k miles.

For the first time ever, I think I will keep this car long term. There is nothing I fancy and the prices of cars in UK is high!

Looking to settle finance and keep it. As we only get 3 year warrant in in UK, I took out extended warranty at £450 (I think) which includes roadside assistance.

My feeling is that I will keep the extended warranty going and keep the car long term.

Will need mew brake pads soon but can sort that out.

[clivem2]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

My car is 3.5 years old and 21k miles.

For the first time ever, I think I will keep this car long term. There is nothing I fancy and the prices of cars in UK is high!

Looking to settle finance and keep it. As we only get 3 year warrant in in UK, I took out extended warranty at £450 (I think) which includes roadside assistance.

My feeling is that I will keep the extended warranty going and keep the car long term.

Will need mew brake pads soon but can sort that out.

I'm similar, low miles plus I expect this will be my last ICE car. I may keep it 7+ years. The BMW extended warranty isn't bad, as you say it had roadside assistance too. There are options for excess, you can get the price down with a high excess and effectively just insure against large bills.

[nyalpine90]

Originally Posted by zukmeister

And new car demand is down, right?

i traded MY19 X3 with low miles, 19k miles 6 months left on my lease. I left with MY21 X3 almost fully loaded paying a lot less now then before. My wife had base X3 with 31k miles, walked away almost fully loaded X3. Both car payments under $500. Both X3's leases ends in October 2021. Both cars have msport, and navigation. the difference is mine has the 360 cameras and live cockpit

[nlk10010]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

i traded MY19 X3 with low miles, 19k miles 6 months left on my lease. I left with MY21 X3 almost fully loaded paying a lot less now then before. My wife had base X3 with 31k miles, walked away almost fully loaded X3. Both car payments under $500. Both X3's leases ends in October 2021. Both cars have msport, and navigation. the difference is mine has the 360 cameras and live cockpit

WHY DON'T I GET NOTIFIED WHEN SOMEONE REPLIES?????

Ahem, could you perhaps share the name of the dealer you worked with?

Thank you in advance.