[MadBullogna]

Short notice, but still appreciate those who manage to give their .02 before we sign. We’re snagging our CPO ‘23 Z4 M40i with ~4.7k miles, CPO through 03/28. Wasn’t planning on any add-ons, besides BMW Ext Warranty at some point in the future prior to factory expiration, (likely via the few dealers commonly mentioned in the forums, haven’t reached out to them yet. I’ve always used alternate/online dealers post-sale for OEM Ext Factory Warranties due to pricing, & believe there’s no reason to change that philosophy).

Looking at the #s, I feel I am right in the thought to pass on all from the selling dealer, but being our first foray into BMW land, just wanted others thoughts on the below options/pricing -

84mo BMW Extended Veh Protection - $3,940.
60mo/75k Scheduled Maint (Exc brakes, wipers) - $1,249.
60mo/75k Maint (Inc Brakes/Rotors) - $4,299.
60mo Tire & Wheel - $2,533.
60mo Windshield - $2,062.
60mo Multi-Shield w/Windshield (Tire&Wheel, Windshield, PDR, Keyfob) - $4,264. (Edited to correct)

Near as I can figure, Hard Pass! But wanted to run it up the flagpole just in case, lol.

Edited - It didn’t have UC+, so no initial scheduled maintenance to transfer over to us.

Double-edit - Above are cash prices, I wouldn’t be including any add-on to our note. I ‘might’ be able to push a bit on pricing, as it’s apparent they really want to wrap prior to end of quarter…..even sent an overnight FedEx label to send our low 5-figure down via a personal check, not certified, what the heck, haha).

[tracer bullet]

All I can think of is that a lot of it's use dependent. I pass on all this stuff because 1) I only put a couple thousand miles a year on my "fun" car, and 2) I DIY practically everything.

84 months extended could be interesting, depending what's in it. I have taken mine in for Valvetronic repair, and of my 2 BMW's I DIY'd one water pump and had a shop do the other because it was the middle of winter and my winter car was the one that died.

Scheduled maintenance is interesting depending on the maintenance. I DIY oil changes, I don't know what dealers cost. So may things are considered lifetime fills I bet that what's actually covered is probably fairly low.

I can't see tires and wheels, you'd have to have a crazy number of flats and dented wheels for that to be worthwhile and you'll probably have zero of that.

Windshield sounds like an insurance thing to me!

I think if you drove 20k miles a year as a sales rep, and had a list of what things cost and how often they occurred from a historical perspective, then you'd know that this stuff might be worthwhile. For a normal person it seems unlikely you'd get your money's worth. For a low mile car and an owner that can do a little DIY I'm definitely in this group and pass on it all.

[RigaTony1982]

There’s a reason these places sell this stuff. It’s almost entirely profit. In the vast majority of cases, you’re better off setting the money aside you’d spend on this (put it in a CD or a high interest account) and then if something happens you have the money, and if it doesn’t you come out ahead.

Full disclosure, my wife works in the insurance industry .

[GerryC]

I'm with tracer bullet on this.

Warranty is what you place on piece of mind. I don't bother as my experience is BMWs are pretty darn reliable through 100k miles or so and the warranties don't go out that far.

On maintenance, unless you're running 20+k miles/year which would give you 4 or 5 oil changes you won't come out ahead. At less than 10k miles/year, you're looking at 2 oil changes, a brake flush, a cabin filter and engine air filter. That isn't $1249 even at the dealer. And if you opt for the package with brakes, you're paying $3k for something you might not need (I've been averaging about 60-70k miles before needing brakes.)

I'll take my chances on the wheels and my insurance covers the windshield.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by MadBullogna

Near as I can figure, Hard Pass! But wanted to run it up the flagpole just in case, lol.

Hard pass on all of it. The odds are against breaking even on any of it. Put the money into an account you make interest on, having it available for those services if necessary. It adds up to more than $16K. Odds are extremely high that you'll have thousands remaining after 60 or 84 months. After 5 model years, our Z4s have proven to hold up quite well with very few costly repairs. The only exception might be the tire and wheel package if you frequently travel extremely deteriorated roads.

You do have me curious why the "multi-shield" is cheaper than the "tire and wheel". By your description, the multi-shield includes the tire and wheel.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

I can't see tires and wheels, you'd have to have a crazy number of flats and dented wheels for that to be worthwhile and you'll probably have zero of that.

I agree but I suspect Westside Guy will share his experience.

[MadBullogna]

Originally Posted by StanDiego

You do have me curious why the "multi-shield" is cheaper than the "tire and wheel". By your description, the multi-shield includes the tire and wheel.

I transposed the numbers, blarg. 4,264. Corrected, Ty.

[MadBullogna]

Thanks to all, going with my gut. Passing on all. Will likely look into just the regular Ext Warranty closer towards the end of the OEM. (Only had that pay out for itself once though, on a Honda of all things, when the infotainment system went fubar, been a loss other times). Figure I’ll see how many gremlins pop up, if any, over the next three years. 👍

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by StanDiego

I agree but I suspect Westside Guy will share his experience.

Yeah, he's had some bad luck with tires. And you'll always have an occasional cause where this stuff works out for the owner, but I'd say he's in the minority.

[IcewaterPete]

Total waste of money. Invest it and drive on.

[stlcdr]

One other aspect to consider is the inconvenience factor. In the rare situation that something breaks, the binary tree now selects between do you have warranty or not? If you don’t, they order the part, put it in, you open your wallet and you are on your way.

If you have warranty, now before anything gets done, is the part or work covered? While you are waiting on that decision, you have no car. They come back with it not covered, because of some obscure clause (or just because). Now you have to fight. Then they say ok, but…they need to see the broken thing to determine if the failure is due due to some neglect. The find out you painted a bolt under the hood, or put in a different floor mat. Well, that changes things and warranty denied. Now you have to argue that decaf coffee in the cup holder doesn’t have any effect on the perceived failure mode. Two months later you might be able to get your car back.

Personally, I don’t have the time or inclination to go through that.

[ZMcruiser]

I bought the five year warranty on tires and wheels. In a six month period i managed to have three flat tires.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by StanDiego

I agree but I suspect Westside Guy will share his experience.

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

Yeah, he's had some bad luck with tires. And you'll always have an occasional cause where this stuff works out for the owner, but I'd say he's in the minority.

Originally Posted by ZMcruiser

I bought the five year warranty on tires and wheels. In a six month period i managed to have three flat tires.

I heard my name being called!

The Miami - Ft Lauderdale area is full of construction sites and there is debris allover the streets and difficult to avoid. Everytime I am at my dealer I see a car with a flat tire being serviced.

I also purchased the 5 year tire/ wheel/ paintless dent (PDR) plan. It was $2,000 and I have already replaced 4 PSS tires in the first two years due to nails and screws so at this point in time I have broken even. One more flat tire, a wheel or PDR repair in the next 3 years and I am ahead of the game.

At the end of the day, a plan like this is worth the investment if you live in an area like mine where the streets are a junk yard.

[MadBullogna]

Random update, I guess maybe the orig purchaser of our new Z4 did have UC+, (which from my understanding is a requirement for a second owner to benefit from the standard 3/36 scheduled main)…. The app shows the CPO warranty, but it also shows the maintenance is active as well. Hmmm, guess I’ll find out next year, but I’ll take those two free oil changes if the app is correct, 👍.

[Balr14]

It's too bad some clever insurance company doesn't offer coverage for cars that are not driven a lot. I drive 2500 miles a year and I'm going on 81. The odds of my car seeing 36k miles in my lifetime are damn small.

[BmwIowa]

Originally Posted by Balr14

It's too bad some clever insurance company doesn't offer coverage for cars that are not driven a lot. I drive 2500 miles a year and I'm going on 81. The odds of my car seeing 36k miles in my lifetime are damn small.

Perhaps check with Hagerty Insurance (hagerty.com) ?

[Westside Guy]

Years ago, when I used to lived in New York City, TRAVELERS gave me a discount for low annual mileage. I am not sure what their policy is today.

[Balr14]

Originally Posted by BmwIowa

Perhaps check with Hagerty Insurance (hagerty.com) ?

Thanks, but I wasn't thinking of liability.