[khp3655]

Originally Posted by CJ421

+1 to this.

Friends don't let friends buy extended warranties. Maybe if you wanted to increase the car's appeal in a sale, as noted, but not for personal use.

Charles

I agree about the warranty. I find that the BMWs I have owned begin to degrade in performance as age and wear build up, but these items aren't generally covered by BMW anyway. It seems that the large amount of plastics begin to degrade after about 10 years and it is just not worth the hassle of keeping the cars longer than that. In addition, I don't live in a place where I can do more than change the wipers or a light.

I find it much worse here in the NOVA area as labor rates are typically $110 to $175/hr and trying to figure out why there is a wobble or rattle becomes prohibitive. In 2021, I got rid of last BMW, a 2010 Z4 with 70K miles because of that. And it had been in the slightest of accidents and never drove right again. (that is hard evidence of why I won't buy a BMW that has been in an accident).

I had traded the e89 for a Club Miata. I enjoyed the Mazda, but it was harsh and loud and got old on long trips. The girlfriend and I hated the passenger seat. So even though I lost my manual, the Z4 came out as the best car to move on to.

So, now I'm back in a bimmer.

[perryinva]

The s30i G29 is worlds more comfortable and competent than the E89, (IMHO, unless maybe you had an M). My last drop top was a 99 Z3 2.3. I owned it for almost 10 years and 70k miles, and did all my own work & improvements on it, including replacing the shocks for adjustable Konis, new sways, CAI, Sharked, and a new soft top when the rear window separated from the top. I really loved that car & did a LOT of work in it, and only sold it to get a 911. But this G29 simply blows it away on every level.

[Westside Guy]

My SA at the Ft. Lauderdale dealer owns a new M5 Competition and always brags to me that it is a rocket ship. Yesterday I stopped by to say hello and he informed me that the service department recently obtained a Z4 M40i as a loaner car and he had taken it out for a spin. He said that he was totally blown away by the M40i's performance in Sports Plus mode and was looking for any excuse to drive the car again!

[khp3655]

I leaned today that the maintenance part of my service for the car is not transferable and is lost. Is it worth purchasing this service and if so, what price and package advice would you recommend? Is this something I should shop around for or is it something I need to buy right at the dealer at this time (we all know I am going to get the high pressure sales to buy the higher priced ones). The car is has 9,200 mi on it and has 25 months of warranty remaining. Thank you!

[MisanoblueZ4]

Originally Posted by khp3655

I leaned today that the maintenance part of my service for the car is not transferable and is lost. Is it worth purchasing this service and if so, what price and package advice would you recommend? Is this something I should shop around for or is it something I need to buy right at the dealer at this time (we all know I am going to get the high pressure sales to buy the higher priced ones). The car is has 9,200 mi on it and has 25 months of warranty remaining. Thank you!

I have to drop by my local dealer and inquire about the 3 years of oil changes for $225. To me that sounds like a good deal, I’m not sure if non CPO vehicals are offered some of these service packages.

Yes they will pressure you, but just keep saying no or not at this time.

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by khp3655

I leaned today that the maintenance part of my service for the car is not transferable and is lost. Is it worth purchasing this service and if so, what price and package advice would you recommend? Is this something I should shop around for or is it something I need to buy right at the dealer at this time (we all know I am going to get the high pressure sales to buy the higher priced ones). The car is has 9,200 mi on it and has 25 months of warranty remaining. Thank you!

I wouldn't buy the maintenance contract. With your planned use of 15k mi/yr, you're looking at an oil change every 8 months or so and a brake flush next year (every 3 years.) So in 3 years, the car will be at about 60k mi an 5 years old. So 5 oil changes and a brake flush. And maybe a couple air filters (engine and cabin). So less than $1500 in service unless you are a lead foot and need a brake job around 50k mi. Brakes aren't cheap, but the plan that covers brakes is a lot more expensive and it's a gamble if you need them before the plan expires.

The reason they offer the free maintenance is so that there's a higher likelihood that it gets done. Between that and car leases, it helps supply better quality trade-ins and makes them easier to sell (usually with CPO, but in today's market there's little incentive to do that.) Most dealers make more on used car sales than on new ones.

When it comes to selling the maintenance plans, BMW knows what the most maintenance will be needed over the span of the contract. You are just pre-paying for it. Breaking even (discounting the cost of money) would be a really good outcome.

Just pay for maintenance when it comes due. And to really save, buy air filters and change them yourself.

[khp3655]

Originally Posted by GerryC

I wouldn't buy the maintenance contract. With your planned use of 15k mi/yr, you're looking at an oil change every 8 months or so and a brake flush next year (every 3 years.) So in 3 years, the car will be at about 60k mi an 5 years old. So 5 oil changes and a brake flush. And maybe a couple air filters (engine and cabin). So less than $1500 in service unless you are a lead foot and need a brake job around 50k mi. Brakes aren't cheap, but the plan that covers brakes is a lot more expensive and it's a gamble if you need them before the plan expires.

The reason they offer the free maintenance is so that there's a higher likelihood that it gets done. Between that and car leases, it helps supply better quality trade-ins and makes them easier to sell (usually with CPO, but in today's market there's little incentive to do that.) Most dealers make more on used car sales than on new ones.

When it comes to selling the maintenance plans, BMW knows what the most maintenance will be needed over the span of the contract. You are just pre-paying for it. Breaking even (discounting the cost of money) would be a really good outcome.

Just pay for maintenance when it comes due. And to really save, buy air filters and change them yourself.

Makes sense then. I wasn’t sure if there were any other flushes etc that I should be doing that would have been included. I can get oil changes for less I’m sure.

I actually don’t drive a lot anymore as I take public transit to work. I do rack up some highway miles. But I bought my last car in April of 21 and only have 26k miles on it 30 months later, so less than 12,000 per year.
I guess I’ll not worry much about it until the warranty expires. I don’t imagine I’ll keep this car much more than 4 years or much past 70k miles.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by khp3655

I used the decoder page. This is what I got. It looks like it does have a HUD!

I'm curious of the production date. It might give us another clue on option availability dates for the '22.

[khp3655]

Originally Posted by StanDiego

I'm curious of the production date. It might give us another clue on option availability dates for the '22.

Sept 16 2021

[khp3655]

Picked up the car yesterday. So far so good. Gas mileage was impressive on the way home — 38mpg on the highway. I do really like the blue color. All the car rode perfect.

It looks like the digital key was lost. I didn’t get an owners manual or any of the original paperwork. It looks like the car has already been coded. No engine noise through the radio and the video in motion was already set up.

The dealer wanted to see me a maintenance package for $3200 that only lasted until 2026. Tried to sell me the brakes aspect, telling me that front brakes were $1200 and rears $1000. I don’t even think I’ll need brakes before then. Hard no.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by khp3655

Picked up the car yesterday. So far so good. Gas mileage was impressive on the way home — 38mpg on the highway. I do really like the blue color. All the car rode perfect.

It looks like the digital key was lost. I didn’t get an owners manual or any of the original paperwork. It looks like the car has already been coded. No engine noise through the radio and the video in motion was already set up.

The dealer wanted to see me a maintenance package for $3200 that only lasted until 2026. Tried to sell me the brakes aspect, telling me that front brakes were $1200 and rears $1000. I don’t even think I’ll need brakes before then. Hard no.

Congrats on your acquisition, you will love doing the Z4!!!

Dealers always try to upsell you different packages and based on where you live and the condition of the roads the only plan I might recommend is a tire/ wheel/ paintess dent type plan. I purchased a 5 year plan for $2k and in less than 2 years they have already replaced 4 Michelin Pilot SS tires. I have almost broken even on my investment and have 3 years to go.

Please post some pictures when you have a chance.

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by MisanoblueZ4

I have to drop by my local dealer and inquire about the 3 years of oil changes for $225. To me that sounds like a good deal, I’m not sure if non CPO vehicals are offered some of these service packages.

The 3 year oil change deal is for cars that are over 5 years old or over 60k miles. I had it on my E89 when it went over 5 (it had no where near 60k miles.)

Their goal is to get the older cars into their shop so they can hopefully find other things needing attention that a) are more profitable, and b) you might not bring it them to address. It was a deal on my E89. The only other thing that they recommended that I had done was a brake flush or two. I declined air filters as I change them myself.

[khp3655]

I am trying to get a photo posting. So far, no luck. I did add it to an album and maybe my profile? I also tried uploading as an attachment. Maybe that will work (edit: it did! I used advanced and then upload).

Loving the car so far. The upgrade from the Miata is substantial. It is a more stable and solid car and more comfortable too. We took it to the beach for an overnight.

[perryinva]

Those maintenance warranties also assume you WANT the same brake pads and tires that are already on the car. I hate brake dust, and BMW pads are the worst for it. I’ve used Akebono on my last cars when ever the pads get even close to needing replacement. Better stopping and 1/10th or less the dust. Also it is better to replace them before they are too worn to prevent a bad wear pattern on the rotors. I am a hawk about that. I will also go UHP All Season on tires when these are worn. I have a low rise lift, and air tools, so changing pads & rotors is no big deal. They must be a HUGE profit generator for BMW.

Last year, I dropped son’s car off for oil change & state inspection (2016 Mini Cooper S with extended warranty, so having dealer service once a year maintains it. Plus he lives very close to the dealer) when I noticed a bad wear line on the drivers rotor. Looks like a stone got caught between pad & rotor (He is a complete car moron. Who doesn’t notice that?). And besides gouging the pad badly, the missing chunk allowed the rotor to not have contact and wear and it rusted so badly that the pad had really crooked wear. Rotor was shot. Other side was good, but can’t do just one side of course. I mentioned to them to look at the brakes and asked for a quote. Only $775, as they were running a special!. I declined. (Unbelievably, they actually passed inspection because there was enough pad and rotor left! ). I replaced both sides with lifetime pads and rotors for about $250, and the second side took less than 30min, so a real mechanic could easily do the job in under an hour.