[23109VC]

My mother recently bought a CPO 540i Msport. It's a gorgeous car with tons of options. Upgraded 20" wheels, leathe dash, driving assistant pro, heads up, LED headlights, upgraded seats… very nice car. It has about 30k miles and is still under factory warranty for a bit longer. It is a 2018. At the time she bought the car she was not sure if she wanted an extended a warranty but has decided she does want to get one.

Her dealership is part of the Hendricks auto group. They want to sell her THEIR extended warranty which I believe would be somewhat cheaper than the BMW extended warranty. Her car has CPO coverage…so she can add the BMW warranty that extends the CPO coverage out to a total of 84 months beyond the original in service date.

I had a Hendricks warranty on my 2016 X5 and I foudn the coverage to be excellent. The handful of items it needed were all covered with no issues.

I was curious what the consensus is here as to whether there is any real benefit to getting the Hendricks warranty vs the BMW one. I believe the BMW warranty is time based and does not care about mileage, vs the Hendricks warranty is mileage limited. My mom drives not that much, so mileage is NOT an issue. She maybe does 10k a year or less.

All things equal, I woudl likely advise her to get whoever will give her the longest TIME for the best deal, but I wanted to see if anyone here had other thoughts or input.

Thanks.

[LogicalApex]

What are the terms of the Hendricks warranty? The thing to look for are what’s not covered (as you are definitely only looking at “exclusion” policies), any claim limits, and deductibles. If you can post the Hendricks policy we can be helpful in comparing.

A CPO can only get BMW platinum coverage. I have that on my non-CPO so I have posted the exclusions and claim limits on my contract from BMW. It is more limited than I expected for OEM. But claims are easy I imagine. This is limited to a 2 year extension on CPO cars as well.

For low mileage you can also strongly consider self insurance.

[Joe-BMW33]

The extension of the BMW CPO will run you $2,500 for one more year or $4,000 for two more years. My 2018 CPO is up in January 2023, so I have until then to add it. You can't add it once the CPO is up.

I do believe that the sooner you buy the aftermarket warranties like Hendricks, the cheaper it is. It still adds on to the CPO, but if you wait, supposedly the price goes up. At least that is what the BMW dealer told me I am going to purchase through.

I see you live in Cali and that is a good thing for purchasing extra years of BMW CPO as the law states there that ALL extended warrantees, BMW included, have to be rebated a pro-rated portion of the cost if you sell or trade the car before it is up. Of course you could pass it on to the next owner if it sweetens the deal. Usually not.

I live in MA and if I were to buy the extension from a MA BMW dealer, there is no refund, it stays with the car and the next owner gets the remaining balance of the CPO. This is why I will be buying from the Cali dealer I have been talking to. I have a habit of being compulsive and don't hang onto cars through the end of the warranty, so I like this. I can't tell you how many times I threw money away after buying the extra CPO coverage and then trading it a year later. Good for the next owner, bad for me, and the attached CPO coverage meant nothing to the dealer in terms of trade value.

As LogicalApex said, need to see the details of Hendricks and the cost they are quoting you to compare. I am 99% sure I am going BMW CPO, just peace of mind, I know what it covers (everything) and I like the thought of using my dealer and not dealing with claims, direct billing and not getting claims approved.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

The extension of the BMW CPO will run you $2,500 for one more year or $4,000 for two more years. My 2018 CPO is up in January 2023, so I have until then to add it. You can't add it once the CPO is up.

I do believe that the sooner you buy the aftermarket warranties like Hendricks, the cheaper it is. It still adds on to the CPO, but if you wait, supposedly the price goes up. At least that is what the BMW dealer told me I am going to purchase through.

I see you live in Cali and that is a good thing for purchasing extra years of BMW CPO as the law states there that ALL extended warrantees, BMW included, have to be rebated a pro-rated portion of the cost if you sell or trade the car before it is up. Of course you could pass it on to the next owner if it sweetens the deal. Usually not.

I live in MA and if I were to buy the extension from a MA BMW dealer, there is no refund, it stays with the car and the next owner gets the remaining balance of the CPO. This is why I will be buying from the Cali dealer I have been talking to. I have a habit of being compulsive and don't hang onto cars through the end of the warranty, so I like this. I can't tell you how many times I threw money away after buying the extra CPO coverage and then trading it a year later. Good for the next owner, bad for me, and the attached CPO coverage meant nothing to the dealer in terms of trade value.

As LogicalApex said, need to see the details of Hendricks and the cost they are quoting you to compare. I am 99% sure I am going BMW CPO, just peace of mind, I know what it covers (everything) and I like the thought of using my dealer and not dealing with claims, direct billing and not getting claims approved.

We seem to have a lot in common… I love warranties and also love trading cars!

Being able to get a refund is huge. I made $3-4k worth of claims on my Tahoe's extended warranty and still got about $900 back in refund when I traded it for the current 540.

OP - I'd rather pay more for more inclusive coverage. Especially if she can get a refund if she sells it.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by NGT2

We seem to have a lot in common… I love warranties and also love trading cars!

Being able to get a refund is huge. I made $3-4k worth of claims on my Tahoe's extended warranty and still got about $900 back in refund when I traded it for the current 540.

OP - I'd rather pay more for more inclusive coverage. Especially if she can get a refund if she sells it.

We do! At least you got a refund. I had a very expensive experiment in 2020. I decided to "try" something a little different than the long line of BMW's I have owned in succession. I bought a Maserati Ghibli in February of 2020 and started looking to get out of it 9 months later. Sexy looking car with a nice exhaust note , that's the only positive things I can say, the rest of the car is crap. I bought an extra year of CPO for $1,400 that got me to 2024. No refunds in MA. Traded it for the M550 and they could care less about the warranty. $1,400 mistake. But as you said, we like warranties, so California here I come.

[LogicalApex]

To help with the comparison. Here are the terms I thought were important from my BMW Extended Warranty. Pay close attention to the exclusions and aggregate claim limit clauses for comparison purposes. There are exclusions that I'm shocked to see in the policy, such as no coverage for the $5K (each side) Adaptive LED headlights... Also shocked to see a claim limit clause tied to the value of the car...

Sorry they are in photo form I usually scan documents like this, but they delivered this as a book

[PPMKING]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

To help with the comparison. Here are the terms I thought were important from my BMW Extended Warranty. Pay close attention to the exclusions and aggregate claim limit clauses for comparison purposes. There are exclusions that I'm shocked to see in the policy, such as no coverage for the $5K (each side) Adaptive LED headlights... Also shocked to see a claim limit clause tied to the value of the car...

Sorry they are in photo form I usually scan documents like this, but they delivered this as a book

Attachment 2808525

Attachment 2808526

Attachment 2808527

Attachment 2808528

Typical language for a 3rd party warranty and it's always tied to value of car, which is not a big deal unless you warrantied an old car with little value. In your case your car is worth over $50-60k which should cover engine failure lol. I think there's too much exclusionary items for my liking though. Gives them wiggle room to get out a repair. My pic is the exclusionary language from another 3rd party I've used in the past to give you a frame of reference. Also I had a rider for electronics - navigation/parking&safety assist/backup camera etc. Also I didn't really see any language about not repairing headlight unit (unless I missed it). I do see not covering bulbs which is a maintenance item.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

Typical language for a 3rd party warranty and it's always tied to value of car, which is not a big deal unless you warrantied an old car with little value. In your case your car is worth over $50-60k which should cover engine failure lol. I think there's too much exclusionary items for my liking though. Gives them wiggle room to get out a repair. My pic is the exclusionary language from another 3rd party I've used in the past to give you a frame of reference. Also I had a rider for electronics - navigation/parking&safety assist/backup camera etc. Also I didn't really see any language about not repairing headlight unit (unless I missed it). I do see not covering bulbs which is a maintenance item.

The electronics is half the reason I like the warranties. The biggest warranty claim I made on the Tahoe bought me a whole new stereo and touchscreen. That would be a gut punch with no coverage.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

To help with the comparison. Here are the terms I thought were important from my BMW Extended Warranty. Pay close attention to the exclusions and aggregate claim limit clauses for comparison purposes. There are exclusions that I'm shocked to see in the policy, such as no coverage for the $5K (each side) Adaptive LED headlights... Also shocked to see a claim limit clause tied to the value of the car...

Sorry they are in photo form I usually scan documents like this, but they delivered this as a book

Attachment 2808525

Attachment 2808526

Attachment 2808527

Attachment 2808528

For my clarification, what is the "BMW Extended Warranty"? This does not seem like CPO?

[PPMKING]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

For my clarification, what is the "BMW Extended Warranty"? This does not seem like CPO?

It's not the CPO which is backed by BMW. It's just one of the 3rd party warranties that this particular dealer sells.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

It's not the CPO which is backed by BMW. It's just one of the 3rd party warranties that this particular dealer sells.

That's what I thought, "BMW Extended Warranty" is a bit misleading to people who might not know.

Another reason I am just buying another two years of actual BMW underwritten CPO. When my headlights start to fog in a few years, I will appreciate the $10,000 warranty repair.

[PPMKING]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

That's what I thought, "BMW Extended Warranty" is a bit misleading to people who might not know.

Another reason I am just buying another two years of actual BMW underwritten CPO. When my headlights start to fog in a few years, I will appreciate the $10,000 warranty repair.

Definitely misleading. IMO though is 3rd party are not inherently bad, just need to go into it understanding what's covered. But I agree CPO usually = less red tape/anxiety about repairs.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

Typical language for a 3rd party warranty and it's always tied to value of car, which is not a big deal unless you warrantied an old car with little value. In your case your car is worth over $50-60k which should cover engine failure lol. I think there's too much exclusionary items for my liking though. Gives them wiggle room to get out a repair. My pic is the exclusionary language from another 3rd party I've used in the past to give you a frame of reference. Also I had a rider for electronics - navigation/parking&safety assist/backup camera etc. Also I didn't really see any language about not repairing headlight unit (unless I missed it). I do see not covering bulbs which is a maintenance item.

Yeah I would expect this language in a third party contract where the third party doesn't have the ability to backstop costs the same way the OEM (BMW) does. This contract is written by BMW of NA and isn't a third party contract. So the limit makes little sense. They have access to cheaper parts than a third party and the have access to labor cost controls since they can negotiate the "warranty labor rate" with their dealer network unlike a third party... Which is why I shared the exclusions... When I had an extended warranty on my Mercedes from Mercedes of North America it has no such aggregate limit...

It says LED bulbs are not covered... If your LED headlamp goes out on the Adaptive Full LED headlights on my 5 series you'll get a $5K bill since they are considered a single unit and replaced as such. My understanding is BMW doesn't sell individual LEDs for these lights and the LED is considered a lifetime item...

https://www.getbmwparts.com/oem-part...ljLWdhcw%3D%3D

Looks like the part is $3.5K list price so I overestimated, but you get the idea.

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

For my clarification, what is the "BMW Extended Warranty"? This does not seem like CPO?

It is the BMW Extended Service Contract that is the extended protection you can buy from BMW directly. It is provided by BMW in Woodcliff Lake NJ. Not a third party.

https://www.bmwusa.com/content/dam/b...202021_web.pdf

[PPMKING]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Yeah I would expect this language in a third party contract where the third party doesn't have the ability to backstop costs the same way the OEM (BMW) does. This contract is written by BMW of NA and isn't a third party contract. So the limit makes little sense. They have access to cheaper parts than a third party and the have access to labor cost controls since they can negotiate the "warranty labor rate" with their dealer network unlike a third party... Which is why I shared the exclusions... When I had an extended warranty on my Mercedes from Mercedes of North America it has no such aggregate limit...

It says LED bulbs are not covered... If your LED headlamp goes out on the Adaptive Full LED headlights on my 5 series you'll get a $5K bill since they are considered a single unit and replaced as such. My understanding is BMW doesn't sell individual LEDs for these lights and the LED is considered a lifetime item...

https://www.getbmwparts.com/oem-part...ljLWdhcw%3D%3D

Looks like the part is $3.5K list price so I overestimated, but you get the idea.

It is the BMW Extended Service Contract that is the extended protection you can buy from BMW directly. It is provided by BMW in Woodcliff Lake NJ. Not a third party.

https://www.bmwusa.com/content/dam/b...202021_web.pdf

Attachment 2808626

Seems like they underwrite it like any other extended service contract which tend to have aggregate claims limit to the value of car at time of claim. Only difference is they're the claims administrator. You really have nothing to worry about with the limit unless you plan to keep the car for a very long time. In regards to headlight it should be covered as it comes as one unit. I would say go with them since it's a BMW-backed extended service warranty. But just really understand what repairs are excluded so you aren't surprised in the future.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

Seems like they underwrite it like any other extended service contract which tend to have aggregate claims limit to the value of car at time of claim. Only difference is they're the claims administrator. You really have nothing to worry about with the limit unless you plan to keep the car for a very long time. In regards to headlight it should be covered as it comes as one unit. I would say go with them since it's a BMW-backed extended service warranty. But just really understand what repairs are excluded so you aren't surprised in the future.

I already have purchased the 7Y/Platinum Plan from BMW. And I'm hoping I won't regret the coverage in the future either due to the claim limit or the exclusions being more than I expected. This car is my first BMW so all of my previous experience was with Mercedes Benz and I expected the OEM warranty for BMW to be very similar...

That said, the reason I shared this information here is to help the OP. They are deciding between the BMW option and a third party option from their dealer. Depending on the exclusions and various clauses the dealer plan could be better than the one from BMW. Either way I think this data is helpful for the OP to help make their decision and for other owners deciding which extended warranty to buy or not buy.

[Joe-BMW33]

Thanks for the confirmation. Seems strange that BMW would sell CPO and sell this Extended Warranty, but as I said, once you are out of CPO, you can't add CPO, so maybe this Extended is for cars and customers that are no longer certified. This BMW Extended has to be pretty new. It reads like a third party warranty with confusing exclusions. Not one dealer has pushed this on me during my research for what I am going to do when CPO is up.

[RonronEG]

The CPO warranty has the same exclusions- it's not great. There are 3rd party options that include things like the suspension which is a huge benefit vs CPO. You just have to weigh convenience of backed by BMW or the coverage of 3rd party.

Here's the "whats not covered for CPO" direct from BMW USA:
https://www.bmwusa.com/content/dam/b...NotCovered.pdf

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Thanks for the confirmation. Seems strange that BMW would sell CPO and sell this Extended Warranty, but as I said, once you are out of CPO, you can't add CPO, so maybe this Extended is for cars and customers that are no longer certified. This BMW Extended has to be pretty new. It reads like a third party warranty with confusing exclusions. Not one dealer has pushed this on me during my research for what I am going to do when CPO is up.

It is covered in the document I linked to earlier. CPO cars come with a 1 year CPO warranty that is more limited. BMW sells this “wrap” to add more coverage to the CPO warranty and to extend its duration. It can’t be purchased once CPO expires.

The document shows that the CPO Platinum and the New Car Extended Platinum plans are identical in coverage, but I believe they differ in terms of mileage limits. My car is not CPO as I purchased it new.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

It is covered in the document I linked to earlier. CPO cars come with a 1 year CPO warranty that is more limited. BMW sells this “wrap” to add more coverage to the CPO warranty and to extend its duration. It can’t be purchased once CPO expires.

The document shows that the CPO Platinum and the New Car Extended Platinum plans are identical in coverage, but I believe they differ in terms of mileage limits. My car is not CPO as I purchased it new.

Thanks. Lots of decisions and reading to do before my warranty is up.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Thanks. Lots of decisions and reading to do before my warranty is up.

I'm still under original warranty until October and then under the CPO for a year after that. I'm absolutely planning to piggy back on all your warranty research.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

Seems like they underwrite it like any other extended service contract which tend to have aggregate claims limit to the value of car at time of claim. Only difference is they're the claims administrator. You really have nothing to worry about with the limit unless you plan to keep the car for a very long time. In regards to headlight it should be covered as it comes as one unit. I would say go with them since it's a BMW-backed extended service warranty. But just really understand what repairs are excluded so you aren't surprised in the future.

The last thing I'll say on this front.

It is possible I won't have any problems with the aggregate limit clause since BMW decided to combine the contract for their new car ESC and the CPO "wrap". It is very likely that their aggregate claim limit could help them get out from under the guy or gal who buys a CPO car and puts 200K miles on it since those policies have no mileage cap.

But I'm a fairly literal guy when it comes to contracts so I read it and it gave me a pause. For others to be informed I think that's a good thing even if it is one we could theoretically feel less worried about depending on our situation.

All that said... My Mercedes contract had no such clause and it was a CPO with unlimited mileage coverage...

I won't be using the coverage for a few years yet and I expect to own my car the full 7Y and I really plan to get it to over 100K miles in that time! I'll be chiming in here if I have any hiccups.

Hopefully all of this was helpful

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I'm still under original warranty until October and then under the CPO for a year after that. I'm absolutely planning to piggy back on all your warranty research.

Deal!