Must make use of the warranty!

[Ade]

Decided to follow Mark's example and make use of the BMW Warranty :hahaha:

My SMG light was flashing up, so this morning I've given BMW free reign to investigate any possible gearbox, clutch, diff issues. 'Take your time' I said, and if anything wanting is found, the recommendation was to simply 'replace'

The BMW service chap straight away said 'oh yes, a CSL. Mmmm, I'll make sure our Master Technician takes care of the car.' :thumbs: Park Lane BMW... hopefully their service is as good as their neighbourhood!

[_Nathan_]

Probably just SMG fluid level

[csl_mba]

Its amazing how many issues they would come across if the car wasnt in warranty :whistle:

although judging by Marks effort his BMW dealership cant have a diagnostic kit, just replace the lot :hahaha:

[jcremonini]

I really don't get this mentality.

The warranty is just an insurance premium. If everyone starts claiming on their warranties then the total expense to BMW for warranty claims is greater than the income for those warranties. This means warranty costs will rise for everyone, including those who are less inclined to try to claim on them.

It's a well know fact that local franchises earn on warranty claims by claiming labour costs from BMW, so it's always in their interests to replace parts.

The 'necessity' (note the quotes) of a BMW warranty has only come about through a self fulfilling prophecy - that being people take their cars to the BMW garage for some minor, repairable, issue then BMW replace the parts because they see the benefit to them. Then the person whose car it was comes on here saying how great it is that they have the warranty because, without it, they would have had to shell out thousands. No they wouldn't :banghead:

Madness, I'm telling you, Madness!!

(And no, I don't have a warranty - saved myself £3000 so far by not falling for that one)

James.

[_Nathan_]

Dunno James, I've just put through a house insurance claim for a massive new TV as the old one got a bit grubby

[jcremonini]

Dunno James, I've just put through a house insurance claim for a massive new TV as the old one got a bit grubby

LOL.

James.

[Ade]

that being people take their cars to the BMW garage for some minor, repairable, issue then BMW replace the parts because they see the benefit to them. Then the person whose car it was comes on here saying how great it is that they have the warranty because, without it, they would have had to shell out thousands. No they wouldn't :banghead:

Possibly true for a simpler, less electronic car than the CSL. The problem is that when the warning light comes on, and gear changes feel are a bit sloppy, there is nowt an owner can do except bring the car to the garage. At that point, the owner will always be glad they paid for the warranty.

Considering they do an initial assessment by just scanning the car key for the diagnostic codes, then I'm not sure the remedy is always going to be either a) obvious, or b) easily fixable on the driveway.

If BMW can remedy the problem, then yes - I will be glad they replace whatever - heck, even the entire gearbox (or car in Mark's situation :hahaha - if need be. And if it's good for BMW, then why not. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Financially speaking, I doubt the warranty business is as marginal as we make it out to be for BMW. I'm sure they've done their maths.

The warranty is meant to give peace of mind, and it does. No wonder those without it moan!

[jcremonini]

Possibly true for a simpler, less electronic car than the CSL. The problem is that when the warning light comes on, and gear changes feel are a bit sloppy, there is nowt an owner can do except bring the car to the garage. At that point, the owner will always be glad they paid for the warranty.

Considering they do an initial assessment by just scanning the car key for the diagnostic codes, then I'm not sure the remedy is always going to be either a) obvious, or b) easily fixable on the driveway.

If BMW can remedy the problem, then yes - I will be glad they replace whatever - heck, even the entire gearbox (or car in Mark's situation :hahaha - if need be. And if it's good for BMW, then why not. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Financially speaking, I doubt the warranty business is as marginal as we make it out to be for BMW. I'm sure they've done their maths.

The warranty is meant to give peace of mind, and it does. No wonder those without it moan!

I don't have a warranty and I don't (necessarily) moan. I've got £3k in the bank that you haven't I guess what ires me is that all the advice on here is you must have a warranty and you should not buy a car without one which is total ball locks.

My point is simple - if you , let's say, instead of putting £1k a year into the warranty put it in your bank account then if something goes wrong the chances are that it can be repaired for considerably less than the cost of replacement.

Also - am I the only one who would avoid a car, at all costs, which has had considerably warranty work done on it ? The warranty covers the cost of replacement - it does not cover the cost of inconvenience at being left in the middle of nowhere/ having the car off the road for weeks .

James.

[Ade]

I take your point about 'money in the bank' and all that - I ran the GT3 without warranty for a few years and was quids in from that perspective.

But the CSL is a bit different. Just electronically more complex.

And I doubt anyone would stay away from a warrantied car.

All things being equal, I would rather buy a secondhand car that has had brand new parts fitted propertly by BMW, under their care and without shortcuts, documented and warrantied by them.

[jcremonini]

I take your point about 'money in the bank' and all that - I ran the GT3 without warranty for a few years and was quids in from that perspective.

But the CSL is a bit different. Just electronically more complex.

And I doubt anyone would stay away from a warrantied car.

All things being equal, I would rather buy a secondhand car that has had brand new parts fitted propertly by BMW, under their care and without shortcuts, documented and warrantied by them.

Ok - each to their own but I would consider a car with a history of warranty claims cursed and would steer well clear in comparison to something with a clean history regardless of warranty or not. Two people - one spends 4 months a year in a private hospital having operations to repair this and that, the other has not been to hospital in 3 years. Who's your money on to live longest ?

Some of these warrantied CSLs are like Triggers broom.

James.

[Ade]

This is where people confuse human frailty with bits of replaceable tin put together :smt083

Glad to say this is my first trip to BMW, and the car's otherwise been perfect.

[shane@mbtech]

I don't have a warranty and I don't (necessarily) moan. I've got £3k in the bank that you haven't I guess what ires me is that all the advice on here is you must have a warranty and you should not buy a car without one which is total ball locks.

My point is simple - if you , let's say, instead of putting £1k a year into the warranty put it in your bank account then if something goes wrong the chances are that it can be repaired for considerably less than the cost of replacement.

Also - am I the only one who would avoid a car, at all costs, which has had considerably warranty work done on it ? The warranty covers the cost of replacement - it does not cover the cost of inconvenience at being left in the middle of nowhere/ having the car off the road for weeks .

James.

Agree with what you are saying to a degree, but the only reason you have 3k more than me in the bank is because you have been lucky and not had issues.

If however you were unlucky and had say for instance a vanos failure, or an smg failure (pump etc) or even worse engine problems i know for a fact you wish you would have taken warranty out.
Electric issues can affect any car, i own a mercedes benz specialist and some ecu failures are very expensive, ecu's alone can be £1200.

Whether you have warranty or not, the inconvenience of being stranded at the side of the road is exactly the same, only if im stranded i wont be worried as ill know my car will be covered on warranty.

Even though i run my own garage i took out the warranty for piece of mind..

My time is free if a problem where to arise with no warranty, but i like to spend my weekends with my family not fixing my own car when a measly £1000 covers me for the whole year.

[jcremonini]

Agree with what you are saying to a degree, but the only reason you have 3k more than me in the bank is because you have been lucky and not had issues.

If however you were unlucky and had say for instance a vanos failure, or an smg failure (pump etc) or even worse engine problems i know for a fact you wish you would have taken warranty out.
Electric issues can affect any car, i own a mercedes benz specialist and some ecu failures are very expensive, ecu's alone can be £1200.

Whether you have warranty or not, the inconvenience of being stranded at the side of the road is exactly the same, only if im stranded i wont be worried as ill know my car will be covered on warranty.

Even though i run my own garage i took out the warranty for piece of mind..

My time is free if a problem where to arise with no warranty, but i like to spend my weekends with my family not fixing my own car when a measly £1000 covers me for the whole year.

Fair points. I have to add though that I did have an issue last year where the tyre deflation light was coming on 10 minutes into every journey. Took that to an independent who reset the fault code (for £0) and I have not seen it again. A BMW dealer would have, I am sure, replaced sensors etc unnecessarily.

My point in regards to being left in the middle of nowhere is that an unreliable car is still going to dump you in it, in terms of inconvenience, regardless of warranty and was enforcing my view that would steer clear of anything which was likely to do so.

James.

[Ade]

Well, a quick update before I forget - the fault turned out to be one of the SMG sensors that thought the car was braking hard all the time. Whilst in there, they replaced out the intake potentiometer and one of the cat sensors that started throwing a fault. After replacing the sensors and resetting everything, the car now shifts better than before with perfectly crisp and smooth changes, without any thuds. :supz: Although the parts changes were relatively minor, the complicated diagnostics took several hours. And when BMW are otherwise charging £129+vat per hour, the warranty is well worth it.

[NZ_M3]

Not trying to be rude or anything jcremonini, but that £3k you have in the bank wouldn't cover a major warranty claim on a car like a CSL (e.g. if your gearbox failed - and they do trust me - then you'd struggle to replace it with your £3k (it wouldn't even be enough to buy a new gearbox with discount), chances are you'd probably have to pick up a used gearbox and go to an indie shop to put it in). The electronics in these cars also take a ridiculous amount of time to reprogram (standard SMG reprogram and clutch initialisation is 6 hours charge out by dealerships).

Let me explain it from my perspective. I 've got an extended warranty on my CSL here in New Zealand until Aug 2010 - I've just been told that BMW NZ will no longer be offering extended warranty coverages on all BMWs from now on (i.e. they have effectively cancelled all forms of extended warranties) - I'd hate to have the car break down after my warranty expires and I have no choice but to look at an aftermarket version (which is in no way as comprehensive or as good as the BMW variant).

From my perspective it's better to have the option of being able to buy a genuine BMW warranty, then it is to have none at all (or in my case, an aftermarket alternative which will not be as good).

If it was any other car, like a Honda, Toyota or even a Nissan, then what you are saying makes complete sense (as parts are cheap for the Japanese equivalent - I know because I have friends in the industry in both Jap and Euro brands) but for a BMW, £3k is bugger all when it comes to warranty claims (heck, I've seen minis here locally with warranty claim values over £3k and this was dealership invoice price NOT retail!!)