Extended warranty for E46 M3

[anubiz 0]

Hi folks

I am looking at buying a M3 privately but can't find a company that will provide a warranty on these. The warranty companies I have tried will give a warranty through a motor vehicle dealer but not through private sales.

Anyone know who might do this ?

Cheers

[briancol 3]

Where do you live?

[oscar90 0]

Tried BMW maybe?

[M3_Power 636]

team mcmillan will sell you one i am sure - protecta warranty; but you'll probably need to take it in for an inspection. Mind i ask which one you looking at buying?

[briancol 3]

I have checked with Protecta and find that they will not warranty M3's or in fact any of the European performance vehicles. I understand that this also applies to other warranty companies as well. I can understand their reasoning because the cost of most repairs to these type of vehicles usually amounts to several thousands of dollars and supplying warranties for them is totally unprofitable.

[CamB 48]

LOL - insurance companies are definitely bottom feeders. What that says to me is that if you need mechanical insurance, you can't get it. If you can get it ... perhaps you don't really need it.

[Guest Simon*]

Haha ain't that the gospel truth!

[*Glenn* 854]

All the warranty companies are tightening up and changing policy types and what they will and wont cover now.

[M3_Power 636]

I have checked with Protecta and find that they will not warranty M3's or in fact any of the European performance vehicles. I understand that this also applies to other warranty companies as well. I can understand their reasoning because the cost of most repairs to these type of vehicles usually amounts to several thousands of dollars and supplying warranties for them is totally unprofitable.

I just asked the wife last night about this and she says they sell a warranty for the M3 ... I believe it is protecta, i forgot to ask, it's definitely aftermarket though, but it's apparently quite expensive, circa 2k+ with excess per claim about 3xx+

If you are interested give team mcmillan a call.

[Wom 0]

had a look at my Autosure booklet and it excludes any M cars

I got lucky, when I bought my car through the dealer and took out the mechanical warranty, I got it for 3 years with no excess ... from what I've heard you would be hard pressed to find a no excess policy these days

[anubiz 0]

OK, Here's a heads up on trying to get an extended warranty,

Every company I tried would not insure a M series BMW privately, a couple would do it if the car is sold via a licensed dealer. BMW dealerships are not interested unless your buying a car off them and it passes their criteria.

I have brought a 2003 M3 with 34000 Ks on it and got a 2 year warranty through a dealer and it sounded like he had trouble. Was looking at a 2005 but that was a private sale so that was a no go..

M3_Power, -- Protecta was one company I checked with and they said no M series cars...

[M3_Power 636]

OK, Here's a heads up on trying to get an extended warranty,

Every company I tried would not insure a M series BMW privately, a couple would do it if the car is sold via a licensed dealer. BMW dealerships are not interested unless your buying a car off them and it passes their criteria.

I have brought a 2003 M3 with 34000 Ks on it and got a 2 year warranty through a dealer and it sounded like he had trouble. Was looking at a 2005 but that was a private sale so that was a no go..

M3_Power, -- Protecta was one company I checked with and they said no M series cars...

Which dealership did you enquire with? Because AFAIK Protecta's the one sold by Team McMillan and it covers M cars (I've got their cover booklet as they offered one to me and it only says no covers to Ferrari, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Aston Martins and Bentleys) - you do have to get an inspection from BMW Service first though I believe.

Whilst it is sold through the dealership network, it really doesn't matter if the car is purchased from the dealership or not - the finance and insurance department from a dealership is usually a separate entity anyhow, so they are free to sell an aftermarket product independent of the dealership.

Any way, congrats on the new car and getting a 2 year cover with it.

Edited January 13, 2010 by M3_Power

[M3_Power 636]

Okay, just asked the wife.

She just sold one today at Team McMillan.

The product is called Protecta Pinnacle (not sold on the normal Protecta website) only sold through the dealerships.

You have to get a pre-purchase inspection from Team McMillan at $150

For the M cars the warranty is sold on a yearly basis - annual premium $2850 incl GST with $10,000 maximum per claim and a $500 excess - it covers pretty much everything and includes AA Roadside assistance.

FYI should any of you want one - it is quite expensive, but when you look at the possibility of say a gearbox failure and you'd be looking at minimum $10,000 just to replace it.

[anubiz 0]

gutted, could of looked at the 05 seriously..

When I phoned I asked for the service department at TM and then asked who ever it was that answered, Guess he was not up with the play on this..funny how even Protecta didn't tell me I could get one this way.

[M3_Power 636]

gutted, could of looked at the 05 seriously..

When I phoned I asked for the service department at TM and then asked who ever it was that answered, Guess he was not up with the play on this..funny how even Protecta didn't tell me I could get one this way.

You probably spoke with Sean at the service reception - what he should have done was transfer you to one of the business managers that deal with these sort of queries.

No matter though, I consider the 03 models to be the best year of manufacture - the 04s and 05s actually have more Vanos issues than the earlier 03 manufacture (some of the bolts on the vanos gears were changed for a different part on the post 04 products and they seem to contribute to a bit more failures than the earlier models for some reason).

[CamB 48]

For the M cars the warranty is sold on a yearly basis - annual premium $2850 incl GST with $10,000 maximum per claim and a $500 excess - it covers pretty much everything and includes AA Roadside assistance.

FYI should any of you want one - it is quite expensive, but when you look at the possibility of say a gearbox failure and you'd be looking at minimum $10,000 just to replace it.

At $2850pa you would have to assume you were going to have something catastrophic go wrong every 2-3 years. Having an upper limit at $10k per claim is on the nose given its less than 4x the premium and wouldn't cover an engine rebuild.

[M3_Power 636]

At $2850pa you would have to assume you were going to have something catastrophic go wrong every 2-3 years. Having an upper limit at $10k per claim is on the nose given its less than 4x the premium and wouldn't cover an engine rebuild.

This is inevitably going to sound a bit elitist or snobbery - but people forget that most of these cars are about 7+ years old and just because they've become a little more affordable to the masses doesn't detract from the fact that it'll possibly now cost a bit more to maintain them in prestine condition and will no doubt cost an arm and a leg to repair should anything major have a catastrophic failure.

There's always an associated risk when buying something like a M - there being a lack of competition in the market for mechanical warranties on the likes of it also dictates the sort of terms you see above - whlist it won't cover a brand new engine, it'll certainly be enough for you to source an used one from off shore and possibly just enough to have it put it.

At the end of the day a mechanical insurance is just a peace of mind - these cars really don't fail on a regular basis and are in my opinion no less reliable than a comparable high strung piece of motoring from the Japanese equivalent.

[CamB 48]

I have an E36 M3 - I am aware of the issue.

$2850 AND a $10k limit per claim is robbery (before you get started on what is excluded). It should be one or the other.

[*Glenn* 854]

Thats so true Tom and it'll get worse as times go buy with the later model cars as well... it's already started happening. Alot of cars are just unecomic to repair. We had a '98 Merc in a couple of weeks ago... 4 new air shocks at $1900.oo ea + Gst + Fitting, wiring loom $2,500 + Gst + fitting and a leaking radiator and both electric mirror housings broken. Total cost of parts $18,000 + Gst. Guy bought it at auction for $8,000 with no warranty... it went to the wreckers. That unfortunately is going to happen more & more these days

[M3_Power 636]

I have an E36 M3 - I am aware of the issue.

$2850 AND a $10k limit per claim is robbery (before you get started on what is excluded). It should be one or the other.

Most definitely not as good as the one that used to be offered by BMW NZ on all NZ New BMWs - I took one out for the CSL before they canned the scheme - that was about $2300 for 2 years factory bumper to bumper cover and no excess.

But there's only that many M cars in NZ - and if it wasn't even profitable for BMW NZ to offer it at such rates, then I'd say an aftermarket supplier will no doubt struggle also.

Thats so true Tom and it'll get worse as times go buy with the later model cars as well... it's already started happening. Alot of cars are just unecomic to repair. We had a '98 Merc in a couple of weeks ago... 4 new air shocks at $1900.oo ea + Gst + Fitting, wiring loom $2,500 + Gst + fitting and a leaking radiator and both electric mirror housings broken. Total cost of parts $18,000 + Gst. Guy bought it at auction for $8,000 with no warranty... it went to the wreckers. That unfortunately is going to happen more & more these days

You are right Glenn it's already happening and probably has ever since performance vehicles were produced. I remember meeting a really young fella late last year (he'd be no more than 20) that just picked up an E46 M3 for pocket change - again exaggeration, but certainly one of the cheapest ones I've heard (high ks and lots of previous owners) and he couldn't believe how much the Castrol TWS oil costed for a 5 litre bottle (close to $300 retail).

People fail to recognise that if a car was expensive to buy initially, it isn't going to get cheaper to maintain when they've become affordable - almost always the very opposite.

Good reason why I am collecting spare parts for the CSL already (nearly bought a spare engine late last year) - when I sell it, hopefully it'll go to an enthusiast and all the spares will go with it.

Edited January 13, 2010 by M3_Power

[CamB 48]

Presumably though Glenn (and I may be wrong here), the following are not covered by the policy:

- shocks

- radiator

- mirrors

Which only leaves the wiring loom.

I've spent plenty on the M3 and expect to continue to do so. However thus far, mechanical insurance wouldn't have helped as its worn out (ie a service item) ... (3 biggest bills ---> water pump, shocks, aircon refresh) or below/close enough to $500 (eg broken window regulator, leaking rear quarter window).

(edit) So what I'm saying is that you need something serious to go wrong to need the cover. Something serious will potentially cost >$10k, which means the limit is a deal killer on the insurance, if you ask me.

Edited January 13, 2010 by CamB

[*Glenn* 854]

Presumably though Glenn (and I may be wrong here), the following are not covered by the policy:

- shocks

- radiator

- mirrors

Depends on warranty company. The mirrors no..they were accident damage. Merc wiring looms are not covered by any policies that I know of...common fault on Mercs

[Braeden320 0]

Insurance and Warrenties will always be weighted in favor of 1 person, The person insuring the risk.

If its not profitable they won't do it, And why should they, Companies are in business to make money at the end of the day.

Very few people look at the total cost of ownership when buying something, Just the upfront amount or weekly payment

[CamB 48]

Depends on warranty company. The mirrors no..they were accident damage. Merc wiring looms are not covered by any policies that I know of...common fault on Mercs

So Glenn ... a warranty on that Merc wouldn't have helped????

Really all its showing is that newer cars have a shorter lifespan until they become uneconomic to repair, which is unfortunate.

[Wom 0]

I had a 20kph accident, what looked like minor front left bumper and panel damage ended up costing the insurance company over $5000 in repairs

my gf's pulsar (same year as my bmw - '96) had a car run into the back of her at 40kph and in turn rammed her into the car in front of her ... less than $3000 for the insurance company to fix