# Are BMW Extended Service Contracts Negotiable?



## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

So I'm very new here, but not new to BMW (CCA member for 30 yrs - many Bimmers and even a couple of Beemers).

My lease on my 2019 440iGC is about to mature and I'm looking at options. 

Given how crappy (for buyers) the car market is right now, I'm considering just buying my car and keeping it for a while. As suggested in another thread, I noticed the BMW ESC is detailed in "My Garage" on the BMW website. The cost of all the plans seems very high to me. So, the question is: Are these prices negotiable and if so, with whom (my or any dealer I choose to buy from or with BMWNA)?

Assuming they are negotiable like most warranties, what is a reasonable discount I can expect with a little shopping around? In my experience with other brands, these things are 100% mark-up for the dealer, so aim for 50% of asking price plus a little for their trouble. 

As an example, mine shows a 7/100k Platinum cost of $5,750.

Any relevant advice would be appreciated.


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

They are absolutely negotiable.

BMW has now required a physical inspection of the car (actually just a key read)- so you can’t call all over the country and shop. (Unless you have a trusted friend you can fence the key to…. Shhh, dont tell anyone.)

Wait until the 4/50 is close, no need to give them your money now…..

There isnt a LOT of room on the pricing, Ive been out of that market for a while so cannot say, but it isnt 100-%. markup. (Yes, maybe your dealer would quote $7200 for that warranty, in which case there is a ton of fat. But BMW posting pricing undercuts the dealer gouging.)

Lots of threads on this over the years….

(Finally, you are talking about the ESC aka ‘extended warrantty’? Not the BS ‘maintenance pla‘ crap, right?)


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

Thank you for the input. 

Yes, the 'warranty' not the prepaid service is what I'm interested in.

Does the pricing change as you get closer to the end of the oem warranty or is it the same as long as its still covered?


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## tom2021 (Feb 10, 2021)

ard said:


> (Finally, you are talking about the ESC aka ‘extended warranty’?


I am still deciding to purchase extended warranty or not. I asked the dealer to send me the descriptions of what included in the warranty. They sent me VSC (vehicles service contract), attached. I asked them about the difference between VSC and extended warranty, they haven't responded.
I am puzzled by the semantics. Please note that I live in Canada.


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## SteveinArizona (Sep 12, 2016)

BMW doesn't actually offer an extended warranty. I am not sure whether anyone does.

The contract you attached is the BMW product. The biggest difference is that the OEM warranty covers everything unless excluded; this contract covers specified parts.


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

tom2021 said:


> I am still deciding to purchase extended warranty or not. I asked the dealer to send me the descriptions of what included in the warranty. They sent me VSC (vehicles service contract), attached. I asked them about the difference between VSC and extended warranty, they haven't responded.
> I am puzzled by the semantics. Please note that I live in Canada.


Its semantics. A 'warranty' is something that comes with a new product. Legally most car manufacturers will NOT call it an 'extended' warranty because it really isnt- it has different terms, exclusions, coverage. (I suppose if they just saud 'everything is the same, just goes to 7 years and 100k' maybe they could use 'extended'.)

But the VSC is the 'extended warranty you want.


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

SpeedyATL said:


> Does the pricing change as you get closer to the end of the oem warranty or is it the same as long as its still covered?


Not to my knowledge, at least not in any 'programmatic' way. BMW and the dealers have pricing, and there are no columns for specific miles and years. (As I recall, Acura/Honda used to have 'stepped' pricing, but never saw that with BMW.)

Over the course of time, retail pricing can go up- and typically does- so a salesman could say "better to buy now because prices will go up as you get to the end" and not be lying


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## tom2021 (Feb 10, 2021)

ard said:


> Its semantics. A 'warranty' is something that comes with a new product. Legally most car manufacturers will NOT call it an 'extended' warranty because it really isnt- it has different terms, exclusions, coverage. (I suppose if they just saud 'everything is the same, just goes to 7 years and 100k' maybe they could use 'extended'.)
> 
> But the VSC is the 'extended warranty you want.


Thanks ard.


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## tom2021 (Feb 10, 2021)

SteveinArizona said:


> BMW doesn't actually offer an extended warranty. I am not sure whether anyone does.
> 
> The contract you attached is the BMW product. The biggest difference is that the OEM warranty covers everything unless excluded; this contract covers specified parts.


Thanks Steve.


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## HotGrbg (Apr 23, 2021)

When I bought my contract the finance manager pulled out a sheet with the prices on it and it appeared to be made by BMW as it was very “official” looking. He never showed me but I snagged it when he left the office to get a photo copy for the license. All he did was ask me which plan I wanted.
Could they have made this form up? Possibly but it seemed legit and seems like a lot of hassle for a paper I’m not supposed to see. He did not leave it in plain sight either, it was in a folder.
If someone does get a discount I’d be very interested as I’ve not personally heard of if. Not saying it’s not possible


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## LogicalApex (Aug 5, 2019)

ard said:


> They are absolutely negotiable.
> 
> BMW has now required a physical inspection of the car (actually just a key read)- so you can’t call all over the country and shop. (Unless you have a trusted friend you can fence the key to…. Shhh, dont tell anyone.)
> 
> ...


I don’t think BMW is requiring a physical inspection anymore. I extended my warranty and maintenance with a dealership other than the one I purchased from a few weeks ago and didn’t need to supply anything more than my VIN. My guess is the older cars required a key to at least verify mileage, but my MY2020 car reports its mileage back to the mothership very often (I could be wrong on why they needed it though).

But I agree there is room to negotiate on pricing and you can buy from any BMW dealership in the country...

I wouldn’t call the extended maintenance BS, but I would say you need to evaluate it closely to determine if it makes sense for you and your driving pattern. I’d also be cautious about doing it without the extended vehicle warranty since I’m sure you’ll get hit up every time you go post warranty for ”fixes”. But its value will scale heavily based on your mileage, market, Indy pricing, and skill set (self wrenching). 

This is also negotiable…



ard said:


> Not to my knowledge, at least not in any 'programmatic' way. BMW and the dealers have pricing, and there are no columns for specific miles and years. (As I recall, Acura/Honda used to have 'stepped' pricing, but never saw that with BMW.)
> 
> Over the course of time, retail pricing can go up- and typically does- so a salesman could say "better to buy now because prices will go up as you get to the end" and not be lying


Pricing can shift. I don’t know if it does or how often it does. In my memory the pricing didn’t shift on my 530e when I decided to finally do it, but BMW did go from requiring a $50 deductible on the plans to $0 deductible by time I decided to bite. Since they appear to make changes they could adjust pricing, in theory, but I wouldn’t make a decision on either side of it in regards to pricing “fears”.



HotGrbg said:


> When I bought my contract the finance manager pulled out a sheet with the prices on it and it appeared to be made by BMW as it was very “official” looking. He never showed me but I snagged it when he left the office to get a photo copy for the license. All he did was ask me which plan I wanted.
> Could they have made this form up? Possibly but it seemed legit and seems like a lot of hassle for a paper I’m not supposed to see. He did not leave it in plain sight either, it was in a folder.
> If someone does get a discount I’d be very interested as I’ve not personally heard of if. Not saying it’s not possible


I got a discount on my purchase. I don’t know if I can link to the details, but drop me a PM and I’ll share the details.


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## tom2021 (Feb 10, 2021)

HotGrbg said:


> When I bought my contract the finance manager pulled out a sheet with the prices on it and it appeared to be made by BMW as it was very “official” looking. He never showed me but I snagged it when he left the office to get a photo copy for the license. All he did was ask me which plan I wanted.
> Could they have made this form up? Possibly but it seemed legit and seems like a lot of hassle for a paper I’m not supposed to see. He did not leave it in plain sight either, it was in a folder.
> If someone does get a discount I’d be very interested as I’ve not personally heard of if. Not saying it’s not possible


For 100,000 km or 84 months warranty is CAN $4,330.
I got over a CAN $500 discount.


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## irianjim (Jul 7, 2012)

tom2021 said:


> For 100,000 km or 84 months warranty is CAN $4,330.
> I got over a CAN $500 discount.


Tom, I am in Canada also. Got the 84 month/80,000 warranty last year for quite a bit less, so it is negotiable. Went with the 80k as I knew there would be no way I would do more km's than that.


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

irianjim said:


> Tom, I am in Canada also. Got the 84 month/80,000 warranty last year for quite a bit less, so it is negotiable. Went with the 80k as I knew there would be no way I would do more km's than that.


you are 100% sure it is a BMW warranty? 

factory warranty is 4 yrs 80kkm I thought.


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## irianjim (Jul 7, 2012)

ard said:


> you are 100% sure it is a BMW warranty?
> 
> factory warranty is 4 yrs 80kkm I thought.


Hi, Ard,

Yes, it is a BMW warranty, purchased from a BMW dealer. Here is what BMW Canada sent me.

"Thank you for contacting BMW Canada in regards to your warranty inquiry.

BMW Canada provides a manufacturer's warranty that is valid for four years or 80,000 km, whichever should come first, to cover any manufacturing defects discovered in your vehicle during the warranty parameters. Our records indicate that your 2016 BMW Z4 is also currently covered by a New Vehicle contract (VSC) warranty which covers your vehicle for an additional three years; this warranty will be valid until June 02, 2023 .The new VSC extended warranty for your vehicle is currently active, therefore, the cost of eligible defect-related repairs in your vehicle will be covered under warranty. We kindly request that you continue to work with your preferred BMW service center to complete any necessary repairs for your vehicle.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Customer Interaction Centre at 1-800-567-2691. Again, thank you for contacting BMW."

You are correct, the original factory warranty was for 4yr/80k. I basically extended it for three years. I could have gone out to 100k, but my car was only at 18,000 km at 4 years, so I know 80k would be enough......


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

^ Thanks, now it makes more sense.

So that extends ZERO miles, but gives you 7 years to hit that 80kkm (50k miles for us southerners)

I would guess that is quite affordable. Going to a 7year 160kkm plan (or whatever then offer there that is close to a 100kmile US plan) might be 2x your cost. or even more. Miles make a big difference


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

LogicalApex said:


> I got a discount on my purchase. I don’t know if I can link to the details, but drop me a PM and I’ll share the details.


Hey LogicalApex,

I can't seem to figure out how to DM you - maybe because I'm new around here. Could you please send me the details of your "warranty" purchase.

Thank you.


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

SpeedyATL said:


> Hey LogicalApex,
> 
> I can't seem to figure out how to DM you - maybe because I'm new around here. Could you please send me the details of your "warranty" purchase.
> 
> Thank you.


If you hover a cursor over logical apex's icon, you will see a pop up with "message"... or click on his icon then click on 'conversion'.

And if you click on your own icon on the upper right, you can see your incoming message/conversations...

(Dont ask me why the same function is called to different things.....dumb)


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

Thanks, Ard.

Unfortunately I don't see what you are referring to. I have hovered and clicked on both his icon and mine - I do see our stats when I do that, but no ability to DM. I've only made a few posts, so the system might limit my ability to msg someone as a result.


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## LogicalApex (Aug 5, 2019)

SpeedyATL said:


> Thanks, Ard.
> 
> Unfortunately I don't see what you are referring to. I have hovered and clicked on both his icon and mine - I do see our stats when I do that, but no ability to DM. I've only made a few posts, so the system might limit my ability to msg someone as a result.





SpeedyATL said:


> Hey LogicalApex,
> 
> I can't seem to figure out how to DM you - maybe because I'm new around here. Could you please send me the details of your "warranty" purchase.
> 
> Thank you.


No problem. I dropped you a PM so hopefully you're able to grab it 👍🏾


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

SpeedyATL said:


> I've only made a few posts, so the system might limit my ability to msg someone as a result.


They will set a minimum to stop abuse. I thought it was 5, but maybe not. Just respond to this and the next, you'll get there!


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## SpeedyATL (Jul 24, 2021)

I just wanted to round this out for reference purposes should anyone else be looking in....

Thanks to one our great fellow members (LogicalApex), he directed me a good source for discounted BMW warranties. 

If you are interested, just drop an email to Christine (cnewman (at) stevethomasbmw.com).

For reference, BMW quoted me a Platinum ESC for 7yr/75k for $5,250. Because my car is under 20k miles, Christine offered me the same ESC for a little over $3k. She did say when it goes over 20k, the price goes up $1k.

I'm not sure what my plans are for the car yet, but I thought this was a solid enough deal to pass around to the group.


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## irianjim (Jul 7, 2012)

SpeedyATL said:


> I just wanted to round this out for reference purposes should anyone else be looking in....
> 
> Thanks to one our great fellow members (LogicalApex), he directed me a good source for discounted BMW warranties.
> 
> ...


Glad it worked out for you. Sounds like a smart purchase!


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