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Would you buy a service contract?
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Dealer wants to sell a $1300 policy to extend the new bike warranty out to 7
years and unlimited mileage, free towing, etc.
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If you have to worry about something major going wrong in the
first seven years with the bike, I'd frankly consider getting
a honda. Seriously. BMWs are developing a reputation at this
point.
Tell the sales guy you want to talk with their head mechanic
to find out what's likely to go wrong with the bike in that
short a time. REmember, the head of the service dept will
know exactly how many comebacks there are, and why they happen.
Watch closely, if they say 'never happens' then they are
lying plain and simple.
If there are any serious powertrain issues (engine, final drive,
gearbox) I'd think long and hard. Likewise especially injector
problems (they've had a lot of difficulty dialing that in).
By this time charging systems should be a slam-dunk so any
problems there are telling you to stay away.
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Since it's a BMW, I already know how much service can be as their service
rates which are fast hitting $100 per hour in the S.F. Bay area along with
the typical $400-900 BMW part (alternator, clutch unit, final drive, brake
servo, computer, etc.). They also cover towing which, if you know anything
about the lack of BMW dealerships in the mid-west, could be costly.
Personally, I've never needed it though and I do have towing coverage
through the Auto Club of So. Cal. for the bikes I already own.
The only thing the policy did not cover was fork seals (?!). Since the new
bike does not have fork seals nor a telescopic fork (K1200GT) that point is
mute.
As much as I dislike service plans, maybe this one wouldn't be a bad idea?
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Anything likely to go wrong due to manufacturing defects is likely to
go wrong within the first three years. Anything beyond that is either a
fluke, or just plain wear-out--- "end of life" failures (keep in mind
compoment lifetimes could be different than drivetrain lifetimes). I
don't know what the end of life is considered for a Beemer, but there
seem to be lots of people driving older ones. This is borne out by
reliability testing by the manufacturers (assuming there is good
quality to begin with). IMO, it is a waste of money to buy a warranty
to extend it into the region of time where statistically the least
amount of failures occur. If you have the money to waste for peace of
mind, then by all means, go for it.
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Depends on how prepared you are to cope with the problems you
encounter. I'm more likely to buy a plan like that for a vehicle driven
by my kids than I am for myself, mostly because I figure the kids are
likely to wind up broken down in an inconvenient place with no clue
what to do next.
Stuff I don't want to deal with myself, I'll go for the plan. Pretty
obviously the average cost of repairs is likely to be less than the
cost of the plan but there's some comfort in being knowing you
can say "just fix it please".
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Just remember a few things about extended warranties -
1. They wouldn't sell them if they didn't come out ahead.
2. The price is always negotiable.
3. You can always buy an extended warranty from a 3rd party. The
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I asked what happens if the thing breaks down in some state in which BMW
doesn't exist such as North Dakota or Wyoming. He said the insurance
company would pay for (towing) transport to the nearest bike dealer who
could - or would - work on BMW and order parts to get it road worthy.
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Again, more contractual verbage.
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I do need to find out if it covers things the dealer is adding such as the
BMW Navigator II GPS, Motolights, and AutoCom system, Can-Bus system
electric additions, etc. Once all the stuff is added up, it's pretty close
to $28,000, a far cry from the $18.8K of the MSRP.
Many of the out-of-warranty problems on the older BMW's were things like
tranny shafts, clutch spines stripping, and final drives, either of which
cost $1000 in parts alone. It may make for piece of mind as this bike is
too new for BMW on the internals (i.e. engine with integral oil basket
clutch, tranny, and alternator over their oilhead-engine bikes). I don't
believe this insurance company has a connection with BMW, more like some
independent as are most used car dealers.
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I've never heard of a warranty the wouldn't cover things
transmission shafts, final drives, etc. That stuff seems to
be the kind of basic items for which warranties(initial, or
extended) are meant to address.
I don't know what your purchase timeline is, and depend-
ing on the "in-service" extended warranty purchase issue,
but I think I'd do some hangin' out over at
and ask those there about these issues, and that specific
extended warranty. I'm sure there are others there that
have an experience with that product. And if not, I might
be very inclined to pass on the warranty purchase.
Good grief!! I went to the BMWMOA site to look for
a forum search facility to see what shows up for extended
warranty. As this is written, there are 429 current users
online. I've participated in owner group sites that didn't
have 429 members total. Heck, this site has 12,185
registered members. I would think you'd be able to find
some parallel experiences from one of those folks. You
should be reading/joining the site anyway to learn about
any/all little surprises that might come your way.
Maybe it's just because I'm not a registered user, but the
site seems to have no forum search facility, or I can't seem
to find one. If I'm correct, this is a huge disadvantage to
Additionally, I found a few web references for BMW &
extended warranties. Not that I would buy an extended
warranty over the web, but there might be some informa-
tion there, useful to you. Check them out:
Gary
like
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I did get stung once by some appliance service contract when the underwriter
folded up and left town along with the dealer (Silo). However, a friend had
a policy on his wife's older used car and the computer went out and it
wouldn't start. He came out ahead on that one, but he cussed about wasting
money on that policy (his wife bought it) the whole time -- until he needed
it.
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dealer is just selling you a 3rd party product, you can buy the same
product elsewhere, usually for a lot less money.
4. Read the fine print to see what's covered and what isn't.
5. Make sure it's transferrable and that you can collect on the
remainder of the contract if you cancel it.
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That's a LOT of money for an extended warranty. How many years is the
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Oh, and here's a little trick that I've used -
Buy something - say a washing machine ( I got a good brand
one ( maytag, the best ones there are ) last year's model, floor
sample ) at a rock-bottom price. Get the salesman to throw in the
extended warranty ( normally $ 50 ) for free by lowering the price of
the washer.
Come back the next day and say 'I've changed my mind about
that extended warranty, I just want the washer'. When the salesman
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Most retailers draft the fine print such that when you say
"I've changed my mind about the warranty" they reply "too bad."
That might have worked about 100 years ago.
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squirms and says 'I can't do that, I'll have to raise the price of the
washer back up that $ 50 I gave you off', say 'I'd like to speak to
your Manager'.
Explain to him that there are 2 items on your sales ticket - a
washer, and an extended warranty. You want to get a refund for the
second item, which you no longer want. And you don't expect the price
of the washer you bought to be raised after the sale, he can't do
that, it's illegal.
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basic comes with the bike warranty?
Does that $1300 include labor for standard maintenance labor? So like do
you have to pay additional money for your next tune-up and such? If that
price includes standard maintenance labor them I might consider it.
Otherwise, I'd be thinking that's too much money to pay for a extended
warranty on a bike that stakes it's name on quality.
My experience on my Honda has been almost all the maintenance I've ever
had done wouldn't be covered by the warranty anyway, as it is just
standard maintenance work. Brakes, tires, air filters, tune-ups every
24K miles, etc. Is the towing insurance unlimited mileage? It should be
for that coin.
Are you the type of guy that will keep (and want to keep) a bike for
that long, or longer? So many people lose interest and want the next
great bike so much sooner than that.
I'd be spending that $1300 on a real nice motorcycle tour.
Just my opinion. Real nice bike.
Ride safe.
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