[Sandman614]

My car is currently at 46k miles and the factory warranty expires in February or at 50k. I have already put in a DCI and got my windows tinted.

I plan on doing quite a few other mods; tune, FMIC, downpipes, etc, pretty common stuff around this thread.

My question is would going to get checked out for CPO be worth it? Or with the mods I plan on doing is it pretty certain they'll void a lot of the warranty if I ever have to go back for anything?

Any insight would be much appreciated.

[Titanium3er]

I bought my car with 32k on the clock. The work I've had done under CPO in the past 2.5 years/35k have totaled well over $5k.

Warranties are always a gamble. I'm not sure what the price would be for you, but think about the cost/benefit analysis of shelling out thousands without one vs losing the money if no repairs are needed.

I'm not sure if mods would void the warranty.

[TeinBMW]

Originally Posted by Titanium3er

I bought my car with 32k on the clock. The work I've had done under CPO in the past 2.5 years/35k have totaled well over $5k.

Warranties are always a gamble. I'm not sure what the price would be for you, but think about the cost/benefit analysis of shelling out thousands without one vs losing the money if no repairs are needed.

I'm not sure if mods would void the warranty.

Mods void warranty.

[TeinBMW]

If your gonna mod, then get it without cpo. It's a pain in the butt to always turn the car back to stock when your bringing it in to a dealer.

[Kayani_1]

If you plan on modifying the car to serious levels then CPO would not be as beneficial and user friendly. Because taking off majority of that stuff for major repairs will be a hassle. Also, BMW dealers are pretty good at blaming stuff on any type of mods.

The most you might get away will be with a tune and exhaust. Even with exhaust they some times blame any rattles or noises on it. I just had a recent issue in which they blamed exhaust for rattling noise when in drive or reverse.

[TeinBMW]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

If you plan on modifying the car to serious levels then CPO would not be as beneficial and user friendly. Because taking off majority of that stuff for major repairs will be a hassle. Also, BMW dealers are pretty good at blaming stuff on any type of mods.

The most you might get away will be with a tune and exhaust. Even with exhaust they some times blame any rattles or noises on it. I just had a recent issue in which they blamed exhaust for rattling noise when in drive or reverse.

I am sure if you changed your rims and you experienced turbo issues, theyll blame it on the rims...BMW is useless. Always looking for ways out of warranty.

And i figured the dealership gets reimbursed but the head office or something like that so why would it matter to them. Maybe im wrong.

[Kayani_1]

So far thanks to my good relations at the dealer service dept. They take care of me and do not give me but an occasional hassle. So far I take off my tune for services or repairs. The exhaust has been on there for only 6 months and they have blamed it only once.

My CPO warranty runs out in Oct. of this year some time. After that I guess I am on my own. Then I will dive deeper into modifying it any further then a Cobb tune and exhaust. Going the route of better FMIC and then DP and M3 control arms front and back.

My advice go with CPO and these following mods that will not hurt you in making warranty claims.

#1. You can get a Cobb tune which can easily be removed in less then 15 min without a trace left behind.

#2. Go with BMW performance exhaust used one off course. As there are few selling on the used parts section of this forum.

#3. Go with M3 control arms for improved handling as they are also BMW parts.

#4. Go with Alpina B3 TCU flash as they will not be able to detect it or complain about it. It is worth it. While at it you can get your car codded for most things BMW charges extra money for and since they are still BMW options that are turned off you will be OK.

#5. Upgraded 19" wheels/tires increased grip and handling.

#6. M-performance steering wheel with M3 retrofit paddle shifters. I love the steering wheel it feels awesome with its square bottom shape and the M3 paddles look better and feel better. The upshifts and down shift are programmed the way they are in M3.

#7. LED angel eye upgrade as they do not complain about that much.


For the rest you can wait until your CPO expires.

[Sandman614]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

So far thanks to my good relations at the dealer service dept. They take care of me and do not give me but an occasional hassle. So far I take off my tune for services or repairs. The exhaust has been on there for only 6 months and they have blamed it only once.

wow thanks so much, and thanks every one else, lot of good input.

I think I might skip on the CPO. I've been to the dealership near me a couple times and they're nice people, I can just see them automatically refusing service because of mods. The mod bug is just eating away at me

[Snow King]

CPO or any extended warranty is just insurance. You should be glad if you never have to use it but if you do you are covered...sometimes. If you are modding heavily and with non BMW performance parts, I say don't bother. You're better of taking the RISK and putting that money in a future fix it fund.

Nothing is every free. Gotta pay to play.

[MrSteak]

Originally Posted by TeinBMW

Mods void warranty.

Spoken like a true Dealer.

Actually mods don't "void" anything. That's just the most common lie dealers use towards owners who mod their cars. Do a little research and you'll see. (Maybe things are different in Canada, but this isn't the case here in the US).

Typically, it depends on the mod, and IF the mod causes whatever problem the vehicle has. It'd be a little silly to be "voiding" a window motor warranty over a tune or some downpipes.

[Doctor///M]

...definitely not worth the premium for only 2 years of additional warranty (which you still have to pay a $50 copay for each incident). If you want the peace of mind, check out consumer warranties that extend up to 4 years at similar cost or less than CPO. Ensure that electrical parts are covered. As for mods, there is a sticky at the top of this section: Mods and Warranty

[theblackmamba]

I bought the cpo from Daniel Dutton at pacific bmw. Cheapest price I found yet. I didn't purchase a cpo'd vehicle but here's the catch -- in bmw's system when you purchase the extended warranty to 100k (platinum) before the existing warranty expires it automatically shows up as a 'cpo warranty car'. Go figure.

The car I was looking at that had no m-sport and had like 60k cpo'd was around $34k...I bought mine with 3xk and well under that price.

[pimp4cheddar]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=868425

Use my recent scare as a means to measure your risk tolerance... I'm 3 months out of warranty...

[aphroti]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

So far thanks to my good relations at the dealer service dept. They take care of me and do not give me but an occasional hassle. So far I take off my tune for services or repairs. The exhaust has been on there for only 6 months and they have blamed it only once.

My CPO warranty runs out in Oct. of this year some time. After that I guess I am on my own. Then I will dive deeper into modifying it any further then a Cobb tune and exhaust. Going the route of better FMIC and then DP and M3 control arms front and back.

My advice go with CPO and these following mods that will not hurt you in making warranty claims.

#1. You can get a Cobb tune which can easily be removed in less then 15 min without a trace left behind.

#2. Go with BMW performance exhaust used one off course. As there are few selling on the used parts section of this forum.

#3. Go with M3 control arms for improved handling as they are also BMW parts.

#4. Go with Alpina B3 TCU flash as they will not be able to detect it or complain about it. It is worth it. While at it you can get your car codded for most things BMW charges extra money for and since they are still BMW options that are turned off you will be OK.

#5. Upgraded 19" wheels/tires increased grip and handling.

#6. M-performance steering wheel with M3 retrofit paddle shifters. I love the steering wheel it feels awesome with its square bottom shape and the M3 paddles look better and feel better. The upshifts and down shift are programmed the way they are in M3.

#7. LED angel eye upgrade as they do not complain about that much.


For the rest you can wait until your CPO expires.

I guess dealers will still not tolerate the M3 control arm since it is not designed for 335 originally even though they it is BMW parts.

[lconn]

Yes, they have fixed some things but ....

I have an 08 335i which I bought as a cpo car from the local dealer, Jackie Cooper BMW in OKC. They have identified the broken bolt lying under my car as one of ten that hold the bell housing to the engine.

The dealer says BMWNA says while the drivetrain is under the extended warranty, the defective aluminum stretch bolt is not and they will not fix it. They said not to worry as there are nine more bolts holding the bellhousing and transmission to the engine. This is a high tensile aluminum stretch bolt 3 inches long and 1/2 thick. Never mind that IT broke, they neither know nor care why, and it's cousins now have to shoulder its load. Also will look good when I try to trade it in huh? and no, to my knowledge the bellhousing has never been removed and these are one time use bolts anyway.

To break it has to be defective or it has to be over torqued, either way at the hands of BMW alone.

Going to have to read my warranty carefully before I call BMWNA I guess.

Also the cats are bad and the battery cable has been recalled. Add that to the previous visits for 4 flat tires, 2 HPFP's, 2 sets of injectors, a melted fuse block, and a bad waterpump inside of 66k miles so no, it has not been very reliable.

They also want to charge me $550 to reset the brake pad warnings because they have to replace the new brake sensors I installed with BMW sensors before they will touch it.

I love it but I want to throw it and the dealer out the as far as I can.

UPDATE

That would be the question that I have posed and all they say is BMWNA declined warranty coverage.

This an original aluminum stretch bolt that bolts the bellhousing to the block. To my knowledge it has not been touched since it left the factory.

The dealer will say nothing more and so far BMWNA has said talk to the dealer. They can't tell me why it broke. Any others that might break will be unknown as they will usually slide out the back of the underbody cover. And yes to fix it, I'll probably have to pull the tran to ease out the remaining bolt end.

The CPO warranty is very clear on what it covers and what it doesn't and I haven't heard a rational argument yet on why it isn't. In fact I have gotten no explanation at all.

It terms of why, my concern is it could a bad batch of bolts and others will fail. It could be the engine or bellhousing shifting, in which case other bolts may be broken. In any case the strain on the other bolts is increased placing the other bolts at increased risk. If they break they could take the engine and tranny with them.

Since they have denied coverage, any subsequent damages will not be covered under warranty if I don't immediately fix it myself.

In the 30k I have owned it it has the water pump replaced, 4 tires, the HPFP, the injectors, both catalytic converters, the fuse block, and the battery cable. The prior owner had two HPFP's replaced, two sets of injectors, the DSC hydraulic unit, and the front seat. Everytime the car has gone to the dealer there was a complaint about misfiring starting when it was brand new but it has never been resolved. I am the second owner, the car has 66k miles on it and is still under the CPO warranty. If you don't think this is covered under warranty, please read the actual CPO warranty as it has very specific exclusions for things like wear items, etc. It specifically states the entire drivetrain is still covered for defects in materials or craftsmanship. I'm not going to post it all here.

The lack of response comes a close second to the actual braindead answer. I had always had problems with Jackie Cooper Imports on dealer service. I do not recommend them at this time.

[Kayani_1]

I have not done it but spoke to a prior BMW tech and he said it would pass under radar in most situations.

Originally Posted by aphroti

I guess dealers will still not tolerate the M3 control arm since it is not designed for 335 originally even though they it is BMW parts.

[Kayani_1]

you, are most welcome and good luck

Originally Posted by vertucaj

wow thanks so much, and thanks every one else, lot of good input.

I think I might skip on the CPO. I've been to the dealership near me a couple times and they're nice people, I can just see them automatically refusing service because of mods. The mod bug is just eating away at me

[fazman]

If you are the original owner of the car... then CPO or extended warranties are probably not going to be worth it (better to self insure). The exceptions would be if you were to buy the first year production model of a car (the problem years)... If you have a 2007/2007 model year car... then I would say it might be worth it. 2008+ e90/e92, probably not.

If your modding a lot, its not worth wasting your time with warrenty... because an Indy will always be better and cheaper!

You should already have experience with the current history of the car, If you had to do a lot of expensive warranty work under the factory warranty... than it's a good chance you will still have those issue and you should just dump your car. On the other hand... if your car is just rock solid, you might have gotten a lucky one which is a keeper!

Long story short, the $3k-$4k you would spend on a warranty which has deductibles and no certainty of coverage (unless you do all the leg work to prove something is at fault and even then is sketchy)... your just better off taking that money and using it for repairs in the future.

[deathbunny]

Find a good local shop to do all your work that supports aftermarket warranties and does not care if you have mods. My shop will fix my stuff under my aftermarket warranty and they could care less about the mods It also helps to throw them work and have them install the mods that you want them to turn a blind eye too.

Or like others have said just take the money the warranty would cost and put that into a fix it account every month you will most likely make out much better that way.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by vertucaj

My car is currently at 46k miles and the factory warranty expires in February or at 50k. I have already put in a DCI and got my windows tinted.

I plan on doing quite a few other mods; tune, FMIC, downpipes, etc, pretty common stuff around this thread.

My question is would going to get checked out for CPO be worth it? Or with the mods I plan on doing is it pretty certain they'll void a lot of the warranty if I ever have to go back for anything?

Any insight would be much appreciated.

I'm not sure I understand what it is you are asking. If you already have answers from others that satisfy you, you don't need to clarify for my benefit.

He's what's not clear to me.

I think you are referring to the 2009 E9x you currently own and have owned for some time now. I think what you are asking is whether you should get BMW to certify your car in some way or other. Or are you as others have suggested talking about buying a new (or new to you) BMW E9x?

If you are asking about buying another E9x, by all means, buy a CPO car, especially if it'll be a 335i. Unlike the advice given above, however, I would advise that if you buy a 335i, that you not modify the motor and suspension until your CPO coverage expires.

My reason for advising that approach is that it gives you some time to shake the kinks out, if there be any, and not have to, using your own resources, bear the cost of doing so. If any 3er is likely to have issues in its mid-life, it's the 335i. That's not to say 328s don't, but just that 335s have them a bit more frequently.

All the best.