Extended Warranty Companies

My BMW dealership is a vendor for an extended warranty company called Assurance American. Anyone have any experience with this company or any other aftermarket you'd care to share? I am about to close on a new GSA which of course comes with a 3-yr warranty, but as everyone who's ever bought "new" knows, the initial 36 month warranty goes by fast and the more complex BMWs become, etc..... Thanks for any help.

Hopefully my response bumps this thread up. I'm getting ready to pick up a new GS next week, and one of the things that the dealer is trying to ell me is an extended warranty. I don't know the company issuing the warranty as we haven't talked in detail about it yet, but it's an additional 4 years for approximately $1300, "bumper to bumper".
I'd be interested in hearing others' recommendations on the different companies that you may have used.

In all of the vehicles I have owned new since 1975, cars and bikes, not one of them would have paid for an extended warranty. I know others have had a different experience, but that is mine. Dealers make a good profit on extended warranties...

The odds will be against you. It's a pure gamble...you are the player, the carrier is the House....chances are they will win, just like any casino. Take the premium they would charge you, put it in the bank, chances are most of it will be there when the extended warranty would have expired. And that doesn't count contested claims you may or may not win, if you would even have a claim.

I would feel a lot better about an extended warranty if there was no third party involved and BMW itself simply extended the original 3 year warranty. That's what Yamaha does on a new FJR and the cost is pretty reasonable and even negotiable at time of purchase often times less than $400. I believe it extends the original one year warranty to 5 years and is transferrable to a new owner. You suppose the cost is low because of the bike's reputation for high reliability?

jammess said:

I would feel a lot better about an extended warranty if there was no third party involved and BMW itself simply extended the original 3 year warranty. That's what Yamaha does on a new FJR and the cost is pretty reasonable and even negotiable at time of purchase often times less than $400. I believe it extends the original one year warranty to 5 years and is transferrable to a new owner. You suppose the cost is low because of the bike's reputation for high reliability?

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+1 And BMW doesn't because...maybe because they'd have to charge so much it wouldn't be marketable?

jammess said:

I would feel a lot better about an extended warranty if there was no third party involved and BMW itself simply extended the original 3 year warranty.

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Suzuki Extended Protection is about $100 per year and extends the factory warranty up to 6 years for a 501-999 cc bike.
Actual dealer cost is even less and is negotiable at purchase time.

For what seems like forever, Satch Carlson (editor of "Roundel" the BMW Car Club of America magazine) has advised against purchasing extended warranties for the same reasons cited above. In the last year however, he's changed his opinion. The cost of parts and labor to repair current BMW hardware has convinced him it is now worth considering. This is a multi-variable equation. Many BMW motorcycle owners are pretty handy with a wrench and, especially with older air-heads, can do their own repairs, so they only have to find and pay for parts. But with the newest bikes, with all their computer firmware and software, ABS II whizzy brakes, fuel mapping algorithms, etc., to say nothing about the cost of parts, a properly vetted extended warranty purchase may be prudent.

I absolutely agree that this would be far easier were BMW to offer an extended warranty plan, final pricing negotiated into the purchase, but their business model is predicated upon the expectation people will trade in and buy new when or before their initial warranty lapses. My dealership told me I could buy their recommended third-party plan right up until the end of BMW's 36-month/36,000 warranty ends, but when I tried to nail down just what the cost and coverage would be, things became "vague." So for now, I've passed on that.

Over my 40 yrs of association with BMW products, bought new and pre-owned, I've been fortunate never to suffer a catastrophic out-of-warranty repair bill, but I've known others who were not as lucky, including some who were absolutely religious about preventive maintenance and had BMW do all of their service. I will make this observation - one fellow I know had a tranny take a dump in the newest generation R1200RT, just beyond the warranty (mileage). The dealership and regional customer service rep went to bat for him and he received the newest generation transmission, including labor, as an "in-warranty" replacement. I have zero doubt this only happened because he had all of his service done at the dealership where he bought the bike new, and he was a repeat customer.

I think the value of the extended warranty is driven by the number of miles you ride.
My daughter rids her GSs about 150K over the 7 years of the Zurich warranty and has always come out ahead of the curve.
MY one time using my extended on my 13 GTL more than paind for it.
I aqm a believer in getting the extended warranty and have it on both my bikes.

Buy the extended warranty. Granted, they allow for a lot of dealer profit, so try to negotiate it down.
But buy it.

Bought many extra years for my 2012 Gold Wing (And Honda's are close to being bullet-proof!). After 51,000 miles (not even a bulb has burnt out yet), both of my tire pressure monitoring units inside the rims needed replacement (not because anything malfunctioned - because Honda made the batteries non-replaceable - duh?!). About $270 plus labor per wheel.

Point is, that alone more than paid for the warranty.

On a Beemer - no brainer - buy a warranty. Repairs on my 2005 R1200RT would have paid for extended coverage 3 times over - if I had only known.

Another thought; simply keep and ride the bike until near the end of its original warranty period... then sale it or trade it for a new model,
maybe even the same bike.

You get max value because it's in warranty and with lower (BMW) miles, the savings of not buying the extended warranty likely pays the tax/fees.

If you shop timely there is usually significant savings on end of model year offerings and should you need cheap financing it's quite often available,
frequently with a goodie like a free gps.

There's a "price to play" anyhow for this endeavor... and it's nice never buying a battery & brake pads, ect... plus the OEM seat may be better,
and oh those new tires!

There is depreciation and warranty service costs to apply to the equation.

This approach may not even be in the ballpark of your consideration, and it wasn't for me...
until my 13' RT fell off the Jerr-Dan flatbed Motorad arranged tow vehicle.

With about four months of riding season remaining after the significant repairs, my decision was easy... I wasn't taking any chances, and traded.

I did not have an extended warranty, and simply couldn't be confident that future related problems would not develop.

I've traveled on two other non-warranty BMW's, and also still have an older bike. But my last five years of travel have been under new warranty,
and I've rather enjoyed that.

This is just my two cents worth, and no matter how you do it... there is a cost in dollars!

"travel'n" john

So What Company(ies) Are Best

I know I and others would like to know WHICH company(ies) members who've purchased extended warranties, and made successful claims, have used. Extended warranty contracts vary with dealerships, but there may also be independent companies members have contracted with outside of dealership representation. Even if the calculus suggests extended warranties for persons expecting to keep their bike beyond 36 months/36,000 miles are well advised, not all companies are equal. Which have performed best for those of you willing to share your claim experience?

1957mpd said:

...My dealership told me I could buy their recommended third-party plan right up until the end of BMW's 36-month/36,000 warranty ends, but when I tried to nail down just what the cost and coverage would be, things became "vague." So for now, I've passed on that...

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It's a shame that BMW doesn't offer something like the Suzuki Extended Protection Plan, or SEPP. The "extended warranty" is offered by the manufacturer, not by a third party. You still have questions as to what will be covered, but I think there's more trust in the manufacturer standing behind the warranty ...since you already trust the manufacturer for the bike you're buying. Oneida Suzuki offers probably the best price for the SEPP. $800 for 72 months. When I had a Honda, I had found the same kind of program, and at a price no one locally could match.

You can also find threads where everyone points to one source as having the lowest price in the country. There's no vagueness about cost and coverage. The vagueness is the salesman sizing your pocket book up for how much he can charge you.

Chris

Bit of an update- looks like the terms for the extended warranty offered by this dealership (new 2017 GS) would be for a total of 7 years- 3 factory + 4 additional from date of sale- for $1399. Devil is still in the details since the shop is closed today, but assuming that this covers everything but "normal wear and tear", this doesn't sound too terrible. It's all about the exclusion list at this point...
Still don't know who the vendor is though.

wjrich100 said:

Bit of an update- looks like the terms for the extended warranty offered by this dealership (new 2017 GS) would be for a total of 7 years- 3 factory + 4 additional from date of sale- for $1399. Devil is still in the details since the shop is closed today, but assuming that this covers everything but "normal wear and tear", this doesn't sound too terrible. It's all about the exclusion list at this point...
Still don't know who the vendor is though.

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I would ask specifically about the terms and conditions for coverage of the shocks and electronic componets of the suspension and the LED headlight. These are expensive items and their failure is subject interpretation as being normal wear and tear. If a shock fails after 50,000 miles and five years, then will it be replaced at no cost, a prorated cost or deemed normal wear and tear and not covered? Similar questions about the LED headlight.

Actually when it comes to buying a motorcycle there is just no way I would ever buy new especially BMW. The local dealer told me that the only way I could get a discount on the extended warranty is to buy the coverage at the time I bought the bike. If not the cost would be a full $2K later on before the 3 year warranty expires. That's another rip off from BMW as far as I'm concerned. When you buy a new BMW you are tethered to a dealer like it or not. It was really nice to be able to save about $100 the other day when I bought a new improved rear shock for my 2010 FJR from a third party no dealer involved. Try that for new BMW OEM parts. This was a new Yamaha OEM shock for the 2017 FJR which is an exact fit on all previous FJRs. Then I sold the used shock to a guy with a 2004 FJR and he even bought me lunch.

daboo said:

It's a shame that BMW doesn't offer something like the Suzuki Extended Protection Plan, or SEPP. The "extended warranty" is offered by the manufacturer, not by a third party. You still have questions as to what will be covered, but I think there's more trust in the manufacturer standing behind the warranty ...since you already trust the manufacturer for the bike you're buying. Oneida Suzuki offers probably the best price for the SEPP. $800 for 72 months. When I had a Honda, I had found the same kind of program, and at a price no one locally could match.
Chris

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Looks like Honda’s plan for touring bikes is $1070 MSRP and extends coverage to 8 years:

http://powersports.honda.com/protec...eeyear.aspx?forcedesktop=true&redirected=true

Odd that BMW no longer offers an extended warranty like the others.

The price for Honda's extended warranty varies, depending on how much commission the salesman wants to make. I don't remember who the contact was now, but there was a guy selling the warranty on the east coast that was offering it for about half of that price. He was making his money off of quantity of sales, not on one here or there. I suspect you could get it for about $700 or less if you know where to buy it.

Chris

The four year Yamaha Extended Service (YES) plan on my FJR cost $384. It expires in September and I recently got a letter offering an additional two year extension for around $600 (if I recall correctly). Since I have not used the extended warranty for anything I will not buy the additional two years.

Extended Warranty

I remember an old contract law professor in college years ago lamenting on how " warranties always favor industry, this includes extended warranties." This advice has served me and saved me well through the years.