Extended Warranty

[sdixit]

What's the general opinion regarding Extended Warranty on a new R1200RT?

 

The dealer is offering me 6 year unlimited mileage warranty for $1190, or a 7 year unlimited milelage warranty for $1325.

Both these are zero deductible warranties that cover engine, transmission, primary drive, final drive, seals, gaskets, brakes, and all factory options that came with the bike. Does not cover wear items like brake pads, oil filter, oil, tires etc.

 

Edit: Also includes Electrical systems, and the warranty is transferrable.

[Boffin]

First off, welcome to the board

 

Second: If you put in the miles, that sounds like a good deal to me. I would buy it.

 

Andy

[Paul Mihalka]

If you ride high mileage and you will run out of 36.000 miles before the end of the 3 year factory warranty period, it definitely is a good deal. Just in case, the "6 year" warranty starts when you buy the bike so it really is a 3 year extension of the factory warranty. The "7 year" warranty is a 4 year extension. The best part is the unlimited mileage for a high mileage rider. Make sure the warranty includes ABS components. Some don't have it or charge extra for it.

[maxfrankel]

On average, the extended warranty is a bad deal since it is priced to pay for needed repairs and allow for overhead and profit by the insuring company. Given the potential exposure is something you likely could handle, invest the money. Odds are, you'll come out ahead! In my own experience of owning BMWs for the past 43 years. I have never spent $1000 on repairs for any of my bikes. But if you plan to put much over 75K on the bike during the warranty period, you might get some use out of the policy...

[sdixit]

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

I'll probably put about 12,000 miles in a good year (given that I'll also ride my other bike which is an 1150R). So there is little risk of running over 36K miles in the first 3 year period.

 

What worries me after the factory warranty period are things like TPM, ESA, ASC, ABS, and cruise control. But one could argue that things like these typically fail during the first few years of operation. It's also possible that extended warranty does not cover the cost of diagnosing the problem. I'll have to go back and check with the dealer.

 

I have never bought extended warranties on cars (Subarus) that I have purchaced, and have had good luck with that decision so far.

 

FWIW, the extended warranty is not through BMW. It's through a company called "Western Service Contract Corp."

[flyingreg]

I am a firm believer on extended warranties. But the price seems awful high. The same term length for my RT was about $500 less and I didn't have to bargain for that price. My deductable is $25 per occurrence. A final drive will cost you several times the price of the warranty.

 

Shop around if the dealer will not budge on the price. You can purchase an extended warranty from any dealership regardless of where you have purchased the bike.

 

And make sure the warranty covers the ABS system. This is usually an add-on option.

 

BTW, all extended warranty companies are not created equal, do your homework.

[Ken H.]

Well as you can already see, this is a highly polarized subject, which in the end only you can decide.

 

FWIW all consumer advocacy groups advise against them on all products. There is a reason they are pushed hard everywhere on everything; they are high margin product that is only ever used in an exceedingly small number of instances.

[Paul Mihalka]

Extended warranties and their pricing is calculated to make money on the average rider. If you are a way above average mileage rider, as many of us are, with the unlimited mileage warranty you are ahead of the curve and it is a good deal.

[keithb]

I have an 05 RT with 23K miles on it and have not opted for the extended warranty yet. Three years ago I bought a 4Runner and bought the extended warranty to go to 2009 or 100K miles for $800 because I use the vehicle for work. Two days ago the A/C went on the fritz. It was not cooling. Took the SUV in and it was fixed along with a leaking timing chain cover. Cost to do the job was believe it or not- $795. Can you believe that? One visit and it paid for itself. Now if anything goes wrong in the next 28K miles it is repaired on their dime and not mine. So in my case it was worth the investment.