No Warranty. Take a chance?

[Norman12]

Hello All.

I am a new member currently shopping for an M760 and a B7.

When considering the costs of third party warranty's, their lack of solid coverage and their cost, we are now considering buying a slightly older and higher mileage car (45k-65k miles).

Many of the higher mileage cars seem to have passed the test of time very well. Bodies look good, interiors are immaculate and these cars currently run, drive and mostly appear as good as new.

With so many M760's available, parsing through options, colors, interiors, location and condition has proven to be a challenge. The B7's are certainly easier to shop and compare.

Is it too much of a gamble to spend $40k on a higher mileage car vs spending $70k++ (plus cost of warranty) on a newer lower mileage car? I think the chances of getting stung for $20k-$30k worth of repairs over 2-3 years and 15k to 25k miles of total use is rather minimal (especially with the M760).

Unfortunately, BMW Platinum warranty's are typically not available do to the age of the cars in question. Of course, we would have a comprehensive PPI done prior to purchasing any vehicle.

Any thoughts?

David

[dc5525]

There is no shortage of commentary regarding doing extended warranties on this forum. I never do them as I prefer to self-insure. I think the bottom line to always consider is that in your case...you are buying basically a $150-$160K car at a significant discount and if something goes wrong you are paying to repair a $150-$160K car regardless what you paid for it used.

Owning a V-12 BMW is way outside my wheelhouse..if you buy her show us photos!

[Derived]

My M760 has been extremely reliable for what it's worth...and I haven't really seen one counterpoint to this so far. The electrical complexity is a bit concerning for long-term prospects, but so far so good. The drivetrain at least I think will be bulletproof.

As for the B7...the V8 is IMO not a very reliable engine long-term, which is a shame.

[m760iM5]

I am not sure about non BMW dealerships, but I bought my M760i from a dealer a few years ago. The dealer has different powertrain warranty plans, you'll generally see a 3 year plan for about 6-7k, maybe for another 50k miles. The car is fairly bullet proof with the exception of the cooling system, the engine just runs hot. The warranty has helped me with a radiator, but I had to pay for the cooling tubes plus a 500 dollar deductible. With this car, the warranty plan is a little extra and the deductible is higher than the average car, but that's to offset the risk by the warranty company. As far as maintenance plans go, there is no way that you'll be able to get anything other than the oil change package. It probably costs $500-700 and pays for itself if you drive a lot.

If you buy from a BMW dealer, you can expect that the PPI will be on point, they service the vehicles fairly well before they sell them. You should ask for a print out of the maintenance and service records. Have them provide a carfax and check for any accidents. Good deals are between 30-60k miles on used ones. Prices for this car vary 50-70k, more or less. Real low mileage M760s can run 90-125k.

I would comment that there are not a lot of M760is on the market, probably because they didn't make a lot of them. I rarely see color combos out there that would be perfect for me, so if you see your car, pick it up as the right combo might be hard to come by. Generally you'll see sapphire black, white, grey, silver and you're lucky to find carbon black, blue and even luckier to find red or purple. I wanted imola red on imola red, not many of those were made...

Mine is Carbon Black and it's grown on me a lot. We do a lot of driving and have a lot of miles on ours. The engine is solid, the cooling system is lacking. If you'd like some information on some of the costs of the maintenance items, I can note that brakes rotors and pads are about $1,800 rear and 2k front. The rotors should last a while, but you may have to replace them about 50-80k miles depending. Keep up on your brake pads to keep the rotors in good shape, that's not expensive. Get your oil changes through the maintenance plan and you just need to pay for air filters when you take your car to the dealer. I prefer an independent shop that works with my maintenance and warranty plans to avoid the dealer when I can.

If you don't mind the high price, high warranty plan for catastrophic failures, poor MPG and expensive maintenance, I highly recommend the car. It's extremely comfortable, in sport mode it's an absolute beast and the cool factor (at least for me) is great.

Good luck!

[BlackM750i]

Originally Posted by m760iM5

If you'd like some information on some of the costs of the maintenance items, I can note that brakes rotors and pads are about $1,800 rear and 2k front. The rotors should last a while, but you may have to replace them about 50-80k miles depending. Keep up on your brake pads to keep the rotors in good shape, that's not expensive.

That must be going through the dealer. You can definitely save a lot of money if you buy the rotors, pads, and wear sensor for a total of around $600-$650 by buying the parts yourself. Either diy if you can or find an indy instead of going to the dealer. You definitely won't pay $1200+ in labor for 2 hours or less of work. I just did the swap to the M760i rotors, pads, calipers, and sensor.

[m760iM5]

I just checked my invoice. I think I confused my F10 M5 brake jobs. For my M760i, new rotors, pads and sensors were $970 for the rears and there was 3 hours of labor at $200 an hour and tax, total is $1,659.73, including tax on the parts. I'm not sure where you got the parts from, but that is a solid price! My independent had to order the parts from the dealer and probably charged me 1 extra hour of labor. No biggie, I'm not into working on my cars, so I have to pay for the labor.

[Norman12]

Thanks for the responses. Our hunt continues. As we continue our search, we're watching the prices beginning to either plummet or adjusting quickly to reflect more accurate pricing in the slowing used car landscape. I think we are a month or so away from being able to pick up a moderately optioned pre-LCI M760i with 20k-40k miles for mid-$30k's. Many are already mid-$40's after negotiations. I see tremendous value at these price points.

[m760iM5]

Good luck with your search. I thought that the prices you quoted were a little off, but I see that you probably use a different currency than me. What color preference do you have?

I'm expecting over the next few years that auto prices will drop a little. I sold a few cars last year and I hope to jump into an LCI F90 M5 soon. I'm stuck on either Ferrari red or Imola red.

[JellyStyle]

I pay 300 a month for full coverage, which is a diamond exclusionary policy (only one to get), with a 10k a month limit in claims. I already had a 9500 claim in the first 2 months of car ownership (bought the B7 used), i can keep the coverage as long as i pay the 300/mo, regardless of miles and keep it going..

From my research, this is the best deal you'll find, and it never expires.. And they cant cancel it on me either, even if if they pay out 100k and I've paid them only 5k over the years. ha