Certified Pre-Owned vs. Extended Service Contract

Edmunds.com

Certified Pre-Owned vs. Extended Service Contract

Republished: 04/29/2009  (Original Date: 12/17/2003)  - by Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor Brian Moody, Road Test Editor

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ae1606

I am a shattered BMW enthusiast. BMW has thrown in the towel on their vehicles as credible long-term products. Go to this link from their website http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/CPO/Warranty.aspx , look about half way down to "See what is not covered for CPO vehicles retailed on or after 1/1/2014". The "not covered" list includes things like door locks, sunroof, electronics, bushings, struts, tie-rods, headlights, door handles, water leaks (not a joke), mounts (as in transmission and engine mounts, not a joke), light bulbs, interior dashboards (not a joke) and on and on. If your dash-board goes dark and it's not covered, what's the point behind "CPO" again? Seems kind of important. What's worse, BMW used to sell policies for $1,500-$3,000 allowing you to upgrade their CPO "warranty" effectively to bumper-to-bumper coverage. They no longer do this. Some dealers try and get around it by working with third party insurers but the prices are staggering and that's because these are PRECISELY the things that often fail on BMWs inside 60k-70k miles. I've owned 5 BMWs, have LOVED driving them, love the cars but have had chronic quality problems with all but one of them. Wonderful cars to drive but the changes to the CPO warranty and the lack of supplemental policies seems to be a clear flag that declining BMW quality makes these vehicles more toys for enjoyment rather than also being reliable vehicles for transportation.