I would like to say a big thanks to this community. After coming across a deal on a 2015 M5 and receiving a big bonus from my job, I am trading in my 2007 GS350. She has 243,000 miles and started giving me issues here lately; esp tranny issues. Last night I pulled my Focal component sets out and tonight I will be pulling out of the trunk, a 12W3 JL sub, two JL amps, JL sound processors and Focal crossover. I only had this stuff for a year and debating whether to sell or not. The M5 has a badass Bang and Olufsen system in it and I guess I will give it a try before deciding to sell this stuff.

I have relied on this board for many DIY projects and will be ever grateful for your posts and support of the 7 years of ownership.

Cheers!

 

Enjoy the new car! Unlike the stuffy Euro car owners, we always welcome old friends back, so do drop by and show us the M5 progress in the future. Best of luck!

 

Definitely swing by to let us know how you like it!

Best of luck on your ventures!

 

Having owned a BMW I cannot stress this enough, get a warranty!! Enjoy your new ride friend.

 

Best of luck with the new ride! Please drop in and let of us know or your ownership/maintenance/reliability experiences with the M5 over the years.

 

You got it gents. I am doing a lot of research on the extended warranty and like with everything else there are pros and cons. I bought my GS and purchase the extended warranty and never even got close to a claim. Each month I put aside 100 for "just in case" and here I am with a pile of cash... Oh well.

Any advice on purchasing a warranty? The car has 7 mths or 28k miles left on the factory warranty...………… sooo….. Still get the insurance?

 

I went with warranty Direct, it cost about 3 Grand and it almost paid for itself three times over within the first 16 months. Hence why I strongly suggest you get a warranty.

 

I'm a consultant in the vehicle service contract business (14 years now) and represent a very large underwriter/administrator. Having a TON of experience with the claims side of the business and seeing first hand from working with dozens and dozens of retail car dealers.....I would definitely recommend getting an "exclusionary coverage" contract from a quality company. German cars are much more expensive to repair when they fail, compared to Japanese. This is not an opinion, rather a fact. 25 years of actuarial data is the foundation of my recommendation. Exclusionary coverage is as close to "factory basic warranty" as you can get. Instead of listing the components the coverage DOES COVER (stated component coverage)...it covers ALL components EXCEPT those that are SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED. So, it will list items like "spark plugs, brake pads, belts, hoses, clamps, bulbs, filters, etc. Basically your wear and tear items. Trust me....you want "exclusionary coverage" and don't settle for less. Yes, it will be more $$$ but a damn alternator on an M5 will run you 3 times what a domestic or japanese car would...especially at a BMW service department where their labor rates will be in the $140-160/hr range (depending on what part of the country you live in). Do NOT buy something "online" or over the internet. You'll be throwing your money away. Buy from a reputable and high sales volume dealership. Why? Because reputable dealers will vet any vendor they do business with (VSC providers, etc) and will use companies that have good track records for paying claims. Also, if they sell a lot of cars...it means they're selling a lot of VSC's. When/if they have a customer who has a warranty claim problem they can call and throw their weight around to the administrator. The administrator will "take care" of their larger accounts at a much higher level than some dealership that sells very few. Remember, the dealer is the customer of the warranty company. So, they will try to keep their better customers happy. If you plan on driving this M5 for a long time.....get coverage. On those cars it doesn't take a catastrophic failure for the service contracts to "pay off" financially. Tons of small failures still cost $1000 on those cars.

 

Thank you for your insight. Over the years I've always heard of these "extended" warranties banks and companies offered.

I always considered them the worlds biggest ripoff as they always like to find ways (from family's personal experiences) to NOT cover the vehicle under warranty. Always an excuse why they refuse to use OEM parts from the dealership, but rather some B.S. no-name chinese branded aftermarket part (only to be prone to failures in the long, or shall i say short run).

I've had NOTHING but terrible experiences with them, and have over the years warded many friends and family members AWAY from paying for extended services like that.

Anywho, now i know.... always look for what they call EXCLUSIONARY COVERAGE. Ha! Learn something new everyday!

 

You bring up an additional point, regarding "OEM parts". Some providers offer an "OEM part" option on their vehicle service contracts. If so, they will be at a premium. A factory-backed VSC (like BMW's VSC, or Ford's) will usually allow for OEM parts as needed for a covered failure. Aftermarket providers (those contracts administered and underwriten by a non manufacturer) USUALLY use verbiage in regards to replacement parts as "parts of like kind and quality including new, remanufactured, aftermarket and used as is customary in the automotive industry"..or something very close to that. They are priced to the selling dealer to allow for them to use a new part but it may be a Napa part, rather than a BMW part that costs 2x as much. These part decisions are made on a case by case basis depending on pricing for OEM compared to aftermarket. "used parts" are going to be in the heavy line components like transmissions, engines, etc....which are supplied by large used part companies like LKQ, etc. Most people are not car "enthusiasts" who spend time on model specific websites like we do. They don't know OEM from Walmart....rather, they just know that it's July, hot as F#&K and their AC isn't blowing cold air. The repair shop (indy) or franchise service dept will take different routes to the same solution (cold air coming out of vents). Indy shops have no problem using aftermarket parts as long as they've got warranty with the part. Franchise serv depts want to use OEM because it's an additional profit center of the dealership. (sold to service from parts at one level of profit and then from service to customer for an additional level). Thats why many people call them "stealerships", lol. If you want OEM parts....buy a VSC from the same company that made your car. Plus, ask the salesperson up front...or better yet, walk back to the service MGR and ask him point blank. "Hey, does this XYZ warranty i'm considering allow for OEM parts in your service dept??". He'll tell you.
This is not to say that aftermarket are "not good", rather...they are usually cheaper cost to the dealer and cheaper for them to sell to their customers, but still make some $$$ on them. It's like a lot of things....the more you pay in price...the more you can typically expect for it. Again, if the dealer is legit...they're probably selling a company that's pretty solid. Also, you need to know what the max paid labor rate is on the VSC you are considering. Most have a limit per hour they won't exceed. So, if your contract allows up to $105/hr and the BMW serv dept is at $155/hr...you're paying the difference. Again, like OEM parts, ask the serv mgr/salesman up front what the contracts max rate is AND what their serv dept labor rate is so you know UP FRONT.

 

Once again, many thanks for all the detailed insight. It's greatly appreciated and I'll definitely be referencing this post to our future members considering a VSC.

Sorry OP for going a bit off topic, but this is great information for anyone endeavoring in future purchases. I'll probably be PMing you in the later future when I start on my search for a GS-F/RC-F! The 3GS is just about ready to be retired and turned into a garage queen for car shows only .