[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by brysal

Hey there! This is my first post so be gentle! I have scoured the forum here already but can't seem to find enough info. I am getting a new 2023 X7 40i in a few weeks and had a questions about Tire Warrantee pricing and if anyone had any good recommendations. Im in MA. The dealer wants $3800 plus for their 5 year warrantee which seems way out of wack and is a hard pass. My previous cars have all been in the $1800 to $2600 range.

1) Can I only buy the BMW tire & wheel package at the time of purchase?
2) Any other recommendations on fair market pricing?
3) Or can you recommend another dealer, if it's an option, who has more seasonable pricing?

Thanks all in advance.

What!!!?? $3800!!?? For what?
Man just don’t get any and next time you change your tires get a warranty for each tire which costs ~$20-30 bucks per tire!. You can also buy a warranty after the fact if your tires are still brand new (few 100s of miles).
Wheels, no warranty for me (waste of money). You would rarely ever need wheels warranty if you have 21" or 22". If you got the 23", sorry, but it was a huge mistake (poor ride quality, super expensive/rare tires, an a ton of costly wheels damage with time on roughs roads "the X7 is too heavy for the 23")

Some tire shops can also sell you a warranty even though u didn’t buy the tire from them. Check “Discount Tires” I buy warranty from them for the tires on my new vehicle, sometimes for less than $30 a tire as long as the tire still looks new. FYI- they do flat tire fix for free for anyone, lol (even if you don't have a warranty or didn't buy tires from them, they fire flat tires for free for anyone!!!).

If you have the 23” wheels, that’s a difference story. I’d never get the 23”. I have 21” on both of my X7s and never had issues finding a tire (ever from Costco) and have paid less then 25 bucks for warranty on each tire.

As rule of thump (for me): never ever buy any options warranties from BMW directly at time of purchase. Don't get excited. Get the vehicle, do your research, and buy later when you have the time to think about all the options you truly need. Don't let them get you with expensive warranties while you are excitied for your new baby/vehicle.

[mitch65]

Originally Posted by brysal

Hey there! This is my first post so be gentle! I have scoured the forum here already but can't seem to find enough info. I am getting a new 2023 X7 40i in a few weeks and had a questions about Tire Warrantee pricing and if anyone had any good recommendations. Im in MA. The dealer wants $3800 plus for their 5 year warrantee which seems way out of wack and is a hard pass. My previous cars have all been in the $1800 to $2600 range.

1) Can I only buy the BMW tire & wheel package at the time of purchase?
2) Any other recommendations on fair market pricing?
3) Or can you recommend another dealer, if it's an option, who has more seasonable pricing?

Thanks all in advance.

I usually stay away from the Tire & Wheel protection but for my wife with 22 Inch wheels I had to have it, here is why:

- My wife always goes over potholes and speed bumps hard. The 2023 X7 22 Inch wheels cost over $1000 each and the tires are expensive as well

- With the BMW branded Tire & Wheel plan my dealer will replace the tires rather than try to plug or patch them. Some dealers try to sell you a cheaper plan not from BMW, that will insist on a repair instead of replacement if possible.

With the Platinum & Cosmetic options, the BMW Tire & Wheel Protection covers 8 cosmetic repairs. On her last car we used 7 of them from her "Curb Scraping" the wheels. It also includes lost key replacement, paintless dent removal and windshield repairs

-With the BMW Plan, if you need a tire or wheel and it is on backorder, my dealer will give us a loaner to drive until the tire is available.

The cost of these plans has gone up quite a bit in the last few years and the price is very negotiable. Keep telling the finance person the price is too high and watch them lower it by the minute. You must buy the BMW plan at delivery. It can't be purchased afterwards.

[brd529]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

As rule of thump (for me): never ever buy any options warranties from BMW directly at time of purchase. Don't get excited. Get the vehicle, do your research, and buy later when you have the time to think about all the options you truly need. Don't let them get you with expensive warranties while you are excitied for your new baby/vehicle.

Here is a “menu” I got from a dealer today when picking up (21” wheels)



I declined them all. The guy seemed very disappointed. He offered to take $500 off the tire and wheel protection.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by brd529

Here is a “menu” I got from a dealer today when picking up (21” wheels)



I declined them all. The guy seemed very disappointed. He offered to take $500 off the tire and wheel protection.

Appearance protection package for $850, which is basically spraying a $10 bottle with SIO2 detailer and wipe it with a microfiber towel!.

Dent protection plan for $850!!… meanwhile it costs $25 to remove a dent!. How many dents do you have to have for the plan to just pay for itself?

And you know what? Once you read the terms and conditions for all these plans you will realize how bad they are. In many cases they cover only up to a certain threshold that tends to be too low.

In my opinion, all these plans are built that the dealer will make more money than the chance it pays you more for what you paid for the plan. Hence, it is always best to take the risk and go without any of these plans. The only one that may worth it is the mechanical warranty plan.

Of course you had to decline all these packages. And, of course the guy was upset. FYI, and I know this is 100% true, dealers make MORE money from these packages than they make on the entire vehichle itself!. He offered to take $500, but I guarantee you he can take THOUSANDS!. I got my 4-years (total of 8 years with factory warranty) up to 100K extended warranty platinum plan reduced from $7200 to $3700, believe it or not. Why? Because they knew I am not going to buy it no matter what unless for the $3700, and they are still making money on it at that price so they would rather give it to me at that price than not taking it at all.

[viperssd]

Have y'all ever looked at mechanical breakdown insurance through your car insurance company?

[brd529]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

Of course you had to decline all these packages. And, of course the guy was upset. FYI, and I know this is 100% true, dealers make MORE money from these packages than they make on the entire vehichle itself!. He offered to take $500, but I guarantee you he can take THOUSANDS!. I got my 4-years (total of 8 years with factory warranty) up to 100K extended warranty platinum plan reduced from $7200 to $3700, believe it or not. Why? Because they knew I am not going to buy it no matter what unless for the $3700, and they are still making money on it at that price so they would rather give it to me at that price than not taking it at all.

It’s such a racket - he said “most customers get the tire and wheel package” - a lot of unsubstantiated “everyone does it” kind of selling. Also people talk to these guys are at their most vulnerable - just made a big commit on a car now you are in a box with this guy who does 10 of these conversations a day.

I have to say, having purchased a Tesla last year that experience was 1000x better. With Tesla I know I paid the same price as everyone else, no haggling and no one trying to upsell me on delivery day. I know we had a thread on the dealership model a few months ago, so not going to dreg that up again, but the whole experience with the finance guy felt oddly adversarial.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by brd529

It’s such a racket - he said “most customers get the tire and wheel package” - a lot of unsubstantiated “everyone does it” kind of selling. Also people talk to these guys are at their most vulnerable - just made a big commit on a car now you are in a box with this guy who does 10 of these conversations a day.

I have to say, having purchased a Tesla last year that experience was 1000x better. With Tesla I know I paid the same price as everyone else, no haggling and no one trying to upsell me on delivery day. I know we had a thread on the dealership model a few months ago, so not going to dreg that up again, but the whole experience with the finance guy felt oddly adversarial.

Did he tell you the story of the guy who hit a pothole and broke 4 of his wheels and got a $10,000 warranty claimed covered? The same story that every finance manager at every dealer tells!. Yeah, probably in a movie!

[epicaccord]

The dealer protection plans all are great to protect your vehicle for sure.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by epicaccord

The dealer protection plans all are great to protect your vehicle for sure.

oh man... do you work for a dealer and sell those plans? Saying that ALL these plans are great is a bit unreasonable. Did you even look at the prices above and fully understand what people are getting for these ones? Appearance protection for $850? Do you know that this is basically spraying and rubbing a 10 bucks SiO2 bottle? Dent protection for nearly $700?

[nkole]

I think it was a sarcastic comment.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by nkole

I think it was a sarcastic comment.

I, I hope so, please!. lolol...

[Angelo_GraysonMiniBMW]

The finance department makes the money on selling warranties. It’s actually a big part of their income. Hasn’t anyone noticed why they can adjust the price without going to the manager. My buddy worked in car sales and then the service manager at Mercedes in Colorado not to long ago whom I also purchased my previous AMGs from before getting over them. I got the whole inside scoop on how these folks make money. Service department is the biggest money maker.

The finance dept. works from a bottom number “set cost” and then determines how much they want to increase that number. A couple factors are based on your loan approval and income. Generally, it’s the “let me feel them out” pricing model. A lot of times the pricing is already printed out and they will watch how you react. If you start to get anxious, they will cut that price by 20% thinking you’re getting an amazing deal. Very little is made on the actual car unless you pay markup.

Just reminder, the sales person is not your friend. They learn about you and provide that detail to the sales manager

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by Angelo1

The finance department makes the money on selling warranties. It’s actually a big part of their income. Hasn’t anyone noticed why they can adjust the price without going to the manager. My buddy worked in car sales and then the service manager at Mercedes in Colorado not to long ago whom I also purchased my previous AMGs from before getting over them. I got the whole inside scoop on how these folks make money. Service department is the biggest money maker.

The finance dept. works from a bottom number “set cost” and then determines how much they want to increase that number. A couple factors are based on your loan approval and income. Generally, it’s the “let me feel them out” pricing model. A lot of times the pricing is already printed out and they will watch how you react. If you start to get anxious, they will cut that price by 20% thinking you’re getting an amazing deal. Very little is made on the actual car unless you pay markup.

Just reminder, the sales person is not your friend. They learn about you and provide that detail to the sales manager

I like the last sentence.
I always act and bring my (second-face) when I go to the dealer and meet my salesman. This is so true. The salesman works for the dealership and is not your friend not matter how it seems like it is. You have to act like all you care about is price.

Another strategy: Always act like you are coming to see a base trim vehicle (aka, 40i X7), and then act like "aaah" I wish I can afford the M50/M60, and slowly drag the conversation there and keep acting like it is already above your budget (easier to let them feel insecure, and easier path to get a discount, especially for pre-owned vehicles). I understand that not many people prefer to act like they don't have the money, but it's your call. Also, on every single deal, always always always act (or do) like you are walking away. In fact, get your keys and stuff together and act like you are leaving, and if you have to, actually leave (just leave). At the very least, he's going to throw in a 500 or 1000 discount on the spot, or at least text you 15 min later or next morning... If he doesn't text you later, just send a text and tell him u thought about it and text him ur final offer, and he will at least meet u somewhere in between.

By the way, dealers have way more than 20% margin built in the price of these warranties. I have never negotiated less than 40% reduction on the first posted number. My most recent platinum extended warranty for 100K and 4-additional-years was negotiated all the way down 7400 to 3850 USD. The Finance manager claims that they are making no money at that number after I bought (wanting me to feel bad so next time I don't ask for the same again on my next vehicle).

[epicaccord]

Sounds like you guys got it all figured it out. You should apply this same conviction with your shoe salesman, your real estate agent, the grocery store, your attorney, entertainment theme parks, the electronic store, etc.

[epicaccord]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

oh man... do you work for a dealer and sell those plans? Saying that ALL these plans are great is a bit unreasonable. Did you even look at the prices above and fully understand what people are getting for these ones? Appearance protection for $850? Do you know that this is basically spraying and rubbing a 10 bucks SiO2 bottle? Dent protection for nearly $700?

Maybe for you. Did you know you can learn how to change your brake pads yourself? Or perhaps how to represent yourself in court for a traffic ticket? The prices charged for these are crazy high. It's basically using simple tools and reading up the laws. What I'm getting at is, some people are ok with paying someone else to do something they have no expertise or time to do. Blame the customers for the prices because they are the ones paying for it. I seen appearance packages at dealerships sold for $2000+.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by epicaccord

Maybe for you. Did you know you can learn how to change your brake pads yourself? Or perhaps how to represent yourself in court for a traffic ticket? The prices charged for these are crazy high. It's basically using simple tools and reading up the laws. What I'm getting at is, some people are ok with paying someone else to do something they have no expertise or time to do. Blame the customers for the prices because they are the ones paying for it. I seen appearance packages at dealerships sold for $2000+.

those who buy appearance packages for more than 100 bucks are literally blind to the process and have no idea what they are buying. In most cases, dealer is taking advantage of them. We've all been there before and learned through the process (though I don't recall appearance packages being part of dealer fake offering in the past), but good websites/forums like this can help to raise awareness. My friends don't believe me when I tell them that the appearance package it is just a 10-bucks ceramic spray bottle wiped (and they use only 5-10% of it per vehicle) with microfiber after a quick 10-15min buffing pass on the entire vehicle.

As a rule of thump, I never ever buy any package from the dealer other than extended warranty (AND ONLY IF AM BUYING PRE-OWNED). For brand new, I buy it as is, and can extend it as needed for the price I want by shopping everywhere as it gets closer to end of it's original warranty. Buying options at time of purchase is the worst decision one could ever make.

[epicaccord]

I agree the extended warranty is the most important compared to appearance packages.

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by epicaccord

Maybe for you. Did you know you can learn how to change your brake pads yourself? Or perhaps how to represent yourself in court for a traffic ticket? The prices charged for these are crazy high. It's basically using simple tools and reading up the laws. What I'm getting at is, some people are ok with paying someone else to do something they have no expertise or time to do. Blame the customers for the prices because they are the ones paying for it. I seen appearance packages at dealerships sold for $2000+.

Interesting perspective….. But IMHO, I think it comes down to people allowing the excitement of getting a new car (and we all have been there), combined with more impatience than most would care to admit, which drives these types of ill formed decisions. I say Ill informed because some of these packages, while ridiculous to many, may actually have value to some. But many don't want to take the little bit of time to educate themselves a bit first…

In today's age of almost infinite access to (good) information via the internet, there really is no excuse for someone to NOT be an informed consumer about any product - especially an expensive product like a car. But people have to choose to do so in order to be an informed consumer. And as you can see from these types of overpriced packages still being offered at dealers, there are still plenty of people who are willing to pay - in most cases due to their own ignorance and impatience, IMHO…

I have a real world personal example of how crappy one of these packages can be, especially the paint protection oriented ones…. A few months ago I purchased a cream puff of a used car (a BMW X3) for my wife from my local BMW dealer. As I am a budding car detailing enthusiast, I paid very close attention to the condition of the paint, which was almost flawless with very few swirls or scratch marks. I figured the previous owner must have taken really good care of it as the paint on this X3 was significantly better than any other X3 on the lot I was looking at. While negotiating the deal, there was a $500 paint protection package fee added by the dealer to the price. I said I did not want to pay for it (for many obvious reasons I won't go into in this post) and after negotiating for about an hour or so, the dealer knew I was not the type to go for it so it was removed from the purchase price.

Fast forward a few days later after the purchase when I did my own detailing of the car (or really just an initial thorough exterior wash), when done I noticed that a whole lot of scratches and swirl marks "appeared" - and not from my washing process either. So what happened? The $500 "paint protection" done by the dealer was just a cheap spray on wax/filler that is designed to fill in minor micro scratches and swirl marks, but has little to no durability after washing the car. Many may not even notice this level of detail when washing their car, which is fine. But the point I am trying to emphasize with this story is that there really is no reason to not be an informed consumer, if you choose to be one, so you really only pay for things you need (or want)….

Ok enough sounding like a Liberty Mutual commercial for me…..

[epicaccord]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Interesting perspective….. But IMHO, I think it comes down to people allowing the excitement of getting a new car (and we all have been there), combined with more impatience than most would care to admit, which drives these types of ill formed decisions. I say Ill informed because some of these packages, while ridiculous to many, may actually have value to some. But many don't want to take the little bit of time to educate themselves a bit first…

In today's age of almost infinite access to (good) information via the internet, there really is no excuse for someone to NOT be an informed consumer about any product - especially an expensive product like a car. But people have to choose to do so in order to be an informed consumer. And as you can see from these types of overpriced packages still being offered at dealers, there are still plenty of people who are willing to pay - in most cases due to their own ignorance and impatience, IMHO…

I have a real world personal example of how crappy one of these packages can be, especially the paint protection oriented ones…. A few months ago I purchased a cream puff of a used car (a BMW X3) for my wife from my local BMW dealer. As I am a budding car detailing enthusiast, I paid very close attention to the condition of the paint, which was almost flawless with very few swirls or scratch marks. I figured the previous owner must have taken really good care of it as the paint on this X3 was significantly better than any other X3 on the lot I was looking at. While negotiating the deal, there was a $500 paint protection [...]

Great point. Well thought out post.

[workstation]

Hello!

I just started reading the Bimmerpost forum a couple of months ago, and the information has been very helpful.

I realize that the cost of official BMW extended service plans and Ultimate Care +(x-years) is negotiable, but I am unsure if there is a penalty for purchasing either of these after the initial vehicle purchase. I thought I had read something on this, but am unable to find it. I seem to remember MB giving yo only 30-days to purchase their warranty. Does anyone here know?

[themama]

Originally Posted by workstation

Hello!

I just started reading the Bimmerpost forum a couple of months ago, and the information has been very helpful.

I realize that the cost of official BMW extended service plans and Ultimate Care +(x-years) is negotiable, but I am unsure if there is a penalty for purchasing either of these after the initial vehicle purchase. I thought I had read something on this, but am unable to find it. I seem to remember MB giving yo only 30-days to purchase their warranty. Does anyone here know?

I was told I can buy these anytime before the original ones expire.

[wamochi]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

oh man... do you work for a dealer and sell those plans? Saying that ALL these plans are great is a bit unreasonable. Did you even look at the prices above and fully understand what people are getting for these ones? Appearance protection for $850? Do you know that this is basically spraying and rubbing a 10 bucks SiO2 bottle? Dent protection for nearly $700?

you nailed it on the head - this user is indeed a finance manager and salesperson for extended warranties. caveat emptor - he was banned from the audiworld forums recently .