Newbie question about factory warranty on used Z4MR

[glock40]

Hi all, leaning towards getting a black/black 2007 Z4 M Roadster with service date 12/2007 from a local dealer. I have a couple of questiosn about BMW warranty and maintenance. This would be my first BMW.

1. Is the soft top covered by the remaining factory warranty? What is/is not covered by BMW concerning the soft top?

2. Are any of the items that would normally be covered under warranty not covered if they are the more expensive ///M items?

3. Same for maintenance. Would the dealer, for instance, charge me a premium oil change or break change fee during the factory warranty coverage?

4. Finally, are there any maintenance or repair fees I can expect to pay out of pocket that the factory won't cover in the remianing two years?

The answers provided might sway me enough to purchase or not purchase my first Bimmer, so please fire away!

[VitaminT]

I am not sure on the exact coverages for the original warranty. Most stuff seems to get covered without an issue, but one guy did have a refused claim on a ripped softop at the seam. His local dealer claimed he had stored the top down while wet/damp.

Most things are covered under maintenance as well. Scheduled oil changes/inspections, every 15k or whatever the dash says. Brakes are covered and I believe the clutch disk (not sure about the flywheel/pressure plate). Tires, rotate/balance, and alignment are NOT covered by warranty or maintenance.

I bought my used 2006 M Roadster in March and have so far been out $0. With that said you need to be aware that once the coverage expires things are quite a bit more expensive on a M. Brakes are more, oil changes are more, inspections which include a valve lash adjustment on the M are quite substantial.

[vdubb2bmw]

OP, if you are worried about maintenance cost, DON'T get a BMW and definitely don't get an M car. Parts for germany cars are more expensive than japanese cars. I suggest you get a luxury japanese car. Parts and maintenance is cheaper. Truth me, I owned and maintain japanese and germany cars. I perfer germany cars because they are fun as hell to drive and I like working on them. I have a toyota for my DD and damn thing won't die! Only thing that failed on my toyota was an alternator bearing, but it was the OEM alternator with 158,000 miles on it.

[Steve P.]

Buy a Japanese car? Sure, they may have some of the best quality ratings, cheaper parts etc. but the driving experince is not even close to what you get from a BMW, not to mention an M car. As vdubb said, all depends what your after, fun to drive or every day driver.

Pull the service history of the car, this will tell you if anything has been replaced or repaired, will give you some indication the quality of the car you are getting. Yes, M cars will cost more to maintain in the long run, but most things in life that bring joy cost money, only live once!

Everyone I know who has bought a BMW ends up being a BMW owner for life!

[KenTenn]

I am the guy who has the top with cracks that BMW won't stand behind. Their position is that the previous owner put the top down when it was wet and that caused the cracks. Without rehashing the whole thing, sufice it to say I am extremely pissed as there are NO signs of stains, mildew, etc., to support their claim. I think there has been a decision made by BMW to disallow any warranty issues that aren't blatant factory issues, in order to improve profits. When I bought my first BMW (Z3) they were much more focused on satisfying the customer. That seems to have deteriorated in the last 5 or 6 years.

Vit T is correct, maintenance items are more expensive - oil changes ($10/liter vs $6/qt) brakes, Insp II (which includes valve adjustment) was quoted by local dealer at about $1800. Most cars are out of warranty by Insp II so many find an independant to do it for less.

These are great driving cars, but if, as in my case, BMW won't stand behind the warranty, they are almost too expensive for most people to own. I'm probably get blasted for that last statement by those that say "if you can't afford it, don't buy it....yada, yada, yada". I have a bad taste in my mouth due to the top issue - I've got a three year old (originally) $60,000 car that will at some point require I spend $2000 on a new top. To me, that's bullshit. But, they ARE great driving cars...

[wildag]

Originally Posted by glocktop

1. Is the soft top covered by the remaining factory warranty? What is/is not covered by BMW concerning the soft top?

Yes, the soft top is covered; unless they can claim that an act of god, or the owner has caused the issue. The BMW warranty covers everything including maintenance costs for 4 years or 50k miles.

Originally Posted by glocktop

2. Are any of the items that would normally be covered under warranty not covered if they are the more expensive ///M items?

Everything is covered.

Originally Posted by glocktop

3. Same for maintenance. Would the dealer, for instance, charge me a premium oil change or break change fee during the factory warranty coverage?

No maintenance fees for the first 4 years or 50k miles. I've had my car in 5 times in the last few months for various issues and not spent a dime. Even got a loaner 335i for a few days more than once. All free.

Originally Posted by glocktop

4. Finally, are there any maintenance or repair fees I can expect to pay out of pocket that the factory won't cover in the remianing two years?

You should not wait for the factory 15k mile oil change interval. You should pay for an extra oil change at 7k or so between the factory scheduled maintenance. That will run you about $200 per change. But that's actually not much more than what any other car would cost for oil changes.

You can use the factory maintenance schedule, but the longevity of your engine will be compromised (and BMW knows this).

[VitaminT]

$125 is a good deal considering the stuff at Tischner is like $90. My dealer would probably want $350 and act like you were crazy if you said that was high.

[wildag]

Originally Posted by shift@red

Where do you pay 200 for a non warranty oil change? My dealer charges me $125 if i do an extra non warrantied oil change.
While its good to get the extra oil changes, its not a neccesity unless you auto-X or track a lot. The cars ARE using synthetic oil and obviously BMW wouldnt have cost cut to 15k miles unless they were sure the cars could go that long without having serious side effects that would result in damage to the cars costing them even more money to then fix.
If you track the car often, its a good idea to do it every 5-7K miles, but if you dont there is not too many reasons to go above and beyond what BMW quotes.

These places all charge at or near $200 for an S54 engine oil change. Note that an S54 oil change costs more than a non-M.

Fairfax, VA BMW
Sterling, VA BMW
Huntsville, AL BMW

Go ahead and use the factory maintenance. Then do a valve service around 75k and let us know what your oil looks like. I'm sure you'll be interested...

[hansaysso]

$200 for an oil change? wow....prices on the east are ridiculous....most i've paid for non-inspection oil change on my MC was $108.23 (including tax)

[glock40]

Hey all, I just got the used Z4MR a few days ago and I like it quite a bit. The remaining 2 years of factory warranty made me comfortable enough to buy a used BMW (expensive) with a soft top (also expensive). I take comfort in knowing if there are any bugs in the system that BMW will take care of it in the near term.

Unfortunately, do think my fears are confirmed for the soft top. On the freeway I am perceiving a lot of noise from the passenger side when the top is up. I will make that the subject of a new forum thread. Thanks.