Extended Warranty or Gamble

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iCJ

Active member
Joined
Feb 27, 2022
Messages
44
Hello all, I am looking for your expert opinions on if getting an extended warranty is worth it? It would be a Carmax maxcare one for 5 years 75,000 miles on a 2017 i3 Bev 20k miles for roughly $2,000.

Now I would rather not cough up an extra $2k but I have had a VW German car out of warranty and a Jaguar out of warranty, and yes the rumors are true it is BRUTAL. My current Jaguar is still under warranty and has been freakishly reliable, which has me questioning if my luck will run out with the BMW i3. I get that the BEV has less moving parts and the electric drivetrain seems to be pretty solid, its those other things that go wrong like HVAC, Media Screens, power window motors, side mirror motors, etc that seem to end up always being $5,000 to fix and always comes in pairs. So even setting aside $5,000 collecting some interest along the way, it is that $10k repair a month or 2 after the $3k repair that has me shaking and leaning towards the warranty.

So what do you guys think? Has anyone had any crazy repair bills during their ownership they would like to share?

Thank you in advance,
CJ
 
I have never purchased extended warranties, except when they're manufacturer-packaged with the two CPO cars I've owned. With all the exclusions and deductibles, the 3rd-party extensions always seem like such a rip-off, and I've never found myself in a position where I've owned a car that extended warranty coverage would have paid off.

That said, I've heard really great things about the CarMax warranty, and I agree, little repairs can get expensive on European imports. Part of the cost comparison is pricing out repairs using salvage parts vs. factory new. There's a big price difference there. An if you scope out www.car-part.com which is a sort of Craigslist for junkyards, you'll see there is a good selection of i3s to pick parts from for pennies on the dollar.
 
Thanks eNate. I have never done a 3rd party or extended warranty before either. Read a few people here had a really expensive A/C repair bill and seat heat fail bill. I don't think the parts look to be the most expense on the repair bill, most of it is the labor. Maybe if I can find an independent bmw repair shop I could trust then I would skip the warranty?
 
I decided to skip on the warranty and just roll with my fingers crossed. From what I have been reading it doesn't seem to be common issues that arise and not many users complaining. I think If was buying a used REX I would get the warranty.
 
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