Thinking about an extended warranty

[Foot]

My GS is 6 months old and I am thinking about putting an extended warranty on it. The GS is great and definitely a keeper. I doubt I will be buying another bike soon. Is it worth the money to put an extended warranty on a bike? If it is, what is a good plan to look into?

 

Where I bought my GS offers a extended warranty from RPM and my local shop offers a plan though Assurant Solutions. Has anyone had dealing with either of these plans?

 

Alan

 

 

[Paul Mihalka]

If you plan to keep the bike and plan to ride high mileage, a extended warranty is a good thing. You can usually buy it shortly before the factory warranty expires by time or mileage, at the same price as for a new bike.

I don't know the plans you mention. If possible I would buy it from the shop that probably would service your bike. That way they can't say that the warranty is not good.

[Ken H.]

An extended warranty is never a good thing. The odds of having a warranted incident are heavily staked against you, and the odds of collecting if you do even more so. The industry is one of the top fraud complaint businesses out there. All consumer advocacy organizations say the same thing – never buy them on any product.

[ltljohn]

Ken,

I am proof that extended warranties can pay off. The last 2 I had paid serious repair bills in excess of the cost of the warranty. The one on my current vehicle may not but I will still be ahead in the long run. It is also like insurance for peace of mind. You have to have them provide an itemized list of everything they cover and do not cover in advance, if they don't want to don't buy it.

[Foot]

Thanks for the input, I am still undecided. I put a year extended warranty on Deb's SV650, so it's not been needed.

 

Alan

[Dave_in_TX]

An extended warranty is never a good thing. The odds of having a warranted incident are heavily staked against you, and the odds of collecting if you do even more so. The industry is one of the top fraud complaint businesses out there. All consumer advocacy organizations say the same thing – never buy them on any product.

 

I disagree. Altoough I almost never buy extended warranties, I got one for my 07 RT. You can thibk of it somewhat as an insurance policy and I think the risk/reward depends on your annual mileage. It cost me about $800 for my extended warranty but my OEM warrrenty was up at 18 months so I effectly converted an 18 month,36000 mile warranty into a five year, unlimited mileage warranty(in my case, that's about 125k miles). I've already used it a few times and although the repairs were less than the cost of the extended warranty, I feel the small difference is worth it to ensure that if a major failure occurs, someone else will be picking up the tab. OTOH, if I only drove about 12k miles per year, I would not have purchased the extended warranty.

[Highway41]

Was told by the dealer in Greensboro that BMW planned rolling out its own extended warranty within a year.

Bill

[KDeline]

An extended warranty is never a good thing. The odds of having a warranted incident are heavily staked against you, and the odds of collecting if you do even more so. The industry is one of the top fraud complaint businesses out there. All consumer advocacy organizations say the same thing – never buy them on any product.

 

Totally agree. How many have used one verse not? I would never get one. Out of the 17 BMW's we have owned it would have only paid for itself on Kate's RS, so the money I save on warranty gets spent on the repairs. I'm still way ahead.

[crmdgn]

Not sure but I think I heard very mixed opinions on RPM Assurant Solutions. Maybe check some other forums?

 

Personally, I do not get any extended warranties but I did on my HD and never needed it.

 

As they say on the street, caveat emptor!

 

paul

[elkroeger]

An extended warranty is never a good thing. The odds of having a warranted incident are heavily staked against you, and the odds of collecting if you do even more so. The industry is one of the top fraud complaint businesses out there. All consumer advocacy organizations say the same thing – never buy them on any product.

 

+1. Go to the library and see what Consumer Reports has to say about them. Extended warranties were invented because they generate a LOT of profit. If they weren't so profitable, they wouldn't push 'em. You're better off just keeping some money in a savings account for the unforseen repair job.

 

When you think about it, what's the point in buying a new vehicle anyway? You're basically insuring yourself against breaking down. But there are lots of older bikes on the road with people putting lots of miles on them. What do these guys do? They put up with the occasional repair / tow job because it's cheaper. It's more of a hassle, perhaps, but it's lots cheaper to put the miles on first, and only pay for repairs that are needed. Buying the extended warranty is essentially paying for the repair, before it's needed. And just like a gift card, the money you put in evaporates if you don't use it.

 

I don't know what a warranty costs, but suppose it's $20/mo. You're betting that much that your new bike will fail inside of the warranty period. I wouldn't buy a bike that I felt so confident about it failing.

[Philmor]

My attempted experience with Extended Warranty .......

 

I bought my RT new back in 2007 - 2 yr unlimited mileage (kms)and was told at the time that I could buy an extended warranty (Warranty Plus costing $515 pa) any time prior to the original warranty expiring.

 

I rocked up to the local dealer with about 1 month left on the original warranty, only to be told by both the local dealer & BMW Australia that BMW Australia hand changed their policy during 2008 and that you now had to buy the Extended Warranty at the time when you bought the new bike.

Therefore I was unable to buy an Extended Warranty.

I was peeved with not being told about the change in policy and with not being offered the extended warranty at the time when they changed the rules.

BMW Australia at your service.....

 

The dealers website still lists the offer to buy their extended warrantry anytime prior to the original warranty expiring - They say their website is out of date and that it does not apply...

 

With 2 EWS Immboliser ring failures and an oil level sight glass replaced under the original warranty I thought I might take at least 1 yr of extended warranty - now I am just hoping all goes well

 

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

In terms of dollars, statistically, insurance (this would include extended warranties) has to be a losing proposition for the insured, and a winning proposition for the insurer. Otherwise insurers would not be in business. I'd be curious to hear statistics (not anecdotes) that address the question of whether or not extended warranties are worth it if you ride a lot of miles.

 

The only situation I can think of where insurance may be worthwhile is when you simply cannot afford to lose. A large group of homeowners will pay out more in home insurance premiums over a lifetime of ownership than the insurer will pay out in claims, but this may not be true when boiled down to any one single homeowner: if your house and everything in it goes up in flames, you cannot afford the out-of-pocket expense to replace it all, and so it makes sense to have insurance.

 

Likewise, if you cannot afford the out-of-pocket expense for repair of a major motorcycle breakdown (e.g. engine failure), then insurance (in the form of an extended warranty) may be sensible. But if you can afford to pay out-of-pocket for a major repair, then you'll probably be ahead in the long run if you skip the extended warranty.

 

I never get insurance on packages I ship via USPS.

I never buy extended warranties on electronics, appliances, or anything else I buy.

On my previous POS car, I only carried liability insurance; the car was only worth a few $K, an expense I could afford if I somehow totaled it.

 

If you really want insurance, even when you know statistically it's a bad deal, AND even when you can afford the worst outcome without it, then you are risk-averse:

 

Risk aversion is the reluctance of a person to accept a bargain with an uncertain payoff rather than another bargain with a more certain, but possibly lower, expected payoff. For example, a risk-averse investor might choose to put his or her money into a bank account with a low but guaranteed interest rate, rather than into a stock that may have high returns, but also has a chance of becoming worthless.

[Paul Mihalka]

As said, extended warranties are insurance business. The premium is based on the average payout to the average user, plus a good margin for profit and administration. If you are a under average user it is a losing proposition. OTOH, if you are a way above average user in miles and time of ownership, you have a good chance to win. On my last two bikes a extended warranty would have paid out very nicely. I did not have it because I bought the bikes after the factory warranty ended.

[Sailorlite]

What's the smart way to buy an extended warranty?

 

My local dealer offers the Zurich warranty plan, which seems to be as good as any. But, given that there may be a large commission involved, and given that dealers sometimes discount bikes and accessories, does it seem sensible to phone other dealers to see if they care to "beat the deal"? Has this already been done - is there a "volume" seller of good low priced warranties somewhere?

 

(Yes, generally I'd like to buy from my local dealer - when prices are reasonably comparable).

[Paul Mihalka]

First off, you buy the extended warranty while your original warranty is still active. That way you pay the same price as if the bike would be brand new.

I think the best is to buy the warranty from the dealer you will do most of the service and repairs. That way if there is a problem with the warranty holder, the dealer can't claim that it is from a no good company.

[Sailorlite]

When buying such a warranty from a dealer, which of the dealer's departments makes the sale: sales, parts, or service? In other words, which dept. would make the decision as to final selling price?

[Paul Mihalka]

No fixed rule, varies from dealer to dealer. If it is a major dealer with a designated person who does the financing, documentation, tag/title, usually that person does the warranty sale. It can be assigned to the sales person, to sell it with the bike like a accessory, if it is part of a bike sale. Price decision is up to the general manager/owner. Interesting that we expect flexibility (discounts) in the final selling price on everything at a bike dealer. We don't expect it at Macy's/Nordstrom/Sears even if it is a high priced item.

[soggybottom]

I never buy extended warrenties, I just don't keep bikes very long but those days are ending. In the Goldwing world I've read of guys collecting on repairs on 6 yr old bikes with up to 200k on them with the OEM 5 yr extention. Never heard anything positive about aftermarket warrenties.

 

When BMW offers an extention it would be a good thing. And it must be unlimited miles like Hondas.

[tallman]

As said, extended warranties are insurance business. The premium is based on the average payout to the average user, plus a good margin for profit and administration. If you are a under average user it is a losing proposition. OTOH, if you are a way above average user in miles and time of ownership, you have a good chance to win. On my last two bikes a extended warranty would have paid out very nicely. I did not have it because I bought the bikes after the factory warranty ended.

 

I agree with Paul that for some riders, it is a good plan to get one.

If you are planning on racking up big miles, why not have the added

peace of mind?

But, it needs to be that, an assured progeam that will provide what you need when you need it.

Otherwise, think long and hard about it.

You can always invest your warranty fee in yourself.

Put it in a CD with a no withdrawal penalty.

 

I wouldn't complain if I bought one and didn't need it, nor gloat if I had need of one and had purchased it for just such an event.

 

[EffBee]

I got my first extended warranty with my first 1100RT. Didn't need it until 66K, when the neutral light switch went out. Saved me about $800, and since the bike was already in stinkbug mode, I went ahead and spent another $400 out of my own pocket to put in a new clutch, even though it didn't need it. Heck, they were paying for 90% of the labor. Like all my extended warranties, it was from Western Services, a division of McGraw Insurance. Same company denied me a rear brake disc at 80K, saying it was a wear item. It was.

 

Then I got the same type of EW when I bought my FJR. The new owner has it now. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been needed.

 

Same thing with the Wee-Strom. It transfered to the new owner, unused. So far, if I figure what I paid vs. what they've saved me, I'm a few bucks ahead, but you could call it even and I wouldn't object.

 

I have to say that Western Services has always been very forthright to deal with, even when they turned down my rear disc. If I could buy the same EW for the new-to-me second 1100RT I now own (bought with only 14K on the clock last year), I would. The bike has an intermittent neutral light I'd like fixed.

 

Do check the history of the company you're going to deal with. Statistically, the odds are stacked in favor of the insurer. Only if you ride a great number of miles, or plan on keeping the bike for a long time, do the odds start to work in your favor. Where those lines cross, I don't know.