This weekend saw over 60 5 series cars at the Annual St. Patrick’s Day gathering for a bunch of guys and girls who feel much like I do – the best BMW Series over the years has been the 5 series. It has great lines, is available in various formats and power ranges, and is the most versatile of the BMWs. It was a great event organized by one of my customers and I got to see some great cars and to show off my latest project . . .
There are many jobs on BMWs that require a huge amount of patience, experience and skill; but probably the hardest task on a BMW is being the middle-man between a broke college kid and their parents when things go wrong. Luckily it is not an everyday occurrence, but I’m smack-dab in the middle of a bad one and it happens often enough that I feel obligated to discuss it. I’m the moderator between two parties right now. . .
OK, so you’re at the car dealer and there are two different warranties that may apply to a pre-owned BMW. The first is a Certified Pre-Owned Warranty which is only available through an actual BMW Dealer. This warranty comes ‘free’ when you buy a Certified Pre-Owned BMW. The second is an Extended Warranty which is available from what I call ‘B-Dealers’ and it is issued by a private company not owned by BMW. These warranties can be a good thing and you can make them work for you. But here are some basic things you need to know before getting all excited about the fact that you are ‘covered.’
One thing that I consistently witness is people buying used cars that they can afford the payments on, but cannot afford to maintain. The main problem is depreciation, and how it applies to BMW’s on a whole. Within 5 years, a 750Li will be purchased for nearly $90,000 only to be sold for a mere $25,000. The guy or girl that suffers is not the original owner — they obviously had plenty of money to be able to drive it off the lot and the loss won’t kill them. The big loser in all of this is the guy who saw the car at the San Diego Auto Show five years ago, and has wanted it ever since. It never fails. A customer will come to the shop extremely excited about their new acquisition and I have the unpleasant duty to inform them that the car, while it looks shiny and new, needs over $3000 in repairs/maintenance. Hard pill to swallow.
