Quote:
Originally Posted by 007mead
This is great, thank for taking the time to write such a detailed reply.
My other question would now be what can I pick up in terms of a warranty *after* 50,000 miles? If anything.
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There are plenty of aftermarket warranties out there, but clearly the market is full of junk, as well. I honestly don't have a lot of experience with them because I've never gone for one. My formula has been:
(a) Buy the car new.
(b) Maintain it.
(c) Drive it with respect.
(d) Sell it 2 years after warranty expires.
I've had good luck with this so far. Yes, there have been some minor repairs, but that's somewhat the luck of the draw. Plus, a 550xi is going to be a more expensive animal in general.
But, for nothing else, think of it this way - getting a PRICE on a warranty is like getting expert financial advice. These guys have access to all of the historical data and have crunched the numbers on their potential payout risk. Then, because they're in the business of making money, they uplift it to get you a price of $5,600. So, in my book, the chances are PRETTY good that, if your car falls within a standard deviation or so from the "norm," you should see less than $5,600 in repairs during that same period. But again, it's gambling and nobody really knows what any individual car may do... just generalities.
Another option - set aside $5,600. If and when you reach $5,600 in repairs, sell the car. If you never reach that amount, sell it when you naturally would have planned. The one contingency here is, again, being able to afford a much bigger problem should it arise.