[mness]

Route 66 just paid for nearly $13,000 in repairs at my BMW dealer. I've had nearly no issues with my '13 535i in 69k miles until now.

Got my first-ever Drivetrain Malfunction a couple of weeks ago, the car had reduced power but was drivable (my passengers didn't notice), and didn't come back on after that short trip. 2 days later on my commute to work it came on again - definitely noticed the reduced power, and at highway speeds there was a loud droning sound like you get with wind buffeting when you have one window partly open (but none were).

Brought it to the Indy that had been doing routine service since my car was out of factory maintenance period - they couldn't figure it out and said I should bring it to BMW.

Next day BMW diagnosed turbo pressure converter failure (somewhat common), and, when they ran the car on a lift, found WTF, rear differential mounts broken and driveshaft coupler broken. Out of balance driveshaft took out the differential and both need to be replaced!

Also the common seeping valve-cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, and oil filter gaskets, which Route 66 covered too.

Turbo Pressure Converter: $400
Driveshaft: $2700
Differential/axles: $4800
Valve-cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, oil filter gasket: $5500

They actually capped the payment at $12,800, the book value of my car at the time, but holy shit! My SA had never heard of Route 66 before (he was wary when I brought the car in and told him I have a 3rd party warranty), but has said they were the best warranty company he's dealt with besides BMW. After the diagnosis, Route 66 sent someone to the shop to inspect it before authorizing, and then again after the work was done. So it took about two weeks in all.

Bullets, dodged.

[Sylverlee]

Any idea how this issue happens? Just random?

[mediocrechris]

Holy. Crap. These types of stories scare the shit out of me. I wonder how much the indie would have charged to fix those issues

[OnlyGerman]

Never heard of a broken rear diff mount failure on here. The turbo pressure converter was common and BMW actually extended the warranty for it.

As for the warranty, you paid for it to keep you safe from really high and unexpected repairs like this...And it did its job.

[Trainwreck914]

yeah rear diff mounts do wear and sometimes break. theres a diy on youtube for them. 69k is really low miles for those type of issues imo. just fyi the turbo pressure converter/solenoid is ~$100 part, just replaced myself (about 30 min) so $400 is pretty steep, the drive shaft and diff can be pricey. and those numbers a scary. but hey if warranty is picking it up...
still amazed that they covered that amount. might have to look into them. either way glad it worked out for you

[beegeezy]

It's nice to have that stuff covered under warranty but that's part of the reason the warranties are so expensive for BMW's. A good, used driveshaft and differential might cost you $300-500 and the other gaskets are probably $300-800 (depending on if you also replace the valve cover). A decent DIY home mechanic could get this fixed for under $1000.

This is also why medical insurance in the USA is so expensive vs other countries.

[GrabacrOne]

Originally Posted by mness

Route 66 just paid for nearly $13,000 in repairs at my BMW dealer. I've had nearly no issues with my '13 535i in 69k miles until now.

Got my first-ever Drivetrain Malfunction a couple of weeks ago, the car had reduced power but was drivable (my passengers didn't notice), and didn't come back on after that short trip. 2 days later on my commute to work it came on again - definitely noticed the reduced power, and at highway speeds there was a loud droning sound like you get with wind buffeting when you have one window partly open (but none were).

Brought it to the Indy that had been doing routine service since my car was out of factory maintenance period - they couldn't figure it out and said I should bring it to BMW.

Next day BMW diagnosed turbo pressure converter failure (somewhat common), and, when they ran the car on a lift, found WTF, rear differential mounts broken and driveshaft coupler broken. Out of balance driveshaft took out the differential and both need to be replaced!

Also the common seeping valve-cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, and oil filter gaskets, which Route 66 covered too.

Turbo Pressure Converter: $400
Driveshaft: $2700
Differential/axles: $4800
Valve-cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, oil filter gasket: $5500

They actually capped the payment at $12,800, the book value of my car at the time, but holy shit! My SA had never heard of Route 66 before (he was wary when I brought the car in and told him I have a 3rd party warranty), but has said they were the best warranty company he's dealt with besides BMW. After the diagnosis, Route 66 sent someone to the shop to inspect it before authorizing, and then again after the work was done. So it took about two weeks in all.

Bullets, dodged.

I'm also looking at getting an extended warranty as my CPO is up next month. With Route 66, did they authorize Genuine BMW parts for replacements or remanufactured parts? Also, I read that for Route 66, you have to cover taxes, shop fees, and diagnostic fees. How much did that come out to for this?

[Trainwreck914]

i would imagine at those price points it would have to be oem parts

[mness]

Originally Posted by BMWMacht

I'm also looking at getting an extended warranty as my CPO is up next month. With Route 66, did they authorize Genuine BMW parts for replacements or remanufactured parts? Also, I read that for Route 66, you have to cover taxes, shop fees, and diagnostic fees. How much did that come out to for this?

I had to pay the taxes, there were no "shop fees" or "diagnostic fees" that's probably up to the shop. More than half of the cost was labor ($225/hr, SF Bay area), these were the only parts over $100:
Rear axle: $3415
Drive Shaft: $1780
Turbo pressure converter: $191
Everything else was gaskets, bolts, fluids, etc nothing over $100.
So I paid about $1000, about $500 was tax and the rest due to the blue book cap. Still, while I'd expect no pushback on the obvious failures of the pressure converter and drivetrain, I was pleasantly surprised that the expensive oil leaks were covered, since those seems to be a common issue to expect to pay out-of-pocket as these cars age. Again, my BMW SA said they were great to work with, though diligent in sending someone to see the car before the work and again after.

[mness]

A little more good-news followup, they paid me about another $1000. I mentioned that my repair had been capped at $12,800 (per the policy, the "NADA Actual Cash Value" at the time). After I got my car back, I checked the NADA site, and it showed about that for Average Trade of a base car. Adding the options (the only ones of value were M-Sport and Driver Assistance Pkg), showed Average Trade of $15,275 and Clean Trade of $16,725.

I called them to ask where they got the $12k figure from, explained what I saw on NADA, they sent it up to underwriting, and came back with revised value of $16,750, and cut me a check for about another $1000. So I've still got some headroom in case anything else comes up.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by mness

I had to pay the taxes, there were no "shop fees" or "diagnostic fees" that's probably up to the shop. More than half of the cost was labor ($225/hr, SF Bay area), these were the only parts over $100:
Rear axle: $3415
Drive Shaft: $1780
Turbo pressure converter: $191
Everything else was gaskets, bolts, fluids, etc nothing over $100.
So I paid about $1000, about $500 was tax and the rest due to the blue book cap. Still, while I'd expect no pushback on the obvious failures of the pressure converter and drivetrain, I was pleasantly surprised that the expensive oil leaks were covered, since those seems to be a common issue to expect to pay out-of-pocket as these cars age. Again, my BMW SA said they were great to work with, though diligent in sending someone to see the car before the work and again after.

I assumed all warranties cover tax? No?

[dsocold]

cna offera a warranty that covers literally almost everything much more than bmw certified warranty. They replaced my idrive knob in one 5 min phone call they approved an 800 dollar part. I bought it through bmw for close to 5k. I got protection for 6yr or until i hit 160k miles.. i still got cpo to they run active at the same time... I think cna is better than route66 for sure, all i got is a 100 deductible no caps, no limits, and the whats not covered section is very short and sweet pretty much only stuff listed there is items like tires, wheels (I got cna Wheel&Tire that covers both) body panels, brake disc/pads, and stuff that is wear and tear which really shouldnt be covered in the first place.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by dsocold

cna offera a warranty that covers literally almost everything much more than bmw certified warranty. They replaced my idrive knob in one 5 min phone call they approved an 800 dollar part. I bought it through bmw for close to 5k. I got protection for 6yr or until i hit 160k miles.. i still got cpo to they run active at the same time... I think cna is better than route66 for sure, all i got is a 100 deductible no caps, no limits, and the whats not covered section is very short and sweet pretty much only stuff listed there is items like tires, wheels (I got cna Wheel&Tire that covers both) body panels, brake disc/pads, and stuff that is wear and tear which really shouldnt be covered in the first place.

Link??

[S1nner]

Originally Posted by dsocold

cna offera a warranty that covers literally almost everything much more than bmw certified warranty. They replaced my idrive knob in one 5 min phone call they approved an 800 dollar part. I bought it through bmw for close to 5k. I got protection for 6yr or until i hit 160k miles.. i still got cpo to they run active at the same time... I think cna is better than route66 for sure, all i got is a 100 deductible no caps, no limits, and the whats not covered section is very short and sweet pretty much only stuff listed there is items like tires, wheels (I got cna Wheel&Tire that covers both) body panels, brake disc/pads, and stuff that is wear and tear which really shouldnt be covered in the first place.

Can confirm on this as well. CNA has been great for me for the past 2 years. Everything has been covered, no questions asked. I believe you can buy it only through a dealer - https://www.cnanational.com/.

[dsocold]

Originally Posted by subkg

Can confirm on this as well. CNA has been great for me for the past 2 years. Everything has been covered, no questions asked. I believe you can buy it only through a dealer - https://www.cnanational.com/.

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Link??

The specific one i got i think is only offered at the dealer when you buy the car and i got a specific one that requires the car to be bmw certified as well on top of that but it covers soo much its crazy and the dealer sells it so they communicated and approve repairs with them on call quickly..

[GrabacrOne]

Originally Posted by dsocold

The specific one i got i think is only offered at the dealer when you buy the car and i got a specific one that requires the car to be bmw certified as well on top of that but it covers soo much its crazy and the dealer sells it so they communicated and approve repairs with them on call quickly..

Which dealer did you purchase from? Please PM me if you have a contact.

[windowmaker]

Originally Posted by dsocold

The specific one i got i think is only offered at the dealer when you buy the car and i got a specific one that requires the car to be bmw certified as well on top of that but it covers soo much its crazy and the dealer sells it so they communicated and approve repairs with them on call quickly..

Took a look at CNA and they only sell it through dealers:

Thank you for considering CNA National. Our products are sold exclusively by automobile dealerships at time of vehicle purchase and not all vehicles qualify.
We appreciate your interest, but we do not sell directly to the public.

My 3 yr 3rd party warranty is ending in august and I need to find another one that will sell to me directly. I'm fine going to a shop to get the car certified in some way if that's a prerequisite.

Does Route 66 offer warranty contracts direct to consumer?

[mness]

Originally Posted by windowmaker

Does Route 66 offer warranty contracts direct to consumer?

You have to buy it through a Credit Union, but it's real easy. Contact Route66 from their website, they'll email you credit union(s) near you that sell them. Contacted the credit union for the quote (they give different time/mileage levels), and I only had to open an account with $1 in order to buy the warranty. All done electronically/phone, didn't need to go to an office.