[PJ-Paul]

Hi Guys,

I'm in a process of purchasing BMW Approved used. Dealer said it comes with 1y warranty.

• Does anyone had good/bad experience with those BMW Approved used cars?
• How it works if I get an engine light for example for rex? Will it be inspected and fixed for free or not?
• How it works with the maintenance schedule during the warranty period? So if I get a maintenance notification, will they do it for free or it will be an additional cost?

PS. Car is '17 92ah rex

 

[Mike J.]

Good, in that everything was done without any quibbles. Bad in that the warranty was invoked 3 times - must have 'cost' BMW around £10K. REX was fault free for me. Servicing costs not included.

Before buying, ask for the wheels to be aligned, the aircon to be re-pressurised, the strut rubbers to be checked for holes and for the traction battery to be checked - ask for the %age degradation figures.

 

[Gt6k]

I bought an approved used I3 but I haven't had any resaon to go back to BMW so can't comment on the service, but then again it isn't a REX

 

[PJ-Paul]

Good, in that everything was done without any quibbles. Bad in that the warranty was invoked 3 times - must have 'cost' BMW around £10K. REX was fault free for me. Servicing costs not included.

Before buying, ask for the wheels to be aligned, the aircon to be re-pressurised, the strut rubbers to be checked for holes and for the traction battery to be checked - ask for the %age degradation figures.

Do you think regas is a reasonable thing to ask? My guess, they just say it is just fine no need to regas...

 

[andrew*debbie]

• How it works if I get an engine light for example for rex? Will it be inspected and fixed for free or not?
• How it works with the maintenance schedule during the warranty period? So if I get a maintenance notification, will they do it for free or it will be an additional cost?

Diagnosis and repairs are covered IF they meet the warranty terms. Read this carefully and also read the warranty book -->

BMW Approved Used Car Warranty Guidelines | Warranties | BMW UK

Warranty repairs on your BMW Approved Used Car will be quickly and effectively carried out if you follow the BMW Approved Used Car Warranty Guidelines.

www.bmw.co.uk

If a light is on because of something you did, like filling the tank with diesel or reversing into a portaloo , you are not covered


The traction battery and corrosion are covered by the BMW i Warranty

BMW i Warranty Guidelines | Warranties | BMW UK

Warranty repairs on your BMW i vehicle will be quickly and effectively carried out if you follow the BMW i Warranty Guidelines.

www.bmw.co.uk

Maintenance is not included. You should ask when the next service is due. It costs around £400 and comes up every two years. There is also brake fluid change that a 2017 either just had done or will need done soon.

 

[andrew*debbie]

Do you think regas is a reasonable thing to ask? My guess, they just say it is just fine no need to regas...

It should only need a regas if there is a leak. If it needs a regas, insist they also do a leak detection. The aircon is essential to proper operation of the car as it also cools the battery.

 

[PJ-Paul]

Diagnosis and repairs are covered IF they meet the warranty terms. Read this carefully and also read the warranty book -->

BMW Approved Used Car Warranty Guidelines | Warranties | BMW UK

Warranty repairs on your BMW Approved Used Car will be quickly and effectively carried out if you follow the BMW Approved Used Car Warranty Guidelines.

www.bmw.co.uk

If a light is on because of something you did, like filling the tank with diesel or reversing into a portaloo , you are not covered


The traction battery and corrosion are covered by the BMW i Warranty

BMW i Warranty Guidelines | Warranties | BMW UK

Warranty repairs on your BMW i vehicle will be quickly and effectively carried out if you follow the BMW i Warranty Guidelines.

www.bmw.co.uk

Maintenance is not included. You should ask when the next service is due. It costs around £400 and comes up every two years. There is also brake fluid change that a 2017 either just had done or will need done soon.

Thanks, I read that.

Servicing your BMW vehicle.
– Failure to comply with the service schedule recommended by BMW Group UK may invalidate the warranty. An Authorised BMW Centre or BMW Service Authorised Workshop using only genuine BMW Parts must carry out all service and warranty work. The BMW Service Booklet should also be stamped, dated and detailed with the correct mileage at the time of service by the servicing BMW Centre.

So basically any servicing by 3rd party garage will invalidate the warranty?

 

[andrew*debbie]

So basically any servicing by 3rd party garage will invalidate the warranty?

I would have it done at a BMW authorised workshop or Centre. Why risk it? Servicing costs about £400 every two years. The Approved used warranty may well be over before the next service is due.

 

[spartacus]

My experience is good, but BMW dealer will usually err on the side of caution. First off, any light on the dash, then they'll read you the obligatory warming - 'we'll need to scan it which will be £100'. Now in nine times out of ten it's a genuine fault with the car and is free of charge, so nothing to worry about. Be observant, and anything that doesn't quite add up during ownership then query it.

As mentioned - if you do get a fault and it clears, then the car will log the fault, so I'd still take it in where they can scan it and see what's triggering it. This part is a pain, partly because of Covid restrictions and getting a courtesy car might not even be an option.

I doubt you'll get an air-con re-gas, but if it's simply not doing the job then yes take it back and query. I paid £100 as part of an offer outside warranty - it usually needs done every 2 years. As other have mentioned, check front suspension rubber gaiters, and listen for any tell-tale knocks that might be associated with front top mounts if they are on the way out.

 

[Drewby80]

Does anyone had good/bad experience with those BMW Approved used cars?

Absolutely terrible, the main franchised dealer in Derby (Stratstone BMW) sold me an approved used 225xe with 14k on the clock which was 20 months old.

it threw dozens of drive train faults and went into limp mode, I took it back to them 10 times.

They replaced the turbo but never exorcised its demons until the 3rd cylinders piston let go of its con rod on an A road and it shredded the engine in an enormous cloud of white smoke (with only 28k on the clock)

They then looked at it properly and deduced that it had had an ECU remap and accused ME of doing this!

I had no way of proving that they had sold it to me like this so they tried to wash their hands of it!

After a lengthy battle BMW UK not the dealer finally stepped in and agreed to replace the engine (I was left with no car for over 3 months) if I’d have had to pay for this it would have cost circa £12.5k.

In my experience “approved used” is not worth the paper it’s printed on!

 

[TJEV]

I heard a similar story from a friend who works at a BMW dealer. I don’t know if there was some kind of new build option involving a remap at some point that BMW then forgot about, but it’s not the only time this has happened.

 

[Drewby80]

I heard a similar story from a friend who works at a BMW dealer. I don’t know if there was some kind of new build option involving a remap at some point that BMW then forgot about, but it’s not the only time this has happened.

The only manufacturer remap I’m aware of on any of the BMW products is the Mini Cooper Works, this retained the warranty.

BMW don’t call it remapped, they say it’s “off network” when they plug a car in the laptop shows a red warning flag if it’s sees something unusual and throws a message “possible performance tuning” it then produces a file that they refer to as “fasta data” they have to send this file back to the mothership for them to confirm if the software has been tampered with.

If it has its bye bye warranty!

 

[Jon G]

Having read the issues above, the problems aren’t to do with approved used warranty as such but dealing with any warranty claims whether new or approved used.

Ive personally never had an issue buying a used car but my used cars have been under 3 years old and so although used, the original new warranty was also still in force.

Either type of warranty claim (new or used) will start with establishing if yours covered, it’s only reasonable, if you had remapped an engine badly, crashed it, put the wrong fuel in etc then they want to rule it out.

 

[Drewby80]

if you had remapped an engine

BMW sold me my car approved used with the remap already on board.

When it was discovered (I had had it back to them on at least 10 occasions and they kept fobbing me off saying “if the fault isn’t present at the time of our inspection we can’t do anything”) after it blew up and stranded me on an A road with no hard shoulder they accused me of remapping it and tried to wash their hands of the repair!

Go figure, worst car buying experience ever.

I now have a Nissan Leaf and their customer service has been great!

I didn’t even buy my car from my local dealer and they can’t do enough for you, warranty claims have been dealt with swiftly and with no quibble, they even charge your car up so it’s full when you collect it!

 

[PJ-Paul]

Ok, now I just got an Email from Premiasolution, looks like they want me to sign GAP insurance for 500GBP.
Do I really need to sign it?

 

[andrew*debbie]

I doubt it. Check your insurance, you may already have gap coverage. Our policy does, but it may only cover new cars. Been ages since I read the text.

You could also shop for Gap cover. That price seems excessive.

 

[Jon G]

I buy my cars rather than lease or PCP so maybe its different but why would I want to pay £500 to get the original price because if I had an accident I should be able to buy a similar car to the one written off as my insurance should cover the cost on a like for like basis? Getting a new car if you have an accident in say a 2 year old car is insuring for betterment not replacement, and as Andrew says many policies give you a new car in the first year anyway

I get it if your funding means you're in negative equity on the car if you had an accident, but that shortfall would need to be a fair bit more than £500 to make it worth while. My insurance is less than £500 a year for the car, £500 for GAP sounds very expensive. I get the feeing the commission is massive on these policies and how they make their money. If you do feel you need gap, I'd shop around rather than take the lease companies suggestiuon.

 

[PJ-Paul]

Thanks, guys, I sent an email back to the dealer telling them I don't need it. I actually think I told them I don't need it, not entirely sure why they try to push it again.
PS. Gosh, I never bought a car from a dealership, never thought it such a pain.... I hope they'll learn something from tesla in that regard.

 

[Drewby80]

I hope they'll learn something from tesla in that regard.

You need to watch this:

 

[GAPinsuranceCoUk]

Only just stumbled across this thread...

Ok, now I just got an Email from Premiasolution, looks like they want me to sign GAP insurance for 500GBP.
Do I really need to sign it?

Absolutely not. In fact, since September 2015 it's been a compulsory requirement from the FCA that the GAP insurance information they supply to you (termed "Prescribed information") must make it clear to you that GAP insurance is both optional and available from other providers.

£500 for GAP insurance does indeed sound excessive. Check us out at GAPinsurance.co.uk for an alternative and (usually) more competitive quote. Use discount code: "SPEAKEV10" to save even more!

I doubt it. Check your insurance, you may already have gap coverage. Our policy does, but it may only cover new cars. Been ages since I read the text.

Vehicle Replacement (aka "New-For-Old") cover is almost always limited to brand new vehicles at first registration only. Cover from the motor insurer is usually for the first year (though sometimes for the first 2-years). However, aside from the fact that you can usually only buy GAP insurance for a limited period after taking delivery of the vehicle (with us it's 3-months for example, with others it's 6-months) going without GAP insurance in favour of new-for-old cover from your motor insurer is potentially fraught with issues. See here and here.

I buy my cars rather than lease or PCP so maybe its different but why would I want to pay £500 to get the original price because if I had an accident I should be able to buy a similar car to the one written off as my insurance should cover the cost on a like for like basis?

Many cash buyers feel exactly the same as you here Jon. However, cash buyers form a large portion of our client base as it's exactly what Invoice GAP insurance is for. If your car is written off your motor insurer in theory pays you the then market value of your vehicle and an Invoice GAP insurance policy aims to top it up to the original invoice price that you bought the vehicle for.

Horses for courses and all that. If you're a cash buyer and comfortable with receiving just the market value pay-out from your motor insurer in the event of a write-off and/or can afford the financial 'hit' should you want to replace your written-off vehicle with a new(er) vehicle than the motor insurer's market value pay-out affords, GAP insurance isn't for you.

Getting a new car if you have an accident in say a 2 year old car is insuring for betterment not replacement,

IMO (particularly as a cash buyer) if I'd bought a brand new car and it was written off at 2-years old, I'd want my insurance cover to enable me to buy another brand new car with as little dent to my own finances as possible. Motor insurance (normally) won't get anywhere near permitting this but, motor insurance combined with GAP insurance, could.

I get it if your funding means you're in negative equity on the car if you had an accident, but that shortfall would need to be a fair bit more than £500 to make it worth while.

A traditional finance GAP insurance policy covering the difference between motor insurance pay-out and the settlement figure of the finance agreement is what you're referring to... but that's a depreciating and poor value type cover: there'll usually come a time when it's no longer of benefit. E.g. whilst your car is of course depreciating, the amount you owe the finance company is decreasing too. In the earlier days whilst your car is depreciating in value more rapidly and that potential for negative equity is greater, Finance GAP insurance could be of benefit but, as time goes by the "gap" between car value and finance settlement reduces; potentially to the point when the car value exceeds the finance settlement and then, a Finance GAP insurance policy is defunct.

Invoice GAP insurance is the opposite though. Your original invoice price is fixed. Your car depreciates over time away from that figure. The more time that goes by the more your car depreciates in value, the bigger the "gap" gets and thus whereas the longer a Finance GAP insurance policy is in place the less it potentially pays, the longer an Invoice GAP insurance policy is in place the more it potentially pays.

On this basis, IMO there's a greater value in GAP insurance for cash buyers, than those that finance their vehicles.

That said... a combined Finance & Invoice GAP insurance policy of the type that we (and most providers) sell these days, is the best of both worlds.

I get the feeing the commission is massive on these policies and how they make their money.

Motor dealers make a fortune off GAP insurance! Buying GAP insurance from a motor dealer is hands-down the most expensive way to buy cover.

We and companies like us are usually around 40-50% cheaper than a motor dealer (in some cases as much as 85% cheaper) and more often than not, policies sourced from independent providers like us will usually have more favourable policy terms and conditions (than policies from a motor dealer), too.

HTH

See GAPinsurance.co.uk for more.

David