BMW offers three extended warranty plans that last for up to 7 years or 100,000 miles.
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Brogan is a Motor1.com Senior Writer based in Central Oregon. He produces in-depth auto product guides on topics spanning from auto warranties and insurance to tips on how to sell a car.
Last Updated 09/06/2024Motor1 Reviews Team Take:
Endurance is our top pick for extended warranties.
Quick Facts Plan Coverage and Perks| Plan coverage includes | Endurance Elite perks™ |
|---|---|
| Exclusionary plan | One-year membership for free |
| Powertrain plan | Tire repair and replacement |
| Maintenance coverage with Endurance Advantage | Key fob replacement |
| Roadside assistance | Total loss protection |
| Towing | Collision discount |
| Rental car | $250 rewards voucher |
| Trip interruption coverage | Endurance Protect app |
BMW models are known for having high repair costs, which makes it worthwhile for many drivers to consider the BMW extended warranty. Those who purchase coverage can extend protection on their vehicles for up to 7 years or 100,000 miles—whichever comes first.
In this article, we’ll look at the coverage BMW offers and compare it to our pick for the best extended warranty company.
At Motor1.com, we’re dedicated to supplying car owners with the well-researched information they need to make sound decisions about auto warranties. Our editorial team consists of experienced automotive researchers, writers, and editors that follow strict guidelines to ensure that our articles are unbiased and fact checked.
To compile our product reviews and rankings, our team continuously evaluates dozens of warranty companies to compare plans, coverage, costs, customer service, and transparency. We verify each provider’s quality through our hands-on research process. More than 1,500 hours of research has gone into analyzing past customer reviews and mystery shopping top providers to gather pricing quotes for various plans. We’ve also surveyed 2,000 extended warranty customers to learn what matters most to consumers when purchasing a warranty. Lastly, to obtain first-hand product knowledge our team bought five warranty plans from separate providers to test the coverage levels and claims process of each company.
The BMW extended warranty program is known as BMW Ultimate Protection. Depending on which level of coverage you choose, protection can range from a basic powertrain warranty up to a comprehensive bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Consider whether you want protection for just the basics of your BMW—like its engine, transmission, and drive axle—or if you’re more comfortable knowing that your electrical, fuel, steering, and navigation systems are safe from a mechanical breakdown as well.
Below, you can compare BMW’s two main plans head-to-head.
7 years/100,000 miles
This is BMW’s most comprehensive level of extended warranty coverage, providing protection for almost all major car components. Parts covered include the electrical, cooling, steering, brakes, infotainment system and more.
7 years/100,000 miles
As the most basic level of the BMW extended warranty, the Powertrain plan offers limited coverage for crucial parts including the engine, transmission, drive axles, cooling system, and fuel system.
For certified pre-owned (CPO) BMWs, the Platinum plan is the only option.
The table below shows which parts are covered by the BMW Platinum and Powertrain plans:
| Car Part | Platinum | Powertrain |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Transmission | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Final drive assembly | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Transfer case | ✓ | ✓ |
| Electrical | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Cooling system | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Fuel system | ✓ | Limited coverage |
| Induction system | ✓ | ✓ |
| Suspension system | ✓ | |
| Steering | ✓ | |
| Brakes | ✓ | |
| Heating and air conditioning | ✓ | |
| Infotainment system | ✓ | |
| Interior and exterior | Limited coverage |
You can choose between 75,000- or 100,000-mile terms that extend your factory warranty by one, two, or three years. This translates to either five, six, or seven years of total coverage.
As with extended warranties from other automakers, the total coverage terms described above include the length of the BMW factory warranty. For example, if you purchase a 7-year/100,000-mile warranty, you’re only adding 3 years/50,000 miles of coverage. If you get a warranty for 5 years/75,000 miles, you’ll get an extra 1 year/25,000 miles of coverage.
Even though a BMW extended vehicle protection plan covers most major components, contract holders aren’t entirely off the hook for repair costs. Most BMW extended warranties, both from the manufacturer and from third-party providers, exclude the following items:
If you’d prefer to have routine maintenance costs covered, it may be worth opting for the BMW Ultimate Care program.
In addition to covered repairs, customers who purchase extended coverage get access to 24-hour BMW emergency roadside assistance. This includes services like battery jump-starts, lockout services, towing, and tire changes. Most manufacturers include roadside assistance with their extended warranties.
Below are a few more things to be aware of if you’re looking at a BMW extended warranty:
One way to ensure your BMW doesn’t break down is to give it proper maintenance upkeep. BMW offers a collection of maintenance plans that often take care of the things your extended warranty won’t, such as replacing wear-and-tear items like spark plus, wiper blades, and whatnot. You can also get additional roadside assistance, oil changes, and more.
Below is a list of BMW’s maintenance plans, with coverage details and term lengths.
BMW Ultimate Care Scheduled
Up to 5 years/75,000 miles
Covers engine oil and filter changes, brake fluid, spark plugs, key fob batteries, inspections and roadside assistance
BMW Ultimate Care+
Up to 7 years/125,000 miles
Covers all of the above plus brake pads, wiper blades, and clutch replacement
BMW Ultimate Care Oil Services
3 years/unlimited miles
5 years/60,000 miles)
Unlimited oil changes
Include H4s for any additional protection products like guaranteed asset protection, lease-end protection, tire and wheel protection, windshield protection, paintless dent repair, etc.
BMW offers additional plans that can help protect your vehicle and finances in different ways.
This option can cover some or all of the excess wear costs when you turn in a leased BMW. It can pay the bill if your car has some scrapes or interior damage.
This option covers the remaining balance of your auto loan if you owe more than the car is worth in the event of a total loss.
If your wheels or tires are structurally damaged after running over a hazard in the road, this plan will help to repair or replace them. You can also upgrade the plan to cover cosmetic damage on your wheels.
This repairs your windshield if it gets chipped or cracked by rocks and other debris on the road.
This option covers repairs of small dents and dings without modifying the car’s finish. It only applies if mechanics can use paintless repair techniques.
This plan can replace your keys if you lose them. It also covers lockout costs up to a limit if you lock your keys in your car.
One main difference between BMW’s extended and factory warranty is the extended warranty is an additional purchase while all cars come with the factory warranty.
Every new car sold by BMW comes with a comprehensive bumper-to-bumper warranty that covers almost the entire vehicle for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. They also come with a few more warranties. Here are the details:
Unlike warranties from luxury brands like Genesis, Infiniti, Cadillac, and Acura, BMW doesn’t provide additional powertrain coverage beyond its basic new vehicle warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles. For this reason, many owners seek additional coverage through a BMW extended warranty.
All BMW CPO vehicles come with 1 extra year and unlimited miles of coverage. If the CPO vehicle has any remaining factory warranty coverage, the extra year is added after that expires. If not, you simply get one year of factory coverage.
This coverage almost matches BMW’s bumper-to-bumper warranty on new vehicles. However, it excludes some additional items like certain suspension components.
Whether you purchase a BMW extended warranty after one year or three years, coverage won’t start until the factory warranty expires. You can usually get a better price if you buy a plan early in the car’s life. But you’ll need to purchase a plan before the warranty expires.
That’s not the same with third-party vehicle service contracts, which start when you purchase them. In this case, it’s important to know when your factory warranty expires.
You can get a basic sense by looking at the odometer and knowing the purchase date from the original bill of sale. If it has been longer than four years or you have more than 50,000 miles, the warranty has expired.
You can also enter your car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) into the owner’s section of BMW’s website which is called My BMW. This will tell you if the warranty is still valid.
A dealership salesperson can tell you when your warranty expires, as well. They can look up your information with the VIN or in their sales records.
BMW’s Platinum plan costs about $3,246 on average. This is based on 45 quotes our team got for a variety of mileage and time options. Other European automakers offer similar average costs for their plans. Audi’s average is $3,241 while the Mercedes average is $4,411. We found Porsche to have a higher average of $6,061 for quotes we received.
Our team got quotes online for BMW sedans, coupes, convertibles, and SAVs, which are BMW’s sporty SUVs. Quotes were quick to receive after providing details about the vehicles.
Below are the sample quotes we received from BMW for its Platinum bumper-to-bumper extended warranty options:
| Vehicle Type | Starting Mileage | Plan Term | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan | Under 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,319 |
| Sedan | Under 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $2,889 |
| Sedan | Under 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,399 |
| Sedan | Under 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $3,829 |
| Sedan | Over 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,909 |
| Sedan | Over 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $3,479 |
| Sedan | Over 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $3,269 |
| Sedan | Over 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $4,059 |
| Sedan | Over 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $4,559 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 5 years/75,000miles | $2,319 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $2,889 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,399 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $2,639 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $3,279 |
| Coupe | Under 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $3,829 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,909 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $3,479 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,979 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $3,269 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $4,059 |
| Coupe | Over 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $4,559 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,319 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $2,889 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,399 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $2,639 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $3,279 |
| Convertible | Under 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $3,829 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,909 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $3,479 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,979 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $3,269 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $4,059 |
| Convertible | Over 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $4,559 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $1,919 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $2,379 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $2,799 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $2,149 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $2,679 |
| SAV | Under 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $3,199 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 5 years/75,000 miles | $2,499 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 6 years/75,000 miles | $2,969 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 7 years/75,000 miles | $3,379 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 5 years/100,000 miles | $2,779 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 6 years/100,000 miles | $3,459 |
| SAV | Over 20,000 | 7 years/100,000 miles | $3,929 |
Considering BMW is a European luxury brand and its average repairs are generally more expensive than repairs for other brands, an extended warranty is likely to be worth it.
J.D. Power and RepairPal are two good resources for vehicle reliability. J.D. Power runs numerous automotive studies each year including ones focused on vehicle repairs. RepairPal is an organization that publishes average cost data for various repairs and helps consumers find reliable repair shops.
The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study℠ surveyed over 30,000 consumers and ranked auto brands on the number of problems after three years of ownership. The average number of problems was 190 per 100 vehicles. This was also how BMW scored, which ranked the manufacturer in ninth place overall. However, not all brands that perform well after three years perform well after ten. BMWs are likely to need more work as they age.
RepairPal publishes annual ownership costs for brands and models, which take into account regular maintenance like oil changes and unexpected repairs. RepairPal also looks at how often owners have to visit a repair shop and what percentage of repairs are severe. Below are RepairPal’s ratings for BMW and the industry average.
