It is a standard practice for all sales persons to recommend you extended warranty when you buy a BMW 7 series. Extended warranty is an extra warranty to particular parts in your car in addition to the factory’s warranty. Either the car you purchase is a brand new BMW or used BMW, some consideration is needed before you commit to any extended warranty available in the market today.

The BMW 7 series is the utmost collection of performance and luxury cars and the car is aimed at rich people. It was first introduced by German automaker BMW in 1977. Until today, it has total of five generation which are:

• BMW E23 (1977 – 1986)
• BMW E32 (1987 – 1994)
• BMW E38 (1995 – 2001)
• BMW E65/E66 (2002 – 2008)
• BMW F01 (2009 – present)

The extended warranty usually covers only model year from 2002 or any 7 series cars that has less than 100,000 miles on the odometer. Therefore if your model is not E65/E66 or F01, you may not qualify for the extended warranty. However, if you are using E38 and have very low mileage on the car you still stand a chance.

So, what should I cover? Generally there are many options to the extended warranty. BMW parts are mostly made in Germany. Due to geographical reason, transportation cost occurs when spare parts are deliver from Germany to US. Together with taxes on the parts, BMW spare parts are expensive than the local made Ford. To save up thousand of dollars, you should choose to cover only important parts or mechanical parts or parts that are expensive to buy and very expensive to repair. For example:

• Engine – lubricated parts, engine block, engine head, crankshaft, exhaust system, super charger or turbo charger, timing belt, and among others.
• Transmission – Gear box, gaskets, seals, cooler lines, transmission housing, and others.
• Brake system – Brake servo, master cylinder, wheel cylinder, brake pad.
• Steering and suspension – Ball joints, control arms, bushings and shafts, bearings, power steering pump, power cylinder, steering gear.
• Electrical system – Alternator, distributor, bushings, ignition coil, ignition switch, starter, motor, solenoid, starter relay, wiper motor, and gauges.

In conclusion, do not waste extra money to cover those unnecessary things on your car like break down cover, roadside jump-start service or towing because this may only happed once in a blue moon but it is costly. If you purchased a used BMW 7 series that has 30,000 miles on the odometer or the factory warranty has expired, you may consider the extended warranty from manufacturer.