[dminahan]

New BMW owner and not sure I fully understand the prepaid maintenance plans. I did try searching and did not find a match yet to explain and it was not clear from the graphic on the BMW website.

So when I bought there was the option to extend the 3yr/36k maintenance to include brakes and wipers for a set cost. I did purchase that.

The graphic lists:

* Ultimate Care Oil Services (3 years for BMWs that have reached 60 months or 60,000 miles for $199
* Ultimate Care Scheduled that seems to go to 5yrs/75k miles and shows a price once I pick a model
* the tiers for +1, +2, +3, +4 that can take me out as far as 7 years, 125k miles it looks like and I assumed that was an extension of ultimate care + that I had purchased the upgrade and included brakes for applicable tiers. What does it cover that the Ultimate Care Scheduled does not cover up through 5 yrs/75k miles if it does not include brakes?

Are these related to different model years? So what is the difference and are brakes only ever included with the 3 yr/36k mile extension that you can buy for $700 and never covered after that?

Mercedes prepaid maintenance was a more simple model, I felt, so I do not understand the difference. I was getting quotes and heard that brakes are only covered in the 3 yr/36k mile extension that I already bought.

Can anyone clarify what these 3 things are then? And I thought I was told I can incrementally extend the maintenance coverage. So is the cut off for extension before the service is due?

Thanks!

[TurtleBoy]

Rather than go through your questions, this is my understanding of the maintenance plans:

Ultimate Care come with your vehicle and for 3yr/36k miles it provides oil and filter changes.

If you want to add wear items, wipers, brakes and clutch, to that then you purchase Ultimate Care+.

If you want to extend the maintenance service that comes with the vehicle then you can purchase Ultimate Care Scheduled.

If you purchased Ultimate Care+ and want to extend that coverage (oil and filter changes as well as wear items) then you can purchase Ultimate Care +1, +2, +3 or +4.

Ultimate Care Oil services is just a prepaid plan that provides 3 oil changes for vehicles older than 5 years or have more than 60k miles.

[taek]

What does it cover that the Ultimate Care Scheduled does not cover up through 5 yrs/75k miles if it does not include brakes?

The BMW USA website says the advantage of Plus is "Replacement of specific wear-and-tear items such as brake pads, wiper blades and manual transmission clutch (for model year 2017 vehicles and newer)."

[dminahan]

Problem was the quote I just got they told me the only time the brakes are covered is with that first extension which led me to wonder what is all the money going to in the +1,+2,+3,+4 prices.

I thought it was extending that Ultimate Care+ that did cover some wear and tear items but was being told no, it is only covered in the first 3 years/36k miles with that $700.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by dminahan

Problem was the quote I just got they told me the only time the brakes are covered is with that first extension which led me to wonder what is all the money going to in the +1,+2,+3,+4 prices.

I thought it was extending that Ultimate Care+ that did cover some wear and tear items but was being told no, it is only covered in the first 3 years/36k miles with that $700.

Whoever is telling you that is incorrect. The whole purpose of the +1, +2, etc. plans is to extend the maintenance that is covered with the original + plan. If it didn't then there wouldn't be a need for the Scheduled Maintenance option.

Go to the BMW Ultimate care page and choose your model and that you have +. It will give you the options that you have to extend it or just choose scheduled.

https://bmwusaservice.com/ultimatecare

[dminahan]

I am going to follow back up, it was someone recommended for the extended warranty quotes.

I did ping some local dealers as well. I guess there is variation in the maintenance plan prices also? Meaning I am getting different dollar amounts quoted on them across dealers.

I did not realize that could vary as well. I knew the extended warranty price could. Even one local dealer was quoting higher than what the BMW USA website was quoting on the + year increments.

[Al Pinã]

If the car is a lease I would definitely not waste the money on the additional coverage.

You can buy the wipers at autozone or Rock Auto for about $30 for both sides.

Unless you're extremely hard on your cars, chances are that you won't need brakes during your lease period. For reference I have a 3yr/15K mile lease on my 750. The car now has about 44K miles and last month I finally needed to replace the rear brake pads. Cost me about $450 out the door. It's a little known fact that you can actually negotiate the shop prices at the dealership. They wanted $799 or something to start with.

I drive mainly in the city (like a maniac) with a lot of stop-and-go traffic. If I would've babied the car I wouldn't have needed brakes.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by dminahan

I am going to follow back up, it was someone recommended for the extended warranty quotes.

I did ping some local dealers as well. I guess there is variation in the maintenance plan prices also? Meaning I am getting different dollar amounts quoted on them across dealers.

I did not realize that could vary as well. I knew the extended warranty price could. Even one local dealer was quoting higher than what the BMW USA website was quoting on the + year increments.

TurtleBoy summed this all up very well in the thread. So I won’t re-hash it…

The pricing can vary for a couple of reasons:

1. The pricing is negotiable. So you can negotiate a price below MSRP on BMW website. Some dealers are willing to negotiate and some aren’t.

2. Buying Ultimate Care + 1,2,3, or 4 requires the Ultimate Care+ upgrade to be purchased at some point. So to buy Ultimate Care+4 on a car without anything but the free “Ultimate Care” you’ll need to buy BOTH Ultimate Care+ AND Ultimate Care+4. Since you already have Ultimate Care+ be sure your quotes reflect that.

I also came from Mercedes and I think BMW’s program is a lot better once you understand its nuances. At least, if you are a high mileage driver like I am. Mercedes 7Y plan would be up to 70K miles whereas BMW is up to 125K miles. Meaning a higher mileage driver will have more maintenance covered under the BMW plan than the Mercedes version.

The value on the BMW plan scales up the higher mileage you drive.

[dminahan]

Thanks for the input. I did purchase (i.e. not lease) so I plan to keep this car long term. It does work differently than Mercedes so I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I never had anyone quote above MSRP for maintenance plans on Mercedes or find someone that would go under MSRP for them either (but I really focused on price shopping the warranty on Mercedes).

At first I thought they were quoting the wrong things for each of these cases. I am realizing thanks to this input there is variability on all of it. And I guess all dealers then respect the prepaid maintenance plan regardless of their costs.

I heard from someone that they had to complain for their brakes to be replaced in the first 36k miles. When you buy the Ultimate Care + do they just replace them on a set interval (but if you burn through brakes too quickly you won't get multiple sets) or no you do have to complain to get the brakes done periodically? I saw a chart to imply they would change them on set intervals if you buy ultimate care + but maybe I'm reading that chart wrong.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by dminahan

Thanks for the input. I did purchase (i.e. not lease) so I plan to keep this car long term. It does work differently than Mercedes so I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I never had anyone quote above MSRP for maintenance plans on Mercedes or find someone that would go under MSRP for them either (but I really focused on price shopping the warranty on Mercedes).

At first I thought they were quoting the wrong things for each of these cases. I am realizing thanks to this input there is variability on all of it. And I guess all dealers then respect the prepaid maintenance plan regardless of their costs.

I heard from someone that they had to complain for their brakes to be replaced in the first 36k miles. When you buy the Ultimate Care + do they just replace them on a set interval (but if you burn through brakes too quickly you won't get multiple sets) or no you do have to complain to get the brakes done periodically? I saw a chart to imply they would change them on set intervals if you buy ultimate care + but maybe I'm reading that chart wrong.

I was able to negotiate discounted price quotes on Mercedes as well when I picked up my MY2014 C300 (sold it to move to the BMW in 2019). Due to the limits in Mercedes plan I skipped adding it, but I did add to my BMW after negotiations.

For BMW it is largely driven by CBS (Condition Based Service). So you’ll get everything done as the “computer” asks or it. Brakes are eligible under a certain thickness I have read, but once the wear bar is tripped and CBS flags it for you then it is covered. There is no limit on the number of replacements on items like brakes. So if you were hard on brakes and going through them every 10K miles (maybe you just ride them the whole time you come down from your house on a 100 mile mountain descent I dunno) you’ll get a new set every 10K miles…

My understanding on the users who complain to find that limit on the brakes is usually driven by either brake noise so wanting pads for that issue (which may be covered by warranty too, but I haven’t encountered it so can’t say) or ones who’re hoping to get in a change before the wear sensor is tripped so they can get a replacement before their UC+ expires.

[Xeno]

This thread was useful to me today as I sorted through the package that would work for me going forward.

[Timmer-Bimmer]

As it was explained to me by my dealer, I had to buy the first 3 years + service to include consumables like brakes and wipers. Once you have that, you can extend additional years any time before your coverage expires. There is a set schedule for your model that does not change, so there is no particular benefit in buying it early (other than the first three years that gets you in the game.)
You should be able to see this pricing schedule in the My BMW website.