Extended warranty declining to cover items, need suggestions or help

[JGard]

So the iDrive screen on my X5 is crapping out. A bunch of vertical lines are showing up on it and the dealer confirmed that there's something wrong within the circuitry of the screen itself. I have an extended warranty (although I don't have their name handy right now, it's at home) where it clearly said in the list of covered parts, that the stereo/multimedia screen would be covered. Once I get home, I can check the actual wording, but it looked pretty clear to me when I read it over prior to bringing my car to the dealer.

They, however, have told the dealership they will not cover it. My SA said I have every right to contact them directly to hash it out with them, as they've tried and got nowhere.

My question to you all is: what power do I actually have to get them to cover this? Like, threaten to report them for fraudulent advertising or something? To whom? And would that carry any weight?

I'm sure they're not happy that the cost of the new screen is over $2k, and it would bring my total claims value to just about what I paid for the coverage in the first place. But still, a warranty is a warranty and I feel these a-holes should live up to what they promise.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by JGard

So the iDrive screen on my X5 is crapping out. A bunch of vertical lines are showing up on it and the dealer confirmed that there's something wrong within the circuitry of the screen itself. I have an extended warranty (although I don't have their name handy right now, it's at home) where it clearly said in the list of covered parts, that the stereo/multimedia screen would be covered. Once I get home, I can check the actual wording, but it looked pretty clear to me when I read it over prior to bringing my car to the dealer.

They, however, have told the dealership they will not cover it. My SA said I have every right to contact them directly to hash it out with them, as they've tried and got nowhere.

My question to you all is: what power do I actually have to get them to cover this? Like, threaten to report them for fraudulent advertising or something? To whom? And would that carry any weight?

I'm sure they're not happy that the cost of the new screen is over $2k, and it would bring my total claims value to just about what I paid for the coverage in the first place. But still, a warranty is a warranty and I feel these a-holes should live up to what they promise.

Well if it's in the contract their legally tied to follow through, you have to be carful though because theirs lots of loopholes, like the one I had said it covered the transfer case and upon further investigating they only covered everything in the transfer case that never dies, so the clutches where not covered, you need to first call and ask why they are denying you coverage and if your plan covers it why are they not following through. You will more than likely find that their is a loophole they put in their so they don't need to do anything to fix it.

Second option is to just buy a great condition used screen off eBay or car-part.com and install it yourself. It's not that hard.

[Poppyboy]

They need to clearly put in writing the basis of their denying your claim. I'm pretty sure that if you read through the fine print of your coverage, you will see what they're leaning/relying on to get out of covering the repair. This is a prime example of why it's so important to properly scrutinize a warranty prior to purchasing it. An exclusionary warranty will clearly spell out what ISN'T covered. Therefore, everything else IS covered. It does not appear this is the type of warranty you purchased. After you compare their written denial of claim with the written coverage, if they are still clearly in the wrong, please let us know on this forum.

[jonniex5]

Please let us know how you make out with this claim and the name of the warrantee company/plan you are using.
I am looking into a extended warrantee plan and I would not want a problem like this.
Thanks and good luck.

[-c-]

It was funny when I bought mine they sold me a warranty (my CU recommended them) and said anything in the drivetrain is covered, within the first month, I had oil leaks and transfer case fail and a issue with the vanos.

They denied everything so I canceled it within that month as I saw how they operated and got a full refund with interest for that month and the money I got back fixed everything and now it's been flawless.

Sometimes it's a roll of the dice but a lot of those extended warranties are not worth the paper their written on.

[JGard]

Originally Posted by -c-

Second option is to just buy a great condition used screen off eBay or car-part.com and install it yourself. It's not that hard.

The hard part is FINDING my screen. I have the dumb 6.5" non-navigation screen and those weren't popping up at all on ebay yesterday. Plenty of the 8" screens, though.

So at this point I may just do a retrofit to the NBT or something, who knows.

As for the warranty, I checked the paperwork again, the list says it covers a bunch of stereo components then specifically says it won't cover video screens.

Yeah, to all those thinking about 3rd party extended warranties, do NOT waste your money. Mine cost $2600 for two years and the only thing they've covered was a NOx sensor, which was about a $700 job at my local dealer. Things they have denied: EGR cooler, DEF tank sensors, iDrive screen

[-c-]

Originally Posted by JGard

The hard part is FINDING my screen. I have the dumb 6.5" non-navigation screen and those weren't popping up at all on ebay yesterday. Plenty of the 8" screens, though.

So at this point I may just do a retrofit to the NBT or something, who knows.

As for the warranty, I checked the paperwork again, the list says it covers a bunch of stereo components then specifically says it won't cover video screens.

Yeah, to all those thinking about 3rd party extended warranties, do NOT waste your money. Mine cost $2600 for two years and the only thing they've covered was a NOx sensor, which was about a $700 job at my local dealer. Things they have denied: EGR cooler, DEF tank sensors, iDrive screen

Dude ! I'm so doing the bimmer retrofit here soon two can't wait!

Best part is they have the newest NBT EVO now with motion controls!

[denaliman]

Loop holes...that's how they operate. I had a bad suspension control module
(Satellite module). The module sat on top of the rear shock and was attached. Because the module was bad the whole shock needed to be replaced even though there was physically nothing wrong with the shock itself. They denied the claim because shocks are not covered. I argued with the warranty people to no avail. Talk to your SA and see if they can call BMWNA. Tell them you are a good customer and sometimes BMWNA will pay for part of the repair as "good will". They did this for me on this particular situation and at another time as well (they paid for half). Worth a try!
Good Luck.

[JGard]

Originally Posted by -c-

Dude ! I'm so doing the bimmer retrofit here soon two can't wait!

Best part is they have the newest NBT EVO now with motion controls!

Yeah, but it's still $2k or so and you have to try to custom mount that 10" screen without it looking like crap. May be more money and effort than it's worth, especially since now I can just use Android Auto directly on my phone.

But still, my current loaner has this new system, and boy, it sure it nice and fast.

[smass]

Originally Posted by JGard

The hard part is FINDING my screen. I have the dumb 6.5" non-navigation screen and those weren't popping up at all on ebay yesterday. Plenty of the 8" screens, though.

Be very careful getting a screen off of ebay. Nearly all of them have scratches in the anti glare coating or have the anti glare coating removed.

Another option is to take your screen apart and get the part number right off the back of the LCD. 8" LCD screens are $550 new so 6.5 is probably less. Another factor is your issue may not be the LCD. 8" screens have a circuit board mounted to the LCD. Either going bad could cause the issue you are having now.

[JGard]

Originally Posted by smassey321

Be very careful getting a screen off of ebay. Nearly all of them have scratches in the anti glare coating or have the anti glare coating removed.

Sounds like the condition of my current screen

[-c-]

Funny story I was at a dealer helping a friend negotiate on a ford, and they had the extended warranty cards on the desk and I looked at it and in the exclusions they had the e70 X5 as well as a few other vehicles, I asked the salesman their why they excluded the x5 and he said that the company had deemed that adding a warranty to the percentage of x5's would not turn a profit so they just decided not to cover them.

Really makes you think about our reliability, but then if reliability was your main goal then a BMW would not be on the list anyway lol.....

But I can see it as every time I'm in for service the bay is full of e70's !!!

I sometimes forget that this was their second attempt at making an SAV, so not all bad just has gremlins.

[wjibby]

Depending on how many miles you have on the car and when your purchased the warrenty, most extended warrenties that are reasonably priced cover mechanical systems only. A Extended warrenty to cover the electronics is way too pricey. I looked into it and said no since it did not cover electronics and was way too expensive..
Regards
WJ

[socale39]

Another reason why I don't deal with warranty companies, sadly you're gambling with or without one!

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by socale39

Another reason why I don't deal with warranty companies, sadly you're gambling with or without one!

I'm with you here. The CPO on my X5 is expiring in 3 months and I've poked around at extended warranties beyond that, but I've been burned before and swore I'd never go down that road again. Nowadays w/ all the BMW's I've owned out of warranty, I just pay for stuff as it comes up and avoid the frustration of having all sorts of repairs denied.

Good luck OP!

[heatmizr]

Same here Jeff. I figure warranty companies are in business because they make more money than they pay out. So flip that around and that means the odds are on my side by NOT purchasing one.
I'll pay for whatever repairs myself as needed, and like you, I won't have to deal with those a-holes. That alone will make it worth it to me.

[Suge206]

Made money 3x on a Toureg and 7x on e70 4.8i warranties. Haven't used my warranty on my 50i but I'm sure I will.

[P1]

This is exactly why I'll only buy BMW warranties and not 3rd party warranties.

[bmwx5er]

My route 66 warranty already paid for itself. I've heard good things about CNA and carmax warranties.