Luxury Car Owners: What's your plan AFTER warranty expires?

[vasillalov]

Ok folks,

This a quick poll for everyone here who:

* Owns a luxury (expensive over $40K sticker price) car that they purchased new or used with original warranty
* Warranty is expiring soon or just expired

[PowerDubs]

DIY.

Why should the price of the car matter?

[vasillalov]

Why should the price of the car matter?

Maintenance on a BMW M car or Merc AMG will cost A LOT MORE than maintenance on Kia.

[Grey Mouser]

DIY.

Why should the price of the car matter?

This.

I generally think it's pretty sh*tty the car mfg's generally see 5 or 6 year loans but offer 3 year warranties. Frankly the idea of still paying on a vehicle loan and repairs disgusts me, even if they aren't entirely likely. Of course longer warranties lead to higher car prices.. so there's a tradeoff there.

[PowerDubs]

Maintenance on a BMW M car or Merc AMG will cost A LOT MORE than maintenance on Kia.

So? So will the car payments, gas, insurance, tires, etc.

People that are afraid to own a car out of warranty will sell it, regardless of who made it, or what it cost.

To others, such as myself, a bolt is still still unscrews counterclockwise even if it costs more.

[Air-over-water]

To others, such as myself, a bolt is still still unscrews counterclockwise even if it costs more.

Unless it is a left-handed bolt.

[SVTJayC]

I plan on continuing to make enough money to afford the car I bought. Just like every other car I've owned.

[SVTJayC]

Are people really buying cars they know they won't be able to afford? If your ignorant that's one thing. But if you know you won't be able to afford a car...do you still buy it?

[manol2]

I think for premium cars it's best to lease new ( and then buy it out if residual is good and you're happy with the car) and buy used
I bought a Jag for peanuts couple years ago and it's perfect.
Even if you have to spend $$ here and there, it's worth it.



This thread needs pictures!

[jepva]

Infiniti is a 4 year / 60k B2B and 6 year / 70k powertrain which is pretty good, so I should be good for awhile. But I doubt I'll really have the car past 50k.

[epbrown]

The flaw here is this is TCL. For about 80% of all luxury car owners the question is moot, because they lease. Most of the people that own luxury cars on TCL bought off-lease vehicles with little or no warranty, knowing they'd either DIY or use an independent.

I'm in both camps, though. I bought my BMW M Coupe new and it's currently out of warranty, and I bought my Porsche Boxster used. The plan for both is the same - I'll DIY the maintenance and small repairs, use a trusted indie shop for the bigger stuff if necessary.

[05blkGLI]

lease!

[Gbeav]

Repair bills are cheaper than a new car.

[Brendan@bwalkauto]

Bought my E39 used, with about a year of warranty left. The plan was, and still is, do the small stuff myself, and send it to my friends who are BMW master techs and work on the side for beer money.

Parts at cost, and paying someone 1/3 shop rate for the time they actually work on the car (not book time, as any good tech can come in under book on a lot of jobs), means E39 ownership hasn't been bad.

[JMTombstone]

Not my personal experience since I have never bought a car new, but this is what my grandfather does.

-Buy Audi (always an Audi, though he was cross shopping a Maserati Quattroporte and an A8 this past year, ended up getting the A8)
-Drive it until warranty is up
-Give it to one of his sons (whoever was next in line)
-Buy a new Audi

He did not want to deal with the service; instead he would pawn it off on my father or one of my uncles

[01tj]

Not sure if my E46 is considered a luxury car but I bought it after the warrenty was expired and have serviced it myself. So far it hasn't been nay harder or more expensive than my Jeep or our Flex

[Live-Wire]

My dad has been buying premium cars since the 70's.

- Tends to buy new
- If the price is right on the warranty, he seems to buy it
- Services them at the dealer, always. He's tried indy shops and has done the math to show he never came out ahead... I guess they would charge less per hour, but take longer to do most jobs. He usually buys Volvo, so the parts always were pretty reasonable (even thru dealer).
- He goes with the 'still cheaper to maintain then buy a whole new car' philosophy... The whole point of a luxury car is that in the long run its similar in cost to buying two decent 'throw away' cars:

This is his reasoning.

15 years ownership
Car A: $60k price, $10-20k in parts, maintenance, labour etc over lifetime, serviced at dealer. Sell for $2000-4000.

Total cost: $65-78k

Car B: $30k price, $3-5k in parts (possible more if in the 4-7.5 year range you get a bad design car and many things go wrong), maintenance, labour over 7.5 years, serviced at dealer. Trade for $5000 maybe a bit more
Car C $35k price (factoring in inflation), $3-5k in parts, maintenance, labour over 7.5 years, serviced at dealer. trade for $5000.

Total cost $61-70k+.

He prefers the smooth ride, quietness, better safety, features etc of the luxury car. Basically a luxury car will always feel like a luxury car, even when its old and outdated. A normal sedan will just feel old and crappy quickly.

[vasillalov]

Ooh, I know what I am doing with mine. My warranty is over and I am keeping the car for the long run and I'll be doing a combination of self maintenance for the more common things and taking it to indy shop for the more complicated items.

The reason why I started this poll is because I wanted to see what the general car enthusiasts would do in this situation. I wanted to see how many of you will see this from a purely financial stand point vs how many of you will look at this from an enthusiast point of view, so to speak.

[S0RRY]

DIY.

Why should the price of the car matter?

I feel it's pertinent to ask in this case...what do you ACTUALLY drive? Are you the guy with the Phaeton?

[PowerDubs]

I'm a guy with 'a' Phaeton, as well as a new 2012 Kia Soul that only cost $14k. My midrange car is a Mk4 R32 that I'm putting a turbo kit on currently.

I cover the whole spectrum.

[dmorrow]

This.

I generally think it's pretty sh*tty the car mfg's generally see 5 or 6 year loans but offer 3 year warranties. Frankly the idea of still paying on a vehicle loan and repairs disgusts me, even if they aren't entirely likely. Of course longer warranties lead to higher car prices.. so there's a tradeoff there.

You don't understand the length of the warranty and the term of the loan? It's their fault? Go ahead and take out a 3 year loan or buy an extended warranty.

[Ducky 2.0T]

Maintenance on a BMW M car or Merc AMG will cost A LOT MORE than maintenance on Kia.

Lol.

[Grey Mouser]

You don't understand the length of the warranty and the term of the loan? It's their fault? Go ahead and take out a 3 year loan or buy an extended warranty.

I understand them just fine, but I also think it's sh*tty.

When your _AVERAGE_ loan is 60 months I think it's obvious longer warranties would be preferred by most. Who wants to be paying on their car and repairs? Not anyone I know.

Obviously 3 year loans for folks who usually take out 5 year conventional is probably a bit of a stretch, nearly doubling your monthly payment.

[vwpiloto]

Obviously 3 year loans for folks who usually take out 5 year conventional is probably a bit of a stretch, nearly doubling your monthly payment.

Then one should buy a less expensive car. No one is forcing the consumer to have both a monthly payment and repair costs at the same time. That's strictly something the consumer is chosing to do himself. There are plenty of other options.

[Grey Mouser]

Then one should buy a less expensive car. No one is forcing the consumer to have both a monthly payment and repair costs at the same time. That's strictly something the consumer is chosing to do himself. There are plenty of other options.

Yeah, that's the answer.. rather than the moral high road of manufacturers not boning their clientele.

[vwpiloto]

Yeah, that's the answer.. rather than the moral high road of manufacturers not boning their clientele.

So manufacturers are morally wrong because they sell cars at certain prices, and allow the public to purchase them, if they chose to do so, via various, clear-cut and well explained means? And in this day and age, with all of the information avialable, if one still chooses to overextend himself to purchase something that is out of his reach, it's the seller fault?

[Grey Mouser]

So manufacturers are morally wrong because they sell cars at certain prices, and allow the public to purchase them, if they chose to do so, via various, clear-cut and well explained means? And in this day and age, with all of the information avialable, if one still chooses to overextend himself to purchase something that is out of his reach, it's the seller fault?

This isn't about being over extended, it's about the fact that I think it's downright ****ty for car manufacturers to KNOW the average length of a conventional loan (60 months) and elect to (in recent years even) shorten their warranties.

This is a separate instance from paying for your vehicle in year 3 and 4 and having repairs possibly gouge at your pocket book. Obviously some cars run trouble free, some don't.

So, Mr. Moneybags, what's life like taking out 36 month (or less) loans on a new car, since you're so adamant that's what the world should be doing?

P.S Taking a 16,000 dollar car without accounting for interest or taxes is still $444.44 a month for 36 months. Would you care to point out any NEW cars below this price point you can buy on a loan for 36 months that don't exceed $350 and don't suck AND haul a family of 4 comfortably? (My personal max at the moment).

Hell you can't even buy a lot of 'decent' used cars for less than $16k right now, and then the warranty on those is already gone in a lot of cases (not accounting for buying extended)

[1Point8TDan]

The Passat will be 10 years old this year and has only needed CV bootsand the coolant sensor replaced. I'm not worried about the A4 after warranty expires. Got a VAGCOM so I will most likely do the repair myself.

[Saintor]

Keep car - service anywhere (including dealer).

Out of warranty for a year now. Friday, I'll have a shop replace the front struts. 900$ job. Very bad roads here.

I budgeted 5400$ over 3 years for out of warranty repaired , not including what would not be covered under warranty (tires...).

I assumed 7 years total.... might be 8-9 if I lower my annual mileage.

[Shomegrown]

Step 1 - not care
Step 2 - enjoy car

[71DubBugBug]

Not mine, but in the family

had a 100k extended warranty through mercedes, and it was a nightmare and a half to get them to warranty some work, but eventually they did

I would not go with a 3rd party extended warranty, I did the math, and chances are if you have a huge bill on a 4/5 year old car, thats worth less than 20 grand, you are going to trade it in.

It all depends on how you maintain the car. If when you purchase it you want to keep it for good, you treat the car different, anyone know what im talking about?

Unless is a huge electrical mess, independent shop is your best bet, I dont know how bmw works, but many mercedes parts need a trip to the dealer once they have been installed.

[vwpiloto]

This isn't about being over extended, it's about the fact that I think it's downright ****ty for car manufacturers to KNOW the average length of a conventional loan (60 months) and elect to (in recent years even) shorten their warranties.

This is a separate instance from paying for your vehicle in year 3 and 4 and having repairs possibly gouge at your pocket book. Obviously some cars run trouble free, some don't.

So, Mr. Moneybags, what's life like taking out 36 month (or less) loans on a new car, since you're so adamant that's what the world should be doing?

P.S Taking a 16,000 dollar car without accounting for interest or taxes is still $444.44 a month for 36 months. Would you care to point out any NEW cars below this price point you can buy on a loan for 36 months that don't exceed $350 and don't suck AND haul a family of 4 comfortably? (My personal max at the moment).

Hell you can't even buy a lot of 'decent' used cars for less than $16k right now, and then the warranty on those is already gone in a lot of cases (not accounting for buying extended)

For one, many offer powertrain warranties to 60K miles, as that's where you'll likely have the highest repair costs, should any arise.

If you're looking at it strictly from a monthly payment standpoint, you have lease options that are far below that, for something like an Accord or Jetta (buddy leased a 2012 Jetta GLI with $0 down and $350 for 36 months, 15k miles per year).

There are plenty of used cars that can carry 4 in comfort and safety. Perhaps there are no NEW cars that meet your exact criteria of price point and carrying 4, limited to a purchase and not a lease, but there are plenty of other options such as used private party, CPO, or lease as already mentioned.

And for reference, you can buy a Kia Forte around $15K+taxes, or a Rio and Soul for $13.5K each, and all come with a 10yr/100k miles warranty. They are not going to have the same rear seat room as a Town Car, but they are certainly acceptable for kids or average height adults.

Another example is the Jetta, which has a 60k miles powertrain warranty, and will certainly seat 4 adults in comfort, and retails from just under $17K. This is obviously a bit higher than your price point, but you can buy a slightly used one for $16K or less, plus taxes.

I don't have bags of money, and I never claimed to either. I simply stated that overextending to buy something rests solely on the consumer, and the auto manufacturer. I can tell you that life is quite good living within my means, and I'm hoping that yours is as well.

[Grey Mouser]

For one, many offer powertrain warranties to 60K miles, as that's where you'll likely have the highest repair costs, should any arise.

If you're looking at it strictly from a monthly payment standpoint, you have lease options that are far below that, for something like an Accord or Jetta (buddy leased a 2012 Jetta GLI with $0 down and $350 for 36 months, 15k miles per year).

There are plenty of used cars that can carry 4 in comfort and safety. Perhaps there are no NEW cars that meet your exact criteria of price point and carrying 4, limited to a purchase and not a lease, but there are plenty of other options such as used private party, CPO, or lease as already mentioned.

And for reference, you can buy a Kia Forte around $15K+taxes, or a Rio and Soul for $13.5K each, and all come with a 10yr/100k miles warranty. They are not going to have the same rear seat room as a Town Car, but they are certainly acceptable for kids or average height adults.

Another example is the Jetta, which has a 60k miles powertrain warranty, and will certainly seat 4 adults in comfort, and retails from just under $17K. This is obviously a bit higher than your price point, but you can buy a slightly used one for $16K or less, plus taxes.

I don't have bags of money, and I never claimed to either. I simply stated that overextending to buy something rests solely on the consumer, and the auto manufacturer. I can tell you that life is quite good living within my means, and I'm hoping that yours is as well.

While most MFG's do go to 50/60k power train, I find the little non-powertrain things to be where the repairs come in for us historically. Radiator end caps warping (plastic! grrr), window regs, electronics or electrical.. none of that is covered under a power train.

We live within our means for sure, even more so now that the wife only works part time. It's just frustrating to even think about car repairs at year 3+ when a loan is still being paid on. Maybe it's just a personal peeve of mine.

[sg207ptg]

Pick a good tech at your dealership during warranty period and befriend with him/her.
Call him/her after warranty expires!

[Boogety Boogety]

We don't usually drive a car past the warranty period. The only exceptions: Cars we reeeeally like for sentimental reasons. But we never put a lot of miles on our cars anyhow...