2006 BMW M3

[RawrImAMonster]

I think that's going to end up being a lot stiffer than I need for car mostly used on the streets.

[Jake]

+1, no want for that type of kit given where I drive...

[Jake]

I dropped the M3 off with my local mechanic so he could give it the post-purchase inspection and see how much of a smackdown the warranty company was wiling to take. The good news is he thinks the warranty will cover 95% of this. He now has to put an estimate together and call them - and because the estimate is over $1k, they will want to send an adjuster out much like insurance would if you were in a wreck. I guess they do that just to make sure you're not using them to rebuild some awful car on their dime.

So, what it needs...

• Passenger side HID auto-leveling arm
  
• Rear sway bar end links
  
• Front wheel bearing
  
• Power steering high-pressure line
  
• Driveshaft center support bearing OR U-joint going bad

He thinks the warranty will cover all of that. He also noticed that one of the rear control arms appears to have been welded back together. Insurance won't cover that replacement and he recommended I replace it soon-ish.

So, mostly what I expected. Let's see what Route 66 wants to cover, and how much I'll have to get my own hands dirty.

[Jake]

Update from Gary and Route 66 -

They are going to cover the center support bearing, and if it ends up being the non-serviceable U-joint, they will pay to replace the $1100 driveshaft. So Gary is working on that today/tomorrow and I'll have the car back soon.

The rest of the issues are not covered. My policy excludes lighting components (leveling arm), doesn't cover wheel bearings if the policy was purchased after 85k miles (PO bought mine at 95k), and considers the PS line and end links "wear items."

I'm still pretty happy with the result of it all, they are covering the most expensive and biggest pain-in-the-ass item. I agree that some of the other stuff is wear related. I priced out everything I would need on FCP Euro and it totals a whopping $326, which is not bad IMO. I can replace a front wheel bearing in half an hour, same for sway links and PS lines.

I've got a ton of time off coming up in December, so I'll order those parts soon and deal with it on a random day off.

[rherold9]

Update from Gary and Route 66 -

They are going to cover the center support bearing, and if it ends up being the non-serviceable U-joint, they will pay to replace the $1100 driveshaft. So Gary is working on that today/tomorrow and I'll have the car back soon.

The rest of the issues are not covered. My policy excludes lighting components (leveling arm), doesn't cover wheel bearings if the policy was purchased after 85k miles (PO bought mine at 95k), and considers the PS line and end links "wear items."

I'm still pretty happy with the result of it all, they are covering the most expensive and biggest pain-in-the-ass item. I agree that some of the other stuff is wear related. I priced out everything I would need on FCP Euro and it totals a whopping $326, which is not bad IMO. I can replace a front wheel bearing in half an hour, same for sway links and PS lines.

I've got a ton of time off coming up in December, so I'll order those parts soon and deal with it on a random day off.

:thumbup: I should find a good reliable diesel mechanic in Richmond and should look into buying an extended warranty just in case. That's awesome they will cover the big stuff like that.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice! Headache stuff out of the way will be nice and good to hear they're covering the big ticket stuff!

[Jake]

The curse of #SaltBelt rears its ugly head, because of course, it's 2016 and why would things ever go right?

I'm going to the shop tomorrow morning to look at this thing on the lift, Gary said the exhaust is all rusted together, as are the nuts holding the hangers to the chassis. He's worried that he'll snap a stud off trying to remove the hangers. I have zero problem taking the car back and just drilling every damn bolt out of the exhaust, and replacing them with new hardware. The hanger studs would be more difficult, although it seems like some people are just pulling the trunk carpet out, drilling them through, and replacing with a nut/bolt combo.

I think Gary likes really minty cars, and is freaking out a bit because I brought him a 120k+ mile car from Indiana that looks like it lived there for a while. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I dunno, I guess if there's no holes in the body or at other structural points, the rest can always be repaired. It's just some bolts.

[Jake]

I went to look under the car today while Gary had it on his lift. He's kind of a perfectionist and really, he made it out to be way worse than it is.

The hardware for headers-to-midpipe has been replaced before, so that will be easy to remove. The bitch of it all will really be the midpipe-to-catback bolts, they are nasty and will have to be drilled out. Some of the exhaust hanger nuts came off easily, the others looked like they'd be a pain but I think with enough Aerokroil and patience, they may come off unscathed.

Also, looking at the guibo, it's starting to crack but is not torn to shreds. Just a typical 130k-mile rubber part. He gave me the one that the warranty paid for, and I'll do it eventually. The #1 priority is the front right wheel bearing, so I'll be doing that soon.

Otherwise, yeah, it's a 10-year-old car that came from Indiana. Seems alright if you accept that it's not a show car.

[ViPER1313]

Just hit all the nuts with a brass wire wheel before spraying them down with the penetrating oil of your choice. I have extracted bolts out of trailers that have been repeatedly dipped in salt water - it really helps.

[Beej]

All in all, not too bad - and yeah, the driveshaft is the worst job, so it's nice that's covered. But...

Also, looking at the guibo, it's starting to crack but is not torn to shreds. Just a typical 130k-mile rubber part. He gave me the one that the warranty paid for, and I'll do it eventually.

I'm assuming it's not done yet based on the warning about rust, but...it's just about the same amount of work to replace the Guibo as the driveshaft. Why not have him toss it in there?

[Jake]

All in all, not too bad - and yeah, the driveshaft is the worst job, so it's nice that's covered. But...

Also, looking at the guibo, it's starting to crack but is not torn to shreds. Just a typical 130k-mile rubber part. He gave me the one that the warranty paid for, and I'll do it eventually.

I'm assuming it's not done yet based on the warning about rust, but...it's just about the same amount of work to replace the Guibo as the driveshaft. Why not have him toss it in there?

So Gary knows that I'll do the guibo myself eventually because it's easy... he said that if I can get the exhaust to come off (and put new hardware on the bits that need it) he'll take the car back and just bill the warranty company for a new driveshaft and put it on for me as a "just in case it really needs it" sort of thing. He just doesn't want to have to bill me a ton of shop time for his guys sitting there drilling bolts out when he knows I can do it myself and save a few hundred bucks.

[ViPER1313]

Why wouldn't the warranty cover all work and hours necessary to perform the repair in question. If the exhaust has to come off and that takes x book hours as part of the larger job, it should all be covered.

Edit - it's like saying a piston ring failed but they will only cover install of the piston ring itself, not the removal of the engine, machine shop work necessary, etc....

[SlimKlim]

it's like saying a piston ring failed but they will only cover install of the piston ring itself, not the removal of the engine, machine shop work necessary, etc....

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a 3rd party warranty company pointed to fine print that said exactly that.

[Jake]

Why wouldn't the warranty cover all work and hours necessary to perform the repair in question. If the exhaust has to come off and that takes x book hours as part of the larger job, it should all be covered.

Edit - it's like saying a piston ring failed but they will only cover install of the piston ring itself, not the removal of the engine, machine shop work necessary, etc....

Because the warranty company doesn't wanna play that way.

The job is rated at 2.5 hours, they only paid Gary 1.85 for it, and told him that they would not cover any shop time if he had to spend extra time battling the exhaust to get it off.

They also would not cover the diagnostic time (even though Gary phrased it as "he brought it in complaining of these two problems related to your coverage") so that was out of pocket. Gary said that Route 66 and some other warranty company (RMP?) are two of the hardest to deal with due to fine print that they really push back on.

Hence why he's willing to slap a whole driveshaft on it even if it doesn't need it, as a stick-it-to-them sort of thing.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Time for exhaust upgrade...no I dont have one to sell you

[Jake]

Time for exhaust upgrade...no I dont have one to sell you

The thought of "I wonder who I know with a spare catback for sale" did cross my mind... :roll:

[ViPER1313]

Because the warranty company doesn't wanna play that way.

The job is rated at 2.5 hours, they only paid Gary 1.85 for it, and told him that they would not cover any shop time if he had to spend extra time battling the exhaust to get it off.

And this, children, is why you never waste your money on an extended warranty for your car.

[rherold9]

Because the warranty company doesn't wanna play that way.

The job is rated at 2.5 hours, they only paid Gary 1.85 for it, and told him that they would not cover any shop time if he had to spend extra time battling the exhaust to get it off.

And this, children, is why you never waste your money on an extended warranty for your car.

Or you read the proper fine print and get a good one...

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[D_Eclipse9916]

Because the warranty company doesn't wanna play that way.

The job is rated at 2.5 hours, they only paid Gary 1.85 for it, and told him that they would not cover any shop time if he had to spend extra time battling the exhaust to get it off.

And this, children, is why you never waste your money on an extended warranty for your car.

Or you read the proper fine print and get a good one...

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Or you realize it's just a form of insurance and you need to weight the cost/benefit of one. Hint: If you can work on your own car at all; using averages...you will come out way ahead not getting one. That company has a lot more experience hedging their cost vs the cost they give to you including their own overheads and profit %. :wink:

[rherold9]

Because the warranty company doesn't wanna play that way.

The job is rated at 2.5 hours, they only paid Gary 1.85 for it, and told him that they would not cover any shop time if he had to spend extra time battling the exhaust to get it off.

And this, children, is why you never waste your money on an extended warranty for your car.

Or you read the proper fine print and get a good one...

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Or you realize it's just a form of insurance and you need to weight the cost/benefit of one. Hint: If you can work on your own car at all; using averages...you will come out way ahead not getting one. That company has a lot more experience hedging their cost vs the cost they give to you including their own overheads and profit %. :wink:

This is also true.

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