Inspection prices for a CPO

[lollerberry]

Hello fellow BMW owners,

I have a question about inspections and warranties. Two years ago I bought a CPO 325i 2003. I don't drive much so it's only now that I'm due for inspection.

The car is still under warranty and has about 78,000KM on it.

How much should I expect to drop on an inspection? Should I go for Inspection I or Inspection II? Is there a difference in prices between dealerships?

Would it be worth it to bring the car to an independent first, like BM Exclusif for instance? And then bring the list from them to the dealer?

I also found some signs of rust under the hood and under the driver's door :-(

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[dcaron999]

Two years ago I bought a CPO 325i 2003. How much should I expect to drop on an inspection? Should I go for Inspection I or Inspection II? Is there a difference in prices between dealerships?
You wont find much differences between I1 and I2 maintenance at various dealerships. Your CPO adds 2 years to your base 4year warranty, but you need to dish out $50 deductible for every visit. Your base expired in 2007, and your CPO will end in 2009. Inspection-1 and Inspection-II (http://www.bimmerzone.com/inspection.htm) are both overly expensive at the dealerships.
I recommend this one instead http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3804


Would it be worth it to bring the car to an independent first, like BM Exclusif for instance? And then bring the list from them to the dealer?
Please do that! It is worth the $50-75 you will spend with Norbert to go over your car with a fine tooth comb. It helped me in the past, and I was able to negotiate additional repairs be done on my car before the CPO warranty expired.



I also found some signs of rust under the hood and under the driver's door :-(

Good luck with that one. After you get the car inspected by an independent, call various BMW service depts, and negotiate with them on what they can cover. It should be the same everywhere, but you may find one that is actually willing to go the extra mile. I especially like Jean-Phillipe which used to be my service advisor at BMW Brossard (PArk Avenue).

[lollerberry]

Wow, thank you so much for your advice. I'll go to Norbert and see what's up. You're right about the dates by the way, the CPO expires in June 2009 so I guess I'll do a final check-up of everything, and probably I2, after the winter, just before it expires.

Rust is the most annoying thing, especially since when I bought the car 2 years ago, I specifically asked if I should do a rust oil treatment. The dimwit at BMW Laval told me no, it's galvanized steel, etc, and I believed him. A year and a half later I end up with two rust spots. Generally speaking I had the worst experience imaginable with BMW Laval, one day I should post about it.

Thanks again for your advice.

[dcaron999]

I re-read my post and realized one statement is confusing...
"You wont find much differences between I1 and I2 maintenance at various dealerships."

What I meant is I1 and I2 are both really expensive. I1 is a few hundred dollars and I2 is probably is close or above $1K. These prices should be almost identical regardless of dealerships.

You might want to analyse the links in my first reply, and make a list of must-do "maintenance" items, and take them to an independent shop. As for "defective" items, defend your rights and insist a BMW dealership of your choice handles these free of charge (excluding your $50 deductible).

May I recommend the brand new BMW Blainville dealership which offers exceptional customer service, as they want to win frustrated customers (not hard to do with big and mighty BMW Laval attitude).

[bmwqc]

May I recommend the brand new BMW Blainville dealership which offers exceptional customer service, as they want to win frustrated customers (not hard to do with big and mighty BMW Laval attitude).


I always thought BMW Laval had a reputation for good service (at least that's how I remembered it from their previous location)

[lollerberry]

I am really not happy with BMW Laval. It all started when I bought the CPO, and the first time I rolled down the driver's window and it got stuck (while scratching the tint).

Then the same thing happened with the sunroof. The first time I rolled it down, it got stuck with a screetching noise. That's 2 times I had to leave the car with them, after the first they didn't even do all the tests.

So I really don't know what it is that they do to make the cars CPO. It really didn't feel like they even made an inspection.

No reaction to my complaints from them AND from BMW NA. I like the cars, but the service is really terrible. Not sure I'll stick with BMW after this one.

I also tried Canbec for service, they fixed some sort of a valve problem for 1300$ and they put up a Canbec sticker on the car which I can't seem to take off. As if to rub more salt in the wounds.

My expectations of BMW dealerships are very, very, very low.

[Gregster]

I am really not happy with BMW Laval. It all started when I bought the CPO, and the first time I rolled down the driver's window and it got stuck (while scratching the tint).

Then the same thing happened with the sunroof. The first time I rolled it down, it got stuck with a screetching noise. That's 2 times I had to leave the car with them, after the first they didn't even do all the tests.

So I really don't know what it is that they do to make the cars CPO. It really didn't feel like they even made an inspection.

No reaction to my complaints from them AND from BMW NA. I like the cars, but the service is really terrible. Not sure I'll stick with BMW after this one.

I also tried Canbec for service, they fixed some sort of a valve problem for 1300$ and they put up a Canbec sticker on the car which I can't seem to take off. As if to rub more salt in the wounds.

My expectations of BMW dealerships are very, very, very low.

I am convinced they do nothing except give it a quick check and toss it outside,How much more does BMW charge for a CPO car? 3k-4k more?

Yeah service at BMW Laval is rather terrible.. Canbec is ok, their guy in the parts dept is really good. I think Park Avenue is good as well.

[lollerberry]

I would say they charge more than 3-4K for a CPO.

The problem is that a CPO is basically only good for huge problems, like a completely failed motor. But whenever you bring in the car for any problem at all, it will likely not be covered by the CPO warranty.

I'm bringing the car in to Norbert at BM Exclusif on Monday, we'll see what the damage will be like... Seems like a nice guy.

[dcaron999]

I think CPO is just marketing hype, and yeah they make more money off of it by NOT inspecting it too thouroughly. At least, it holds BMW responsible for some of the major "non-maintenance" and "non-cosmetic" repairs. The good part is that you can take your car to any dealership, as customer service and satisfaction varies tremendously from one to the next.

I vote for BMW PArk Avenue Brossard, and BMW Blainville.