[gpdriver17]

I just got an M5 and I'm debating if I should insure with Geico for their mechanical breakdown insurance. On an Audi forum someone blew their engine with a tune and Geico covered it. Downside to Geico is that they don't offer gap coverage. Can't win! So what is the worst case if the engine blows and the dealership tries to blame a JB4? Expensive repair? Find a used one for 20k? Or buy a new one for 56k? If it's 20-25k, fine, I'll pay to play. 56k, I'd probably consider jumping off a bridge for a bit, then pay it, sell the car and be sad for a few months.

I know almost no one ever has a BMW engine blow from a tune, but I also want to make sure I know exactly what I'm getting myself into and weigh gap coverage vs mechanical breakdown insurance.

Of course all of this is assuming the dealer detects the JB4 and can prove it caused the issue, which I've also read mixed reviews about.

[AddyDaddy]

I have Geico and just last year took advantage of their GAP ins. I'm in Florida so maybe it varies state to state, but they paid the negative $12k equity I was upside down of what KB value was compared to what I owed when car got totaled.

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by AddyDaddy

I have Geico and just last year took advantage of their GAP ins. I'm in Florida so maybe it varies state to state, but they paid the negative $12k equity I was upside down of what KB value was compared to what I owed when car got totaled.

Ahh, maybe I'll call and see if they have it! I'm in CA but didn't see it offered online.

[TrevorM3]

Originally Posted by gpdriver17

I just got an M5 and I'm debating if I should insure with Geico for their mechanical breakdown insurance. On an Audi forum someone blew their engine with a tune and Geico covered it. Downside to Geico is that they don't offer gap coverage. Can't win! So what is the worst case if the engine blows and the dealership tries to blame a JB4? Expensive repair? Find a used one for 20k? Or buy a new one for 56k? If it's 20-25k, fine, I'll pay to play. 56k, I'd probably consider jumping off a bridge for a bit, then pay it, sell the car and be sad for a few months.

I know almost no one ever has a BMW engine blow from a tune, but I also want to make sure I know exactly what I'm getting myself into and weigh gap coverage vs mechanical breakdown insurance.

Of course all of this is assuming the dealer detects the JB4 and can prove it caused the issue, which I've also read mixed reviews about.

expensive? yes..
you wont find an f90 motor for 20k, more like 40+.

Uhm, alot of BMW's have blown from tunes. Not sure where you got that info from... maybe not on the f90 (well, there is one on this forum, at least) i wont list tuner, you can find it yourself..

[r33_RGSport]

My suggestion, do some research on what tune to get.
Anyone can make a tune and claim that they are the best by pushing out more hp.
It is easy to satisfy the market just by claiming the most gain compare to the others. But, knowing how extensive of R&D that they put in, it is the hard one.

Also, not all BMW dealer are created equal. Some are trigger happy in voiding your warranty, some is not.
Maybe they used to work for Audi, where they void anything that doesn't have Audi logo.

[550Reasons]

If you blow your engine with a JB4, simply remove it and say you have no idea what happened lol

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

expensive? yes..
you wont find an f90 motor for 20k, more like 40+.

Uhm, alot of BMW's have blown from tunes. Not sure where you got that info from... maybe not on the f90 (well, there is one on this forum, at least) i wont list tuner, you can find it yourself..

40+ sounds like a new one? So what are the other options is the motor does blow? I found the one F90 that blew with a DME tune. Sounds like he got it rebuilt for 15k, not a big deal. If that's usually the worst case then I'm totally fine risking that.

I've searched, and my job is basically to google things, and I haven't been able to find many BMW's that blew from a tune? I'd love to see those links. There were 3 if I remember right. One was caused by a spark plug that failed. Another was caused by over revving the engine. And another one was a JB4, but the guy didn't install/remove it correctly so it was detected by the dealer.

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by 550Reasons

If you blow your engine with a JB4, simply remove it and say you have no idea what happened lol

Does that actually work though?

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by AddyDaddy

I have Geico and just last year took advantage of their GAP ins. I'm in Florida so maybe it varies state to state, but they paid the negative $12k equity I was upside down of what KB value was compared to what I owed when car got totaled.

I don't know how they covered you. This is from their website... "GEICO does NOT currently offer gap insurance." Maybe they used to?

[AddyDaddy]

Originally Posted by gpdriver17

I don't know how they covered you. This is from their website... "GEICO does NOT currently offer gap insurance." Maybe they used to?

Apologies, the gap was an add on I paid for from BMW dealer. It's on the page where you opt for "ding shield, wheel/tire, key ins and GAP ins. I had to work with Geico for the total loss forms and police report, with payment history to BMW financial. I assumed it was Geico who covered me due to all my emails back and forth with them for the loss forms to get GAP to cover the balance. Sorry about that

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by AddyDaddy

Apologies, the gap was an add on I paid for from BMW dealer. It's on the page where you opt for "ding shield, wheel/tire, key ins and GAP ins. I had to work with Geico for the total loss forms and police report, with payment history to BMW financial. I assumed it was Geico who covered me due to all my emails back and forth with them for the loss forms to get GAP to cover the balance. Sorry about that

Ahh ok that makes sense! Sorry to hear you had to go through that. Oddly the dealer I bought from and the local one won't offer gap. Trying to find a third party that does standalone gap coverage.

[rjd598]

there is zero logic here whatsoever

[Egrunt]

A member on the forum had his vehicle tuned and received a drive train malfunction message after his vehicle was tunes. You can read the thread over in the general forum section ( https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1626863 ). He returned the M5 back to stock configuration however BMW NA detected the tune and denied a warranty replacement of the engine. Cost for engine replacement with installation: $59,500.

While I have liquid assets to cover the cost of such a replacement I choose to keep my M5 stock as far a tunes are concerned. I enjoy reading the forum messages of those that have preformed the tunes and the performance enhancements it brings.

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by Egrunt

A member on the forum had his vehicle tuned and received a drive train malfunction message after his vehicle was tunes. You can read the thread over in the general forum section ( https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1626863 ). He returned the M5 back to stock configuration however BMW NA detected the tune and denied a warranty replacement of the engine. Cost for engine replacement with installation: $59,500.

While I have liquid assets to cover the cost of such a replacement I choose to keep my M5 stock as far a tunes are concerned. I enjoy reading the forum messages of those that have preformed the tunes and the performance enhancements it brings.

It sounds like he ended up having it rebuilt for 14-20k depending if he built or not. So if we assume it's 14k to rebuild as stock, then worst case with a JB4, doing a factory rebuild is 14k?

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

expensive? yes..
you wont find an f90 motor for 20k, more like 40+.

Uhm, alot of BMW's have blown from tunes. Not sure where you got that info from... maybe not on the f90 (well, there is one on this forum, at least) i wont list tuner, you can find it yourself..

Actually, 18k for one that's basically new.

https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1652611

[subzero05]

Originally Posted by gpdriver17

I just got an M5 and I'm debating if I should insure with Geico for their mechanical breakdown insurance. On an Audi forum someone blew their engine with a tune and Geico covered it. Downside to Geico is that they don't offer gap coverage. Can't win! So what is the worst case if the engine blows and the dealership tries to blame a JB4? Expensive repair? Find a used one for 20k? Or buy a new one for 56k? If it's 20-25k, fine, I'll pay to play. 56k, I'd probably consider jumping off a bridge for a bit, then pay it, sell the car and be sad for a few months.

I know almost no one ever has a BMW engine blow from a tune, but I also want to make sure I know exactly what I'm getting myself into and weigh gap coverage vs mechanical breakdown insurance.

Of course all of this is assuming the dealer detects the JB4 and can prove it caused the issue, which I've also read mixed reviews about.

well I can tell you first hand there have been plenty of blown motors out there on various BMW's due to the "tune" and/or dealers blaming the tune and voiding warranty, for flashed cars. Stick with a piggy like a Racechip or other and not worry about it

[RoseyLA]

What i don't understand is why the tuners don't create and underwrite insurance policies of their own? Perhaps Band together to increase the pool of risk? It would certainly be an up sell however it would give many peace of mind. Clearly only the top tuners with a lot of seat and R+D time would be able to sell something like this?

Im talking Stage 2 max. tune and DP max. I'm not talking about cars that are pushing the extreme boundaries such as bigger turbos. Just pushing the outer envelope. Perhaps have a PSI cap on the stock turbos of each car? I would most certainly be interested in such a policy which in turn would get me into the BMW (or any car for that matter )tune game with a new car. Doesn't a company like APR offer a power train warranty?

Full disclosure, I've owned many AMG's (which i purchased used) with full bolt on's including tunes and have not had many problems. I always did have an extended warranty and Indy shop or dealer that was mod-friendly.

[gpdriver17]

Originally Posted by RoseyLA

What i don't understand is why the tuners don't create and underwrite insurance policies of their own? Perhaps Band together to increase the pool of risk? It would certainly be an up sell however it would give many peace of mind. Clearly only the top tuners with a lot of seat and R+D time would be able to sell something like this?

Im talking Stage 2 max. tune and DP max. I'm not talking about cars that are pushing the extreme boundaries such as bigger turbos. Just pushing the outer envelope. Perhaps have a PSI cap on the stock turbos of each car? I would most certainly be interested in such a policy which in turn would get me into the BMW (or any car for that matter )tune game with a new car. Doesn't a company like APR offer a power train warranty?

Full disclosure, I've owned many AMG's (which i purchased used) with full bolt on's including tunes and have not had many problems. I always did have an extended warranty and Indy shop or dealer that was mod-friendly.

I completely agree! If I had extra time and an idea where to start I would love to start an insurance company that covers tunes/bolt on mods. More tuners should take after Dinan and just charge an extra 1,500-2,000 and cover the product! I would gladly pay 2k extra to have peace of mind and they would probably make a killing off it. Agreed, the cars would have to be checked out for other modifications and there would have to be a higher rate for some tuners like DME that really push it.

[RoseyLA]

Originally Posted by gpdriver17

I completely agree! If I had extra time and an idea where to start I would love to start an insurance company that covers tunes/bolt on mods. More tuners should take after Dinan and just charge an extra 1,500-2,000 and cover the product! I would gladly pay 2k extra to have peace of mind and they would probably make a killing off it. Agreed, the cars would have to be checked out for other modifications and there would have to be a higher rate for some tuners like DME that really push it.

I just got off the phone w/ Dinan (sister company of APR so a big player in the tunning world as most know). Interestingly enough, their tunes do offer a warranty that piggybacks on manufacturers warranty (https://www.dinancars.com/warranty/). It sounds pretty legit. I'm guessing they won't be super aggresive by who knows. Some of their previous tunes are solid products w/ a lot of R+D behind them. You've gotta purchased through an authorized dealer which in fact some of the BMW dealers actually sell their tunes. Guys on the phone said the F90 tune is coming Very soon...whatever that means. I'm going to try out their tune just for peace of mind. I'm also going to purchase directly from a dealer close by me.

[Fuel-It!]

Originally Posted by RoseyLA

What i don't understand is why the tuners don't create and underwrite insurance policies of their own?

Some do like Dinan but the economics are poor and you need a nation wide infrastructure to support any sort of warranty, to inspect vehicles looking for fraudulent claims, minimizing repair costs, etc.

[RoseyLA]

Originally Posted by Fuel-It!

Some do like Dinan but the economics are poor and you need a nation wide infrastructure to support any sort of warranty, to inspect vehicles looking for fraudulent claims, minimizing repair costs, etc.

you have valid points.

The shops around me have VERY meh reviews about Dinan. A few shops have mention NOELLE performance. I can't find much about them on the boards. I spoke with Ron who seems to know his stuff. They are claiming a huge 850HP on their website and a warranty to boot

thoughts Anyone?

[gpdriver17]

There tunes aren't at DME level, which is good for most. Not sure what they'll do to the F90 but on the Mercedes C63 they were very strong! I'd love to know when this is coming out.