[MontegoGoGoGo]

I've never kept a car out-of-warranty before, and was wondering if they have some sort of "exit check-up" or something.

You know, like get EVERYTHING taken care of before the warranty expires?

Or should I just go over the car with a fine tooth comb and complain about every little thing and try to get it fixed?

I mean, there's really nothing wrong with it (knock on wood) I drive the car twice a week and it has 16,000 miles on it. She looks, literally brand new.

I really am still in love with "her" and I'm just not ready to get a new car yet!

I thought really hard about getting an extended warranty, because I'm a worrier, but I drive the car SO little that I can't justify it.

No, I'm not going to mod it, it's a 328 convertible, lol.

Thanks!

[E90Graphite07]

you're better off inspecting your car from top to bottom, bumper to bumper... and really check out what might be off. Items to check out I think are:

Interior: Door panels, handles, center console for peeling, squeaking seatbelts, flicking compass, ensure your display units for the AC (and nav) don't have any wicked distortion in lighting.

Engine/suspension: Check that the tranny is leaking (apparently common around 50-60K miles b/c of the mechatronics), control arm bushings, HPFP, Vanos solenoid, camshafts, fuel injectors.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head.

[fenixxishot]

It would be especially hard to justify an extended warranty in you case because it's driven so little. But that's just my two cents.

[driverman]

I recommend you pay for a thorough inspection/evaluation of the car from a good BMW dealer similar to what a potential buyer would want before buying a used car. And get a thorough write-up/description of the results.

My warranty is expiring soon too and that's what I'm going to do.

[chromisdesigns]

The dealers have NO incentive to find things to fix under warranty. Best is to take it to a good independent BMW shop, pay for the hour or so they will charge, and get an end-of-warranty inspection. Then take anything that needs doiing to the dealer and get it fixed.

[driverman]

Originally Posted by chromisdesigns

The dealers have NO incentive to find things to fix under warranty.

That's one way to look at it. Another way is that if the dealer checks out the car and says there's nothing wrong and they turn out to be wrong, they are responsible for failures that occur that were apparent at the time of the inspection. Plus, dealers make money off warranty work. I once had a dealer (not BMW) that wanted to replace my tranny because they made money off the labor. Plus, most dealers have the resources to help out if they miss something. An independent can't cover you in case they miss something major like engine work.

I guess the best way to do it is to do both - go to a great independent AND a good dealer. Given the thousands of dollars on the line for possible expensive repairs, a couple of hundred bucks for inspections seems like very cheap insurance.