I can’t answer your question specifically as it pertains to 3/5 series. However I’m in the same situation with my kids vehicles and was shocked to learn you literally can’t get a brake job done for under $300-$350 for any sort of a car. I’m talking a 15 year old Lexus and a 10 year old Toyota…both north of $350. Took our S5 vert in for service and was warned brakes will be coming due…$700 for the front.
Haha I don’t know the actual amount but outside of a routine oil change I don’t think there’s anything service related at a bmw dealer in that price range.
Labor is $100-150/hour and I’m sure it’s a minimum 2 hours per axle before even getting into parts. Pads, Brake pad sensors, and possibly rotors depending on the car and how hard you drive it I guess.
$600 really is reasonable for UC+
I would assume most bmw drivers, drive their cars pretty hard.
Not to mention clutches if you got a manual beast.
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My son got his car 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the advice.
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If UC+ or any other maintenance or extended warranty plan was consistently a winner for consumers (paying out more than the plan cost) prices would have to increase until that’s no longer true.
These plans aren’t charities; they’re designed to make a profit.
Does anyone come out ahead? Of course. Will you? Statistically, no, you will not.
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Of course, but we’re informing of the benefits and risks. If you have a car that may eat brakes or a M car that may need clutches or work, it’s an option for insurance no?
Statistically, you won’t come out ahead, or there is risk, odds are you won’t die spontaneously in your 40s but people still buy life insurance.
IMO about cost and risk assessment; not just overarching statistics and people that just buy it to have it or are up sold on it.
And batteries too…
I have gotten UC+ for as low as $350. Higher than that and I havent bitten yet.
The other ancillary benefit is if one plans to swap, UC+ will go with the car whereas the standard maintenance will not.
$500+ to replace brake pads? I’d rather die…
M car brakes:money_mouth_face:
It’s important to be specific what “brake job” means.
Pads
Pads + sensors
Pads + resurfacing rotors
Pads + brand new rotors
Brake fluid is another thing.
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BMW service prices are all over the place. Like something as simple as oil changes vary from $50 to $150.
Death and brake pads are two very different types of losses.
And buying life insurance isn’t automatically a good idea either.
You generally buy life insurance when the death would be a catastrophic loss to those who rely on the insured’s income, and if the income would be difficult or unfeasible to replace.
We carry no life insurance beyond what our employers provide in our respective benefits packages. The actual value to us for these benefits is effectively $0, as we would never go out and buy coverage.
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Let’s stay on topic, which is about canceling additional BMW plans.
Let us know how it works out. @atBHone
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Brake fluid flush would be included in standard maintenance. Brake job most likely will include rotors as I don’t think they resurface rotors much. So if you drive the car hard enough that warrants new brakes then it’s worth it IMO.
Great point…my post was specifically just doing pads and rotor resurface. Our S5 quote was the same, but could go up to $900+ if new rotors are needed.
No problem!
Like others have said and I experienced myself, getting UC+ is a good deal if you know you usually go through brakes before the end of a lease. If your son’s lease is 12/7,500-10,000k I wouldn’t sweat it, but any more and it might be worth negotiating a discount on UC+ like I did, just in case.
In the past I’ve had to change brakes at 38k and 40k on a 36/15k lease, but that’s just me. If you want UC+ for a longer lease you can buy UC+ 1 that extends to 50k miles with a MSRP $1200. That price is just a little harder to swallow, unless you have a M car
I’ll provide updates once available.
It’s my sons 1st BMW on a 36/10K lease. His prior car was a Subaru Crosstrek which he sold after driving it for 26 mos. with only 22K miles (not a lease though). It was in mint condition without any exterior/interior/mechanical issues. He is a defensive driver and takes good care of his car. He drives 60% in FWYs vs city streets. He believes he does not need it and I kinda agree with him.
I wish I bought it for my M4, especially since I could have gotten it for a little less as an employee then. Only one minor track day (wasn’t pushing it hard, just some cruising laps for fun), and my front pads will need to be replaced at 30k miles and my lease is for 36k miles. It will probably cost $500 just for the pads to be replaced and hopefully the rears can hold out. It is not a lot of money to replace the front pads, but I would have made it a mission to get new pads and rotors around 20k miles if I bought the UC+.
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Hard to consume brakes, especially rotors, without also consuming tires.
That’s a bigger expense than the “savings” that UC+ offers