Not many car companies here in Malaysia have a used car program. BMW has their Premium Selection and Toyota has their TopMark service. It’s not easy to setup but it’s good because it allows the companies some kind of control over their product’s resale value. Not complete control, but at least there is some sort of avenue to influence it if you have a business where you take in used versions of your products, refurbish them, and resell them at a good price with at least a one year warranty for that peace of mind.

New BMWs are potentially full of electronic niggles. Loads of sensors for this and that. Personally I feel the last BMW that’s fairly modern but yet isn’t too full of sensors and electronics is the early batches of the E39 5-Series – the one with the single VANOS M52 engine, I think the production year 96 to 98?

Beyond that, with the E46, double VANOS E39 and etc, things got a little over a ‘fine line’, conventional throttles were replaced by drive by wire, etc. So there’s alot of things that could potentially break when you buy a used BMW.

This is where used car warranties come in. Internationally, BMW and Allianz have just signed an agreement to intensify their cooperation on a global level. The agreement focuses on a range of vehicle and mobility related insurance products for end customers, such as automobile insurances and used-car warranties.

We’ve already seen Allianz insurance products offered under BMW branding here in Malaysia and its called BMW Motor Insurance. It guarantees that the buyer of a new BMW will be entitled to a brand new car if the car is stolen or totalled in an accident within the first 12 months from date of purchase. Even used BMWs purchased from authorised BMW dealers in a similiar predicament within the first 12 months will also receive a full insured value claim settlement with no market value adjustment.

This could potentially extend to things such as extended warranty programs, which will definitely be very valuable to a BMW buyer. The current plan is for BMW Service + Repair Inclusive to be offered for the first 3 years or 60,000km, whichever comes first. Another two years to cover more years of a typical 5 year to 7 year loan will bring peace of mind.