IT’S TAKEN A WHILE for European companies to admit that longer warranties being offered by other companies are having an effect on purchase intentions. But customer pressure has finally won out with BMW moving to a five-year, unlimited kilometre factory warranty.
The new warranty replaces the three-year unlimited kilometre offering and takes effect from November 1, 2022. BMW Group Australia will also extend the validity period and offer the new warranty to customers who purchased a new BMW, MINI or BMW motorcycle on or after October 1, 2022.
The new warranty offering complements an established suite of services that form part of the BMW and MINI BEYOND ownership packages offered complimentary upon purchase of a new BMW and MINI model.
This includes emergency call, full use of café facilities at dealerships across the country and a host of digital assistance services that can be accessed via the My BMW App or MINI App. These services connect the driver to the vehicle, deliver updates in real time and provide the ability to control certain functions of the vehicle remotely.
For owners of fully electric or plug-in hybrid BMW and MINI vehicles, these new apps can display a new level of information about the battery charge state, range and charging history.
These digital elements add to the advanced remote services already offered for BMW and MINI vehicles, such as the ability to lock and unlock the doors, sound the horn, flash the headlights and ventilate the cabin via the app.
Wolfgang Buechel, CEO of BMW Group Australia, said the new warranty was available to customers just as the company was expanding its portfolio of services, product lines and electrified models, the range of which is among the broadest of any manufacturer represented in Australia.
“The new warranty offering perfectly complements our extensive range of ownership benefits, making the purchase of a new BMW or MINI even more compelling while providing long term peace of mind for our customers during their ownership journey,” Mr. Buechel said.
“We selected this time to introduce our new warranty along with the market debut of the seventh generation BMW 7 Series – a vehicle renowned for treating its occupants to peerless levels of luxury, technology and refinement.”
“We look forward to introducing our new warranty and collaborating with our valued dealer network around the country to continue providing a high level of service and experiences to our customers.”
In addition to the complimentary solutions offered with the new warranty, BMW Group Australia will continue offering its successful range of BMW Service Inclusive (BSI for cars and motorcycles) and MINI Service Inclusive (MSI) maintenance plans.
BSI and MSI enable selected service and maintenance costs to be covered by a single, one-off advance payment and are available in different levels and packages.
Purchase of BSI and MSI plans also unlock additional owner benefits as part of the BMW and MINI BEYOND ownership program. These include vehicle detailing services and access to accessories such as roof racks for weekends away.
The BSI and MSI plans utilise the advanced Condition Based Service (CBS) system, which deploys sensors and algorithms to monitor and calculate the conditions in which a vehicle is used, including mileage, time elapsed since its last service, fuel consumption and how a vehicle is driven.
Based on the information captured, maintenance requirements are determined, identifying whether an annual vehicle inspection or oil service is due.
The CBS system and tailored BSI plans are also in place and available for the BMW Group’s expanding line-up of fully electric models, which have their own set of specific maintenance requirements.