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Does the 6-month warranty cover the top? What the m&a warranty covers on a convertible

Started by first_droptop_ana on Jul 30, 2025 in Buying and auctions, 6 posts

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first_droptop_anaOP
Fair Weather Phoenix, AZ 6 posts, joined Jul 2025

#1

first convertible, and the first car i'd buy that isn't from a dealer, so please be patient with me.

on the m&a listing there's a 2019 BMW 430i convertible, the folding hardtop one, 41k miles, white with the cognac interior, sitting at a lender yard in Houston. i love it. everything i read says the BMW roof hydraulics are expensive when they go.

so my question. M&A Auto Sales lists a limited warranty on cars, half a year or ten thousand miles, whichever hits first. does "limited" include the roof? if the top dies in month three, am i covered or am i paying BMW?

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garage_kept_only
Coast Runner Scottsdale, AZ 31 posts, joined Jun 2025

#2

i don't know the answer to the warranty part. i know the car. the folding roof on those has a hydraulic pump, a set of cylinders, and a lot of little switches that tell the computer where each panel is. the cylinders seep with age and Arizona heat doesn't help the seals. a pump is the big bill. before you bid, watch the top cycle on video and listen. a healthy one is smooth and steady. a straining pump sounds like it's working too hard near the end of the travel.

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corvette_tech_hector
Coast Runner Bowling Green, KY 38 posts, joined Jun 2025

#3

from the shop side. "limited" warranty almost always means a list of covered parts and a list of what isn't. the only answer that counts is the written terms, not anybody's memory. ask m&a for the warranty document before you bid and read the exclusions part twice.

separate thing. the 30 day money back guarantee is for a car that was materially misrepresented. if the listing shows the roof working on video and it shows up dead, that's a different conversation than a warranty claim. so make sure the listing actually shows it working.

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first_droptop_anaOP
Fair Weather Phoenix, AZ 6 posts, joined Jul 2025

#4

i emailed monday morning. the answer came wednesday afternoon, which felt long when i was refreshing my inbox every hour.

they sent the written warranty terms and said coverage is what's in the document, and that they wouldn't promise anything about one specific part by email. honestly i respect that more than a yes. i read it three times. the roof mechanism isn't called out by name either way that i can find, so i'm going to treat it as not covered and price a repair in. the m&a people also sent the full top cycle video when i asked for it. smooth, no noise that i could hear.

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sandiego_gt_vert
Top Down San Diego, CA 9 posts, joined Jul 2025

#5

same experience on the Mustang. never needed the warranty so i can't tell you how a claim goes. what i did was ask for the top cycle video before bidding and i got it the next day. if they'd refused i would have passed on the car. the soft top on a Mustang is a much cheaper failure than your BMW roof though, so your plan to hold money back makes sense.

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first_droptop_anaOP
Fair Weather Phoenix, AZ 6 posts, joined Jul 2025

#6

decided. my real limit for that car was 29,500. i put in 27,500 and kept 2,000 aside for the roof, so if the pump goes in a year i'm not panicking. the lot closes friday. Houston to Phoenix is about 1,170 miles, so i'm figuring around 120 dollars of delivery past the free part.

thanks everyone. i'll post either way.

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