[Jack be Quick]

Well, I have read all about the piggy backs and so forth here, but in the end I want to maintain my warranty and will take the 'safe' route with a Dinan Stage II - scheduled for tomorrow. Cant wait! Should go nicely with the Billy Boat exhaust. My wife has already taken over my 545, so it's time to make the 335 'mine'.

[RON1X]

congrats, I look forward to hearing your impressions!

[HTRules]

Originally Posted by Jack be Quick

Well, I have read all about the piggy backs and so forth here, but in the end I want to maintain my warranty and will take the 'safe' route with a Dinan Stage II - scheduled for tomorrow. Cant wait! Should go nicely with the Billy Boat exhaust. My wife has already taken over my 545, so it's time to make the 335 'mine'.

Are you going to have to send your ECU out to Dinan or is there a dealership locally that will do the software download?

I also have the S2 - I'm sure you'll like it. The difference before and after install is amazing.

Rick

[robbie8302]

Great choice! I had mine upgraded a few weeks ago to the Dinan S2. Nothing better than "safe" ponies! Dinan FTW.

[ZombiE90]

did you get your car used/CPO or new 3 years ago, and how many miles do you have on it? either way, make sure you read Dinan's warranty policy thoroughly. they match BMW's factory 4-year/50,000 warranty from the ORIGINAL date of purchase. in other words, you'll probably only get a year out of the warranty. Dinan software voids your BMW warranty and replaces it. A year from now if you take it in with problems, you're SOL. just a thought... note that i have Dinan too...

[MF80]

Nice and congrats.

How much does it cost and are there any regulation term to follow?

J-

[GaryS]

Congrats! You will love it. But get used to ignoring piggyback trolls.

[Jack be Quick]

Checked with my warranty / maintenance performing BMW/Dinan dealer - I am good with my CPO through end; thanks for the heads up.

Cost is a little under 2K with the current Dinan specials and install time is expected to be about an hour. I know, a lot more then a piggy back - but I don't want any warranty issues / concerns keeping me up at night. I have enough other 'toys' that I am 100% repsonsible for when I break them. I don't want to add my daily commuter to that list.

Car has about 40k miles on it and we put a Billy Boat exhaust on last year (replacing a muffler delete, which replaced the golf tee mod...). After the software upgrade I'll look for an intake change at some point.

[RoundelM3]

I've got S2 as well...haven't tried it in a Steptronic, but it's great in a 6MT. You have the advantage of not having to lift the throttle for shifts, however. I'd recommend a good DCI - I've got an AFE and it works quite well, but I'd probably recommend the "dry" cone filters as opposed to the oiled cotton ones I have - they dry out too quickly.

Sounds like your deal cost about the same as mine - $2K installed - and we both have CPO warranties. My understanding is that Dinan's warranty is a parallel warranty, not a replacement. My recent steering-angle sensor replacement was covered by BMW, not Dinan.

[zeenon53]

I am confused here. I spoke to Dinan direct and they told me that the CPO will be voided with the Dinan software and only the original 4/50K will be upheld. That was from 2 different reps at Dinan headquarters. Don't trust the dealerships, they will tell you what you want to hear in order to make the sale.

[Crisp]

I'm a bit confused with Dinan and warranty.

What I want from a tune is for it to offer north of 70hp and my BMW warranty to be there, not a 3rd party warranty.
I want to be able to go into a BMW dealer when my HPFP fails (or other related issues) with the tune in the car and them to fix it without bitching about the tune causing the problem.

From what I have heard, and dealers that I have spoken with (Rallye, and another one in Queens), BMW no longer warranties a car with a Dinan tune (or any tune at all) in it if there was to be a problem such as a HPFP.

Anyone care to shine some light so I can get this straight once and for all?

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by Crisp

I want to be able to go into a BMW dealer when my HPFP fails (or other related issues) with the tune in the car and them to fix it without bitching about the tune causing the problem.

Buy your Dinan tune from one of these guys:

Prestige BMW
985 Route 17 South
Ramsey, NJ 07446

BMW of Greenwich
110 Midland Ave.
Port Chester, NY 10573

Habberstad BMW
945 East Jericho Turnpike
Huntington, NY 11746

BMW of Ridgefield
746 Danbury Rd.
Ridgefield, CT 06877

[ZombiE90]

This is what I've heard too. Nothing about extending warranties for CPO or anything. To my understanding, ANY tune voids the warranty, Dinan just matches BMW's. So you have an issue with whatever during your 4/50, take it in to the dealership, and get it fixed, then BMW decides where the bill goes (them or Dinan).

Originally Posted by zeenon53

I am confused here. I spoke to Dinan direct and they told me that the CPO will be voided with the Dinan software and only the original 4/50K will be upheld. That was from 2 different reps at Dinan headquarters. Don't trust the dealerships, they will tell you what you want to hear in order to make the sale.

[Jack be Quick]

Dinan has it's own warranty that runs in parallal with the new car normal warranty (number of years from original date and mileage) - it does not supercede the BMW warranty. When your car goes into extended warranty - if you buy it or through a CPO - it is not superceded by Dinan or voided out.

I feel as comfortable as I can be with the upgrade and later coverage. I've talked to Dinan corporate, local Dinan reps, and my dealer - who is also Dinan authorized.

[ZombiE90]

i'm not trying to argue, just stating what i've heard from my dealer and dinan as well. the dinan website makes no mention of an extended warranty to match CPO warranty.

http://www.dinancars.com/bmw/warranty

[zeenon53]

ugh...just called Dinan again. I didn't really get a straight cut answer this time if the tune would void the CPO. I was told that they couldn't void the warranty unless the tune caused the problem and the quoted the M&M act for car modifications. I really want one of the tunes but can't seem to get an answer from anyone. It's not looking good.

[zeenon53]

Originally Posted by ZombiE92

i'm not trying to argue, just stating what i've heard from my dealer and dinan as well. the dinan website makes no mention of an extended warranty to match CPO warranty.

http://www.dinancars.com/bmw/warranty

Dinan won't have anything to do with the CPO, they will only cover the original 4/50. That's for sure. Now will your dealership still honor the CPO, that's the real question.

[GaryS]

There was a letter from BMWNA that told dealers not to sell CPO for cars with Dinan tunes installed after a certain date. But some dealers are still selling CPO for Dinan cars anyway. I know that at least some of them are honoring these deals, and I haven't heard of one not honoring the deal, but I know I would be worried.

[RoundelM3]

I had my Dinan installed after I purchased my CPO. My dealer is part of the Penske organization and doesn't consider Dinan as a warranty-voider. It's really all up to the dealership management.

[canesr1]

my dealer is a dinan dealer as well. My story is a little different. I've now had the half-engine light come on three different occasions. The 1st time they replaced a sensor. 2nd time did a software update. This was all done under BMW warranty.
Now this time they don't know what to do so they took off my Dinan flash and told me to drive around w/out it until the engine light comes back on. So now I have NO tune until this light decides to reappear and I'm out $2000. I feel like I got robbed.
It's been 2 days and about 100 miles and the car seems fine. With my luck, this light will never come back on.
This sucks

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by canesr1

Now this time they don't know what to do so they took off my Dinan flash and told me to drive around w/out it until the engine light comes back on.

Did they explain their plan in a way that makes any sense?

[dlbrooks18]

Originally Posted by canesr1

my dealer is a dinan dealer as well. My story is a little different. I've now had the half-engine light come on three different occasions. The 1st time they replaced a sensor. 2nd time did a software update. This was all done under BMW warranty.
Now this time they don't know what to do so they took off my Dinan flash and told me to drive around w/out it until the engine light comes back on. So now I have NO tune until this light decides to reappear and I'm out $2000. I feel like I got robbed.
It's been 2 days and about 100 miles and the car seems fine. With my luck, this light will never come back on.
This sucks

if they did a software update the 2nd time that would have overriden the flash.. so what did they do differently to take off the flash the third time??.. if you get new software you must also reflash.. I think you've been w/o your flash longer than you think, which is kinda scary because you should have noticed the power difference...