While doing some digging online yesterday, I came across the BG Lifetime Protection Plan and a breakdown of how to qualify and remain eligible for coverage. There are two plans that differ slightly and start at 0-36,000 miles or 36,001-75,000 miles. This is the base coverage plan that is started by your free oil change (if you own a 2010-2011 Saab) offered at participating Saab Service Centers.
I also dug a little further and found a complete breakdown of the program and how to maintain your coverage and put that into a pdf format. I sent this off to SPNA and was told that the info I have is the same that they have and that it is in for final approval before being sent out to the dealer network which means it could change a little but this is the coverage as noted from the BG information I could find.
It is important to note that the SPNA team is about 20 between the main office and the warehouse. All of them are one person operations. In other words, a marketing and comm’s department run by one person. Another person is the IT department, etc. One person doing it all for each area of the operation. Trying to stay lean and cost effective as they start-up.
Sit back and read it at your leisure, there is lots to read. I hope this helps.
Lifetime BG Protection Plan
To maintain protection:
Service interval: 30,000 miles (50,000 km)
Engine service interval: 7,500 miles (12,000 km)
Fuel service interval: 15,000 miles (25,000 km)
Lifetime BG Protection Plan covers only components serviced by BG products.
Lifetime BG Protection Plan coverage:
Plan 1:
Initial service performed within
0-36,000 miles (0-60,000 km)
Plan coverage:
Up to $4,000 USD per service interval on:
Fuel System
Engine
Drive Line
Brake System
Cooling System
Power Steering
Up to $2,000 USD per service interval on:
Automatic Transmission
Plan 2:
Initial service performed within
36,001-75,000 (60,001-120,000 km)
Plan coverage:
Up to $2,000 USD per service interval on:
Fuel System
Engine
Drive Line
Brake System
Cooling System
Power Steering
Up to $1,000 USD per service interval on:
Automatic Transmission
Now the meat of it all and what is important to anyone thinking this could take the place of a warranty. If you have or are considering a warranty, I would say to keep it or to look into buying one because there is still more to cover then what the SAAB Secure will cover. This is a great plan that as long as you do proper maintenance, you will have some coverages that up to now you did not. Click the photo below to read all that is covered and what is needed to maintain coverage (this document was created by myself not SPNA).
JP – Thanks for the update. I look forward to hearing further details from my local dealer. I hope the dealers maintenace costs get more realistic with fair market value figures. The last I checked, they wanted $120 to do a synthetic oil change on my NG-9-5. I find part of this kind of ironic…when I owned SAAB’s in the past under warranty, with free scheduled maintenance, they would only change the oil for free when the oil light would come on between 10,000-15,000 miles (much too long in my opinion with turbos). The BG plans states 5000 miles between service intervals, which in my opinion is more accurate. I am glad to see that we are offered some type of protection, but at what costs? Most I read is theat they will cover all internal lubricated components, but not seals, gaskets, and solenoids. I also look forward to seeing the pricing of the various SAAB Secure extended warranty plans that will be offered.
Jiffy Lube is near $100.00 for a synthetic oil change for most cars (more if the crankcase takes more oil) so $120.00 from a dealer—-while steep—-doesn’t appear to be highway robbery. I’ve found independents who do these for under $80.00 too.
I am really not complaining, just stating a point. I have been going to the same quick lube place for years and they do Mobil 1 synthetic in all my vehicles. They charge $70 for a full service Mobil 1 change on my NG 9-5. I get mine changed every 5000 miles unlike the dealers 10,000 plus recommendation. I am glad to see the added coverage available.
Warranty or no warranty—-BG flushes and BG chemicals are a really good idea. I’ve used BG MOA and BG 44K. I also had a BG automatic transmission flush recently. By the way—-regarding the contention that ATF flushes are not a good idea (it was stated here that Saab sent out a bulletin discouraging them), I contacted Pat Goss of Motor Week about it. He said that manufacturers often issue blanket statements like that to cover the hucksters in the business—-with bad equipment and bad fluids. He was confident that the BG ATF flush is fine and restated that drain and refills are not nearly as good if you’re trying to prolong the life of the transmission—-as they do not change enough of the fluid to be of real value. I also know that without a flush, you leave old fluid in the torque converter.
I work as as service consultant for a Nissan service department, and we use all BG flush products and fluids. I use BG MOA with every oil change on both my 9-3 and 9-5, and I have used their fully synthetic transmission fluid flush in both as well. I sell these products all day long and I believe in them and will continue to use them in all my SAABS for years to come. GM & GM/SAAB has always pushed the customer away from regular fluid maintenence on their vehicles as a way of appearing more “green” to the powers that be. GM has called certain fluids “lifetime fill” in the past and in the future they have backtracked on that statement due to the poor mechanical condition of those components that were not serviced regularly. It’s all a big joke to us in the service industry, because everybody who works on cars knows that these components require maintenence to stay in tip top operating shape. My 2006 Saab 9-7x did not require hardly any maintenence according to the customer service manual and the oil life monitor did not kick on until at least 7,000 mile intervals. After 35,000 miles the truck was burning 3-4 quarts of oil between changes, power steering pump seal was leaking, the transfer case and rear differential fluids were BLACK. Makes me wonder who’s interests they were looking after, because it certainly was not their customer. I service every fluid every 30,000 miles and will continue to do so as it has proven time and time again that is the way to go. Oh, and Nissans are no different than SAABs when it comes to maintenence… they all need it:)
Nick: Some people will find this difficult to believe—–but old habits die hard and there was a time when General Motors ruled the roost. In the U.S., they had over 50% market share—-all of their divisions profitable and things couldn’t have been going better. At that time—-they had no interest in encouraging customers to properly maintain cars and keep them on the road for a long time. In fact, they had an interest in having 3 or 4 year old cars start to develop problems—-knowing that there was a very good chance the customer might trade the car for another GM product. If someone was frustrated with their Chevy, they might opt for a Pontiac—-and with Buick and Oldsmobile also selling affordable cars, it was like musical chairs. People really considered those divisions to be independent—-and would take chances on other GM products when their car ran like crap after a few years. We know times are different now—-but GM, slow as they are—-probably still has a good amount of old bean counters who think planned obselesence is a good idea. In fact, it was the Japanese auto makers who started “training” customers to stay on top of maintenance with their cars. Early on, they were very strict with tying warranty coverage to that mainteance book in the glove compartment—-and a lot of the Honda and Toyota customers in particular were religious with oil changes and other services. This paid dividends as those cars developed bulletproof reputations that live today. They tried to earn new customers by word of mouth of existing customers—-talking about how reliable their cars were. GM, with the huge market share, had the strategy of retreading existing customers to different GM divisions. We see now which idea worked better.
Thanks Jason, things are starting to come into focus which is really encouraging. I too look forward to hearing more about the extended coverages that will be offered.
Do they realize the oil/engine service interval on the NG 9-5 is 10,000 miles – not 7,500?
this program is a BG program so BG sets the interval and it applies to more then just Saab so it probably makes it easier to just use a set interval for all cars.
I can’t imagine leaving oil in a crankcase for 10,000 miles. I’ve never done that and don’t plan to.
I also don’t believe most oil filters are designed to handle those kind of intervals.
I was always amazed (the year I worked at our SAAB sister store service department) that I would see 2.0L 9-3SS’s, one after another, coming in at 15,000 mile intervals. The fluids would be bone dry because they hadn’t had regular service interval top-offs. The tire pressures would be very low, and the entire car, in general would be in poor shape. I think these recommended practices instilled a poor ownership pride in their vehicles condition and their overall satisfaction. We actually took to recommending that our customer’s bring their 9-3’s in every 7,500 miles for a customer-paid mobil 1 oil change service and then to wait till the maint. indicator lit up around 15,000 mile intervals for their free/warranty covered service program. It was convaluted, but our customer’s were rightfully unhappy with GM’s recommended service intervals. In my personal opinion, it has also diluted our SAAB used car market with questionably serviced vehicles for sale. This translates directly into poorer vehicle quality ratings and perception in the long run. GM had no idea how to build confidence with new SAAB customers. These are people that buy a car for a longer period of time and want to maintain it and take pride in their purchase. I have never considered my SAABs as a “recycleable” purchase. My intentions have always been to keep the car as long as possible unless I upgrade to a newer model/ lower miles. GM just didn’t “get” what SAAB owners were all about…
You’re right—-by owning Saab, GM had something they could have really nurtured and capitalized on—-but they fell flat. I was sucked in. When I heard that GM was acquiring Saab, I figured it would be a good marriage. My thought was that GM now had a bonafide European luxury brand and with GM financial backing—-Saab could become a full line car company—-to compete with the best and across the full spectrum of models too. I thought we’d finally see Saab brought into the mainstream as far as advertising, dealerships—-general recognition. Seemed as though we would get the best of both worlds—-the goodness of Saab with the power/backing of GM. And I knew that there would be platform sharing to conslidate and save money, but as I’ve mentioned here before—-some of the GM era Saabs—-even the ones with shared platforms—-are excellent vehicles that could have sold in large numbers if they had been managed correctly. Yep—-sucked into believing that GM would suddenly become smarter and better because they purchased Saab. But a zebra can’t change its stripes. GM was pitiful before, during and after owning Saab. A failure is a failure is a failure. Lesson learned.
Do you think SPNA will ever offer a complete coverage plan?
Not for free I do not. They will offer at reduced prices.
Good!
BG warranties only cover failures of INTERNALLY LUBRICATED PARTS. So, when your cylinder head gasket starts leaking, it is NOT covered. NO seals or gaskets are covered. The odds of you having an internal engine or transmission failure is slim if you do your fluid maintenences at 30k intervals, so there is little to no risk for BG to extend such coverage. It SOUNDS good in theory, but in practice it really doesn’t provide you with much coverage.
That might be true—-but at least it gets you thinking about performing the fluid changes/maintenance. And there’s always a chance that an internal part will go bad for some reason and at least you then have a possibility of having a major repair covered. If it’s a non-issue, maybe every fluid manufacturer should offer the same warranty they do. Also—-I think with or without this warranty, even if it’s a gimmick—-the BG chemicals are top shelf and worth having in your car.
This is why I have stated here and in other threads that if you have an extended warranty, keep it. Also, there are extended warranties that will be offered at Saab dealers for competitive pricing. The BG plan is good in that it will keep your car in great condition because you follow a strict service schedule and if you buy an extended warranty, this will continue long after the warranty is done. The BG plan may have limitations but in most cases it would at least cover part of the repair bill.
I’m still disappointed in GM’s lack of response. This seems like a token program that allows them to say they’ve done something, hoping Saab owners will give up/go away. Didn’t Castrol do something similar? Though of some value, I think it’s more of a benefit to BG than Saab owners.
This program has nothing to do with GM though, GM washed their hands of Saab and turned their backs on the customers. They made themselves look like they were good guys by offering the balance of warranty being covered on 2009 and older but this was always in place as GM was supposed to be paying Saab/Swan for warranty work on GM sold Saabs.
Why the heck would SPNA make an announcement without actual details. Ridiculous. Where is the info about the “other” warranty plans?
Baver, they are a complete team of about 20 people and there has been huge pressure to have something announced. Should they have had all info out at time of the press release? Sure but it still has to go through legal and all of that before the paperwork is sent to dealers. Maybe not all dealers do like me and search for the info myself but I had the time and did it, sent an email to SPNA to make sure the info I had was what they had and they answered me right away. I do have info on warranties as well and will try to track down pricing but it may take a while to do so. The team of 20 that they have includes the warehouse as well, so you can imagine there are not a lot of people to handle everything which would mean the person writing the press release is the same guy putting together legal documents for dealers to enroll customers into the program and dealing with the companies that are offering the plans and warranties that will be offered, not a small task by any means. They cannot afford to be spending on a marketing company to design all of these things for them which is usually the case and I have already seen them interacting on SU with customers who are having difficulties finding parts and getting the parts to them so I think they are doing a good job with what they have. I agree the info should have been all together before the press release but I think with what I have put up here, we know what the program is and we will have the extended warranty upgrade info shortly.
Checked in officially to see if any warranty product would be replacing CPO’s… Answer is no…
In the last years of SAAB in Canada, we didn’t have this program and I still find it confusing. CPO’s use to be backed by a warranty company and I believe in the past it was GMPP but I never had the program so I have not been able to find anything out on it. If it were just backed by SWAN, it wouldn’t be what I’m use to in warranties. If it were backed by a warranty company then we would have to find out who they were and then see why it is not covered anymore.
So I’m confused. Is this free? Is there a paid, “upgraded” warranty coming, also? Is my dealer really going to know about it? And by “my dealer,” I mean a dealer that used to sell Saabs, in which half the employees have probably come and gone since then.
What about the interim – will one have to prove they’ve stuck to a certain schedule in the past year?