sleewell

So I just purchased my 06 C230 and my insurance guy asked me if i wanted to take a look at an extended mechanical warranty. it basically covers everything except oil changes, brake pads, and scheduled maintenance and i can go to any MB dealership or certified mechanic. it also includes towing and car rental. I am wondering if you guys think these are worth it or not. the plan i am looking at has a $50 dollar deductible and is for 36 month or out to 85,000 miles - whichever comes first. the plan is about $1700, which i know could be one or two trips into the shop but the way the car feels now could be a waste of money.

the car has 53,390 miles already, i don't drive much at all; less than 9k a year. i paid 200 bucks to get it checked out by a dealership before i bought it and they said the car was in perfect shape, but would need new brakes in a year (which wouldn't be covered by this plan). I guess i am just asking if there are known problems i should be looking out for once these cars get 4+ years old and the mileage gets higher. Things like electrical problems, computer problems, AC problems, power window stuff, engine, transmission, etc...

thanks,

bill

Glyn M Ruck

This is always a difficult one. I took an extended warrantee when I bought my car new and it has operated faultlessly - but sods law dictates that had I not taken this I would have had trouble.

One aircon compressor failure and you've got your $1700s worth and we have seen a few recently on the forum (search). These vehicles also have very complicated electrics which can be problematic, although by your model year they were much better sorted. Mechanicals are generally tough.

Would I take one again - Yes - for peace of mind & knowing that for one windshield wiper motor failure I'm square. It's your call. How long do you intend keeping the car?

sleewell

i have a 5 year loan on it, so i don't see selling it too much before then unless i start making a lot more money. i was debating on the 4 year, 100,000 mile plan also for only 600 more dollars. i know that whenever the warranty ends will be the day i have problems.

but on the other hand; i baby cars. i don't drive fast, i keep up on all the maintenance and put on less than 9k miles a year. my 99 jetta only had 83k miles and i was adding up repairs from the last 7 years last night: one brake job (wouldn't have been covered), one water pump and timing belt ($520) and a mass air flow sensor (wouldn't have been covered). i know these are totally different cars but it shows how i take care of vehicles and don't usually have problems. i am just worried about the stuff i cant control.

Glyn M Ruck

It's a hard call. I think I would spend the $1700 for 5 years + of peace. MB parts cost more than those for a Jetta. I also look after my vehicles. Why is the MAF not covered?

nickgailloux

Why take the chance? The $1700 is for the peace of mind. I'd be on edge knowing that the minute something goes wrong, my bank account was going to take a huge hit. I can pretty much guarantee you'll use the extended warranty for a claim at some point. Wether or not its a $1700 claim is tough to say.

My car has had roughly $5000 in warranty work done so far ($2800 to replace power steering rack and $2000 to fix belt tensioner and alternator three times), plus a few things here and there that were a lot cheaper.

I bought the extended warranty from Mercedes for $2000. Seems like a no brainer to me. I can see how the choice would be harder if you haven't had any major failures yet.

My car has 75,000km right now (46,600 miles). Factory warranty is up in four months, then two year extended kicks in.

bdbaker

I was put in the same situation this summer of wondering whether or not to take the extended warranty out on my 04 c320. I to take good care of my cars and get all of there check-ups done. It had only 61K when I got it and I also took it to a licensed dealer to make sure everything was up to par.

Long story short I ended up taking the warranty and when I moved to az my Take Car To Workshop notice came up. Turned out I needed new pads and rotors on the front, rotors on the back, some suspension and bushing work, transmission flush and other minor things i decided to take care of at the time to get the vehicle up to 100%. Total cost estimate 2500 the warranty covered about 1500 of that and the dealer I bought it from chipped in 500 to be nice for the failure happening so soon.

Then I was happy that I did get the warranty if you have the extra money to do it might as well. Because you'll kick yourself in the pants later if something comes up and you didn't. Plus if your financing you wont see much change in cost overall in your payments.

sleewell

awesome, thanks for the input guys, i really appreciate it. this forum rocks, i hope to be able to contibute some useful knowledge or experience at some point.

i am going to get it for sure after doing some research, reading your posts, and talking to some local mechanics. i guess now the choice is do i just get the 3 year/85 miles for $1700 or spend an additional 600 and get the 4 year/100,000 mile plan? seems like for 600 extra bucks going out an additional year or 15,000 extra miles would be worth it. i mean thats almost the entire length of my loan. and once any repairs are done in the 75-100k mile range the car should be set to go the long haul.

landru64

get it for sure.

Glyn M Ruck

I'm sure you are doing the right thing - I doubt you will regret it & if you're a little tight on cash then at least a failure won't ground you. We all want to drive our cars, after all, even if you keep the mileage low.

Saprissa

get the FULL enchilada !

4 year / 100,000 mile plan !!

it's worth it. That's what I have, and plan to milk it. Only problem is that my C-Coupe is barely over 43,000 miles... and still NO problems. But I do have peace of mind !


Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

Coming soon on Oct 1st.... details on the
SoCal Mega Mercedes-Benz Meet
15 November

FrankW

bring the key this way...i'll drive it for ya...