defstar

Hey guys, need some advice. Recent new owner of an 08 C350, 68k miles. The place I got it from was really cool and got me to sign up for a 3 year/37k mile extended warranty that pretty much covers anything that happens to the car aside from basic maintenance items. They said the dealer accepts the policy so it pretty much will cover me if anything major happens, but I paid around $3,400 for it. I've read a lot about these cars and I am not in the range of the balance shaft issue and don't know of many other issues that are common so is it a good idea to keep the warranty at that price or should I get out of it. I have 30 days to let them know.

Thanks!

defstar

Oh, I forgot to mention, I think the deductible on the warranty is $400. I'm a very DIY type of person, always worked on all my cars, never took my car into a shop unless it needed an alignment, swapped motors, trannys, painted cars, etc. I've done it all. With that being said, I planned to pretty much do any maintenance or repairs myself but I'm not familiar with the electronics side of these things and they sold me on the fact that 1) aftermarket replacement parts aren't common (say if I needed something and went down to Autozone to find it, and 2) since everything is electronic it adds another level of complexity to things and some things I just wont' be able to do myself. Is this true?

greasykid

Try AAA warranties if you are a member.

centfl-c300spt

Having an extended warranty for a luxury car, esp a German one is the only way to go. I had on for my 2004 Audi A4 and it paid off so many times. The warranty cost $1800 from my credit union. My deductible was $250 per visit, regardless of how many repairs were being done. Total out of pocket paid for deductibles was $1250, 5 visits. Total the warranty company paid for repairs - $10,000!!!!!!!
I bought the car for $13,000. This model of Audi was not the most reliable.

Just to let you know, I bought a warranty when I got my Merc - $1900 with a $200 deductible per visit. I've only had 1 repair so far, the seat motor broke. Now, Mercedes only makes a seat rail with the motor built into it as one piece. This is $1300, but my mechanic got one for $1100 from LKQ. The labor is 4.5hrs @ $100=$450. So total repair cost is $1550. The warranty almost has paid for itself.
One problem these cars have is the actuator/servo pack from the tranny goes bad. The tranny itself is very robust, but the pack is around $2500 and is very labor intensive. Its on the bottom of the tranny, but above the exhaust. The whole exhaust has to come down as one piece. This repair alone would pay for the warranty.
I agree with you, I like to do my own work on what I can. Oil changes, air filter changes, most maintenance I can do.
Word of advice, read the contract carefully and more than once. There will come a time when you will have to fight with them to cover a repair they say isn't covered. Make sure if you have a repair, the deductible is per visit and not per incident/repair. Know that they can replace parts with used or rebuilt parts vs new ones.
(example; had my whole AC system replaced at Audi dealer. The warranty company wanted to use a rebuilt compressor but dealer wouldn't do the repair without an Audi compressor because the part wasn't theirs. The deal I worked out was the warranty company gave me a $500 credit towards an Audi compressor and I paid the $250 difference. Then when they were getting ready to bring the car up front to me, the passenger window regulator broke. They fixed it under the original claim from the AC system. One deductible per visit)
Good luck and good purchase.