Steve71

Hi All

It's time for me to think about whether I should buy the MB Canada maintenance package. Based on 2015 prices the 36 month package is $949. I was told that individual A maint is $350 and B is $550. So the package (A,B,A) is about 24% less than the individual prices. Sounds good on the surface.

Questions:

1. Do individual service prices ever get discounted (my annual requirement will be in late August to early October), which would mitigate the motivation to buy the prepaid package.

2. There are a few MB specialists here in town that do the maintenance for 35-50% less than Mercedes regular prices... which would make their prices less than MB's prepaid package. They come highly recommended. At least one I know is run by a former MB technician. If they use MB certified parts, is there a downside to using one of these?

3. I'm still deciding on the Extended Warranty. I wasn't planning to buy it right away though. But one line in the Extended Limited Warranty brochure concerns me. "The Extended Limited Warranty can be purchased at any time during the new vehicle basic warranty period as long as the current owner purchased the vehicle from, and regularly maintained it at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer. Would using a non-dealer specialist jeopardize my ability to buy the extended warranty later? Is that real?

So, do most of you buy the extended maintenance package? Anything else I should consider?

I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere else in the forum, so please point me if you can find it (I couldn't).

Thanks

rbrylaw

I purchase the pre-paid maintenance plan. It guarantees the service for the duration of the service years you paid for, regardless of whether there is a price increase along the way.

And yes, if you have your car serviced somewhere other than Mercedes could indeed jeopardize your ability to purchase the extended warranty FROM Mercedes. There are many non-dealer after market extended warranty plans, but I wouldn't buy one.

MASSC450

Since I don't plan on keeping my 2015 W205 for more than 4 years, I did not purchase an extended warranty. I did though buy a 3 year wheel/tire insurance plan ($998) since I have the 19" wheels. Those AMG wheels are like $700 each...and the run-flat tires are over $300 a piece! Replacement of just one wheel/tire combo would negate the entire cost of the insurance plan.

I also purchased the pre-paid maintenance plan as well to save money over paying full price at time of service, but I ended up purchasing a 2 year contract (A & B) for only $750 figuring to perform an "A" service oil change myself at 30,000 miles to save even more money.

One other thing to consider...I'm a big fan of some sort of "Clear Bra" for the front end. Even after a couple years through New England Winters, the paint on the front end of my past cars that had this protection still looked like new. I paid less than $700 for my "Top of the Line" self-sealing paint protection on the nose / front of hood / outside mirrors / top of rear bumper...which was installed at the dealership.

Steve71

Xpel Ultimate Paint Protection is in the cards. Probably bumper, full hood, partial fenders, mirrors and top of rear bumper. Probably done by an aftermarket provider within the first week of ownership if I can arrange it.

ua6-spec

I work at a dealer and I took the pre-paid maintenance. Its cheaper and so much easier when you build it into your lease vs having to pay for it all at once. just my opinion tho.

nbkvig2

It sounds like it is much cheaper in U.S. We usually can get a discount on the pre-paid maintenance package. The deal is $15+tax. Which comes out to about $18.xx after tax added to your monthly payment. Even if you don't elect to go with the pre-paid maintenance. Service A is only about $16x.xx+ tax with coupon. This is true at least in Southern California, where I live.

RTX

Knowing that you cannot guarantee the service price increase throughout the lifetime of your car, I imagine prepaid is probably cheaper on the long run.
I opted for a full service (everything) for the peace of mind (priceless).

tivoboy

Are the prepaid maintenance plans linked to ONE dealer only?

mikbar2

I took the extended warranty and am doing the services myself. As long as they're done to the schedule, you use approved parts and have the receipts they cannot deny warranty. The service A cost me app. 80 bucks to do myself. The A service says to change the ext. cabin filter. I pulled it and it's like new. Bet any money the dealer would not have tossed it and put in a new one. If they did they trashed a perfectly good part.

pmm

No. I purchased mine from MB Santa Rosa, used it twice at Smythe on San Jose and once in Oregon without any issues.