GoodBeach

My CL65 has 50k miles. My first extended warranty just expired and so far repair costs have been relatively few. I paid 3K for extended warranty and I have had about 2K in repairs. One ABC hose blown, trunk latch, relay, and seat massage line repair.

I can get an Easycare complete care 5 year 60K $500 deductible for $11,300. I don't put many mile on the vehicle per year. Is it mandatory to have a warranty as some advise or at this price should I take my chances on repairs? What would you do?

eaks

I would not pay that personally.. You are looking at about 40% the price of the car for warranty.. That is outrageous.. Are you able to do repairs yourself? If not just find a good indy and you will be ok.. It would take a bit to rack up 11,300 in repairs (on top of the $500 per repair)..

kamilclk430

No No and once again No. You won't come out $11,000 in repairs over the years, and if you do than you should consider another car

BlownV8

If your only option is the dealer, you will probably spend that in repairs. That is, if and only if, it covers the ABC suspension and components.

V12TTenthusiast

Wow wtf 11k for a warranty... passss

I bought mine at the 39k mark about 2 1/2 years ago for 4 years/50k with only 100 dollar deductible for only 3700. I made my money back on the first sevice since all R230 V12s need there engines to be dropped for engine mounts (20 hr book time job)

I put 27k miles so far in the 2 1/2 years and and still go

So far I got covered

2 ABC Pumps
Both Front Struts
1 Wheel Bearing
2 Wheel Bushings
1 Tire Rod
Both Ignition Coils
Engine Mounts
Vacuum Pump
Conductor Plate

I mean this was pretty expected but the the labor on some of these jobs is more than the parts. I prob banked out more than 3x what I paid already. But 11k you might as well be breaking even when its all done. Sad thing is I still got 23k/1 1/2 years to go so I might even get 4x what I paid since I'm prob due to transmission mounts and flexdisc replacement for the drive shaft when I hit 70k (at 66k right now)

biker349

who is you warranty with?

V12TTenthusiast

Fidelity

fireman685

Take that $11k a And stick it into a maintenance account, then find a good independent mechanic who specializes in German cars. Stay on top of the routine things and have the ABC flushed and inspected.

GoodBeach

So far advice has been consistent. I have heard some horror stories of multiple, expensive repairs. Sounds like odds are pretty even on whether I would spend more on warranty or repairs. Warranty increases resale value and adds some peace of mind but it doesn't seem worth 11k.

I will get ABC flushed and try aftermarket filter. Mechanic did not recommend changing accumulators.

BlownV8

If you have USAA, you can get a great warranty from them. Some say Fidelity is good but I can't vouch for them; in fact there are a bunch of really unhappy Fidelity Warranty customers if you do an online search.

Mercedes22

Did he give a reason for not changing the Accumulators ?

GoodBeach

No, but I am going to try to meet him sometime soon and I will pursue further. What do you recommend and why?

fireman685

The accumulators will start to fail around 70k miles. When they rupture they can contaminate the system causing further problems. The left front and further most rear ones are the big ones and the ones that will be most likely to fail first. I would suggest changing them out before they fail. The old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" doesn't apply to Active Body Control. One problem usually leads to another.

Mercedes22

AS above.

Accumulators should be part of your maintenance and 70/80,000 is about the mileage they should be changed,

GoodBeach

O.K., didn't get extended warranty. I have 50k miles. Planning on A service and first ABC fluid and filter change. I was quoted $185/accumulator and 2 hours of time for one. With low mileage should I change now or wait 20k miles even though that may be 4-5 years? Change 1 or 2?

Dr Matt

IMO, on a 10 year old car I'd replace them all BEFORE you have issues.


I went ahead and replaced all of mine at just under 50K miles when I blew my HPE hose. I already had the car down for ABC repairs, it's 10 years old, and IMO I'd rather replace them early than spend a bunch more on repairs and Pentosin again later. I suspect one of mine had already blown when I got the car off the barge getting shipped to me. The pre-purchase inspection I had done by MB of Seattle said the ABC system was in good order. However, when it got to me there was some fluid that looked like it had leaked out of the ABC reservoir fill hole, and the level was low. My guess is it blew an accumulator in between the inspection and arrival to me. If the fluid level was low they should have found that at the inspection and it would have been a red flag warning of potential problems. The car only had 41K miles on it at the time so I don't think you can count on 70,000 miles for certain.

Mercedes22

Just had all of mine changed. What a difference that made to the ride.

Welwynnick

The horror stories usually apply to repairs performed by dealers under warranty cover, which is the most expensive possible scenario.

There are much better ways.

In many ways I've been unfortunate with my car, but the ony MAJOR expense in three years has been a coil pack.

Nick