pstwo

Dear all --- I will be picking up E350w4 Luxury tomorrow morning. Still two questions I need to figure out

---- I heard 5 yr pre-paid maintenance for $2000. Assume it is indeed cheaper, but if I drive 4000 miles/year, is it worth it ? Will the service interval light up right after one year although I only drove 4000 miles ? or light up close to 10K miles ? So my fear is that I buy 5-years of maintenance but only required to use 3 or 4 times.

---- I also heard 5-yr Tire & Wheel insurance for $1300. I understand it is must have for sports or AMG, but This car has standard 17" tire & wheel. I guess new tire is $200/each ? Wheel $200/each ? Is the 17" wheel easy to break on potholes ? 4 new tires from Costco is $800 with Road Hazard Warranty. That's makes $1300 too high.

Thanks a lot !
--Vincent

BM2BZ

pre-paid maintenance or not, depends on how long you are planning to keep the car. i think it calculates both time and miles, whichever comes first.

imho, tire & wheel insurance is better on 18" than 17" unless your daily route has tons of potholes, then you might want to get it even w/17". $1,300 might sound high but what if you damage all four or more than four times w/i the warranty period? also, although i'm no wheel specialists like others, i doubt you can get oem 17" wheel for $200. please correct me if i'm wrong.

WEBSRFR

If you have standard profile tires I think you will be fine without the wheel insurance package. I've been through some bad potholes in the DC area and *knock on wood* my standard profile tires have handled some pretty jarring hits with no tire or wheel damage. Some were so bad I got out of the car and was relived to find no damage after inspecting the wheels and tires on several occasions. Rather than low profile tires, if they had an option for extra profile and tougher tires I'd pay for those

IMHO the best wheel and tire insurance is to stay as far away as possible from low profile tires. It's not even the cost but the safety aspect. Would you like you or your loves ones to be stranded in the middle of a highway or other unsafe area because the fragile as Lilly low profile tires could not handle a pothole? The low profile tires might be a good option for those who live in areas with impeccable roads but not otherwise. I've had it with low profile tires after all the tire failures. My car came with the "free" low profile tires and I accepted delivery only after the dealer agreed to switch them out for regular tires that stand a better chance of surviving a pothole. AFAIC getting to your destination in one piece is and should be the number one priority of your tires.

Even if you drive very little, you will still get the reminder to service your car each year so if you plan to keep the car a while, the service package might be a good deal. Some of the later services, like the 40K mile service can be expensive with all the fluid flushes. Try to negotiate a better price and go with the pre paid service package.

pstwo

Thanks BM2BZ and WEBSRFR. Going to dealer now. Have a nice day !

Mbenz260e

Maybe you are already off at the dealer but my 2cents...

17" i wouldnt worry with the wheels insurance. similiar to the poster above on my 17" been through some rough stuff in DC and been OK thus far.

Also the pre-paid serivce, I have it on our '09 and I think it's worth it for us as we use all the miles. This morning I dropped it off for the 40k service and would have been $1500 at least (transmission fluid makes it expense plus it's a diesel so adblue and fuel filter every 20k). However, for you only doing 4k a year I would consider holding off. My mother has an '04 CLK with 25k on it now and her dealer has been recommending not doing the full services each time and just oil changes yearly due to the low miles, and she never had problems with them honoring the warranty through when it expired last year. Of course that is a risk and YMMV.

Congrats on the new car I am sure it's great and as the poster above said negotiate the prices on these packages if you do go for them.

Enjoy!

Arrie

I thought the pre-paid maintenance goes by miles, not years but I guess they require service at one year interval even if you don't makew the miles?

Pre-paid is ok to have but not the $2000 plan.

After I bought my E350 as new I went to my dealer to buy the pre-paid service up to 50 000 miles for that almost $2000 and the guy says to me "you do not want to do that". He explained that a much better plan is to buy pre-paid up to 30 000 miles as it cost only about $700 and then pay later services individually as they come. This way it is about $500 cheaper in total cost. He explained that the very reduced 30 000 mile pre-paid service is set to be able to compete with BMW who offers service for free for 3 years or 30 000 miles.

And another detail to know is that if you sell the car before you use the pre-paid services up you loose them. No refund of any kind, no transfer to the new owner.

El Cid

You can purchase the pre-paid anytime before the first service. I went with three year to lock in the price in case dealer or MBUSA went up on prices. All MB dealers have to honor the pre-paid maintenance.
I've heard the four and five year services can be quite expensive, but a lot of people will trade before they are due.
When the car gets near 12 months (or 10K miles) you get a warning in the speedometer that Service is Due every time you start the car. It goes off after about a minute or less though.

BenzMan369

+1 on the need for the tire and wheel insurance for 18" and above tires and wheels. Not so much with the 17" wheels/tires.

Roughly 11 months into ownership, just yesterday I purchased the 4 year/40K mile pre-paid maintenance plan. Just wanted to make sure I liked the car enough to keep it 4 years.

FWIW, I asked my buddy in service what it would cost for the A and B required services over the 4 year period. Total: $1,860. My dealer sold me the pre-paid plan for $1,499. (Dealers are free to charge whatever they want for it, although MB prices the option at $1,760 - all prices cited here are for the E Coupe, BTW).

I felt this was a decent enough deal in that it also locks in current prices for 4 years. Also coincides with the 4 year warranty, during which I want to do everything I can to maintain the warranty and have this dealer there for me when I need them, as they have been for the past 12+ years.

As mentioned, you don't have to buy the pre-paid maintenance right away. You have to have less than 10,000 miles on the car and have not had it in yet for the first covererd service.

And yes, the A or the B service as appropriate is required either at each 10,000 mile increment OR annually, whichever comes first. Either way, they gotcha!

BM2BZ

bmw offers $0 maintenance for the first 4 years or 50,000 miles. but needless to say, you are actually paying for it as their prices are getting higher and higher.

MinnBobber

Is the MB pre paid maintenance like the MB extended warranty, where you can buy from any MB dealer and all MB dealers must honor?
I assume it is but don't know that.

I am more likely to buy the MB extended warranty but will consider the MB
pre paid maintenance.

pstwo

okay thanks everybody. car picked up this morning. Finance guy didn't even mention warranty, prepaid maint. I got 5-yr tire & wheel insurance partnered with all-state for $1300, pretty much others are talking about. Although not quite necessary on 17" tires, I bought it just for safety of mind.

Now, since it is offered by All-State, I would assume all MB dealer would take it if i have the paperwork in the car.

I have 1-yr to think if i want the prepaid-maint.

Again, thanks everybody !

BM2BZ

warranty and maintenance are two totally different things. warranty is literally free provided by mercedes. anything nothing, go back and they'll repair or replace for you w/o charge. maintenance is like change oil, wiper blades, etc. if you don't have their pre-paid plan, you pay when you back to the dealer for this type of services. you can buy either or both after you picked up the car.

BM2BZ

i think it works the same as warranty.

time to post some pics !

MinnBobber

Thanks, I realize they cover totally differnt things.
My question was:
can you buy MB prepaid maintenance from any MB dealer and it will be honored at all MB dealers, like you can with the MB extended warranty??

If so, there are some MB dealers that sell MB extended warranty at a good discount so they may also sell prepaid MB maint contract at a good discount.

bryant_is_bored

Wheel & tire insurance is a waste of money imo. Had it on a GL with the 21" wheels & didn't use it once. But I avoid potholes & road debris like the plague coming from a C230 with 19" wheels & low profile tires. Just keep your eye on the road.

BM2BZ

i could be wrong but i believe you can only get the prepaid maintenance from any dealer. discount or not, just like buying a car, depends on how good and/or slow the dealer is.

printemps2001

$1300 seems way too expensive to me. I'm for one, not a huge fan of extended warrantees....think of it this way:
Assume tires are $325 each...how likely are you to trash 4 tires with road hazards?
Wheels...how likely are you to destroy a wheel beyond repair without having other serious damage (i.e. an insurance claim)? Even if you do, I can't imagine they are more than $800 each. Much more likely that wheel damage will be curb rash which is easily and cheaply repaired by wheel specialists.

The point is, people get so weary of aggregate replacement costs, but I seriously doubt many drivers do anywhere near $1300 worth of damage to wheels and tires.

PS - I run 19" BBS forged wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sports 235/35/19 F & 305/30/19 R ($2k tires / $5k wheels and likely pricier than anything on all but the more exotic Mercs). There is 45k on the clock and my tire and wheel repair bills have been $185 due to a hair brained misjudgment of a curb (obviously I've used a few sets of rubber, but that is normal wear).

El Cid

You can purchase the pre-paid from any MB dealer and it will be honored by all MB dealers. I think it is probably the same price at all dealerships as it is really an MBUSA product, but you may be able to haggle.
Be aware that it only covers "Required" maintenance in the Maintenance Manual and not "Recommended." I only use dealer from which I purchased and he actually does the recommended plus a couple of other things as well at no additional charge.
The MBUSA website has information on Pre-paid and MBUSA will probably send you a brochure on it at about 6-9 months.
I got the 3 year.
Congrats on the car.

T.H.Carrera

cancel that tire and wheel insurance, it is an absolute waste on 17s....

RSIKR

I asked for and reviewed the contract for the first class tire and wheel insurance. It provides coverage for the life of the original tires only. I did not purchase the coverage. So far 2 1/2 years later no incidents. I am careful and avoid potholes as much as possible. I have the 18" AMG style wheels with 245/40R18 tires.

I did purchase the maintenance agreement as I plan on having the vehicle serviced at the dealership especially during the warranty period. Afterwards I will pay for services as needed. As pointed out you can wait until just before the 1 year, 10,000 mile service to buy an agreement. If you lease it is a real bargain.

My dealership has provided superb service on any issue I have had. They deserve my patronage. Just last week my burl walnut trim was replaced without any problem. Loaners are always provided.

CEB

Prepaid maintenance only pays off if you're going to go the full mileage in the allotted time.

The 10k service is an oil change and a tire rotation for what $150? The 20k service is about $400 at my local dealer.

With only 4k miles a year in year one (4k) you'll get a small service ($150). Year two (8k) you'll get another small service ($150. $300 total) Year 3 (12k miles) you'll get another small service ($150 - $450 total.) At year 4 (16k miles) you'll get your final small service at another $150 ($600 total) while at year 5 you'll get a large ($400) service for a total of about $1000. Of course you'll get a couple of brake fluid flushes and some other stuff but that won't add up to $1k and obviously doesn't take regional variances or inflation into consideration.

As far as the tire and wheel insurance, it depends on your driving style, the profile of the tires and the road conditions in your area. In the last 10 years, I've put about 200k miles on various cars with 4 inch sidewalls on lousy DC streets with zero issues.

There haven't been many reports of tire/wheel issues on our cars (like there are on the BMW 5 series) so I'd be cautious with spending the extra money.

dfordham

The A and B services are not just based on mileage, but also time. At two years, a B service is due no matter the mileage. I assume this is based on the shelf life of things like oil and brake fluid.

So the cost over time is the same if you drive 10,000/year or 4,000/year.

As for the tire and wheel coverage, it depends how risk averse you are. I never bought it until this car. My last MB ran over a nail that ruined the tire before I even had the permanent plates on it!

Regards,
Don

pstwo

Thanks everybody again --- So helpful.

For some reason, I am very likely to get nails in tires --- So let me keep the Tire & Wheel insurance. I am in NJ/NY so want to have a piece of mind.

I love Costco's tire program, i.e. "FREE" Road Hazard Warranty. I am surprised that MB doesn't come with Road Hazard Warranty. I replaced tires several times under Costco program.

I actually only need the Tire Hazard Warranty ---- I didn't ask if they can cover tires only for much lower cost ......

El Cid

dfordham is correct and this needs to be emphasized. MB requires services at designated mileage or time, whichever comes first. In fact, all car companies do.
Your system will warn you at about 11 months or so that service is due regardless of mileage on car.
If you don't do it, your warranty will be effected. While still may be able to get something done under warranty, not doing maintenance as required gives dealer and MB an opportunity to deny claims.
Also, some fluids do die after a certain period of time. If you do not drive long distances, but do a lot of short distance driving, you are placing more wear on fluids and such.

ddeliber

Just bought my first MB, a 2010 CPO E350 and I had the wonderful discussion about maintenance, ext warranty and wheel package. I really went through the brochure and I remember them saying (I'll check to be sure) that the wheel package covers any tire (including winter tires) and wheel that you put on the car, but only if the tire has 2 or 3/32 of tread. It covers replacement if they can't balance a tire on it, and it covers "road rash" or nick/ding repair and they explicitly state (in two places) that there is no limit to the number of times it can be used. In my mind, this is worth it, but not at list price, you can get a significant discount on this one.

Maintenance is not worth the list price, the 40,000 (or yr 4) is the big one that'll cost in the 800 - $900 area. Of course these are MB dealer prices. I found (after I bought it of course - discounted about $300) that they are charging ridiculous prices for straightforward work, ie. like $400 to drain the tranny fluid. A $100 job at an indie shop. I am regretting this purchase.