shashivr4

Need opinions on the following:

Road Hazard (wheel and tire protection): 5 yr coverage quoted at $1320. No coverage limit and no deductibles.

Pre-Paid Maint: 3 yr at $899, 4 yr at $1679, or 5 yr at $1999

Extended Warranty: 7 yr/75k at $2999 or 7 yr/100k at $2999

Are the above items worth it? I have to buy the road hazard coverage very soon or won't be able to buy at a later date. Does it make sense to buy the pre-paid maint and extended warranty now or wait till a later date? If a later date, when?

BTW, car has roughly 300 miles.

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

DerekACS

IMO, 'road hazard' insurance is a gift to the insurer. It will not pay for any curb damage to alloy wheels, only for severe damage in case of a pothole, burst tire or flat tire repair. For $1320, you could easily replace 3 tires and still be ahead.

Some folks feel that prepaid maintenance may be worth buying.

As for Extended Warranty, provided that the policy is from MBUSA AND you intend on keeping the car beyond the expiration of the 4 year factory warranty, it might worth buying for peace of mind for years 5-7. At less than $100 per month, it would cover most potential repairs and protect you from any major unexpected problems.

You should also be aware that EW can be purchased at any time before the expiration of the 4 year warranty, but there may be additional costs, a fee for re-inspection ($300-$500) and any escalation in the policy cost. If purchased at the time of delivery, EW can also be financed @ the same low interest rate. For my car, that worked out to 0.9% for 60 months !

clydem

IMHO : Road Hazard - if you live in places like NYC where winter potholes swallow whole cars - yes. Otherwise it's a waste.
Pre-paid maintenance - a waste unless you like keeping the dealer fed. Use an independent or wrench it yourself.
Extended warranty - New or CPO? New - a waste. older CPO - buy it. I did and for the price of one convertible hydraulic pump it paid for itself. And there were other items.

thenew3

You can likely get the 7yr/75k extended warranty for around $2k if you shop around. There are several threads on here discussing various dealers that will sell the warranty at a discount.

ttoE550

Having taught insurance pricing, I will point out that purchasing insurance is a statistical net loss. The average purchaser will lose money. This is why the insurance is for sale. That said, no one is the average purchaser. Some will chime in and say that they saved tons of money. The money they save, however, is offset by the premiums paid by those who didn't save money. It is really a question you have to answer for yourself: knowing that I am likely to lose money on the transaction, how important is it to me to not have to pay for tire/wheel damage? I did not pay for road hazard, and am out less than $300 after 4 years.

In contrast, prepaid maintenance is a math problem. It's a matter of collecting the numbers.

EW has been extensively discussed in other threads. It is a negotiable item. It is again insurance. My take-away is that it depends on the car and its options. Mine is fully optioned and has airmatic, so I bought the EW. For about $1000 less than the quoted price.

drsaab

Pay for the 10k yourself ($200) then buy the 3 pak for 899-999 to cover the 20, 30, and 40k. (the 40k is $1200 itself) then repeat with 50, and buying the pack for 60, 70, 80.

I paid 699 for a 2 pk and it covered my 80 and 90k which was cheaper than the $1200 for just the 80k. (40 and 80k are same service)

Even an Indie mechanic cant beat that.

samkimg

+1 to all, but my two cents is toward piece of mind.

As to EW, get it. I plan on keeping my MB for many, many years and with all the new tech goodies I had installed, I sleep better knowing I'm covered to 100k. There any many deals around the forum, I bought my MBUSA 7yr/100k from the MB dealer in Santa Rosa over the phone.

I purchased the pre-paid maintenance as part of my deal, because service costs always go up, not down AND if my maintenance is documented as MB dealer provided, then in the future they can't try to refuse on any HW failures as being Indy or missed maintenance caused.

I didn't get the road hazard insurance on the wheels and tires, because I don't have to worry about NYC winters and drive very few miles. Of course, my 2010 blew two wheels and a tire after an 85 mph visit to an unseen pothole on open road. So, I may be good or bad on that decision.

ghstudio

If you lease, you should take the maintenance. On a lease, mercedes maintenance is treated as a feature on the car so you pay only a fraction of the total cost. If your residual is 65% and your maintenance package costs $1000, you only pay $350 for that maintenance over the life of the lease. It's a great deal.

shashivr4

Can someone give the contact info on where I can buy the EW (7yr/100k) for $2000?

Also, what is the best price someone has received for the road hazard (5 yrs)?

Lastly, for the prepaid maint, I believe I'll just take drsaab's advice and purchase the 10k separately, then 3 pack for the next 3 services. BTW, do all dealers sell the 3 pack?

El Cid

I purchased both the pre-paid maintenance on my car and then got the 7 year warranty before the 4 year expired. Satisfied with both decisions.
My concern on extended was the shear expense of MB parts and MB service (even independents) if a major component fails.
All insurance is a gamble; life, health, extended warranty, etc.

drsaab

Yes they all sell 2 or 3 pk

You can get it from Erin at mb if Santa Rosa. Same place to buy extended warranty.

shashivr4

Do you happen to have her email address?

drsaab

I did all by phone.

707-521-3996

But her email is on the site if you search for her name. Erin or erihn. I think

RSIKR

I bought the prepaid maintenance for 3 years in 2011 just before my car was a year old. At the time it was $769 and to add the 4 year for the expensive 40k service was $1579 total at the time.

Now I was offered 3 more years including the 40K service which is $1200 alone for $999.00, 2 years is $799. $999.00 is a good deal and better than what I would have paid in 2011. if an independent did the 40, 50, & 60/4,5,6year services for 1/2 price of the almost $2400 at the dealer I am still money ahead. There are no refunds for unused prepaid maintenance.

I will shop for an extended warranty. I usually do not buy an extended warranty until just before the original warranty expires. Why buy it when you buy the car and pay for something you do not need for a few years. The F & I person at the dealer always tells you it is 15% cheaper if you buy now. I have always shopped for a genuine manufacturer's warranty at the end of the original. What happens if you don't like the car or it gets totaled. Now you have to try and get a refund.

The first class tire & wheel coverage is offered when you buy the car. It is a lot of money and not worth it unless you are very careless or unlucky. I asked for a copy of that policy when I bought the car and read it. It is only for the life of the original tires which is 30k to maybe 40k. I live and drive in a land of giant potholes and 75 inches of snow this Winter. So far so good. There is a wheelwright nearby that straightens, turns, refinishes, remounts and rebalances using state of the art equipment including a CNC lathe and Hunter Road Force balancing equipment for about $150 a wheel. Little reason to buy the warranty.

shashivr4

Interesting...didn't realize the Road Hazard was only for the life of te original tires. Does this rule also apply to the rims?

RSIKR

Ask the F & I person for a copy of the policy. As I recall when the original tires were worn out the policy was over.

PeterUbers

I would not have bought prepaid maint. from the stealership had they not given me a 50% discount due to my defective and lemon'd benz

Also, I bought the extended warranty for $2880 for 7yr/100k as I want to keep the car a while and put heavy miles on it, and seem to just read post-warranty horror story after horror story .. particular strange electronic issues or airmatic issues

drsaab

I don't understand how most ppl feel the prepaid is not a good deal, I agree the 10k can be done on your own cheap, but to get the 3 service 20/30/40 for $999, no tax, no other fees is a deal.

The big one is the 40k and an independent mechanic must have the right tools and fluids for the 7 speed auto, so even independents charge 350+ for the tranny service alone Plus the "B" service on top of that, and then there is tax and shop fees and this and that.

The other major factor in the service at the dealer is you get a nice loaner for the day, or the weekend, depends on how you time it, and more important you get a nice carfax report that shows all maint done on time at the dealer so when you sell or trade the car, it adds alot to the value. Carfax is unfortunately a HUGE thing in the resale market.

Without the prepaid, I do agree MB service is expensive and an overkill on the charges they make up to inspect this and that.

The only disadvantage I see is if you total the car, you lose the money

shashivr4

Where did you get 20/30/40 for $999?

2006_C350

+1

drsaab

Ok, I guess I am confusing everyone.

Basically when you buy a service pack, it is for the next 2 or 3 or 4 services. It is not specifically your 10, 20, 30. If you buy it at 2000 miles, yes it covers 10, 20, 30

but if you buy it after your car has done its 10k service already, (which you just pay for on your own), and say you buy it at 12k or 18k, then the 3 pk covers 20, 30, 40.

So your "next 2 or 3" services are based on what miles you buy it at. If you time it right to include the 40 or 80, you can come out way ahead on cost.

You can buy these anytime before 80k miles. I got mine at 78k, it was $699 for a 2 pk to cover 80 and 90k.

The pricing changes every September by mbusa. It is fixed, all dealers "SHOULD" charge the same. Some may have sales tax, some might not. It is a non profit item unlike extended warranties, so there is only a $25-50 admin bonus to the selling dealer, where extended warranties the selling dealer gets about 30% + in profit.

The finance guy or the service adviser just puts your vin and miles into the netstar system and it pops the cost. at 78k, mine was $699 for 2 pk and $999 for 3 pk. The Diesel is $769 and $1269 for same 2 or 3 pk.

Is this clear now?

drsaab

Hopefully this post I made earlier now makes sense too. Pay for 10 and 50 on your own, buy packs for 20/30/40 and 60/70/80

shashivr4

Thanks! That helps a lot.

Sgooter

I'm working thru the math to decide whether to buy one of the pre-paid service packages. If you're doing similar calculations, just remember that MB has changed the service point for the transmission fluid/filter replacement to 70K miles for some cars, such as my '14 E350; it used to be serviced at 40K miles.

GregTR

Nope. It is also not limited to mileage only years. Since I'm driving about 36k/year I chose to buy the 5 year protection as it covers the tires and wheels for 60 months, no matter what. I already had one replaced.






I also bought the extended warranty for 7yr/125k miles and passed on the pre-paid maintenance as it's really just a bunch of glorified oil changes with a pollen filter thrown in. The only service I will not do myself is the transmission oil change at 40k miles but otherwise it's really easy stuff. By the time I'll sell my car after 5+ years with 200k+ miles I doubt anyone will care whether the shop changed the oil or I did at my house.