SolidGranite

So I've kept my 2011 E550 (19,500mi) for a little longer than anticipated and now I'm thinking I'll keep it indefinitely. It's been essentially problem free with one airmatic issue corrected under warranty about 3 years ago. The warranty is set to expire this year and I'm now strongly considering buying an extension. Couple questions..

Where should I buy from?
How much should I expect to pay?

I'm tempted to not buy the warranty only because it's been so reliable minus the one airmatic issue. But of course, airmatic is what scares me more than anything on the E class.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

CarolinaBluetec

2 year extension from MB has an MSRP of $2495. You may be able to get a little money off that. In any case, it is worth it. Some seemingly "minor" things can cost a lot to repair.

El Cid

I purchased an MBUSA one from the dealership last year. Dealership waived their surcharge.

ProfessorX

Go to this forum as members post dealers that give the best MB extended warranties around the country. You can buy a warranty from any MB dealer and some discount more than others. I think it's the second or third thread under "Best Warranty Discounts"

https://mbworld.org/forums/extended-...scussions-191/

Arrie

You absolutely want to buy the maximum extended warranty from MB dealer and if I was you I would buy it from the dealer where I service the car at. It helps with the service relationship to get it from the folks you deal with. Buying from some other dealer possibly saves you "pennies" but you may loose a chance to gain "dollars" later on. You can get it up to 3 extra years and I guess 100000 miles now. I'm not sure about the miles as it used to be higher but as you don't seem to drive much mileage limit will not be your problem.

threeMBs

Why? If its an MB warranty (not an MB dealer warranty) then one is dealing with finance when buying warranty and service when servicing it. Two separate departments that normally do not "talk" to each other. To me it sound the same as saying "must buy car where one is planning to service it". Nonsense. All four of my current MB cars were purchased not at the MB dealer that I'm servicing them at (sales department fell short of my expectations all four times - probably will never buy one from them in the future) and I'm getting a great service (they do not care where car is bought as much as where its serviced).

El Cid

The finance people, sales people and service people all talk to each other. Most dealerships have at least weekly meetings where dept. heads get together. If not, they are instructed by GM or owner that they are all in it together, so better communicate. The finance guy is selling something that is a committment for the service dept. so they better be "talking to each other".
Arrie is correct in advising to get it from or seriously consider the dealership where car is serviced. After all, they will be the ones deciding if it is a warranty issue or not. It may be an MBUSA warranty, but dealership has to justify to MBUSA that it is warranty related.
This is especially true on an extended warranty.
BTW, I recently saved $1,000 on a Nissan by going to dealership one hour away. Had some warranty issues so took it to dealership 20 mins. away. Even though I told SM I would be getting all my services from them, you could tell he was aware I did not purchase it there. I had to get Nissan Corp. involved to get same repair a friend got with no problems probably because she purchased her car there.
threeMBs probably does get good service, but could he be getting better? I have gotten fantastic service from my MB dealer and bet it relates to bought it there and get everything serviced there.
Incidentally, dealerships make highest profit off service, so they definitely want to service cars regardless of where you purchased it. But when a controversial problem comes up, you want the entire dealership in your corner.
Loyalty is a two way street.

threeMBs

Latest example. I had two "controversial" problems in one of the 2014 vehicles that easily could be classified as user caused and not to be covered by warranty. The dealer that I bought that car at (I was in that area and stopped there first) raised their eyes and said "they'll see what they can do". (They did agree to repair under warranty). My local dealer (where I do all my warranty service at, but not scheduled maintenance) and where I bought my previous four MBs (keep in mind that I no longer have any of those cars and the four I have currently were all bought elsewhere and sales staff as well as GM know about it) repaired under warranty on the spot, were polite and thanked me for bringing car to them (just asking for a fare survey in return).

CarolinaBluetec

The dealership that I use does give preferential treatment to those that have a "***** preferred customer" sticker on the windshield.

Diamond White W212

I agree with this guy:
Check out that forum and see what you find. I just purchased 7/100 extended coverage for my 2012 at a substantial discount over what my dealer was offering. Its a MB warranty and any MB dealership will honor it. They want the repair work in their service dept and if its not covered, I can find an independent shop that can do the work for less or another dealer that will honor the warranty. The service dept does not want to lose that business over something the IS covered.

SolidGranite

Thanks everyone for the thoughts! I don't have much of a relationship with any particular dealer so I may just shop for the best price.

El Cid

You don't have to have the sticker as it is noted in their computer system.

CarolinaBluetec

Yes, as well as the other cars that I had bought from them over the last 16 years.

Arrie

You are so wrong with this you have no glue! The service advisors know every little detail pertaining to the car's VIN number.


When you go get warranty service how do you think the SA knows the car is under warranty? You think it just reads the car has it? NO, it also states where and when the extended warranty was purchased if the car is under such warranty.


Now, if you got the warranty before you started servicing the car at this dealer is fine but if you go buy the warranty from some other dealer while you have the service relationship going with your "place" they will take it as an insult no matter what they tell you. Depending on the dealer and the SA this can be big or small impact but there is a chance it will hurt way more than the minimal savings when shopping around for the ELW.

cbeck44

As was stated above, service revenue drives dealer profitability and the margin on a ELW sale is no where near the revenue from service. I think one can build rapport with a SA without purchasing the warranty from them. It is not an insult to shop and find the best price - the margin on the ELW is not going to change the SA's life as much as dealing with a reasonable client.

ProfessorX

I agree totally with this ^^^^^^^!

I had a 3rd party extended warranty on my S Class for years and my service advisor treated me like a king so I'm really confused by the "special treatment" comments in other threads if you don't buy a ELW from your local dealer. The dealer that does the work gets paid often thousands of dollars for the performing the repairs and only makes a few hundred dollars from selling the warranty. I guess I'm lucky to live in a big city because if my local dealer treated me poorly for not buying a ELW from them; then I'd take my business elsewhere. I'm not going to overpay for a ELW if I don't have too just to make my service advisor happy when there are MB dealerships all over the place in my city.

El Cid

All dealerships focus on SA's and other employees treating every customer "like a king." But, every business knows who has been loyal to them and to whom they are going to give that little bit extra service or discount.
Remember, if there is a question of whether or not something is covered by the warranty, you'll want the dealer on your side. Consider the extra cost as insurance-or do you just get the minimum coverage on your car?
If you can afford an MB, you can afford an MBUSA warranty.

cbeck44

Isn't regularly choosing to get service at the same dealer loyalty? I will bet a customer who regularly gets their car serviced at the same dealer and treats the SA and staff with respect can get equal treatment to someone who paid list price on an item that likely was a commissionable event to the Finance guy. Using this same thinking, should a customer who paid list for his car assume better treatment - probably not.

I would not let the fear of inferior treatment by a service writer who personally gets zero from the profit of an ELW sale sway the decision to shop and get the best value you can.

jdawg21

After reading this I HAVE to reply. Lets start by saying that I'm 24 years old and currently own a 2008 Mercedes C300 and just 4 days ago purchased a 2011 Mercedes E350. Also lets say that I am far from well off on the financial side but after buying the first benz I have been hooked with the reliability, comfort, and service that I have encountered at my local dealer. I visited my local dealer before the purchase of the 2011 E350 and they weren't willing to negotiate to my liking on there used inventory so I decided that I would go somewhere else. I and GLAD I did. I saved nearly 10K for the same car and mileage which isn't just a little bit of savings. Fast forward to yesterday when I set up an appointment with my local dealer to look at and replace all the wood trim in the E350. After they looked at the car they determined that the front wood would need replacement and that the back wasn't faded, I proceeded to tell them that wasn't true and is unacceptable. I walked out to my car and showed my SA that the wood was indeed faded in the back of the car which he looked at and agreed it was. In the end they decided to make me "happy" and replace all the wood in the car. If they didn't I was ready to go to another dealership that would do it. During the down time while waiting at the dealership I spoke to the finance manager about an extended warranty. I got a quote on the price and told him that I would think about it. 10 mins later he walked up to me and said that according to the service advisor MBUSA doesn't offer extended warranties on cars that aren't CPO or if your not the original owner. I have recently found out this is NOT true at all and is a lie. I received a quote from the one of the people listed in the this forum and it was a difference of nearly $1500. So enough of me rambling and wasting your time here, but my dealer not only tried to tell me they wouldn't replace all the wood in my car when the service bulletin clearly states there suppose to and then lied to me and tell me that I can't buy an extended warranty at all for my car. I WILL not be buying the warranty from them even though they service my cars and if they don't like it then they kiss my a$$ goodbye and I'll service my car at another dealer. Just because I can afford a MB doesn't mean that I will pay $1500 more for the same warranty from my local dealer. I don't know if you like your money but I sure as hell work hard for my money and don't like throwing it out the window for nothing.

Sorry for the rant just had to speak my mind.

Arrie

If your dealer is asking $1500 more for the MB ELW than other dealers then your dealer is not a true MB dealer and I would go as far as I can from them. They are trying to pull their own deal on it while MB really is selling it. I think MB has set a "MSRP" for it that does leave so "wiggle room" but not $1500.

ProfessorX

My MB dealer was $1800 more than I ended up paying on my ELW from another MB dealer so I believe this is true. I was told what the MSRP was and my dealer was $1000 over it and the other MB dealer discounted it $800 bucks below MSRP.

El Cid

The warranty is by MBUSA so they have a set fee. The dealerships can charge a fee for selling the plan, but many can waive it. I think it is about 10-15% or so. Mine waived it.
Contact MBUSA and find out what the warranty costs. Unless I am mistaken, their quote will include the dealerships "fee."
Either some dealers are really gouging or some dealers are selling something cheaper than MBUSA warranty?