diablo1

Hi all. First time posting as I've never owned a Mercedes, but I'm strongly considering buying one. I've previously leased a 2006 Lexus IS 350, 2009 Audi S5, and currently have a 2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4. The time has come to get a wagon, and I've narrowed it down to the E350. (Wish I could afford an E63 AMG wagon - maybe next time!)

I located a vehicle I like a lot in terms of color, features, etc. It's a 2013 E350 wagon with luxury, premium 1, and the Distronic/driver assist packages. The previous owner put 71,000 miles on it, so it's exceeded the mileage on the original warranty, and it's not being offered CPO. The dealership did offer a 3-year extended warranty for around $3,600.

Two questions for everyone:
1) Are there any common, expensive things that can go wrong on a car of this age and mileage?
2) Do you think the extended warranty is worth it for this price?

Thanks! I look forward to hearing your feedback on this and to joining the ranks of MB owners in the near future...

diablo1

Sorry for the typo in the thread title. It's a 2013 MY, not 2012.

kash2014

its not an MB extended limited warranty,

so if you tell us the underwriter or company of the extended warranty that would help as they aren't all the same

diablo1

It's a Penske warranty, as Penske owns the Mercedes dealership I went to, as well as another one 25 miles away.

Some googling reveals that some people have had trouble with Penske warranties. Would still like to hear forum members' thoughts on this. Thanks!

jdawg21

My personal advice would be find another car with less miles preferably under the original factory warranty which is 4 years/50k miles. And then once you find that I would purchase the extended warranty through Mercedes itself. I was able to purchase and extra 3 years and mileage up to 75k for only $2100 and that was from a member on this forum and was the Mercedes ELW. They have more options that go to 100k miles as well and will be cheaper then that junk Penske warranty. This is just my opinion as third party warranties I have dealt with suck and are literally an absolute waste of money as every problem I had got denied.

cetialpha5

The general consensus is that the MB warranty is the best. I've also heard good things about a Fidelity warranty. If you drive a lot, you should get a CPO warranty, you can do the same as above. They come with a one year warranty from the MB dealer and then you can buy an extra 2 years from any MB dealer and there's several threads where specific dealer with low prices are mentioned. The CPO warranty is unlimited miles for up to 3 years. I think I've heard of one or two members that put on 50k a year. You could really get your money's worth if you drove a lot.

thefisch

3 years for $3,600 sounds like a lot but one repair may cover it. You didn't say how many miles it covers. I don't have experience with Penske warranties but you should read the terms and talk to the service advisors about how easy they are to deal with. You may want to ask at another dealer service shop just in case this one is biased. And you have to take online reviews with a grain of salt. You should also shop warranties - credit unions and wholesale clubs sometimes have good deals for their members.

I don't how good of a deal you are getting on the car. If you have to pay significantly more to get a CPO or one under factory warranty, then this one may be worth your while.

diablo1

Guys, thanks for the feedback. There are some pretty bad things about Penske on the web, but fisch, you're right - only people with very bad experiences go to the trouble of writing about it online. People who are generally satisfied don't bother with write-ups.

I would love to do the Mercedes warranty if it were available, but it isn't. The car has been off warranty for 20k+ miles, and there's no way Mercedes is going to warranty it again after that. The warranty offered is 3 years/36k miles, which is more than I need. I usually only drive about 8k miles per year - it's just a weekend car.

The higher mileage puts this vehicle in my price range, which is why I'm tempted. It's around $38k for a 2013 MY. CPO vehicles of the same age are around $45-50k, so even with the warranty, I do save some money. It's just a question of whether to take the warranty or not. Or maybe try to negotiate one of the CPO vehicles a few thousand lower...

jdawg21

I understand about finding a vehicle in your price range as that is the main priority. To put it in perspective having looked on kbb the fair purchase price for the vehicle your looking at is right around 36k and the CPO would be around 39k granted that isn't perfect as I don't know the features it has. One problem with not taking the warranty is that one fault in the car could cost thousands of dollars and that is no exaggeration. I wouldn't buy this vehicle without the warranty. Also one side note is that 2 weeks ago I just purchased a brand new 2015 e350 sport for $50k which was $13k off MSRP. Granted it wasn't a wagon but still a brand new vehicle. Good luck with the purchase!

diablo1

Thanks jdawg. The vehicle I'm considering is pretty well spec'ed so KBB non-CPO is $38k, even with 71k miles. It has Distronic, luxury, premium 1, metallic paint. CPO price would be $40k, so the third-party warranty at $3600 seems expensive by that measure. But all of the CPO vehicles have lower mileage and have KBB of $44k and up.

The wagon starts at $60k new and most come out around $68k-$75k with decent specs. So there's no way I'm negotiating that down to my price range. Good for you getting $13k off though - that's a great deal! Now I'm thinking I could do some negotiating and then get a lease... Would be great to get a new car with the full warranty etc.

kash2014

would you consider a sedan?

you can save thousands if not over 5 grand for way less miles!

diablo1

Already have a Maserati Ghibli S Q4 sedan that I like a lot, but I'm getting rid of it because:
1) Want to save some money
2) Need more space for my dog, who's gone from 17 to 55 lbs. in the last few months and is still growing
3) I live in NYC, where it doesn't make sense to have more than one car (if even one).

The sedan is a great vehicle for sure, but not what I'm in the market for...

jdawg21

That's definitely all the best specs your looking for in a car and by all means I'm not trying to discourage you from buying something that you like and that's in your price range. Just trying to make sure you know that when and if something does break it could be thousands of dollars to fix. The lease idea is actually exactly what I did, sticker price was $63k, sale price was $50k, I put $4k down and payment came out to $359.43 a month. 27 month lease with 10k miles a year. Not bad for a brand new car and piece of mind of a full warranty. If you do decide to go this route and haven't leased before make sure you do a lot of homework about the numbers you want to pay attention too cuz there are dealers that will screw the person that doesn't know. Good luck and keep us informed on the final decision!

BillM54

Yo Jdawg... curious who you got your extended warranty through. My dealer quoted me $1000 more than yours for the 3yr 75K. My factory is about over and the car only has 24k miles .. Thanks, Bill

kash2014

Call Erin at Mercedes Benz Santa Rosa or Dan Boone at MB Austin

Forum favorites

jdawg21

Jason Mayes - International Autos Milwaukee
414-727-6722
jmayes@iamilwaukee.com

I did everything by email and was complete within a couples hours. Def call the people in the above post as well and go with the cheapest price.

aaacsdai

Diablo1, the suggestions given are all positive, but remember that everything is negotiable when purchasing a used vehicle out of warranty. You as the buyer have the number one tool needed in negotiation-the dollar, so you can make an offer, try to be frugal and make your thoughts-concerns known to the seller about the added cost of the vehicle being out of warranty for so long, you may find that you can get what you want and on your terms whatever they may be. All warranties have conditions, so choose carefully, MB warranties require MB maintenance at scheduled intervals-you may want the option to go elsewhere based on your location in NY so check, and state to everyone your intended minimal use and historical low annual mileage which again is in your favor. Good luck.

walterk55

I have also looked for a good used station wagon E350, and like you I seem to only find ones with high mileage. I wonder what people are doing with these wagons that puts on so many miles so quickly?

In the end, I bought a sedan

usr8054

Related Question - I bought a 1.5 yr old e350 from non-merc dealer. Called local merc dealership and was told I could not buy EW since I didn't buy car direct from merc. Any truth to that?

thefisch

Nope - at least that wasn't true when I looked into it a year ago. You need to contact one of the names mentioned above who sell over the phone. Looks like your dealer will lose the sale.