Frizbeez

Hello,

I have located a 2007 S600 in Tanzanite Blue with a Tan interior. It has 60,000 miles on it.
I have already quoted out an extended warranty which would run be an additional 3,000.00 through endurance. That warranty would last 5 years (2020) or until 180,000 miles. This plan covers all the main components (AC, Brake system, Cooling System, Drive Axle Assembly, Electrical components, engine, front and rear suspension, fuel system, seals and gaskets, steering system, transfer unit, and turbochargers.. I later found out that I can add on an additional plan to cover the navigation system and its components for an extra charge which I think I might do when I find out the price. What do you guys think of the 2007 S600? I know to check for the coil packs and to make sure the 24 sparks plugs have been replaced before I purchase the vehicle.

My questions are:
1. is there anything else I should look for that is common with these vehicles?
2. Has anyone else used Endurance? Are they a good extended warranty company?
3. Are these an overall reliable vehicle if maintained properly?

I am current driving a 2005 S430 and looking for a nice big upgrade

Any help and input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

steveb9771

Your price for the extended warranty is extremely low. What information do you have on the warranty provider? Have you asked local dealers about their experience working with this company?

Fly by night

A good warranty like fidelity would run 7k for 5 years. i would take the warranty info you have to your benz dealership and talk with them about the quality of warranty.

DaveW68

I bet it would be more than that on a 2007 with 60k miles. They likely wouldn't even offer 5 years of coverage with those miles. Does Fidelity even offer name component coverage? I always thought their policies were exclusionary coverage.

Fly by night

neighbor just bought 2007 s600 with 53k on the dial
fidelity platinum(best coverage) warranty $250 deductible 5 year 60000 miles
$7250

Frizbeez

I received this quote the other day. Here is a sample of the contract.
http://www.endurancewarranty.com/pdfs/supreme.pdf

It is an Exclusionary Coverage so that link shows what is not included in the contract. I called him again to verify and he did say that was the price with the new year discount. It is a 5yr/100K mile warranty. Max payout is 15K. It is a $250 deductible. I called RMB of Atlanta(Our local Mercedes dealer) and they do take the Endurance warranty. After looking up Endurance on google, looking at the BBB and all that many website claim them to be a very good warranty company. I though it was cheap to. If someone does not mind take a look at that sample contract he sent me. The rep said that is the same one I would sign. That is what brought me to the question if someone has used this company before. Seemed like a very good deal if all this is true, and if he is making a mistake on price I should sign up before he finds out the real price haha.

Thanks again!

Mike5215

These are red flags:

Breakdown means the inability of any Covered Part(s) or component(s) to perform the function(s) for which it was designed due to defects in material or workmanship. The manufacturer has established tolerances for the express purpose of defining mechanical Breakdown and serviceability; when a Covered Part exceeds these manufacturer's tolerances,a Breakdown will be considered to have occurred.


That "due to defects in material or workmanship" language means the part must fail as the result of it being assembled improperly, or made from material that was defective. It gives them a lot of wiggle room at claim time because that's almost impossible to prove. The language also ties the determination of whether or not a part was materially defective to the manufacturer's "established tolerances", which I'm guessing they're not able to provide you a copy of, which again gives them wiggle room.

"Pre-Existing" means a condition that within all reasonable mechanical probability relates to the mechanical condition of your Vehicle prior to Contract issuance.

Isn't the reason you're buying the coverage to protect you from underlying issues that might manifest themselves after you buy the car? This clause is a huge "Get Out Of Jail Free" card for the insurer. Who determines what the "reasonable mechanical probability" is that the source of the failure occurred prior to the inception of the policy? I'm guessing they do. There's nothing in the contract to provide a mechanism like mediation or arbitration in the event your mechanic disagrees with their mechanic over the reasonable mechanical probability the part failed as the result of a pre-existing condition.

There's also language regarding an exclusion if the car was not maintained precisely to the manufacturer's standards, which would apply even if it turned out the previous owner hadn't maintained the car to the manufacturer's standards, something you have zero control over.

For example, the engine blows. They want you to pay to tear it down and find the problem. If it turns out to be caused by a covered part, that had a defect in material or workmanship, they'll pay both for the tear down and the repair. However, if the engine has sludge build-up, which is also mentioned specifically in the contract, that is considered prima fascia evidence of improper maintenance...irrespective of the service records... and coverage is excluded. The problem of course is that you have to tear down the engine block to find sludge.

I'd pony up the $7k or so for the Fidelity or comparable warranty recommended by the other members. Meanwhile, ask your guy for a copy of the manufacturer's established tolerances for durability of the parts on an S600.

Nuru

Great review and good suggestions

Frizbeez

Thank you very much for your well written help! I will be making a trip to my Mercedes Dealer tomorrow to ask them what they would recommend me buying for an extended warranty. I agree with what you have pointed out gives them a "get out of jail free" card haha so thank you for that. Also I love you Picture in your signature!

Mike5215

I'm guessing that any 3rd party warranty will have similar language. The real issue is how the carrier chooses to interpret the language with respect to a claim. That language combined with what seems to be a very low premium is a problem. The $15k limit on a 600 might actually be a problem too, sad to say. An engine for that car is more than the policy limit.

Good call to speak with MB directly about who they find the easiest to deal with.

Frizbeez

Will do that as well. I would actually love an S550 for the better gas and to save on maintenance but have issues finding all the options I am looking for.
Mike, I see you drive a 2010 S550. How has it treated you. If I could find a 2009-2011 S550 with distronic, night vision, blind spot I would pay the extra 5-10 thousand for that vehicle. Looks like the going rate for an 2007 S600 with 60K miles is around 30K and from what I see a 2009-2010 S550 with around those miles with the options I want is 35-40K. I can find one with some of the options and some with other options but hard to find them all in one, hence why I was looking at the S600s. I know the 2007-2008 S600s would not have the blind spot assisit though, and I do like that feature. All things I need to consider I guess. Any inputs on a 2009-2011 S550?

Thanks Again.

P.S I went to MB after work today and they handed me a pamphlet on the extended warranty company they recommended and he said it would probably be 5-7K for an extended warranty on a 2009-2011 S550.

Mike5215

Sure. The 2010 is my 3rd S Class (two prior were 220s). What I learned from the first two was that I did not want to own an S out of warranty ever, and the best warranty by far is CPO both in terms of price and coverage (not to mention ease of use). With that in mind I always start my search from the perspective of how much car I can get for the money including the extra couple of grand for a CPO car, and another $4500 to take the warranty out for a total of three years.

I want to be out of the car before the three years expires, so I try to project roughly where I'll be in terms of equity in three years based on my typical mileage. CPO offers low APR financing so I dump everything including the extra CPO on the note for as long a term as they offer, but I adjust my monthly payments up as necessary to keep from going upside down over the course of the 36 months.

Presently an 09 and up would be eligible for CPO, but 2010 the car got a major facelift and the 2010 and up are more desirable and expensive:

2009 -Oldest year available as CPO (depending on in service date)
2010 -Major exterior facelift, massage seats, rear cam, park assist, 3 color ambient lighting, Ipod kit now standard
2011 -Drivers Assistance now standard
2012 -Huge engine and power upgrade to biturbo V8

For my latest S to get something fresh in a CPO car with the equipment I wanted (AMG appearance package, massage seats) put me at around $55k all in, which worked out to be the going price for a clean 2010 with average miles when I bought it in 2013.

Then it was just a matter of hunting down the right colors. So start with how much you want to spend, back out about $6k for the CPO then find the cleanest, lowest mileage example with the equipment you want. Those older S600s, as well as the S63 and S65 are dirt cheap because they're very undesirable from a cost of ownership standpoint.

Your first S should be a nice normal CPO S550. If you can swing a 2011, the Drivers Assistance package is standard that year and up. Otherwise it just depends on how the car was ordered from the factory. There are lots of combinations. You'll find the DA package on a lot of 2010 and up cars. If you happen to find one with the ABC suspension or the B&O sound system upgrade those are rare and I'd be willing to give up some stuff for those.

As for how my 2010 has treated me, as predicted she's been in the shop a couple of times for relatively minor stuff and CPO has eaten around $3000 for me so far. The 221 is an incredibly rewarding car to own and drive when its properly sorted out. It will absolutely spoil you for any other car, from Mercedes or anyone else so be forewarned...there will be no going back.

Frizbeez

Thanks again for all the input. From what you are saying it looks like I am going to look for a 2010 and up and I do like the idea of CPO. My W220 2005 S430 was a CPO and lasted me forever with now 235K miles! I have owned the W140 S class, then moves to the W220 S Class and now it is time to move to the W221. I would love to have the bi-turbos though but a normal V8 will be fine for me as my V8 S430 is ok, but I know the W221 V8's are 5.5L instead of my 4.3L so much faster haha. I am going to look around and see what is available for CPO's around my area.

DaveW68

I take exception to this statement. I purchased my 07 S600 in November with only 24k miles and the car is absolutely perfect inside and out...still smells new too. Full service records from day 1 (it's never missed even 1 service) and a kick a$$ exclusionary warranty for 7 yr/75k miles (you've seen the policy Mike). With warranty and shipping cost, I'm into the car for about $41k. The cost of ownership will only be more due to getting about 30% less gas mileage than the 550 and slightly higher insurance premiums. Otherwise, maintenance costs are similar and I'm covered if anything breaks down.

Friz, if the S600 is everything you want....and the warranty checks out...don't be afraid to make that big upgrade over the 550. The 600 is basically a Maybach Jr.

Frizbeez

Update:

I have located a 2011 S550 4Matic in Palladium Silver Metallic with grey interior. It comes with the Drivers Assistance Package (Distronic Plus, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist), Heated Steering Wheel, Night View Assist Plus, Rear entertainment system with 2 TV's, Power rear sunshades in both doors, Premium 2 Package. It has 45,000 Miles and is under warranty until 6/2015 by Mercedes. I believe I can get the seller down to $38,500 out the door. What do you guys think about his price and option list?

Thanks!

DaveW68

Run a Carfax on the car....and try to get all service records since day 1. If the 40k service hasn't been done yet, expect to shell out another $3k+ as it's a major service. If everything checks out OK, it sounds like a great deal.

Mike5215

Dave, your car had a base MSRP of $140,000 and you paid under $40k for it in like new condition with 24,000 miles. That's dirt cheap. The S63 and 65 take similar hits because like the S600 the drive-trains are exotic relative to the more conventional S550, and exotic usually translates into incredibly f'ing expensive when something breaks.

The jury is still out on the value of the warranty (since you've yet to make a claim) and your mileage is so low it'll be a couple of years before anything major is likely to crop up. Time will tell I guess, but generally speaking the 600 and AMG cars represent a higher cost of ownership.

But yeah, if you know that going in and are okay with it, and you've taken some measures to protect yourself, the 600 is the highest representation of the 221 and really cheap given how big a bite depreciation has taken on them.

DaveW68

Like I told you earlier, I had the exact same policy on my M5 and the claim process was painless (even though I only had 1 claim on that car). They paid right up without any hassles. I called my local Benz dealer (Motorwerks in Barrington, IL) and they said that my warranty company was fine to work with in getting claims paid. They are also top rated by AM Best and have an A+ rating with the BBB. All customer issues get resolved if you read through their history of auto warranties complaints.

You are correct in your statements that a warranty is an absolute must on high end cars like these where everything costs a fortune when something breaks. German cars seem to cost more than everything else except for Italian and British exotics when it comes to cost of repairs.

Nickthegreek

The V12 on the s600 is fraught with problems. There is an internal oil/coolant heat exchanger that has a gasket that goes bad and leaks oil into coolant. You have to rip apart the whole entire engine just to replace a stupid piece of rubber. Dont get it. check out this youtube video on the issue. My friend who works at the dealership highly advised me against getting the v12

Nickthegreek

I say the 2011 S550 is a go!!!!

Nuru

+1

Fly by night

have had 2 V-12'S CL600 2008 and 07 S600
both were fantastic and had minimal issues

Mike5215

My service tech is the same way. Sometimes when I'm in for service I'll go check out the used cars. Once in awhile they'll have a 600 and I'll kid around about taking it out. He always says something like "You do not want that car. The V12 is a nightmare."

Of course, he just sees the ones that are in for repairs so obviously 100% of the 600's he deals with have mechanical problems, but as far as the depth of the issues and the cost of repairs he's got a pretty good vantage point.

That said, I'd love a 600 and if I found one CPO it would be hard to turn down. But it would be gone when the CPO expired.

DaveW68

There is absolutely nothing wrong with going with an S600 if that's what you want. The same engine has been around since 2003 and is still used in the W222 without any major modifications. All engines can have issues....even Honda's. But properly maintained engines are much less prone to big things going wrong. That's why it's so important to have a full service history on the car since day 1 when buying used. And it's also important to make sure you're covered with good warranty coverage on any Benz as repairs are very expensive when needed, be it the 550 or the 600.

If effortless power and exclusivity is a priority, then the S600 is a no brainer. If it isn't and the S550 has all of the features that you desire, then go for that car. Just make sure you purchase warranty coverage for as long as you plan on keeping the car....or longer. Most policies are transferable and add value to the car at resale if selling to a private party.

Mike5215

You know how once you're in an S Class you can't go back to "regular cars"? Once you've become accustomed to a 600, any other S won't cut it. I remember a guy on the forum who totaled a 600 and was just miserable about having to step down into the cheaper interior and lackluster power of a 550. Seriously. Every time he got into his very nice 550 he felt a little pang of remorse. I'm saving my S600 experience for when I'm older and closer to death.