Expat

SO I've been looking into the MB Teleaid service, it's $240/Year and I was wondering, who has this and would you recommend it?

dennism13

In four years owning the car, I'd say I really only needed it once (for an emergency). And of course I wasn't subscribed. To make matters worse it was on a Sunday when I needed it to unlock the trunk and nobody was available to process the paper work.

For the most part I view it as an emergency item (theft, accident, etc) and when needed is very handy. Personally I'm sticking to 1-800 road side assitance for most of my breakdowns (only 1 so far).

The other cool features of teleaid, is asking general information on your car and reservations for going out I can't see as practical for me. I'll just wait till I have time to get on this forum or just use my cell phone.

Just my 0.02.

Mark08859

If you do not use a cell phone, then I would certainly recommend it. If you do have a cell phone, get it if you think you might use the other services such as concierge, etc. Otherwise, you can use your cell to call for MB roadside service.

EddieGTP

It works on your fears... Like the GM Onstar commercials.

If you live in a rural area where you might crash your nice Mercedes in a ditch and no one is around to care, and your knocked out or went flying through the window, then having the car signal TeleAid to have a rescue unit save you, would be a good thing. (There is NO guarantee that they would do this, they can't: Loss of signal; Damage to unit due to the accident; etc.).

Spend another 15.00 a month on a basic cellphone plan and have the ability to call anyone, anywhere... 911 calls are free.

After a certain point, the conceirge services, etc. cost extra money. How often do you plan to use someone to get you movie tickets?

If they still do have the introductory free yearly membership, you need to respond in writing that you want to cancel, otherwise they bill you automatically.

Having Tele-Aid does not give you a discount on your primary insurance. The tracking capability does not equal LoJack... (But double-check with your insurance company).


IMO.

sosh

Its well worth it for peace of mind and convience should you have a lock out or breakdown. How could you dial a cell if you are severely injured ?? The teleaid will do it for you!! I have an active subscription for both of my vehicles.

Rick

eh...I've used my teleaid to get my C unlocked, make reservations, get directions and for instructions on resetting the rear window regulators on my E...

worth it? subjective
impressive? hell yeah

Skylaw

It's a peace of mind thing. I haven't had to use it, but like the idea that it automatically contacts the service and provides a navigation readout as to your location if your airbags deploy.

pa28pilot

It's a little clunky but I like it so far. I use the customizable traffic information constantly. I only wish they still displayed it in text form.

You can edit your commutes and time windows on the MBUSA web site. Then when you activate Tele-Aid, it compares your location and time with your stored commutes and will give you traffic along the whole route. Otherwise it gives it to you ina 5 mile radius around your current GPS fix.

By the way, if you want concierge services and want to save a few cents on directory assistance. I found this service that charges $.85 for a DA call, and completes it for up to 15 minutes for free. Part of what they offer are concierge services, so if you don't have a credit card that has them, or Tele-Aid, you can get the same sort of thing pretty inexpensively. It's called Infone at www.infone.com.

I don't work for them or anything, I just enjoy not paying $1.25 for 411 calls.

rgleason

I like Teleaid for the following reasons: 1. I get a 35% discount on comprehensive auto insurance because my insurace company views it as a vehicle recovery system, and 2. I pay $70 additional per year and can get route assistance. I call Teleaid, and they tell me how to get where I want to go while tracking me by satilite.

Nice to have!