galaxygrrl

Hi all!

I have gone back and forth on this extended warranty issue. And the more I think about it, the more it seems like a good idea if I can get the coverage for $1750 like some others have.

Anybody have any insightful thoughts on this matter?

Cheers,

Beth

Brian Yee

When I first started with cars as a spritely 16 year old, if something went amiss, a screwdriver usually sufficed. Now it takes a %$#!@*# laptop or a diagnostic computer and a friggin' degree in computer programming to repair an item as simple as electric windows!!!.....My trust in my car, or ANYTHING built by ANYBODY nowadays, having the ability to "hold it together" for any length of time past the normal warranty period is < 0%. I therefore purchased an additional two year warranty and plan to use this feature to lure my prospective buyer when the time comes. I feel that what you spend on it now will more than make up for it in the future... Wether through piece of mind when the standard warranty expires or competing with another seller of a like automobile, you'll be happy you chose to spend the $$$.

vinmanc32

But I will get it before the year is up. As soon as i have some negotiating power to get them to drop the price. I think you need to have it if you plan on keeping these cars over 3 or 4 years. They are expensive to maintain if they should fault. I plan on having as much coverage as I can for the first 8 yrs and 100k.

s810

Why is waiting until the year is almost up going to give you negotiating power? Because if they don't lower the price near the end of one year limit, they'll lose the opportunity to sell you anything at all?

I think it's a good idea to buy the extended warranty if you own the car and plan on keeping it for the warranty period (which I do). But I'm waiting until the year up to make sure there's nothing about the vehicle that I hate so much that I'll want to sell it as soon as possible. Also, I've given my dealer enough money for now. I'd like my bank account to recover a little before he gets any more.

Steve H.

I usually say no to extended waranties but in this case I will make an exception. Mercedes parts are expensive. One repair and i will break even. I am waiting until the end of my first year (364 days) and then plan on adding the premium coverage to 100000 mi to cover as much of the electronics as possible. Be sure to read the fine print on what is covered in your extended waranty.

timorgan

What are the different options for extended warranties? Time periods, mileage, price, etc.

Thanks,

Tim

mleskovar

The extended warranty goes to 100K miles and up to 5, 6, 7 or 8 years and you pay $ for each year extension. It really helps selling if you have warranty remaining. I bought it because I agree with Brian....not a whole lot you can diagnose yourself these days without beaucoup test equipment. Especially since you can't even get a shop manual for this car (that I know of). Also, the 5 year only cost me $850 and I'll do 100K miles in that time. It's like any other insurance...how lucky do you feel?

Flashman

I would advise taking a good look at www.warrantygold.com for an aftermarket warranty. I've had fantastic luck with them for two cars I've had covered so far. They have an option for a 0-deductible warranty that covers just about everything (including AC and Command). They've always paid and they give you the option of using the actual dealer or any other certified mechanic of your choice. I can't speak higher about them. So far, on both cars, repairs they've covered exceeded the original cost of the coverage.

WyattEarp

The car will be paid for by August. I will likely be keeping it but I will be modding the hell out of it. Would you buy it?

Only serious replies please!

atsang311

I bought the premium extended warranty for 2 additional years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first for $1920 at the dealership when I first bought the car.
I had my car for 15 months already and 20000 miles now. I had my smart keys (2 sets) replaced twice and finally they figured out the electronic ignition switch is the main problem(smart keys cannot lock,unlock or start the car, my car was towed to the dealership and stayed there for a week), they have to replace the keys again and the whole ignition switch.
The car is mainly run by the software and the smartkey. If the standard warranty expire, and any computer related problems come up, the fee of the extended warranty will pay off the cost of the repair.
By the way, I'm going to keep the car for at least 5-6 years, this is the main reason why I bought only 2 years extended warranty, and I know the mileage will be close to 100,000 at that time.
I really encourage people to buy the extended warranty.

muscle4lew

i got the extended warranty for an additional 4 years or 100k miles for $2500. I got mine before i drove off the lot from MB. I know i will make the 100k mile mark before 8 years but i wanted to be covered either way.

shtatc

I got mine at the time of my lease, so it covered the whole term of the lease. I understand you can get MB extended warranty coverage for a little less than what they say.....there was a previous posting of this subject earlier....but I have gotten the extended warranty on my last 2 vehicles....I got it on my 95 Tahoe and it paid for itself in 2 years.....

KWiK

It's is best to buy the extended warranty as part of your sales contract. If you should happen to get a lemon, then all of your cost of the warranty will be refunded. If the warranty, is not part of the contract, then you get a pro-rated refund.

I have my "Lemon" check, but am still waiting on the refund for the warranty.

Flashman

From Warranty Gold

Quote for your 2002 MERCEDES C230K with 4 Cylinders, Turbo / Supercharged, 2WD, 200 miles and In Warranty.

Platinum Warranty:
5 Years 100000 Miles $1500
5 Years 150000 Miles $2275
6 Years 100000 Miles $1600
7 Years 100000 Miles $1700

Their Diamond Warranty is also available (covers things like COMAND) for a little more. A zero ($0) deductible option is also available for a little more.

Plus I just noticed they are running of their very regular $500 off for new Diamond warranties. When I purchased a Diamond warranty for my wife's car (Ford) in 2000, I used a similar discount, so the Diamond surcharge was only $50 and the zero deductible was another $100 extra.

I've had Warranty Gold warranties since 1996 on two vehicles so far, and they seem quite good. Just about everything is covered and I could take it anywhere I wanted. I believe that you can wait until you are within 30 days or 1,000 of the expiration of your manufacturer's warranty before having to get their warranty.

To quote from their website:

I have no affiliation with this company other than being (twice) a very satisfied customer. On both cars the repair bills they have paid surpassed the original payment to Warranty Gold.

jkelley

Seems a bit steep to me - I paid $1600 to add one year to the factory warranty on my CLK55 (I'll hit 100k miles before the end of my third year - bought one year because it was the cheapest way to get 100k miles!).

Buellwinkle

I've had several MBs and the first one was a lemon. They tend to break down a lot in the first year or two. If you can make it past this period the cars are actually very reliable. I find the parts and repairs to be reasonable compared to Toyotas. The amount of money you are putting into the warranttee, plus the payment interest (assuming it's financed) plus any deductibles they may ask you to pay are very high, probably more than 2K. This is for coverage between 50 and 100K miles not for the full 100K. Then when you figure they don't cover stuff that normally breaks it's not a good deal. What they do is give you a list of things they cover. This list is so large and specific you go wow, they cover everything but the reality is they purposely make the list very specific and leaves out the real wear/break items. Then they figure out ways of not paying you, calling it abuse or neglected maintenance. Also they do the minimum thing required to repair the car and not what you would repair for a long term car. Typically these extended warranttee contracts pay out about a 10-15% on average. This means when everyone pays in there $1,500 they end up to paying out $150-225 on average per contract. This is very lucrative for the dealer and MB. If you are going to bet on your cars reliability you get better odds in Vegas and it's more fun than dealing with a salesperson.

I have 3 cars, if I paid $2k per car I can leave 6K in the bank earning interest waiting for stuff to break. Everytime I buy a car I could throw 2K in the pot. Think back on all the cars you had and if you did this how much money you would have now!

SoCal240/6

I agree with Buell, he makes a lot of excellent points.

Sure, its a gamble, and an extended warranty can pay off, but the odds are stacked against you. Otherwise the insurance company would not be in business for long.

And, the odds are stacked *greatly* against you. The warranty companies make huge amounts of money on these policies. Which is why they push selling them so hard. The only way they make money is by paying out less in claims than they take in by selling the extended warranty. I do think the odds are stacked more in your favor in Vegas, where the house only has around a 1-5% advantage on most games.

Paying now for something that you will only possibly benefit from 4 years from now is questionable to me. Esp. when you know the odds are against you.

(Of course, that is not to say that it won't pay off, and maybe even pay off big, as it apparently has for some people here. But the point is the odds are against that, so from a pure business standpoint the warranty is a better deal for the warranty company than it is for the purchaser).

aborwick

I keep my cars at leat ten years. On my 1992 190 2.3 E, during its ten-year (so far) life span, I've had to replace the engine mounts twice, replace the valve gasket, replace the high pressure cooling hose, and replace the valve seals. The total for this work is about $5000. Had I purchased an extended warranty, (which I did not on this car)I would have come out ahead. The car has been a good car, but expensive to maintain.

Consequently, when I purchased my C320, I also purchased the extended warranty for 8 years, 100,000 mile from M-B. The C320 is much more complex than the 190, and I am buying "peace of mind" as well as coverage. I looked at an aftermarket warranty; the coverage seems attractive for the premium plans, but you are buying a piece of paper and a promise. Consequently, the warranty is only as sound as the financial soundness of the company when you file a claim. You can assume that M-B will be around in five-fifteen years, are you as sure that the underwriters of these aftermarket warranties will be there five-fifteen years from now?

viper

If you are going to keep your car for more than the warranty period an extended warranty might be a good idea. Reality is that you will have most of your problems in the first 2 years of ownership so unless you have a lemon it might not be a wise investment.

aborwick

I agree with Viper to this extent--the phenomenon known as "infant mortality" might cause manufacturing defects in electronics to show up within two years at the latest. Automobiles are, however, mechanical beasts, and parts wear out over time. I had the most expensive repairs to my M-B 190 between years six and nine (engine mounts, head gasket failure, valve seals).

benzy230

i didnt get one

trench

I thought about this topic for a while - even posted a thread regarding it. I ended up getting the premium 8-year/100000-mi warranty. I'll probably keep the car at least this long. My main reasoning was that there is so much electronic junk on the car that something was bound to fail and it was probably worthwhile.

However, by purchasing this warranty I have now absolutely guaranteed that nothing will go wrong with this car for 8 years.

The peace of mind will be worth the warranty's price.

BT

SoCal240/6

Really? What happens to the money you spent on the warranty if the car gets totalled? Stolen and not returned?

Mike T.

That only happens to other people

aborwick

If it's totalled, you ask the faulty driver's insurance company to reimburse you for the cost of the warranty. If its stolen, you ask your insurance company to cover the warranty cost--you take precautions in making sure that your comprehensive coverage covers the cost of the warranty.