they dont sell Extended warranty to save you money, they sell them to make more money.

"Extended warranties or service contracts are a bad deal. Most products don’t break during the time covered by them" *
"Moreover, the typical cost of repair is on average not much more than the cost of the contract" *

* https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...tion/index.htm

 

Thanks for your note, I appreciate the thoughts. Your point 4 regarding checking with Mercedes to see what a Non-MB warranty actually covers is something I have considered which is why I rather get a mercedes warranty and not go through that trouble and uncertainty of not knowing what its actually worth.

To answer some of your other points:

1. I bought the car from a Mercedes authorized dealership - I financed the car and had put 2k down
2. The 4 year / 50k factory warranty ends in April 2021
3. I have done 28k miles so far - 3 services, changed brake pads (I believe they were rear) and changed all 4 tires once - took the non run flats out at 17k.
4. I was recently at another Mercedes dealership to get a "auxiliary battery malfunction" fixed - which was covered since the car was still in Warranty. I was told that I have the option to get extended warranty which they quoted was $5k for 4 years after April 2021. I had to let them know anytime before April 2021. They also quoted a 2 and 3 year extended warranty but I don't remember those quotes - I will call them to confirm.

So between now and April 2021, I have the following expenses to consider if I have to keep the car:
1. New tires at about 34k - which could coincide with April 2021 but will probably be sooner.
2. 4th Mercedes service in April 2021
3. Extended warranty in April 2021

Even if I am to get the extended warranty for 3 years which you said was $4k it still seems too much. If I could sell my car I could buy a new Mercedes (similar price range) and have similar monthly payments to what I am paying now.

 

Thanks. Are these Non-MB warranties? My concern is whether these cover everything and if a dealership will fully honor them. Did you check with Mercedes before you got a Non-MB warranty?

 

Thanks, there are always some clowns. To me it does sound like one of the best cars - better than 63's which tend to be deeper but this V6 is just angry. I like the sound of this V6 more, it reminds me of the Stelvio Quads engine - just plain angry.

 

So far its been trouble free - but for a small aux battery malfunction. If I could keep this car without paying for extended warranty, I would. But like you said, I've heard too many nightmarish long term Mercedes/BMW ownership stories and everyone I have spoke with recommended keeping the car in warranty

 

Doug DeMuro on his Mercedes E-63 wagon. At 7:27, he tells you his experiences with the extended warranty.

I have a 2015 GL-550 with 64k miles. It was a CPO car and I also purchased a two year Mercedes unlimited mile warranty for $3,750. The original CPO warranty expired last November and I thought long and hard about keeping the extended or getting 100% of my money back and taking my chances on repairs. I opted to keep the extended warranty for peace of mind, even though I wondered if I'd ever have $3,750 worth of repairs in the next two years!

So, in April, 2020, I had it in for another small issue and the Mercedes dealer noted a leak on the front axle boot. I wasn't worried because I had the extended warranty. Guess what? Just like Doug Demuro's MB extended warranty, I was told that this was a 'normal wear and tear' item and not covered. $1,007.42!!

Now, would this have been covered under the CPO warranty? I don't know and didn't ask.

At the end of the day, aren't all items 'wear and tear?'

Personally, I'm skeptical about this extended warranty and doubt that I'd purchase another one. We'll see if there are any more repairs that MB says are 'wear and tear' and not covered!

 

I did the same with both my c450 and my glc 43. Paid just under half of what my dealer was asking. I used Jeff Jackson. Search for his contact info on the warranty subforum.

 

Axle boots are definitely wear items just like brake rotors. For most people they rarely fail but if you make a habit of tearing up gravel roads...guess what you might need to replace them eventually.

 

Well, I appreciate that news. I’ve never been on gravel roads, but I do understand that things do break. Now, I’m just not sure that I should’ve cash the extended warranty in and take my chances on anything major happening from now until November, 2021.

 

Have you shopped in trade in appraisals yet? I think you will be surprised how low they will be. Expect well under $40k for the most generous offer for a very well optioned vehicle. In reality, they are likely going to offer between $30-35k in trade. So for a new vehicle you should expect to finance or pay out of pocket between $25-37k depending on negotiating skill and dealership's aggressiveness in pursuing the sale.

From a purely economic perspective, you will rarely ever be better off trading in a luxury car after 4 years of ownership vs holding it for 6-8 years. You have just passed the steepest portion of the depreciation curve for the car. It is now depreciating at a much lower rate. If you like to replace your cars every 4 years you should be leasing them not buying them.

 

This is a good point for most people - it's a lesson I learned the hard way several years ago.

 

Doug DeMuro’s video has multiple issues and presents the warranty in an unfair light. First, to clarify any confusion in this forum (and not related to anything he said in his video, or in the post that I’m responding to - just for other posts in this thread), he had the CPO ELW warranty, not the non-CPO (“new car,” if you will) ELW. Second, certain things he states in the videos directly contradict the service records from the dealer that he had posted on the auction (I think it was the windshield wipers — I watched the video and compared to his posted service records when the video came out, so my memory is a little spotty at this point — but if I remember correctly he said they weren’t covered but the dealer records showed they were billed to warranty for parts and labor — if it wasn’t the windshield wipers, then it was something else, but that was the gist of it — said they weren’t covered, but service records billed it all to warranty). Third, he clearly never read the actual text of the warranty to see what was covered and what wasn’t (as it is really very clear), and fourth, even a new car warranty wouldn’t have covered the issues due to a windshield being installed improperly at another dealer. Improper repair/modification. You’d have to go after the installing dealer, even if they were an MB dealer (they’re responsible, not MB). That video was an all-around mess and painted the CPO warranty in an unfair light.

Doug DeMuro’s experience is exactly as expected for anybody who A. Read the CPO warranty (re: covered parts), B. Knows how warranty’s work (re: damage from improper installation of windshield), and C. When operating off the fact that the service records reflect warranty coverage (and payment) on certain items he said were not covered.

I’ve been meaning to get that off my chest since watching the video, so this is more of a general remark because two people posted the video! Lol