msingh

Hey everyone, Looking for your input.

I'm looking to pick up a c63 here in Canada and have two options.

2012 with 70,000 km for approx. 43,000 Canadian. Clean car, full service history all done at a local MB dealer. Sold by an independent used car dealer

2012 with 70,000 km for 48,000 Canadian. sold by a Mbenz dealership and they have thrown in an additional 6 year/160 KM ELW ( mbenz warranty not third party)

After taxes it is a $6,000 dollar difference which can be put aside for repairs down the road, or would you recommend going with the higher priced unit, but have peace of mind for the next few years. Do note, the dealer has said the extended warranty is transferrable once during this period in case I sell it on.

The dealership has been honest and have told me this car has been sitting with them since the begging of Winter last year and are trying to move it now quickly from the lot. I have test driven it and runs perfectly. It was actually listed as a CPO vehicle, but from JAN 1st this year, it did not qualify for that anymore , and financing directly from MBenz was no longer possible, hence it was being sold with no warranty or financing. It is only now they have contacted me to tell me about the added warranty to sweeten a deal for any potential buyer

I'm leaning to the later, but would like to know what you would do

Thanks!

m a x i m u s

Honestly, I don't think a warranty is vital to a 2012, and certainly not for $6k (although isn't the price difference $5k between the two models?) Also, this is definitely for 6 full years? From what I remember, there was no "6 additional years" ELW offered, at least here in the USA.

roadkillrob

Confirm it is 6 more years, usually they are from in service date, so it is 6 years from new and only really 2 years extended coverage. 2012 is pretty reliable, I personally don't think it is worth that much money, maybe 3k. Would also help to know the exact specs of each car as I would pay more for some of the options also, so might be a few grand more in options on the higher priced one, making it not really 6k more for the warranty unless they are identical cars.

msingh

I will confirm on that . Both cars are the same spec.

saint13

Agreed with Maximus. $6k is high for an extended warranty even from MB. Are options/color combos substantially better on the dealer car or are they completely identical?

Have you price shopped a 3rd party warranty for the first car?

BLKROKT

Take the one with the warranty if you can afford it, and you're the type to move from car to car. Might not have to use it, but that official MB transferable warranty that goes 10yrs out from model year, will be worth a huge premium in the resale market when you move on.

However, if you think you'll stay in the car for years or plan to mod the hell out it, and all other things are equal.... I'd probably still take the warranty, but can see why one might lean to the first.

You just never know second-hand, and I'd rather have the peace of mind (I've never used mine, but could have had a lemon and been really glad too - these things are expensive to fix when things go wrong). Maybe a good middle-ground would be to price out a third-party warranty on the first one.

msingh

Just got off the line with the dealership and they made a mistake, it is infact a 3 year, not 6. from date of purchase. But they have dropped the price another 2,500 if we close a deal this weekend.

Have decided I'll go with this unit, if I can get them to drop another 1000.

I have not had the greatest experience with 3rd party warranties before and regretted purchasing it on my last car.

m a x i m u s

I don't know what the used market pricing is like in Canada, but if the price is comparable to others then go for it. Especially if they cut off $2500, then that warranty is only $3500 which is about right for 3 years ELW.

NotABaller

Why do you think the MB dealership would sell extended warranty/insurance in the first place? Because it makes $$ for them. A bunch of math nerds crunched the numbers and priced the ELW above the expected cost to repair your car.

Only buy the warranty if you do not expect to have funds readily available to pay for future repair expenses. Even if you won't have the money, I'd wager its cheaper to just finance/loan the repair money at a bad rate (say 5-7%) than to pay for the warranty up front.

If buying insurance/warranty was a +EV financial move, and not specifically with cars - this applies to health insurance, house insurance, etc., then insurance companies would be out of business.

604 C63

If it is a CPO car and an MB EW the 3 years will be 2 years plus one year powertrain only.
In Canada, that retails for about $3600CAN. Dealer cost is about $2400. No matter what they tell you, they can negotiate on that too.

NotABaller

So basically expected cost of repairs is less than $100/month?

m a x i m u s

Very true, but that's on average. I've had ELW on two AMG's and have had warranty claims well in excess of the price paid. Of course experience will vary by car which is how they make money, as you stated. Chances are that a 2012 won't have too many warranty claims versus a 2008/2009, so this would be up to OP's comfort level.

604 C63

I agree with this most of the time, and never buy for electronics or something else. In this case though, cost of repair can be so high that if you own a C63 off warranty you will absolutely **** glass every time it looks like somethings wrong. Plus, that way everything is kept tiptop all the time, cos some repairs can get avoided due to costs that arent in line with the items importance. I have a friend who hasn't repaired his busted steering wheel cos it's stuck, but at least its stuck how he wants it lol.

Peace of mind is worth a lot. I have made out ok with EW on my previous two AMG's.

NotABaller

To Maximus, yes I am only speaking in abstract terms. For OP, perhaps he should consider the warranty on the second car since he said it had been sitting for a while. Taking a car like this out of hibernation may be pricey, so that could be the edge needed to make this a smart choice.

Another thing to consider is that the cost for the dealer to repair your car may not be the same as the price we as customers pay. If insurance is calculated based on dealer's expected cost to repair, then there could be a $$ range which the dealer can still make $ AND the customer can save $$

604 C63

Your going to have some other costs too, that arent covered under warranty (consumables - oil changes, brakes, etc) but you do get the security of knowing that in terms of true 'repairs' you are spending only $100 a month or less.
Which for this caliber/price of car is an absolute dream.

JimGnitecki

OP asked what an aftermarket warranty costs. I bought my 2012 C63 a few weeks ago, in Canada. The car was one month past 5 years from its original in-service date, so did not qualify for an MB extended warranty. To help close the sale, the MB dealership threw in a 4 year / 48,000 km "ultimate" (best available) warranty that starts on the day of my purchase (NOT original service date of course), and it cost the dealership almost exactly $3000 Canadian.

So Op, there is your answer on what an aftermarket warranty costs.

Note that the dealership did say that this paerticular aftermarket warranty company does NOT differentiate between AMG cars and regular MB cars, so the dealership views this aftermarket warranty as "attractively priced".

What's the wrranty worth? Piece of mind. Some MB replacement parts are VERY costly.

Jim G

Alex.currie44

My first instinct is the MB dealer has jacked the price a tad to cover off the warranty.
Recent examinations of CoverageOne top tier plan vs SecureDrive Elite is they are much the same but the SD is marginally better and you can get different coverages.
I bought my SecureDrive from my MB dealer last September. My car is a 2013 still in factory warranty at that time so I did not have to pay for an innspection before they would cover it. Normally my dealer charges $500 for that inspection.
Your service records you say are up to date so there should be no debate there.
My car had 42000 km on it at the time. My coveraged now is to March 2021 and 100000 km with a $250 deductible (apparently my dealer reduces that as the selling dealer). You can negotiate the cost of the premium. The list on my warranty was $4025 before tax. Of course I did not pay that.
Worth it?
Well last week the AC evaporator was replaced at a cost of close to $1900 all in. IF I have one more major failure I will have recovered most of my premium.
Take the time to compare these plans and see if they will give you comfort. From what I have been told and without doing any research is that the MB EW is not as comprehensive as the SecureDrive or CoverageOne. My contacts as my dealership tell me SecureDrive is a superior product to CoverageOne.
Of course you do not get coverage for routine maintenance items and labour.
One thing to also keep in mind is that if you buy the MB warranty and decide to sell the car while covered by that warranty the MB warranty as I understand it is not transferable to the new owner. The SD and CovOne are.
Have you asked then to pull data cards on both the dealer car and the other one so you can compare apples to apples?

604 C63

The MB Warranty IS transferrable to a new owner, but not a new car. So I could sell my car and it will go with it, but if I total my car (I did once, as you know Alex) I CANNOT move the warranty to a new car. Its over and done, there is no refundable, residual value. I believe that last aspect is different in the States, but Im not sure.

The other thing to know is that with the MB warranty, there is no deductible as there can be with some other plans. It is just a straight up extension of the original factory warranty.

Alex.currie44

I misunderstood D. Thanks for clarifying. I did move my SD 2011 E350 coverage to my 2014 SLK350 which came from MB Nanaimo to my 2015 CLA45AMG which came from ThreePoint (same organization but totally different mind sets between the stores).
I cashed out and started over with this beast.
Yes on the deductible. I could have bought the 0 deductible option at higher premium. The OP should check that.

roadkillrob

So you are at 43k no warranty and 45,500 with warranty, so they really are basically the same price at this point as you would spend 2500-3k to add warranty to the cheaper car. If one was in better shape or had a few more options I would probably buy the better of the 2 and if it is the cheaper one, add a warranty if you can get it for the 2500 difference. Otherwise the one from the dealer with warranty seems like a decent deal.

Ron Olson

I just bought a 2012 C63 Black Series with 20,000 miles, and paid $2,500 for 36 months, 30,000 miles bumper to bumper.

604 C63

Thats a helluva value, on a car of that nature/price. You'd be a fool to not take some protection at that price.

JimGnitecki

US or Canadian? (Your sig gives no clue)

$2500 US would be $3425 at today's exchange rate.

Jim G

BLKROKT

It's also 2286.55 EUR, 33416.75 Rand, and 3386.16 AUD for our European, South African, and Australian friends, respectively.

BLKROKT

And 904750 Zimbabwe dollars