Karimvnfl

I bought a 2018 c63s earlier this year (from an Audi dealership). They never mentioned prepaid maintenance, but then when I started looking into getting service done, one of the dealerships told me there’s a prepaid maintenance plan already on it (under the previous owners name).

now I’m getting two answers. One being the prepaid maintenance follows the VIN and the second answer being I can’t use the prepaid maintenance plan as it’s only transferable if the sale is private party. Anybody have any input or advice they can give on this situation? The previous owner paid for 3 years of maintenance when he bought it.

Klinh

It might be true like how Mercedes CPO work. Mercedes CPO warranty can only be transfer if sale to a private party. Once the car sold to any non Mercedes dealer, it can not be transfer.

superswiss

Based on the brochure it says it can be transferred and no restrictions are given.

https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...%2009.2018.pdf

I did some googeling and came across the following thread from somebody who took over a lease and had the same issue. Looks like the previous owner actually has to transfer it. In this poster's case the original lessee came to the dealership with them to present their ID and initiate the transfer. Sounds like a pain in the butt.

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/mb-pr...sfer/204475/11

Klinh

When I bought my CPO M4 at BMW dealer, the previous own bought the maintenance service that the dealer didn’t tell me about. I found out when I brought my car in for service. BMW charged me $300 for transfer fee which is bull**** !!! But it still better the pay $800 for the service Oil and spark plugs changed.


Another time when I bought my SLK55 with prepaid maintenance service with only 10k miles left. The previous own want a fee of $300 and my next service was only an oil change which is less then $150. I told her no thank you. If I don’t own the car anymore, I would just give it away for free

Karimvnfl

I don’t know the previous owner since I bought from a dealer. This seems like a hassle. Why can’t they just be easy and transparent.

FDNewbie

Official answer: Must be transferred by original purchaser

Real world answer: Dealer *can* transfer it for you; whether they will or not (and if it's on the up and up) is completely depending on your service advisor/dealer, their relationship with you, and how risk averse they are in general.

The reason why you have no idea about the packages on the car is because Vehicle Master Inquiry (VMI) data is typically seen a private aka protected information, as it has the previous owner's personal information. But, the dealer can verbally look it up and tell you what packages are on the car; there's nothing wrong with that. That's one of the reasons I HIGHLY suggest you get VMI data/reports on vehicles you're comparing between, as I'd take the one with more packages on it if the rest of the specs on the cars are similar, provided I can transfer those coverages to me, and save several thousands of $$s.

Klinh

That make sense and the answer is very clear “MUST” transfer by original purchaser. They purchased It and have to right to sell it. My friend service advisor won’t do it for me on the SLK55. Dealer will still charge for transfer fee.