Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster here.

Last week I submitted a deposit for an out-of-state purchase for a new 2021 CLA 45. I've been using alerts on Autotrader and Cars.com, tracking nationwide inventory (used and new) for the past ~2 months, and I finally got a hit on a configuration with some options I wanted. Beyond the common must haves, my 2 most important were lighter colors (like silver) and ventilated seats. The build I found had a lot of other options I probably wouldn't spring for if I was custom ordering, such as the dynamic plus package, but I am also willing to "compromise" due to market and the shortages. Besides, I'll now have an excuse to track the car

The only feature I am apparently not getting due to chip shortage is augmented navigation. I can't be too disappointed by that because I wasn't even aware that was a feature until I was told I wasn't getting it. Purchase price is credited $700 for not being equipped with augmented navigation.

I live in the DC area, and only 2 dealers (out of 8 in the broader area) had CLA 45s in their pipeline, one which was changeable, but not arriving until late December. (FYI they were both MY22). All indicated a $5,000 market adjustment on top of MSRP. My out-of-state purchase had the same adjustment, but they will pay for shipping.

The dealer presented an additional $20k in additional coverages, all of which I will likely decline. Prepaid maintenance of $3,420 doesn't make much sense to me (local dealer says Service A costs $300 and Service B costs $850). The $1,300 tire/wheel protection could be needed with our crappy roads, but I think the fine print is too limiting. The ceramic finish for $1,000 is intriguing, as this seems like a good price, but I'd probably just get it local, if it's something I wanted to do at all.

Anyway, just wanted to share with you my experience. I'm excited about the purchase and look forward to participating more in the forums.

 

Congrats on your upcoming purchase! When evaluating the pre-paid service... keep in mind there are somethings beyond Service A/B that are required. I was the same thinking that when I added up A/B over the term discussed there really didnt' seem to be a financial benefit to pre-paying. But then I realized there were other services required within the allowed mileage that wasn't Service A/B... then when I factored those in it did make sense to buy in advance. For example I think in Canada the transmission service (fluid change) was like $1,000 by itself.

 

An old article but should still apply:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...ticle29822686/
MBCA manager of warranty and service contract replied directly...

Unless you are actually going back to the dealership for the Service A (which is the minor service that includes an oil change and oil filter change along with numerous "checks" that you can do in the comfort of your own garage) the PPM will end up be cheaper than paying upfront as prices of Service A and B does vary and mostly higher. Service B they call it a major service because on top of those checks and oil and oil filter change, there are brake fluid change etc.

That being said, $3,420 USD for PPM is way too high.

 

Thanks for the data points around PPM. I suppose I was assuming that service A and B reflected what was required, and that the PPM would only pay for what's required, so that it was apples to apples.

The other consideration of course is how long will I own it for. Maybe it's transferrable/partly refundable, but those can be headaches.

Nevertheless, maybe I'll contact a few other dealers to find if better price is offered on the PPM.

 

How many services over how many years are you being offered? When I was choosing a plan they had all types of ranges on # of services and the amount of time they were valid for.

 

$3,420 to "cover Mercedes Benz A & B factory required maintenance performed by factory authorized technicians using only genuine manufactured parts" for 4 years / 40k miles

In case you're interested, here's a pic of all the add-ons offered. In some spots it references the PPM as 24 months/20k miles, but that's just a typo. It's 48 months / 40k miles.