Frank Wiesmann

Unfortunately, this is only available for model year 2005 and newer.

Riot Nrrrd

Are you sure, Frank?

The wording is somewhat ambiguous:

1. Option to purchase coverage after 12 months from the new vehicle delivery date available for Model Year 2005 and newer vehicles. A surcharge will be added to the Suggested Retail Price if purchased after 12 months from the new vehicle delivery date as follows. 13 - 24 months: 10 percent surcharge. 25 - 36 months: 15 percent surcharge. 37 - 48 months: 20 percent surcharge.

I guess it doesn't really matter - if you interpret it the exact opposite way it means that if you have a 2004-or-before model car you can't buy coverage anyway since it's obviously past 12 months from the new vehicle delivery date!

Of course, now this is making me wonder about how whitepony got his E/W from Mercedes-Benz, then - because his car is a 2002 like mine, not a 2005 or later!

Riot Nrrrd

OK ... I contacted the guy who lightnng passed along to me ... it turns out both he and my own "dealership" offer Mercury Premium-based plans. I told him that my "dealership" offered me one of 4 tiers:

60 months/60,000 miles
60 months/75,000 miles
60 months/85,000 miles
60 months/100,000 miles

His response to me was

"Keep in mind that 60 months/60,000 miles means whichever comes first... and they count the 60 months from the in-service date of the car, so you are already 48 months into it. We sell exactly the same policies.

Also, I believe you have to purchase the extended warranty on a new car no less than 1 month before the existing warranty expires, so you are already ineligible for the new car extended warranty rates."

WTF?!?

That makes the "60 months/NN,NNN miles" essentially a 1 year warranty?!? This makes no sense to me at all ...

And this have-to-purchase-the-extended-warranty-no-less-than-1-month-before-the-existing-warranty-expires nonsense ... is he blowing smoke? I'll just forget about the whole thing if I'm too late ... this is just silly.

I'd almost rather just deal with Mercedes-Benz ... whitepony, you said you got yours through Mercedes directly, but given this page on the Mercedes site that Frank Wiesmann is only valid for 2005-or-later model year vehicles, how'd you get one on a 2002?!?

lightnng

Hey Riot Nrrd... sorry this didn't turn out to be much help.

I think there is a misunderstanding though regarding these plans. Let me quote directly from the contract for the Mercury Platinum, which I have in my hands (as it is the one I bought):

NEW PLAN ELIGIBILITY - Current and four (4) prior model years -

"To be eligible for a new or extended service plan the contract must be purchased at the same time the vehicle is purchased or the vehicle must still be covered by the full manufacturer's warranty. The new vehicle term begins on the date of this application and at "0" miles on the odometer and continues for the number of months selected or until the number of miles selected appears on the vehicle's odometer, whichever occurs first"

In other words, assuming your car is model year 2002 and higher:

1) You can purchase the plan if you are still under the original mfr warranty (I called Mercury and they say it needs at least 1 month and 1000 miles left on the MB warranty)
2) OR you can purchase the warranty if you are no longer covered under the MB warranty at the time you purchase the car (that is, at the dealer's)
3) The term for the warranty - say 48mo/85,000 miles, like the one I bought - is either 48 months from the PURCHASE DATE or 85,000 miles ON THE ODOMETER, whicheever comes first. In my case, since I bought the car with 35,000 miles on it, it means my warranty is for 48mo/50,000 additional miles, essentially like a new car warranty.

Again, this is the contract wording on the contract itself.

Riot Nrrrd

Hey, don't sweat it ... and it was helpful, trust me - I found out some things, even if there were some I wasn't expecting to hear!

This is the kicker. I've had months to look into this issue, and waited 'til the last 2 weeks - I had NO clue I'd run into a clause like this. I don't get it - why on Earth do they need at least 1 month left on the original warranty?!?

Too late for me, I bought mine when it was still under the factory warranty, 15 months ago.

I'm assuming in your case you got this Mercury policy along with buying the car? So it's a perfect fit for your situation - but in mine, I'm screwed because I waited 'til it was too late (story of my life ... )

MBSvcAdv

riot nrrrd -

Not all extended warranty companies will require the 1mth 1k mile clause.... With that said, there are contracts you CAN still get, it all depends on what contract options your dealership sells.

I know that our F&I department sells contracts from GE... good contracts, not as expensive, and will cover the more expensive items.

Ask if they can find you a contract that meets your needs and where you are now miles/time, they should be able to help you out.

Steve

Frank Wiesmann

So you can't purchase an MB warranty after 12 months anymore? My dealer just told me if I had wanted an original MB warranty I would have had to purchase it when the car was new.

lightnng

Glad to hear that

Remember, premiums are a direct result of risk assessment. It is probably considered a somewhat lower risk to issue a service plan on a car still under original warranty, because it likely has a better baseline, since the customer would be more likely to fix it under warranty (for free) than otherwise.

The same goes for buying the warranty at a dealer. Essentially, I assuming a dealer that they have approved as a reseller of their warranties usually has to be above a certain level of size, or even commit to certain standards of inspection for cars they sell; in this case, the insurance company again is limiting their risk a little bit by having a third party at least make sure there are no significant mechanical faults with the car when it is sold.

Lastly, by limiting their "new car" plans to model years up to four years old they are also limiting risk since newer cars tend to be less problematic.

I did. However, they also sell "Used Car" plans - I assume the premiums are somewhat higher though, I don't know.

Riot Nrrrd

Update:

I talked to someone in Keyes' Finance dept. He wrote up a contract, dated today (so while I'm still under warranty), and I'll go in and sign it tomorrow - for the 60 month/60,000 mile "base" plan for $2400. They say the 60 months is from inception, not from the original purchase date. So it's a full 5 years, not (original 4 years) + (1 more year), as far as I can tell.

I called 1-800-FORMERC and they said I would've had to either have gotten the car onto the extended warranty in the first 12 months after purchase (and I'm the 2nd owner, so that was out) or have bought it as a Certified Used Car (I guess "Starmark" has been deprecated) from an authorized dealer and then added the warranty, and I got mine from an independent dealer, so that's out too - 3rd party (i.e., Mercury) is the only way to go in my case.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions and assistance!

Toog4me

Let me tell you all something...

Every extended warranty is an insurance backed product. No manufacturer actually underwrites a policy. Mercedes Benz does not write their own policies. In fact, the closest you will ever come to a manufacturer backed warranty is the General Motors Acceptance Corp. Masterguard and Valueguard plans offered to GM vehicles.

The warranty from "Mercedes" is from JM&A Group, a group that Daimler Chrysler uses. In fact, the same warranty is offered to people who buy Jeeps. The plans themself though, the actual service contracts, are underwritten by Fidelity Bank.

There is 1 company that actually sells these plans wholesale. It's the one company that does not underwrite the policies, but sells them directly for he insurance companies-- Continental Warranty.

If you're not buying the plan from the INSURANCE COMPANY/UNDERWRITER or their marketing agents, then you're paying RETAIL. You're spending more on a marked up plan.

Now, in terms of when you can get it, as long as you've got 30 days and 1,000 miles remaining on your vehicles manufacturers waranty, you may be eligible for a new car plan, and that's because insurance companies take your money, invest it, and make a fortune. This is how they have money to pay your claims. If you buy the warranty at the end of the manufacturers warranty, then they have less time to invest and make a return, so they need to charge more. KEYWORD: They need to charge more. If MB is telling you that you cannot get the plan, it's because it was not offered to them from the company that they purchased the plan from.

But let me reiterate this: Mercedes Benz, BMW, Toyota, Honda, etc... They do not write their own policies. In fact, the majority of them buy them from wholesale companies like Continental Warranty and then re-sell them at a markup so they can make up for their large overhead.

Toog4me

Correct. A corporate credit card is actually BETTER than a normal credit card. NO dealership should give the underwriter's claim department any hassle. Make sure, though, that the policy states that the claim will be paid for upfront, BEFORE any work is done on the vehicle.

Also, make sure that the warranty CAPS out at the vehicles NADA retail value. Anything less than that is a garbage warranty.

Toog4me

Not possible.

P.s.

You pay more for a ZERO deductible. The same plan can be had with a $50 deductible for about $1,000 less. So it's all in when you want to spend the co-pay... NOW, or when the car breaks down?

Toog4me

you can check out this link to this thread from a few weeks back...

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ded+warranties


Also, be sure that the service contract states that any covered part or component will be covered if not performing AS THE MANUFACTURER INTENDED.
A lot of warranties require that the component be completely broken to be repaird or replaced.

A good warranty is not all about what's covered, but the service contract as well.

Toog4me

Again, a Benz dealer IS a 3rd party and you're spending too much. If they are charging you $2,400, it means that they bought it for a lot less. You, too, can buy it for less.

Toog4me

The BEST thing for you to do is to go to an MB dealership and speak with the service manager. Find out the common problems with your vehicle between it's current mileage and the mileage that you may hit with the warranty. Have him tell you the cost and then do the math in terms of the warranties cost effectiveness.

That's the best way to do it.


You can also check out alldata.com for some TSBs.

lightnng

Correct.

Only because their third party is a different division of GM... although when GMAC gets parcelled out as Wagoner is intending, that too will change.

Well, I decided what the heck, I am still under my backout period from the warranty I bought, why don't I give them a call?

Continental will not provide a warranty for AMG cars, period. I asked why, and they laughed and said "you want an honest answer? its because they are so darn expensive, that's why!". I asked if the price I paid for mine (on a 2002 CLK55 AMG), which was $4,085 for an additional 4 years/50K miles for an exclusionary policy was reasonable, and they said that it sounded "pretty good, in fact". Since they no longer had any stake in the conversation, it was a surprisingly nice thing to hear from them (as they are definitely in the know).

Riot Nrrrd

Today marks the 1 year and 3 month mark of my ownership. I have driven the car 3160 miles in that time, i.e. a hair over 210 miles a month. At that rate, over the 5 years of this 60 month/60,000 mile extended warranty I am considering spending $2400 on (boy, I hope they realized I have an AMG, if lightnng's $4085 price is anything to go by), I will have approximately 19,900 miles on the clock at the end of those 5 years. (I have already had Service A performed.)

I suspect not a lot of breakdowns occur between 7300 and 19900 miles

But I might be subject to other problems from "infrequent driving", as it were. Maybe I just need to go out to the end of the driveway and back every few days

Anyway, this is starting to remind me of the old English phrase, "Penny wise, Pound foolish" - while $2400 isn't chump change for me (I suspect my income is a lot lower than most of you reading this post), given that Keyes is the closest dealer to me and they're guaranteed to honor this, it seems to me like throwing a bit of extra money at this problem for the peace of mind and convenience isn't necessarily a bad idea in this particular instance (of course, with my luck the car will have something go wrong when I'm away from home ... lol).

And yet, on the other hand, a nagging voice says "You're an idiot, just do what MBSvcAdv suggested, take the $2400 and invest it in something and take the car in to Corey's Independent Mercedes [where I take my 300E] and pay what has to be paid in case something actually goes wrong [their labor rates are a lot lower than Keyes European's!]."

I'm still not sure what the right way to go is. I suspect the extended warranty route would be a lot more obviously "right" if I drove the car more often ...

They only have a subset of manufacturers on that (free) site. They want $$$ to access Mercedes-Benz data (via AllDataDIY).

Toog4me

Not sure if you called the Seattle office or the North Hollywood one, but if you ask for Kenny at the NoHo office, he'll get you one. Again, there are some agents at that company that don't know what they're talking about. There are special "hidden" plans that they carry as well.

Toog4me

Forgot about that...