OK, here are the facts.

I purchased a 2001 E430 from a private party a couple of years ago. The warranty expires in 3 weeks. The car has under 26,000 miles on it as I work from home & do not do a lot of driving on an everyday basis.

I am trying to decide if it would be worth my investment to get the warranty or not. I have already had all 4 doors replaced for rust. Had one rear window gear replaced, just had the stoplamp switch replaced & the steering rubber stop greased for squeeking (just = yesterday)...

I guess what I am trying to determine is what other common problems does this car tend to have? I am not much of a do-it-yourselfer with autos, so will more than likely take it to a repair shop for any future problems (not nec MB dealer though!)

The extended warranty is through Western General & the price is approc $1000.00 per year of coverage (covers most everything except ABS, Security features, cruise control...to add those would be an additional $200yr, or 100% cvg $1850.00yr)oh, & there is a $100.00 deduct for each complaint.

Again, I do not drive a lot of miles....but I know that problems do exist with our beauties & would like to hear what others have experienced & what costs were involved to help decide if I should just bank the $$ for possible repairs, or know that repairs would be more than the warranty & just get it! (if that is possible)

Thanks for any help!

JoAnn

 

Hi Joann,,, I have the same car(2001 E 430) with 21,000 miles on it . While I cant speak for others , I haven't had all that many problems with my baby. However, I do have the MB Starmark 8 Year 100,000 mile extended warranty, just in case. As my service rep says,,god help you when something DOES happen . The warranty you speak of sounds a little high ,price wise, but depending on how long you plan to keep the car, it may be woth it.Perhaps you can purchase it one year at a time?

 

Thanks for the reply Helmut. I decided not to get the warranty. It is just hard to imagine needing repairs up to the amount of the warranty cost!

Plus, it seems as though there are a lot of people here that have a lot of experience I can hopefully have hubby refer to if needed later down the road. (If nothing else, the name of a good mercedes mechanic!)

I also figured another advantage to being off warranty is that I can look into updating these headlights of mine... Has anyone done this to their 2001? I hear the bumper has to be removed, but that was about it....if anyone happens to know, what do the OEM Xenon's run? Guess I could call the dealer...just thought I'd ask

 

26,000 mi. and all doors replaced for rust? Where did this car hail (pardon the pun) from? Back east? Sounds like a lot of repairs for a low mi. car, hope you got it at a fair price. You did right on not getting the warranty. For those of you able to get the Starmark warranty, it is a good deal.

 

Hi JimE430,

The car is from So Carolina, but the rust issue was not related. Due to previous posts on the board talking of rust under the door seals from the manufactures original metal (or the paint not being applied correctly at manufacture) I took a peek & sure enough there were some tiny rust spots under the surface of the paint w/a few breaking through. It was pretty easy to see with a white car.

Brought it to the MB dealer & they said it was a known problem, located more on the other doors (my complaint was for 2 doors) & they replaced all 4 doors under warranty. Those are still covered, not that I foresee any problems with them.

Anyway, a heads-up for you. May want to check under your seals to see if this is a concern for you as well.

For more info, do a search as others besides myself found this problem.

Good Luck to you!

PS~ yes I did get a deal! Little ol lady had to sell her pride & joy as she needed something that could carry her wheelchair. She was upset to let it go! To get the same car here in CA was $9,000.00 higher then what I pd her & had a lot more miles...& not the color I wanted...so this was better. (found on ebay, called her & made an offer over the phone)