chan168

Hi. I just purchased a 97 E420 with like 76K miles. Called up this company and they gave me a quote for extended warranty (claimed to be like bumper to bumper) 4 years or 48k miles for $2500. $100 deductible. Is it worth it?

What are some common repairs beside maintenance (which is not covered)?

benzboy

Sure is worth it. I'd go for it in a heartbeat. With a '97 you will be entering the expensive repair zone soon! LOL

stemags

I did one on mine when it was a year old(cost less because it was newer) and I recommend it.Go for it,,who needs to spend 7K on a tranny?I used warranty direct.

raymond g-

The devil is in the details so any repsonse you get from us keyboard drivers need to be tempered with caution. You must get a copy of the policy first. Read the fine print. What is covered? What are the exclusions? (!) Is it transferable to next buyer (in case you sell)? Where can you bring it? blah blah, yada yada...in other words, the same review of any contract you are about to sign, especially since this one is costing you $2500 and if the exlusions are many or unreasonable, you'll end up paying more out-of-pocket anyhoo.

I brought my 99 E320 in to Phil Smart (Seattle) last week. Asked them to fix weeping tranny, fix a/c lack of cold air. I got call couple of days later of $54 bill.....after my extended coverage picked up most of the tab, minus $50 deductable, plus $4 parts. I struggled a bit with the decision to purchase the coverage when I bought the car in December. What prompted me to do so was a whole day spent glossing over the various M-B boards for repairs done/needed, my commitment to keeping this vehicle in the long run, the potential for slightly higher resale value if I had to sell, the likelyhood of repairs needed during the next few years.

My coverage was for 3 yrs 36k, $50 deductable. Phil Smart dude said the guy authorizing repairs/payment was a bit of an snot, but that he just confronted him in a happy fashion and there was no problem the remainder of the transaction.

If I purchased a Toyota, Nissan, Honda....I probably wouldn't have fel the need to purchase this added coverage. With the Benz, I thought it was more probable that I would recoup my costs in repairs within 2-3 visits. For vehicles with lower repair costs, it probably would be better just to set aside a few bucks a week into escrow for repairs and come out in better shape.

In like fashion, I'm purchasing a $1 lotto ticket every couple of weeks towards paying for all those ideas you knuckleheads put into my wish list: rims, tires, suspension, bling bling lit door sills, head unit, kick a$$ sound system.....it doesn't end, does it? :-)

Richard Galing

Thanks...well noted, my searching is just around the corner

chan168

Sometimes I think that majority of these warranties only cover like major parts like engine and tranny. Rest of the little stuff are sometimes considered common maintenance and are not covered, so that's why I am not sure if I should purchase it. Plus there is a $100 deductible.

raymond g-

That's not necessarily a bad thing. It all comes down to probability, frequency, and of course, dollars. If you think your Benz is likely to require tranny and engine work in the upcoming 3-4 yrs, you weigh the cost-benefit considerations against the $$/coverage of the warranty/policy. If you review the Tech Service Bulletins for your year/model and believe that most of your repair expenses can be covered by out-of-pocket and a lesser cost than the policy, then you forego the purchase of the extended warranty.

rob_fed

I would talk to your dealer service rep. to see what aftermarket warranty companies they deal with. He/she could give you better idea which ones are more likely to pay.

For example, I had a good luck and bad luck with an extended service warranty from Heritage for my '94 BMW 540i.

Good luck: They paid for head gasket plus all of the needed gaskets and hardware when the head was pulled. I got an entire drive shaft assembly along with new transimssion mounts.

Bad luck: The BMW auto trans was sealed "lifetime" fluid, no dipstick, similiar in concept to the '99 and up W210 ('98 too ???). Anyways, I had over 100K miles on the transmission, I preceived some slippage, especally under hard acceleration. I took it to the same dealer that did all of the work above. The test drive the car, agreed that it had "some" slippage...

They called Heritage, they indicated that they needed the failing part, meaning, the transmission needed to be pulled, disassembled, and the faulty part identified. BMWs solution is to R&R or remove and replace. Heritage would not accept this procedure. The only alternative was to go to an independent transmission shop. I did so, found a shop that had worked on the same type of transmission, and they tested the car. Probably not being familiar with this type of tranny, they indicated no slippage, and suggested bringing it back when it was "real" bad.

Being close to the end of the warranty and over 100Kmiles, the warranty could not be renewed. I then ended up with my W210 about 3 years ago.