Benz4Bill

Hey,

Is it true that only at the time of purchasing a Certified Pre Owned Mercedes is when you are able to purchase and extend the warranty by one year?

The salesman mentioned something to this affect on the phone and I want to be fully prepared when I roll in on Saturday.

Cost? Worth it? Thanks everyone

Car is an 03, 16,000 miles 500E jam packed with options!

revstriker

You can purchase an extended warranty on your car as long as it's still within it's original manufacturer's warranty. Whether the dealer offers their aftermarket coverage once you leave the lot is another story, but this is also a common "pressure" tactic to force you into a quick decision. But frankly, I would rather not purchase an extended warranty from a dealer.

But please, don't take my word for it. Research extended warranties. You might want to start by checking out the Warranty Direct Website. Lots of good feedback on them (you can search here for information on them as well).

MB-Atlien

New guy here. Purchased a CPO '03 E500 with about 35k miles on it earlier this month and ran into the same issue. I will say that I am thrilled with my purchase and the car drives great.

I also was informed that the only time you can purchase the Starmark (or whatever they call it now) extended warranty on an M-B CPO car is at the point of sale. I called a separate local dealer and they confirmed that point as well. I ended-up purchasing the additional 2-year warranty at about $2600.

Note that you can always buy an extended warranty from another 3rd party provider (e.g., Warranty Direct [which I did speak with and they quoted me about $4k for an additional 2 years at the highest level of warranty]) at a later time.

Benz4Bill

MB,


Thats what I was told. Love to hear about your car, and it sounds like your real happy. Working on the haggle process now. What options does your car have? So What does your total warranty look like? Does that include NAV? Thanks for your info. Will help me in the process.

Bill

Feel free to email me at fensterone@aol.com to discuss outside this forum

Congrats on your purchase

CE750

Cause he wants to sell you his warranty.. you do have options.

MB-Atlien

Bill,
Thanks for asking about my car. It is black with the "stone" interior (I believe that is the correct name) and has the Sport package, CD changer and a handful of other options (no Nav though). I knew the previous owner, so I knew the history of the car. Actually, I was going to purchase the car in a private transaction, but the dealer (previous owner was purchasing a new CLS 500) offered to run it through the CPO program through a trade-in and sell it to me at the trade-in value plus the actual cost of running it through the CPO process (obviously doing a favor to the previous owner).

All in all, I have really enjoyed driving the car. Prior to this opportunity coming along, I was pretty much set to buy a new M-35 or the GS 300, which both drove great. This car (with that 8-cylinder engine) drives very differently, but in a good way ... you just feel the power.

With being a bit of "logical" person, I tend to lean more towards more practical luxury cars. But when I could get the car run through the CPO program and add another two years warranty to it (though the CPO and extended warranty is more limited than the initial standard warranty), it just made sense.

As for the CPO and extended warranty, it is an inclusionary policy, meaning that it covers only the items set forth in the policy. In general, it covers most everything (including seals and gaskets ... but not door or trunk gaskets), except for wear and tear items. Also, if you get in the car and tear the leather with a pen in your pocket or something like, it won't cover it. The dealer should provide you with a copy of the policy ahead of time.

Hope this helps. For me, the peace of mind that the additional warranty coverage provided was well worth it.

revstriker

"Starmark" is just the after market managed warranty that is sold through MB Dealers. I would not give this any more weight than any other after market warranty with similar features.

Yes, the dealers will probably tell you that you can ONLY buy it at the time of purchase. However, I wonder if you decided against it, and then 6 months later contacted them, if they would then be willing to sell it to you? They'd probably try to charge you more money.

Well, as CE750 correctly put it, you do have options.

revstriker

MB-Atlien, glad to hear that you got what you wanted, and it sounds like you made a good decision on the Extended Warranty. Since you mentioned CPO though (Certified Pre-Owned), I have to say that this term is just a marketing gimmick. These programs were designed to give customers a (false) sense of security when buying a used car from a dealer, and to justify, in some cases, a higher sticker. Now some of these programs come with things like warranties, but you should really price these out separate, and ensure that you are not paying too much when purchasing a CPO.

MB-Atlien

I certainly don't mean to come-off wrong here and I am not sure if you meant to imply this, but I did not look at the vehicle and say "oh, it's a CPO ... this car must be great. " I realize that all the CPO does is (a) add a year of limited warranty, and (b) subject the vehicle to an inspection of sorts.

I am not a very gullible person and, almost to a fault, over-analyze most things. When deciding whether to do this deal, I looked at it from (a) an emotional standpoint, and (b) a cost standpoint. To me, spending xx dollars was worth obtaining a limited warranty for an additional three years for my peace of mind. Also, as mentioned above, the purchase price of the vehicle was trade-in value and they added a reasonable amount for the CPO certification ... which was basically covering the cost of the limited warranty for that additional 12 months.

Also, as I mentioned, there are plenty of warranty providers out there. I selected the Starmark policy based on two things (a) my suspicions that a dealer's service depatrment may not have issues with it in the future based on their prior experience with Starmark (or whoever the actual underwriter is) (vs. say a different third party provider) ... basically that they know what is covered and what isn't, and (b) the price point was substantially similar to over providers.

revstriker

Not a problem, and I meant no disrespect. It sounds like you've made a smart buy, and I applaud you for that. Not every used car purchaser is as smart or savy. You'd be surprised at just how many people are taken in by the terms "pre-owned", "certified", and "inspected". These terms are only as good as the dealer who uses them.

Benz4Bill

Mb,

After extensive research I followed your lead on a Brilliant Silver 16,000 mile CPO 2003 Sport E500. Same price as your two year (2595) I actually will see the car for the first time tomorrow and assuming it is as clean as it sounds , its mine!

I placed a small deposit via AMEX over the phone to hold it as it has all the options I have been looking for.

Keep you guys posted!

Should I upgrade the NAV or no?

CE750

yes! and post pics of the car if you get it.

Benz4Bill

CE,

Do you fly? Thats my next goal and passion. I plan on seeking flying lessons in the next 2 -5 years.

Also by upgrading the NAV i meant by the disc. Dealer best bet? How much?