Of of course the 2003 E500 at this time. I only drove the 2009 E550 in Europe for a few days. I am waiting arrival of the E550 to the local dealer. The vehicle is stuck a the VPC awaiting transportation to the dealer for the last five days. The shop is shut down on the weekend. So delivery sometime next week with a couple of the days at the local dealer for PDI. It will let you know a little more about the ride once it is delivered.

The E550 was great on the autobahn and around the local cities in Europe.

Cool cool, thanks.

When I purchased my CPO 2003 E500 from my local MB dealer in Sept 2005, the vehicle had 15 months (until Jan 2007) remaining on the original 4 Year/50,000 mile factory warranty. I also bought the 2 Year/100,000 CPO Extended Warranty for $2595..........an excellent price at the time that MBUSA was offering. The 1 year extended warranty would have been $1845. I thought the extended warranty was about to expire in Jan 2009 and was planning to buy something from Warranty Direct. However, to my surprise, after reading the MBUSA pamphlet on their CPO Extended Warranties, I now realize that all MB CPO purchased vehicles come automatically with a one year warranty up to the 100,000 miles level and the 2 year extended warranty I purchased is additive to that basic 1 year CPO coverage. So, I'm actually covered until jan 2010 when I'll need to go the Warranty Direct route.......I won't exceed the 100,000 miles limit since my vehicle only has 58,000 miles right now. I also now realize one of the advantages of buying a CPO vehicle from a MB Dealer. Glad I have the warranty coverage because I one of the E500 owners who had the transmission from coolant entering from the inherent design and maunufacturing flaw in the radiator and the CPO warranty covered all the repair costs. Thought I'd share this tidbit with everyone.

I have the MB factory warranty on my 2003 E500 seven years 100,000 miles. I think I paid about $1,800.00. I have used it twice so far nothing major once for an oil leak and the last time for the feft front boot and the air conditioner about a week ago at 49,000 miles.

On the 2009 E550 there were many changes in the warranty from MB. The time to purchased change from one year to 30 days. The surcharge of 15% is added after the thirty days now. The price has double since my last purchase of a warranty. There are two factory warranties available for MB. One from MB the most expensive and a second one from Diamler-Chryler that is about 25% less than the MB warranty.

My Geico warranty on my 2000 E320 expired without ever using it. That ran about $120.00 per year for the seven years and 100,000 miles. Must be Geico policy holder and all repairs require preapproval from Geico. There is a $300.00 deductible.

hey vik, you've got PM. thx, wu

Hey VIK can you tell me the dealer. i am looking for an extended warranty. Thanks

I just purchased my MB ELW from Vik's recommended dealer... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Saved me money AND time!

Very interested. Please PM me the dealer and cost info.

Vik, I PM'ed you as well.

Thanks.

Call "Lisa Lehrbaum" at Mercedes in Chico, California. MBUSA.com will have
the phone #.

She rocks!

That is what I bought on our 03 E500 and about what we paid. I have also only used it a few times:

Door locks
Ignition key
Heater water control valve
Blower motor
SBC failure
Air spring Failure
Transmission leak
Airmatic compressor
Ball joints
Ash tray wood cracked
Engine oil leak (but I think they just didn't tighten the oil plug)

So based on these few things I probably would have exceeded the $1800 or so we paid for the extended warranty.

Does she offer a MBZ or 3rd party extended warranty?

I got a quote from another MBZ dealer for a 3rd party warranty (3yr/75K miles/$100 deductible) for $2300. My car only has 21K miles but the 4yr factory warranty is expiring next month. Do you think Lisa can beat that?

She CAN offer 3rd-party I believe, but I got the official MB Extended Warranty from her (usually this is what most owners purchase from her, or so I was told). She beat my local dealer's quote by over $2,000! All was said and done in 10 minutes over the phone!

Has anyone else had a problem getting hold of this 'Lisa' lady? I've called three times and left her two voicemails and have yet to receive a return call.

very much so, another thread about warranties details the difficulty reaching her.

What is Lisa's phone #? I'm not locating a Mercedes of Chico on the mbusa site or google.

thanks.

I wonder if somebody else at that MBZ dealership can offer the same good deal on extended warranties.

Honestly, in all my searching (at least in CA), I haven't found any dealership that can beat Lisa's price (and very very few that are willing to match it... especially if you don't buy a car from them).

Lisa can be hard to get a hold of. Don't bother leaving voicemails because she's bombarded with phone calls every day from customers who want to buy warranties and other stuff from her from all over the nation. Instead, if she doesn't pick up, then try again later (that's what she told me). Also don't forget that Lisa (just like all dealership employees) has 2 days off, and I think at least one of them is a weekday (I forget which one though). If you REALLY want the best pricing on a MB ELW, then don't give up! Try during off-peak hours (maybe early in the day, or late in the evening, Pacific Time). Eventually you'll get through...

Okay, I'll try calling her again tomorrow. I was wondering if somebody else from Lisa's dealership could offer the same warranty deal as Lisa, since Lisa may be too busy. If so, I'll just ask for somebody in finance is Lisa if unavailable.

Oh I see. The first time I called, I asked that too, but they said that Lisa was the one to speak with for warranties... so I just called back later. I got lucky on my second call.

Lisa is the only one at that dealership for warranties outside that local area.

Okay, I got in touch with Lisa today. My car has 21K miles and original factory warranty expires on June 22, 2009. Here are my warranty options:
1) MB ELW (from Lisa) 7yr/75K No deductible $3590
2) Daimler Chrysler (from Lisa) 7yr/75K No deductible $2990
3) EasyCare TotalCare (from another MB dealer) 7yr/75K $100 deductible $2390

Which one do you guys think is the best deal?

Ok, to help others purchase cheap MB ELW's, there are 2 ways to directly contact "Lisa":


1) DIRECT LINE: (530) 230-3154. The best times to reach "Lisa" are in the evenings, 5pm-8pm PST. She also has Tuesday's off (as well as one weekend each month), so if she's not there, then call back another day. If she's busy, then call back in a few minutes. DO NOT LEAVE HER VOICEMAILS!!! She receives too many voicemails, and cannot respond to all of them! The best thing to do is to be patient, and call back in a few minutes... or use Option #2 below....


2) E-MAIL: lisal@donotspam.chicocourtesy.com <== REMOVE "donotspam." FROM THE ADDRESS! If you cannot get a hold of her using the telephone, or don't have the time or patience to call, then you can also reach her using e-mail. If you are e-mailing her, please include the following information about your Mercedes-Benz vehicle:

MB ELW YOU'RE INTERESTED IN (ie: 7yr/75K, 7yr/100K, etc)

CAR YEAR
CAR MAKE/MODEL
VIN#
# OF MILES

YOUR FULL NAME
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBER (so she can call you back)

She will respond to her e-mails as soon as she can.


NOTES:

A) All genuine Mercedes-Benz ELW's have NO DEDUCTABLE! If you're being quoted a deductable, then it's NOT a genuine MB ELW!

B) All Mercedes-Benz vehicles are eligible to purchase genuine MB ELW's if they are still under Factory Warranty! (Many dealers will tell differently, but they are lying!)

C) If your Mercedes-Benz is still within 30-days of purchase, you can purchase/add-on a genuine MB ELW with no penalty. If your Mercedes-Benz is NOT within 30-days of purchase (but still under Factory Warranty), you still can purchase a genuine MB ELW for your vehicle, but there will be a surcharge (~15% I think, but I don't know how they calculate it... ask Lisa).

D) If your Mercedes-Benz is NOT under Factory Warranty anymore, but you would still like to purchase an Extended Warranty for your vehicle, then Lisa also offers multiple 3rd-Party Warranties (just like other MB dealers as well). She probably can give you a competitive rate on these as well (doesn't hurt to ask!).

E) You can purchase your Mercedes-Benz Extended Warranty from ANY MB Dealership in the country (NOT only the dealer where you purchased your vehicle from). Many dealers will tell differently, but they are lying!

Hi John

Can you share the difference between (1) and (2)? There's a $600 price difference between these programs and it will be interesting to see what they bring to the table.

Thanks

Lisa told me the warranty coverage for 1) and 2) are about the same. The major differences are:
1) MBZ ELW doesn't have to wait for approval. MBZ dealers could get authorization right from MBZ's computer. For the Chrysler warranty, the dealer service personnel has to make a phone call and wait for authorization.
2) Since Chrysler is no longer associated with Mercedes, it's now a 3rd party warranty so what happens in the future is less certain, especially with the current economy. This point probably applies to all 3rd party warranties.

Is this the case if you are not the original owner?