Maybe your mileage and length of existing factory warranty is different than smooth_caramel. Remember, the surcharge that is charged (outside your first 30-day window) is dependant on the number of miles on your car, as well as how close you are until your factory warranty expires...




I think only you can answer that question.

If it was me, then I would definitely get at least some sort of extended warranty. I plan on keeping my E-class at least 7 years or more (as long as it's not involved in an accident... knock on wood), and Mercedes repairs are very expensive. I'd rather pay for peace of mind during those 7 years (and 75K miles... or in my case 100K miles).

I would also get it directly from MB, since I like the fact that there's NO deductable, and MB will fully refund your purchase price if you change your mind later (as long as you're still within your factory warranty). They may also refund a prorated amount on your extended warranty (if you decide to sell/get rid of your car before your extended warranty expires... or so I've been told, but I should double-check). Not only that, but as others have mentioned, MB is going to be around for a while, and will ALWAYS honor MB ELW's... no questions asked.

However, IF I wasn't planning on keeping my E-Class that long, or planning on "trading-up" before my factory warranty expires (ie: leased car, trade in old one for new one, whatever), then I wouldn't bother with the extended warranty...

 

I would shop around and try for 7 year 100,000 miles. There are other dealers that may give a better price for a MB warranty. Just make sure you get a quote in writing before you make any payments with the complete terms of the warranty. I started early on a Saturday, morning calling the Finance Manager in a different state. The first dealer I called gave me the best price. The Southern California dealers were a little high. There is a surcharge after 30 days. Your mileage seems very low for a 2005 E500 you may have to document the mileage. Your warranty would expire in year 2012 since four years have expired.

 

If you don't mind my asking, which dealership did you call? So far on this forum, I've seen numerous posters suggest Lisa was the cheapest source for genuine MB ELW's. If you have an even cheaper source, please share it!

And don't forget to include ALL the details like contact info, warranty info, actual price paid, and if any other services/extras were purchased at the same time... since some dealers may discount extended warranties if customers purchase other overpriced items/services...

 

YES

 

It all depends on how long you plan on keeping the car. Remember, the extended warranty only kicks in after the Factory Warramty expires, for a TOTAL of the number of years/miles specified. There's no benefit to having one during the factory warranty. How long AFTER the factory period do you plan on keeping the car? Thats what you are really paying for.

BTW, my dealer also told me that I can turn in my warranty for a pro-rated refund if I sell or total the car. But... the Extended Warranty Booklet is the only written contract between you and MBUSA & I can't find in my contract where it says I can cancel for any part of a refund after 30 days or so. All State laws are different so the law prevails in the state you buy the contract.

 

I am on the road now. I will look up the person name once. I stop for the evening. I found my prior posting but not the thread with the name and address. The dealer is in Colorado Springs. I just bought the warranty from the dealer. I had contact several dealers and the prices were all over the place. The purchasing dealer sold me a third party warranty that I had him cancel with a complete refund.

You have a little different situation because you have exceeded the thirty days and have owned the car for an extended period of time. It does not hurt to check with other dealers for the MB warranty.

You can check the MB website and go to Colorado then to Colorado Springs. If you have any problems locating I will give you the web address by PM when I check into my hotel tonight.

MBUSA add a 15% surcharge after the 30th expires. I just purchased a 7 year 100,000 miles warranty on a 2009 E550 for about the same price from a MB dealer.

Make sure the warranty shows seven years and 100,000 miles and there is an expiration date on the second line showing the date the warranty ends.

One dealer tried to sell me a one year warranty for $3,800.00. The warranty read five years and 100,000 miles. A call to the dealer from MBUSA got me a full refund. Other dealers tried to push third party warranties or the DC warranty that is about $3,000.00 for seven years and 100,000 miles.

GEICO has a seven year 100,000 miles warranty for about $140.00 per year increasing each year with a $300.00 deductible. You must be a GEICO auto policyholder at all times and can only be transferred to another GEICO policyholder. GEICO sends a representative out on all major repair requests.

On my 2000 E320 the time expired without using the GEICO warranty. On my 1996 C280 repaired the air conditioner a little dispute but GEICO finally paid. The engine oil leak GEICO said was within tolerance and did not pay.

I have carried the MB warranty on my 2003 E500 repairw without any problems by the MB dealer

 

Great info folks - thanks for sharing! Need your help and expertise!

Are these CPO ELWs or is Lisa quote on new purchases - not CPO? A dealer gave me only two options for a car I'm considering - 2007 SL550 (in a MB pamphlet) :

1. 12 months - up to 100K for $2395
2. 24 months - up to 100K for $3995

 

I would not buy either of these. I think that is too short a duration. I would expect 6 yrs vs 1 or 2.

If the price is that high it makes me wonder if they expect failures and need to charge more to break even / make a profit.

 

I believe up to 2 years after factory warranty expiration is the "standard" for CPO vehicles from MB dealerships (although pricing may vary depending on the vehicle). My friend purchased a CPO 2003 C230 Kompressor Coupe from a MB dealership 3 years ago, and the extended warranty for that vehicle was for 2 yr/100K for a little over $2,000 (not sure if it's a MB ELW or 3rd party though). For an SL550, I'd expect the price to be MUCH higher (since the vehicle is newer, has more gadgets, and probably costs AT LEAST 4-5 times as much as a 2003 C230K Coupe).

That being said, so far I don't think the extended warranty has been used on my friend's vehicle yet, but she's still got 1 yr/35K left until expiration...

 

Perhaps things have changed on warranties sold at MB dealers but I have a 6/100000 on my CPO I bought in 2004 and my MB dealer warranty still has about 2 years and 15,000 miles remaining.

 

I was starting to favor the EasyCare 7yr/75K ($2390 $100 ded) vs. the MB ELW 7yr/75K ($3590 $0 ded) for the $1200 savings until I read somewhere on this forum that EasyCare doesn't cover rubber parts on the Airmatic/ABC suspension. In other words, the ABC pump would be covered but not the hoses and if bad hoses caused the pump to fail, I may not be covered at all. This makes me worry as to what other things may not be covered as stated in the fine print of the contract. Maybe it's worth the peace of mind to get the MB ELW rather than a 3rd party warranty. There are so many things that would be costly to repair on my car (airmatic, SBC, dynamic seats, keyless go, nav, bi-xenon, etc.) that maybe $3590 for an additional 3 years/53K miles (7yr/75K total) of coverage isn't such a bad gamble after all.

I'm getting close to calling at Lisa at Courtesy to get this MB ELW finalized. Should I do it?

 

YES

 

(LOL) Yes If you want to keep the car & enjoy it.

 

I thought that was what I said. Yes if you don't want to pay for all the repairs.

 

Just got off the phone with Lisa. Bought the MB ELW 7yr/75K for $3590. She says if I ever sell the car or the car gets totaled, I could get the unused portion refunded to me. Might as well spend a little money now for some peace of mind the next three years. Thanks folks for the helpful advice and comments.

 

You won't regret having the warranty!. good move.

 

I am also considering an extended warranty for a 2007 S550(25K current miles). I have been quoted prices for a 7/75 warranty(MBUSA) that range from $3590 up to $4590. It's for an S class, so I am trying to also decide which way to go and when to pull the trigger.

 

If they are offering pull the trigger.


S class has had issues with instrument panels failing. $2 G's just to replace the panel.

 

I believe that was the W220 you are thinking of. They have resolved the problem and all W220s have a 10-year unlimited mileage warranty on the cluster.

I have not heard of any failures on the W221.

 

I had a 2003 E320 for 4 years and when i bought it back in 2005 i paid ~$3,000 for an extended warranty that i never used thru over 40,000 miles of driving. I never used it once for anything.

I traded the car last month for a 2003 S500 Sport and after deliberating with myself I have decided not to purchase an extended warranty. They are better at doing the math and have much more data than you do to manage risk. You really are buying piece of mind.

I have an experimanet going on right now. I also have a 2005 SL500 with an Exclusionary warranty on it and so far 6 months and 4k miles into owning it I have not used that warranty once either and that cost me $3200

If you have a good independent shop and are clever about buying your own parts online MOST repairs are relatively inexpensive to fix. Yes someone will get the shaft and have a multi thousand dollar engine failure but the odds of that happening are quite small

I can easily afford the warranty on the S500 but my personal experice tells me that odds are i will not recoup my money. If i just dropped it off at the dealer and gave them free reign to do repairs then yes i am sure i can use up the funds and get my moneys worth but I do not do that

For anothe piece of info i also have a 1998 E320 that in 8 years of ownership has required less than $500 in non routine maintance (Brakes, tires, etc) and has 124k miles now and runs like new

A car will typically be garbage off the showroom floor or solid. If it is a few years old and there are no issues thn chances are with an extended warranty you are throwing money down the toilet. Unless you of course are anxiety ridden and need to buy peace of mind

 

Must remember airmatic.

 

I know it is the only thing i really worry about on my S500 but even that system is a lot cheaper to fix than people make it out to be. the 2003 has the revised struts so they are much less of an issue anyway and even if they are you can get them thru Arnott's for a third of MB prices, same with the pump. Also if you replace the relay with the Hella unit which is only 8 bucks at Autohaus it prevents most problems outside of fixing leaks anyway.

I figure I will likely not need any significant repair outside of Airmatic which i am sure will cause some sort of issue but the reality of it is you can replace tbasically the entire airmatic system (Which will never happen but just for arguments sake) for right around $2,500. I fifure i MAY spend half that on the car over the next 3-4 years i expect to own it at worst.

They key to MB ownership outside of factory warranty is having a good independent with diagnostics and also sourcing all of your parts online. I am convinced 95% of the time you will come out WAY ahead of where you would be if you plunked down thousands on a warranty. Yes you could be part of the unluck 5% but that can happen in every aspect of life and do you buy insurance for everything that could happen, i surely hope not

 

No, I don't. I only got the warranty on my CLS because of so much on it. The E, no nor the R. Good point(s) though.

 

Lisa quoted me today for a 4 year 100k warranty for $4,590.00. I spoke to 4 dealers today in Southern California who swore up and down that no MB dealer would sell me a MB warranty. This all due to the fact that I am the second owner on the car. I am going to opt for a 7 year 100k warranty. Let see what happens. What do you think is a good deal for a 7 year 100k warranty? Btw, I have a CLS500 which is my daily beater. I love the car too much to sell it.

 

As the song says,, "It is good deal if you can get it". I bought the 7/100 on our 03 and it was the best investment I could have made. I have exceeded the cost of the warranty by 400%