balthus

2004 E320W with 40K miles. Always had all services done. Car paid off. Never had any issues until now, SA offered an extended warranty from Total Protection Plan administered by Prizm Administratives Services.

The top of the line "Supreme" coverage with $200 deductible for 4/48 is $4,449 or $3.493 for 3/36 which you can do over 12 or 18 months.

Torque bushing would be covered but is now pre-existing so have to put 1K mile son car before they would cover.

Also is the $200 deductible each time you have something done?

Do plan to keep this beauty but with all the items not covered wondering if we should go for it or are there better warranty companies that are recommended.

Thanks.

AMazinGocity

Some are better than others, but over all is a good idea. The Genuine aftermarket warranty is terrible. The service people at most dealerships can tell you which are the better ones to use.

AmazinglySmooth

Amazingly, I am wondering basically the same thing. I just bought an MY05 E500 with 53k miles. Car runs so smoothly, but I'm nervous since this is my first Benz--I have no idea how much it costs to repair. My credit union offered me a 4 year (up to 100k miles) for $3600 (no deductable; "bumper to bumper"). I think the insurer is Mercury. I'm really struggling to spend that much if the typical repairs are only going to add up to that amount. Is it likely that I will spend that much on covered items? Will MB accept payment from this company? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cheers

NorseWagon

In the same boat:

Purchased a 2004 E-500 Wagon with 75,000 miles recently.

Looks like the extended warranties end @ 100K miles.
With a well maintained car and the early bugs worked out long ago, I am gambling that 100K miles are within reach without any major stuff.

Worst case scenario would be an expensive tranny re-build for $3 or $4K.

Looks like the engine is bullet-proof and only need Mobil 1 and filters.

Wear stuff like brakes and tires ain't covered anyhow.

Guess I will take my chances..Here is to a bit of good luck..

gnma

Reading everyone's post count above, its seems apparent that ya'll have no idea what repairs on an MB can amount to. This is no conventional car at least in terms of repair costs. Search a little, there are tons of info. on this subject, and make sure u're sitting down when you read about repair costs. The E500 owner above, your fantastic air-matic ride will cost you about $1K EACH when you get the infamous "car ride height low - visit workshop" error)....and that's the appetizer

I"m now in the same boat. I plan on doing maint. myself, but that is only basic maintenance. Any STAR diagnostics needed will require a trip to the dealer.

My view on the warranty has been to setup a separate savings (or stock) account for the price of the warranty, and keep that money, and use it for repairs, rather than buy a warranty. We'll see how that works.

BTW, I've had my 2005 E500 with 36K for almost 2 years with no problems, and I love the car. There is nothing like an MB if you can tolerate the boring automatic transmission. The 7 spd. auto, RWD V8 motor helps me forget that...

Good luck with your decisions!

balthus

I want to get one. I am just looking for recommendations of companies from users who have purchased & are happy with the service. I know over the course of the next 4 years I will likely spend what it will cost on some of the items covered & am looking for someone who has been around & is easy to work with & doesn't hassle you when you need to use it. Thanks.

Barry45RPM

An "expensive transmission rebuild" is $3000 on a Chevy Malibu. If you have to do a major transmission rebuild on your E, its cheaper to buy a 1 Year old Toyota Corolla.

If you are planning to keep a pre- '07 211 into milage above 60,000, an extended warranty is NOT an option unless you want to be a self insurer. Are you a gambling man? Do you feel lucky? You got thousands at the ready? ...and how will you feel about the car and the brand after you have to shell out 9 Grand for a Transmission as some have posted on this forum?

Randal70

I you are to get a warranty, go with the EASYCARE. They offer a full bumper to bumper warranty. All Mercedes dealers and certified mechanics will accept them.

sunnySD

I've talked to a local indy shop near my house. They said a tranny replacement would be about $6K from them, probably about $9K from dealer. I asked if they perform warranty work with extended warranties.

I was told these companies are a pain for the shop to work with but they understand it's something they have to do. I was told to make sure the warranty company pass full labor rates and allows the shop to choose genuine Mercedes parts. I was told Fidelity was good and allows for Mercedes parts, paying full labor.

mmartinez

Extended warranty just expired at 75,000 miles.

Purcahsed the my 04 E320 with 21,000 miles with CPO Warranty.

I am glad I had CPO warranty up until recently:

CPO Warranty Replaced:

- Right and left upper and lower ball joints
- Transmission and torque converter replaced (dealer said w/o warranty it
would have been like $11,000)
- Center console arm rest replaced
- motor mounts replaced
- left arm rest replaced

Ive decided to go the extra 25,000 miles on my own. I feel like I ma driving a new car considering all the items that have been replaced. Plus she's going to be a garage beauty, since I have another car as my daily driver.

Efivehundred

Why was your center console arm rest replaced? Was it replaced because there was a bubble under the covering?

When my CPO term is over, I'm probably going to get a Chrysler service contract. It's been discussed in this forum ad nauseam.

NorseWagon

Thanks for the info on high repair costs: I kind of figured that when I bought this thing.

Not too scared however: Paid $50K less than sticker and $5K less than current list price..In other words: I have a bit of financial flexibilty 'cause of the price..I could put the dough into an "Extended Warranty" or self-insure. Have not decided yet..Looking for information and advice on these here pages..Keep it coming.

Holly Sh!!t..Not sure I am up to gambling that kind of dough.
What was the symptoms, problems, driving behaviour..?

On the other hand, I would be dead by now because of cancer as it is in the family. Still going strong and plan to live to 95.

Got 2 of those.

Planning to inject slow drying glue in the bubbles and loading down with plenty weight on top..Should solve the problem once and for all..

mmartinez

Hey EFIVEHUNDRED

...... Yup the center console and the armrests began to bubble. I told my SA that was unacceptable on a mercedes. They replaced everything

mmartinez

Hey NORSEWAGON....

Quote:
"Planning to inject slow drying glue in the bubbles and loading down with plenty weight on top..Should solve the problem once and for all.."

please don't do that just tell the dealer to replace them. They should do it no questions asked. If we wanted to air bubbles and cheap leather then would have purchased a loaded honda or hyundai.

Quote:
"What was the symptoms, problems, driving behaviour..?"

It was weird because it started with tranny switching gears on its own, then it seemed like it would jerk on some days. Other days it would seem like it was going to stall as I was coming to a stop. Finally i was on the freeway and it slipped into first gear and would not go into any other gear. It seems like everyone who has an '04,'05, and some '06 have had their tranny's replaced or worked on.

NorseWagon

Sounds good and I am with you mon..But my ride is out of warranty.

You suggest I pull up to the dealer and ask the man to replace the bubbly arm-rest out of warranty..?

This is my first Benz and I am listening:
Perhaps there is a God?

Aye mate..Don't say that..Now I can't sleep

Efivehundred

The bubbling center arm rest seems to be a very common problem. Now I have hope they will fix it when I take the car in for them to fix some other issues. Thanks

AmazinglySmooth

So, would a $3k repair be common? It sounds as if it is. If so, I wonder how the warranty companies can only charge $3.5k.

chokaay

It's all statistics. They calculate the MTTF and probability that vehicle models will develop certain problems, and how much it will take to fix the vehicle models, then take that into consideration when charging their price. Just because everyone pays $3K for MB extended warranty DOES NOT mean that everyone will have $3K worth of repairs done under MB extended warranty. Many cars will last through the warranty period without any major repairs. Others won't. Thus, the people who bought the warranties and didn't claim up to $3K worth of repairs "subsidize" the ones that do. Any difference left over is "revenue and profit" for the warranty company.

And don't forget that not every vehicle's extended warranty is $3K. Some models can be less, some can be more. And it also depends on the length of warranty you want (both in years and mileage), as well as who you want to buy your extended warranty from (MB or a 3rd party).

Barry45RPM

They're playing the law of averages. It really doesn't matter if a very expensive repair is required to an E Class somewhere... only if you have to pay for it. You're paying for peace of mind. If I were you and you love the car, I'd get an extended warranty and enjoy. That's the price of this model and year range Benz. The 03' - 06 E Class were not solid, dependable cars as a whole, but many individual cars of the group were...but they never quite lost that "exclusive, luxury" reputation despite the quality issues.

Note that once MB acknowledged that there was a problem with the 211's and made up their mind to correct the defects (by MY 07), the cars became fabulous.

AmazinglySmooth

I think I understand their business/risk models, but there are two scenarios that could lead to the same extended warranty price: (1) most cars require no repairs but those that do are very expensive to fix, or (2) all cars have many minor repairs with very few having a single large repair. I'd like to understand the which distribution of repair costs is applicable to the e500, but I cannot find any data.

Anyone here have a guess?

chokaay

IMHO, I would say that the "unofficial" and "unconfirmed" trend of this forum (which isn't very accurate) would point more to #1 than #2... especially because most MB are much more expensive to fix than less expensive vehicles.

That being said, I would say it is safe to expect at least 1 "expensive" repair (>$1,000) within the first 100,000 miles of your vehicle's life. Some may have more than one, others may get "lucky" and go past 100,000 miles without one (or maybe that's UNLUCKY since it's not covered by MB Extended Warranty anymore). But like I said before, it's very difficult to predict the future...

Since your vehicle is pre-2007, it may have more problems than the 2007-2009 E-Classes... that is the general concensus on this forum, and I believe that to be correct.

AmazinglySmooth

>$1000 but less than x? x= $10,000?

chokaay

There is no upper boundary to the term "expensive".


EDIT: And no offense or anything, but IMHO, you purchased a very sophisticated machine with lots of electronic and mechanical parts. As with all products with moving parts, whether it's a Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, or MB, eventually SOMETHING IS GOING TO BREAK, whether you like it or not. It's only a matter of time and mileage ("Will it be 1 day or 10 years?" "Will it be in 100 miles or 100,000 miles?"). It's a crap-shoot of when it's going to happen (versus when your warranty runs out, or when you sell your vehicle, or when your vehicle gets totalled). Therefore, you should stop worrying about what is (or isn't) going to break, and START ENJOYING YOUR VEHICLE BEFORE IT HAPPENS, WHILE SAVING UP FOR THE EVENTUAL REPAIRS IT WILL NEED!

balthus

I was given an alternate warranty company by an independent MB shop vs the one the dealer recommended & can tell you 1/2 half the price for what seems to be same coverage & deductible.

You can shop around as I am & I asked him if I could post his info & of course he said yes so you may want to compare quotes & contracts.

Feel free to contact him & tell him you were referred from the lady from Dallas with thw 2004 E320 wagon who was referred by Rodney Herson Automotive.



· NATIONWIDE PROTECTION: Coverage provided throughout the United States and Canada.

· FULLY INSURED PROGRAM: Insured By a Member Of MIC General Insurance Corporation. Rated by A.M. Best <http://www3.ambest.com/Ratings/FullProfile.asp?amb=654&URATINGID=1184354&altnum=0 &template=sratings&fs=0&altsrc=0&ec=66761&tl=7&b=0 > , A (Excellent).

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· FREEDOM OF CHOICE FOR REPAIRS: You may take your vehicle to any licensed repair facility.

· INCREASED RESALE VALUE: Your Comprehensive Vehicle Protection Plan is transferable to a new owner if you sell your vehicle.

· DEDUCTIBLE: Two deductible options available to meet your needs.

· CLAIMS: Authorized repairs are paid directly to the repair facility by the administrator via credit card or check. If needed, the administrator will reimburse you for authorized repairs.

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Call 1-866-247-3728 X – *232 for details and get protected today!

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chokaay

Just a word of warning... if this alternate warranty company is trying to advertise its warranty having the same coverage and benefits of MB's Extended Warranty, they are already dead wrong based on the information provided by Rodney.

If they are comparing themselves to other 3rd Party Extended Warranties, then I have no comment... they could be better than some, and worse than others.