myalias-1234

Hi all. First time MB owner here, and glad to join the forum. I will be taking delivery tomorrow of a 2011 MB Certified Preowned E350 4MATIC. Vehicle only has 11K miles, and still has 2 year of the original new car warranty, plus the additional 1 year/100K mile warranty. I plan on purchasing the MBCPO Extended 2 year/135k warranty.

I will be buying the vehicle, drive about 7500 miles/year, and plan to keep the vehicle for 4-5 years.

My question is whether I should purchase the MB Prepaid Maintenance.

I'm told by the MB sales guy that the service intervals for this car is once a year, or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. Since it is a CPO, I assume all service has been performed up to date, so that the vehicle shouldn't be due for service again until 8/2014? I know the 10K mile service is just an oil change, but don't know what the 20K, 30K, or 40K service intervals entail.

1. Could someone shed some light on the frequency and type of service (A, B, etc) I will need over the next 4-5 years, and whether it makes sense for me to prepay for that maintenance, or if I should pay as I go?

2. I understand the 10K mile service is only an oil change, and about $150. What do the 20K, 30K and 40K mile services entail, and approximately how much can I expect each of those services to run if I paid a la carte?

3. Do I have to purchase the Prepaid Maintenance at time of CPO vehicle purchase, or can I buy it whenever I'm actually in for my next service?

Many thanks in advance.

Tom

thenew3

2011 Maintenance manual

You can find details of maintenance schedule there. Usually A service is 1 year or 10k, B service is another year or at 20k miles. Main difference between A and B is B service adds a brake fluid flush in addition to A service and a whole bunch of visual inspections.

From what I've seen, the pre-paid maintenance in most cases is not really any cheaper than paying individual services. In some cases its even more expensive.

I believe you can buy the pre-paid maintenance at any time.

CEB

In general, on a new car, you can buy the maintenance before the first service. I'm not sure what they do with used cars and where the first service has been done. It also depends on how much of the service you buy.

At the local dealer, the small service (formerly A at 10, 30, 50, 70 etc) is about $200. It is a glorified oil change.
The next service (roughly at 20, 60k, 100k miles is the oil change plus a handful of checks and brake fluid change - roughly $400 locally.
The 40, 80, 120k is identical to the 20k plus a transmission fluid change and engine air filter change. Locally that is about $1200.

In summary, if your 10k has already been done then;

Year 1 - $400
Year 2 - $200 $600 total
Year 3 - $1200 $1800 total
Year 4 - $200 $2000 total

I was recently contemplating a 2011 with 11k miles as well and was offered a three service/year (from time of purchase) maintenance package for $1400 (about a $400 savings from normal dealer prices) but that really depends on what your dealer charges.

Ask your dealer what the services cost and do your own math. Don't ask the salesman, but call the service department and ask them. Ask also if they honor coupons from other dealers. Many dealers run periodic specials and some (most) dealers will honor competitor's coupons.

Some states do not tax maintenance packages and some charge at a lower rate, so there may be a tax savings as well. All the prices above did not include tax.

Keep us posted.

thenew3

Do you have any documentation that shows the 40k mile transmission flush is included in the pre-paid maintenance?

From all the documentation I can find and from talking to my local dealer service advisor, the pre-paid maint includes the 2 year brake fluid flush but does not include the 4 year transmission fluid flush.

So if the transmission flush is not included your 3 year calculation would be $400, $200, $400 or $1000 of service covered by a $1400 service plan. doesn't make sense to pay them $400 extra and also in advance.

Also pre-paid maintenance is not refundable. So if you purchased it and the car is totaled or stolen, you won't get a refund on the unused portion.

Where as extended warranty is fully refundable before the 4yr/50k warranty expires, or is pro-rated after that point.

myalias-1234

Thanks all for the helpful replies. Appreciate the thorough replies. I stopped into 2 service departments this morning. 'A' service cost $250 at both dealers, and 'B' costs $700 at one dealer and $1200 at the second dealer (which includes tranny flush at 40K). For my CPO, I can prepay for 2 services at $700 or 3 services at $999. So the $999 package seems well priced compared to a la carte.

What I'd like to know is whether my CPO vehicle has had the first 2 services (A, and B). Car has low miles at 11K but has been in service for 2 years. Is it reasonable to expect the dealer to have performed these first 2 services if they are selling as CPO? Can i make that demand?When asked, the sales guy was vague and said all necessary services have been done. I just don't want to take delivery of vehicle to find 3 months later that I have to spend $700-1200 on a B service. Would like to have 10k miles or 1 yr before forking over money for service.

thenew3

Why not get into the car, and see what the service indicator says for next services (in miles/days)

You can also as the selling dealer for the CPO document which will show what services are/were done. As part of the CPO process they are required to bring the vehicle up to date on maintenance. So they would've at least done an A service and a brake flush.

As for the pre-paid, did they mention if the 40k transmission flush was included? I have received conflicting information about that piece from various dealers.

myalias-1234

The dealer who quoted me prepaid plan was the one who quoted me $1200 for B service. When I asked why it was more than the $700 by another local dealer, she said it included tranny flush at 40K, and said I could buy prepaid plan to offset cost so i'm left w impression tranny flush is covered as part of prepaid although I didnt think to ask specifically.

I will look at the dash to see how many more miles/days till next service. I think I had looked during first test drive and it was about 6 months left. Based on the 2 years of vehicle being in service, I would expect the first A and first B service should have been done as part of CPO certification process. I'd hate to throw monkey wrench into the deal at the last hour - on way to pick up vehicle now - but it bugs me that I may have to pay for a B service in just a few months. Sales guy isn't exactly customer friendly but my wife wants the vehicle anyway.

thenew3

Ask them to give you a copy of the CPO inspection and certification report. It should show everything that was done to the vehicle during the CPO process

myalias-1234

Will do thenew3. Thanks for the help.

sleewell

sounds like a waste of money to me but whatever floats your boat. i think the key word in your OP was "the salesman" said .....


congrats on your new car, i love mine and it has been running flawlessly since i got it. same with the c class i had before it. just dont get suckered into all that extra crap, that is where they really make their money.

CEB

For a new 350, 2/20 is $619 (that would be the $200A and the $400B), 3/30 is 769 (adding another A) and the 4/40 is $1499 (showing that the tranny service is included as it covers all "required services" and the tranny fluid is required at 40k) - so yes - it is included. The 5th year (or 50k) adds another $178 for a total of $1679. Over the 5 years that puts your annual maintenance costs at about $335.