usr8054

Have bought a used E350 about 4 months ago. Coming up 30k service and the vehicle has a prepaid maintenance that previous owner paid for valid until sep 2017.

The dealer is asking me to get paperwork of the plan to get it changed in my name. Am having trouble reaching previous owner now. Called Benz and they say I have to work with dealer.

The dealer is the same one that am trying to get car serviced as well as the original owner dealer 😒

Now what?

rediesel

Dealer is giving you the run-around. Did you buy from the previous owner? Pre-paid maintenance is associated with the VIN. When a dealer plugs the VIN in the system it tells them what warranties and maintenance policies are in place on the car.

I bought a CPO E with 2 years Prepaid on it from dealer A. Took it to dealer B a month later to have an accessory installed and asked them to run my warranty/maintance info and everything showed up. Have had the car serviced at dealer C, and never paid a dime.

usr8054

Yes, thought it was tied to VIN especially when it came to manufacturers plans. Thx for your response, will try with dealer again, seems wrong for me to pay for service when it has prepaid plan

looney100

You should only have to provide the bill of sale. As previously stated, the maintenance package is tied to the VIN. The new dealer will know if it had PPM.

a4ncar

My dealer told me that in order to bill and get money from MB, they need to have the correct name associated with the car in order to get paid.

In other words if PPM is in name X, then the invoice needs to be in name X as well, otherwise it gets rejected. The dealer should be able to provide advice on how it should be handled. If your SA cannot give you satisfactory answer, talk to the Service Manager. Good Luck...

El Cid

How do you know it had MBUSA pre-paid maintenance? Seems there should be paperwork to confirm that, unless you are relying on something seller said.
Pre-paid is purchased through dealer, but it is an MBUSA product and they should have the information. What about contacting your state DMV to get name of previous registered owner?

thefisch

Here is an excerpt from my prepaid maintenance agreement:



The gist is it can only be transferred in a private party sale (no dealers) and the purchaser has to present proof of ownership and a copy of the prepaid maintenance agreement.

You may want to try another dealer to see if they just allow it. I wouldn't bring it up - just tell them the car has prepaid maintenance.

thefisch

Well if this is the same dealer that sold the PPM, maybe they can provide the records from their finance department. Try asking there.

Did you get the 2 years prepaid as part of the CPO sales event? That would be different than an PPM on an existing vehicle.

rediesel

^^^ I did get the PPM on my E as CPO sales event. However, I bought PPM on my C63 when I bought it new (actually a few weeks later at the dealer I planned to have it serviced at).

You are correct that PPM is only transferable via private party sale. That's why I asked if the OP purchased the car from the previous owner, he indicated that was the case. (I've also heard that PPM stays even with dealer sales, but have no first hand experience)

usr8054

Thanks for all your responses. After talking to multiple folks in a couple dealerships, MB directly - it seems like the PPM is tied to the owner that bought it and until they provide authorization to transfer it cannot be done. Looks like the original owner can cancel anytime and they get a prorated amount back.


I know in my case the original owner already has bought a BMW. He has used 2 off 3 services and the last remaining one will probably just be a waste.


@El Cid - The PPM actually shows up on the MB site as part of my vehicle profile along with the remaining warranty. The dealer also confirmed that it has PPM. I am just waiting to hear back from original owner (since it has already been a few months) - else may just pay for it myself. vbmenu_register("postmenu_6577074", true);

rediesel

^^^ If he sold you the car as having PPM he owes it you to transfer the service, or pay for you service.

That or you could always take the car in and schedule service in his name.

rchase

I have PPM from buying a CPO E class, does it only cover A/B services? Or does it cover brakes, wipers and things like that as well?

thefisch

PPM only covers the 'required' services in the maintenance booklet. Wipers are a recommended item IIRC. Brakes are not on the maintenance schedule - like other wear items they are replaced when needed at your cost.

My dealer says they replace wipers with PPM plans purchased through them as a courtesy. Perhaps your dealer might do the same. I bought my plan out of state and I don't think my local dealer changed the wipers last time I was there for scheduled maintenance.

Johnny Rad

Same experience here.

My stealer also said replacing brake fluid on lower mileage cars is debatable in some cases. It's a potential way to knock off a fair amount of $ on maintenance for some owners. Since I have the PPM plan, they happily replaced it.