Decision time: Sell and Buy newer or ?
 

My 2012 E350 is coming to the end of its 7 year MB warranty late this year. It has 47K miles and is in perfect condition. All MB scheduled maintenance has been done correctly and on schedule. The car has never been in the shop for any repair because nothing has gone wrong. No accidents or damage. It's black on black with sport package etc. I have owned this since it only had a few thousand miles ( since early 2013) and it is my daily driver.

My problem is I am tempted to keep this for 2 or 3 more years but having an MB out of warranty scares me. I had a very bad experience with my Audi S5 a few years ago when the trans crashed only a few days out of warranty and it cost me almost $7000 to get it fixed. So I am gun shy on the Out-of-Warranty thing.


Anyone have an option on this who has lived thru this same scenario ? I know the W212 is one of the better MB builds but have concerns none the less.

Thanks

If you like the car and it has no problems, What about buying an extended warranty on your car to cover it for 3 years?

My 2011 e350 has just under 60k miles and ELW will be up in Nov. I've thought what to do and decided that I'd be putting in a lot more money into a newer car than I would keeping this one. Yes I know that an example $5k repair would place it way above any market value for that year if I were to sell it but I consider that to be lower possibility (risk). I don't need to be trapped into regular purchases of newer cars just to have a warranty. I'm lucky I guess that I've got tools and a place to diy most repairs if needed. I'm retired so I don't have a time crunch to fix a commuter vehicle asap. Plus ... I like the car. Any C or E class loaners I've had for warranty stuff have not really impressed me enough to want one. I don't have to have this one as a trade-in if I were to buy another car (not necessarily an MB) so to me that's another reason to just keep it as long as feasible or I decide there's something else I just "have to have".

As mentioned I think there are additional 3rd party warranties out there but I have no idea of cost or if they are of any true value.

My 3 MB have respectively
193,000 miles
180,000 miles
183,000 miles.
I am not worry about warranty, but that's me. If you don't feel comfortable with car out of warranty - buy newer one.

Both of mine are out of warranty, one is over 115k and the other has around 93k. Both never had a warranty. Nothing major or crazy went wrong with either, just standard maintenance stuff like brakes, thermostat, motor mounts etc. Only strange thing that I had happen lately is the seat belt stopped extending. Had an indy take it apart and blew it out and it started working again. I guess there was something stopping the steel ball from moving which kept it locked. A new seat belt assembly was over $600 online and I think it lists for close to 1k. Used ones on eBay were $80-$100 and you can get them rebuilt for $65, but you'd have to wait a few days for them to send it back to you. Save the money you'd spend on a warranty and keep it handy for any repairs. It's good to have an indy who can do work on it.

+1 Great advice right there.

I bought my 2010 used about 3.5 years ago. It had no warranty on it and I considered buying an extended warranty but then figured, If I spend less than the 3500 it would have cost, I'm dollars ahead. So far, I'm about 3,500 ahead, so I guess it was a good decision. I do my own maintenance and any minor repair work like bulbs and such. Coming up on the tranny flush this year, so that will be a few bucks, but that wouldnt be covered under any extended warranty anyway.

Buy the warranty or buy new if it makes it easier to sleep at night, but I dont think its necessary.

Thanks to everyone for their input !!

just my 2Cents:

I got my 2014 just 4 months/7k miless shy warranty expiration period in 2017. I got my vehicle for 28k with all the safety features.
Glad I bought the ELW which cost me USD 3100 for 7yr/100k.

In the past 16k miles or 1 year, under the ELW:
1. Major: I got my tranny rebuilt because of some transfer case issue (I get vibes when turning the steering all the way to the left or right).
2. Cosmetic: Got my driver seat MB-Tex seat cover replaced, not sure if it comes under ELW.
3. Cosmetic: Some paint peel off in a part of the steering got replaced.
3. Somewhat Major: Front Struts got replaced and I paid for the parts only, around 700$ for both, included alignment, replacement and labor, not sure if it comes under ELW.

I abuse only rental car vehicles when I pay full insurance on them.
I do not work on cars yet, else if the car doesn't have any issues, I would keep the car, instead of wasting my money on new. Unless you are missing the features like Distronic Plus, adaptive cruise control and active headlights, etc.

My 2012 E350's ELW expires early next year. I currently have only 58k miles and in my four years of ownership I have only replaced the battery. I know the feeling, since I bought a car few years back with complete service history, etc. (skipped the extended warranty) and it then found out that the car had head gasket issues, overheated, and cost me over $6k to fix. I take very good care of my cars, and since I have had no issues on the E350, I do not see any issues driving the car after the warranty. As others above have suggested, getting another extended non-MB warranty for major components will definitely give you some peace of mind.

If you afraid of out-of-warranty issues, why not just lease cars and replace every few years. With the miles you drive per year, you should be able to get some good deals. And then it will give someone like me the opportunity to buy your car with low miles for cheap, and drive it for many years!

Good luck with your choice!

I'll be facing the same decision in a couple of years. I plan on at least making some inquiries into what I can sell it for and also looking around for what I might replace it with. That way I am not caught flat footed if I find another car I want to get or find a buyer willing to pay a good price.

Let's see... I have a 17 year-old C320 that has been out of warranty for 13 years. Other than scheduled maintenance, no problems at 107,000 miles.

If you are concerned about major repairs, start a savings account for car maintenance and deposit $100 a month in it After a couple years you can cover most any major repair that MAY crop up. If not, then you have saved some money for your next MB. Either case beats throwing money at a warranty insurance plan that you won't get back and may never need..

I consider myself "educated hobbyist"
I do have mechanical education, but industrial and abounded mechanical carrier 25 years ago for home remodeling.
But main point is that I choose to drive MB to NOT WORK ON THEM.
Drove VW for years and got tired of getting my hands greasy