lensjack

On a three-year (10k per) E 450 lease, PPM is currently $1275. Assuming no excess mileage, would it make more sense to roll it into the lease, or to skip it and pay out of pocket for each service? If it's common practice to end the lease a few months early and start the next lease, would you even get to a third service? I won't be servicing the car where I'm leasing it -- too far away -- and I'm not yet sure what my local dealer charges per service. Maybe this varies from dealer to dealer? Just wondering how you veteran MB drivers who are leasing typically handle this.

rbrylaw

I prefer to purchase PPM up front at today's cost and never worry about future price increases. As to not using a service, as long as you stay in the Mercedes family at lease end (i.e., get another MB car), Mercedes will refund any unused portion of the PPM you didn't use.

ua549

I do not lease and drive very few miles so your service situation may be different than mine which is based on time, not miles. I wait until after the first A service to prepay so the services covered are B A B instead of A B A. The B service is more expensive than the A services. I paid out of pocket for my first A service that was discounted with a coupon from MB USA.

JTK44

This is my second lease, 10K, 36 months. I take the two year prepaid maintenance - not the 3 year 30,000 mile, with each lease:

Two reasons:

1) The cost of the prepaid maintenance is put into the lease and is residualized: you only pay 41% (the residual is 59% for 10K, 36 months) of the cost: and
2) You will turn in the car before the 30,000 mile service.

I service my MB at a local dealer - not the dealer I bought the car from.

Absolutely no problem: when the local dealer puts my VIN in the program, (actually when I drive into the service are, my name and VIN number appear on the dealer's "white board". Pretty neat the first time I saw it happen) the prepaid maintenance immediately pops up.

Remember dealers make their money on service not sales, so you local dealer will be very happy to service your car!

Hope this helps.

ua549

I don't believe that dealer's service departments make much money on any car that is under warranty unless it comes from MB USA for warranty work. My first A service cost $125 after MB USA coupon. The second service is estimated to be about $300. $425 is not much revenue for 2 years servicing my E300. The only warranty work after a year was a software update.

lensjack

Reading this, I think I remember you saying in some other thread that you take the two-year PPM. Thanks for confirming and explaining your reasoning. Makes total sense and seems like the way I'll want to go.

In placing my order, I haven't followed every bit of advice posters have given. For example, I opted for RWD despite several strong recommendations in favor of 4MATIC. Living in Southern California, I never drive in snow and rarely in rain. And I've driven RWD in winter all over New England and Europe. Very comfortable with it. Wanting a cushy cruiser above all else, I put the money into Air Body Suspension instead. But whether followed or not, I remain grateful for every bit of advice and insight experienced MB drivers have generously shared here. It's really flattened the learning curve for me.

Now if one of you guys hitting Sindelfingen in early December could just pick up my car and load it onto a C5-M headed to Edwards AFB...

kingscorpian27

JTK44

Dear Kindscorpian27:

You stated:




Can you verify this?

At the end of my lease, when I returned my car under mileage and spoke to MBFS. I was told basically, but very politely, "use it or lose it:

Are you saying that prepaid maintenance is different: if you do not use it, you get your money back?



Thanks.

JTK44

Dear UA529:

The prepaid 2 year 20,000 mile service is $890.

Your two coupons total $425, which is half the price.

It would seem that it would be foolish then for anyone to buy the prepaid service,

haibieb

FYI. When MB re=purchased our 2018 E400 Convertible this past August, I had the prepaid maintenance. When they settled our claim, they did not return any of the prepaid maintenance which i had not used at all. So be aware of the program. The savings these days are not that great as compared to when the program was introduced years ago. Do the math first and see if its a good investment as it applies to your specific model and engine size. On the other hand, my tire protection program was returned by the dealer at almost 85% of the cost.

rbrylaw

Your dealer didn't take care of you then. When we traded our 3 year old C300 and GLC300 in for the two E's, we were refunded the unused portion of the PPM we had paid. We also got a significant portion of the wheel and tire insurance money back and 100% of the MB Extended Warranty we had purchased as we had not used any of that.

kingscorpian27

JTK44

Are you both saying this was a dealer policy, possible influenced by your purchase/lease of a new MB or was this a policy of MBFS, the owner of the car?

rbrylaw

My now traded C300 was not financed. I paid cash for it as I did for both E's. According to my dealer, as long as you stay in the MB family with a new purchase (doesn't matter if leased, financed or paid up front) and you have not used all the PPM, Wheel and Tire Insurance or MB Extended Warranty, you are entitled to a refund. Period. The dealership requested the money from Mercedes Benz directly and then sent me checks as they came in. So, I truly don't think the dealership makes this decision. MBUSA does.

Point in fact: When I take delivery of the 2019 E450, the PPM, Wheel and Tire Insurance and Extended warranties I purchased with the E300, will all be transferred to the new car.

kingscorpian27