MBZW210

Hey everyone. I bought an 01 CL600 a few months ago, about a week ago the ABC light goes on. I already think to myself crap, its going to be expensive. I brought it to topline automobile in Burlingame, CA. They came very well recommended. Well, yesterday I got the HORRIBLE news. ABC pump went out and there are a few other parts leaking as well and needs to be replaced, I didn't even remember which parts, all I remember is the estimate. It is estimated that parts and labor will cost me $4800. That is rediculous, thats almost another car! I absolutely NEED a warranty now. and I didn't buy it from a dealer so it doesnt qualify for MB warranty.

So my question for you guys, do any of you guys with the flagship models have aftermarket warranty on your cars? If you do please give me info on your warranty company, prices, and what is your opinion on that company and their service.

Thanks all for your advice.

Danny

lkchris

A $4800 repair bill on a $100,000+ car is hardly "another car."

Buying a warranty is same thing as paying for maintenance in advance.

Warranty companies don't lose money selling them.

lx4life

most cases with warranty companies especially aftermarket ones you have to one, get it inspected, two wait at least 1000 miles or 1 month before first claim. so i would look in to that first. you might have to bite the bullet on this one and pay out of pocket or see if you can do it yourself or find another mech..

agentf1

I have a Continental Gold warranty and think it is terrible. They have not covered one thing yet. My neighbor bought a Preffered (I think) brand warranty and has had a similiar experience. I will never buy another one again.

Chappy

Hi MBZW210,

My advice on any (non-factory) extended warranty is this:

Ask your repair shop which extended warranty companies they accept, pay claims on time, and repair cars using quality parts. Once you have a few names of warranty companies, then search for complaints on these businesses with the BBB, and your state's Office of Consumer Affairs and Insurance Commission, if applicable.

Good luck and please share your results with us.

revstriker

You might have a problem getting an extended warranty on a car where the original factory warranty had expired (maybe as much as 2 years ago).

Toog4me

I'm pretty positive about this, but an extended warranty is an insurance backed product. The manufacturer, with the exception of GMAC, does not actually underwrite the policy.

When you buy a brand new vehicle, it comes with the manufacturers warranty because it is there to protect your vehicle from any mechanical breakdowns CAUSED by the manufacturer. Once that period is up, it is now considered "your fault."

If you take a look at the "Mercedes" warranty, or the "BMW" warranty, or whathaveyou, you will notice an underwriter. It's not Mercedes, but an insurance group. These warranties are warranties that the dealers are buying off of warranty wholesale companies like Warranty Direct or Continental Warranty, and upselling to you!

The only warranty that is actualy underwritten by the manufacturer are GMAC plans, like the Masterguard, Major Guard, etc. plans.

When you buy a warranty, you want to look at the contract and the coverage, not JUST the coverage. A full coverage warranty with limitations is garbage.

Continental Warranty carries warranties with NO labor caps, no adjuster clauses, no financing clauses, and no "reasonable cost for repairs." As long as the repair does not exceed the value of the vehicle, you're good. And since EVERY claim is paid for with a corporate credit card ON the spot, BEFORE the work has even been done, there's no need for "THEY WONT TAKE MY WARRANTY." Now that's piece of mind!!!

Chappy

Is this the company you are recommending?

http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Bu...anyID=13128932

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?...icp=1&.intl=us

http://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20030527.html

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff140691.htm

AFAIK, Mercedes-Benz backs their own warranties....

http://www.mbusa.com/care/warranty/extended-limited.do

Toog4me

Yes. The rating that Continental Warranty has is a B rating, which is very good to be honest. They have over 2 million active contracts on the road. If you take a look at the explanation of the rating, you'll see how the B is outlined. Compare CW's profile with any other major company out there IE Sony, etc. Every major company is going to have a complaint filed against them. Whether or not the complaints are fair or not is beyong CW's hands.

What you have to understand is that if a complaint is listed on a companies BBB page, it is because THEY put it there. The BBB does not display comments unless the company allows it. This is why you will only find 2 complaints on Warranty Directs page. Interesting, no?

The fact that Continental Warranty even broadcasts the complaints is a good sign to me. They're not hiding anything. Notice, as well, that not ONE complaint has gone UN ANSWERED. They do not leave people hanging.


I'm going to start this one off with the fact that the guy who runs that site has no life and is looking to make a quick buck. He calls CW losers and morons. VERY PROFESIONAL AND EDUCATED. He illegaly tape records conversations which IS against the law.

I also don't see how you could possibly side with this guy. There are numerous ways in which Continental Warranty gets contact information. The first, directly through their website. You go on the website, and you fill out your info. Is there something wrong with that? The second is that you are on an affiliats website and OPT to receive offers from other companies. Nothing wrong with that, right? The third is that you enter into a sweepstakes for a free iPod and chose the offer that your most interested in. IIf you chose the warranty, they're going to contact you. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Continental Warranty DOES NOT send out spam email. They do not solicit nor contact people who have not submitted their information. If for some reason, one of the lead lendors is obtaining peoples information via spam mail, then that should be held against the lead vendor, not Continental Warranty. This makes sense too, right?

This guy is a ****ing idiot though. He complains about how he gets all of these spam emails, and then he goes to the websites, fills out his information, and requests a call from an agent. He complains about his bandwith and all the spam that he gets, yet he sets up multiple email accounts JUST FOR THE SPAM!!! I mean, if you've actually listened to his recordings, you would see how stupid this guy really is. He is clearly doing SOMETHING to receive these emails that he is constantly receiving since out of the 3287498273 people I know, we've never received any. Have you?

"we can all go back to work and get something productive done." That quote comes from Mark. Yeah, for some reason, sitting around the house all day long, making up fake emails, and submitting his information to CW doesn't really sound like s/t that he's being forced to do. [/QUOTE]





I don't really understand this link. Continental Warranty is a division of MCG Enterprise Inc., and MCG Enterprise. They are regulated by the attorney general of EVERY state. They are also federaly bonded with every state in the US and Canada.


I can't even tell you how retarded some of these people are. Let me tell you how the warranties work:

You enroll your vehicle, you get the plan in the mail to review for 30/60 days, and if you want to cancel it, you get your money back. If you keep the plan past your review period, your obligated to it. YOU HAVE 30/60 DAYS TO LOOK OVER THE CONTRACT AND GET FAMILIAR WITH YOUR WARRANTY. If your vehicle breaks down, and a part that IS NOT covered FAILS, then there is no obligation to fix/cover it. This website is put together by idiots who bought the warranty and decided to skip the contract. If the part is not covered, it wont be covered. That's not the fault of continental warranty. It's the idiot consumer.




This is nothing special. This just shows what is covered under the warranty. If you go to your local MB dealership, go into the PARTS department, and take a look at the brochure for the warranty, you will notice an insurance companies name on the front. THAT IS THE UNDERWRITER. Mercedes Benz does not underwrite their policies. IN FACT, if you were to call Continental Warranty, you could actually BUY the EXACT SAME WARRANTY FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST.

MB buys their warranties from companies like CW. MB then upsells the plan, and puts on their own restrictions. MB does not pay out on the claims. The UNDERWRITER does this.

Sorry for running on for so long. This kind of stuff just pisses me off and gets me all heated.

Chappy

Thanks for the replies. By your detailed responses, I am assuming you have more intimate knowledge with Continential Warranty. Are you affiliated with them?

Chappy

Your information is erroneous, sad to report. I pulled out my extended warranty last night and have the policy in front of me as I type this.

It reads:

"The Mercedes-Benz Extended Limited Warranty is as indicated above between the Purchaser and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC ("MBUSA").

No other underwriters, no other insurance companies, etc.

Perhaps you were thinking about aftermarket extended warranties offered by many dealerships? I am still curious as to whether you are affiliated with Continental Warranty. Please advise.

revstriker

You are absolutely correct!

One thing to note though.... GMAC is NOT a manufacture of cars. That would be GM (General Motors). GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation) is a seperate company (a wholly owned subsidiary of GM). Similar to Ford Motors Credit Company and Ford Motors.

revstriker

The "Extended Warranty" agreement is between the purchaser and the company, but that does not mean it is not underwritten by some other company. The big difference here is that you are relying on the company (MBUSA in this case) to honor the agreement rather than the outside company. However, the coverage provided is not any better than the coverage you can get from an outside source (although it may be better than some of them), and it certainly is not less expensive than what you can get outside.

What it is NOT, despite the name, is an extension of the true manufacturer's warranty.

Chappy

You have piqued my curiousity. Who does MBUSA use to underwrite these agreements?

In general, I agree with you as to cost except in my case. Since few (if any) cover AMG cars, I think I got a bargain for a $0 deductible, transferrable 7/100K coverage for $2490.

My contract also states that any dealership will do the repairs (as opposed to Joe Smith's Transmission Shop) and they will use "genuine Mercedes-Benz replacement parts or exchange units."

No used parts. No aftermarket parts.

This agreement also states "Mercedes-Benz Extended Limited Warranty Agreement repairs and replacements will be made at no charge for parts or labor as well as those diagnostic operations which are directly related to the Agreement repairs."

Some warranty companies don't pay for diagnostic time.

Toog4me

I brought the brochure home, and it's sitting in my car. I'm too lazy to walk out and get it, so I will post the name later.

Here's how it really works... Whether you get the warranty from an MB dealership or the marketing company itself:

We will use the Great American Insurance Company, AFG, as an example.

Continental sells their warranties. AFG underwrites the policy. Anytime you have a problem, AFG will pay out the claim. Continental Warranty will NOT. They are simply the marketers. Now, with companies like Warranty Direct, WD WILL pay for the claims. Which means that if WD goes under, so does your warranty. If Continental goes under, your warranty does not. You have an insurance company that's beeing going since 1872 backing it up.

CW sells the plan to MB for $1,900. MB then takes the warranty, re-prints it on their own paper, on their own stationary, and puts their name all over it. In some cases, they may even take out some parts. I have never known MB to do this. However, I've seen Ford do it.

Now, the consumer can either purchase the warranty directly from CW or get it at a markup from MB.

In the event the vehicle breaks down, you bring your car to MB. However, if you get it DIRECTLY from CW or the agents, you can actually bring it to ANY LICENSED MECHANICE or DEALERSHIP since you're not binded to once specific manufacturer. So, in the event you buy it from CW, you bring your car into MB or to your ASE Certified Mechanic, they tell you what's wrong, you hand them the warranty card, they call the claims number, and they get paid over the phone via corporate credit card.

In the case that you get it from MB...

You bring your car, MB diagnoses the car, finds out what's wrong, calls the claims number -- THE SAME CLAIMS NUMBER THAT SOMEONE WHO BOUGHT IT FROM CW WOULD CALL -- get's the authroization for the work and the payment, and the money gets deposited into the dealerships account.

So the warranty works the EXACT same way EITHER way.

Now in terms of making sure you're getting a good warranty is a different story. With a vehicle like an MB, you want to make sure that your warranty will cover you for the ENTIRE term UP TO the value of the vehicle on the day that you enrolled. Meaning, over the next 7 years, you want to be covered up to 63k or whatever amount you paid for the car. You then want to make sure that there is NO labor cap, and that the plan, for any given claim, CAPS OUT at the vehicles value ON THAT DAY. Meaning that as long as the repairs do not exceed the value of the vehicle, it will be covered. The problem with WD is that they only pay THE REASONABLE AMOUNT. You don't want that because guess who determines the "reasonable amount?" Yeah, WD does. CW bases their values on NADA and KBB. So as long as the repair doesn't cost the amount of the car, they'll pay it.

You also want to make sure that when reporting a claim, they will not find you liable for the claim. You want to make sure that they will cover your vehicle NOT ONLY if something goes wrong, but if a part of the vehicle does not work AS THE MANUFACTURER INTENDED. This means a complete air conditioning compressor replacement if it's not working AS GOOD AS NEW.

Now, what Ford will often do is take out the components of the warranty that are MOST LIKELY to fail. They then sell the plan at a markup and just wait for you to bring in your broken vehicle. They'll then tell you it's not covered, give you some "AMAZING" deal on the repair, and make a ton off of you!

They've not only made the money from the markup on the warranty, but they have also made the money for the repair that they just did. And then the worst part is that they then call AFG and act as if they fixed that part under THE WARRANTY and get paid. Since there are essentialy two agreements, one between the consumer and Ford, and one between Ford and AFG, it's 100% legal. The ONLY state that says this is illegal is Maryland.

Toog4me

I am not affiliated with say, Continental Warranty ALONE, but I do have business and personal connections with most of the major insurance companies, as well as their marketing agencies.

Out of the 1,800 warranty companies, Continental Warranty has shown more strength than most. With more than 2 million active contracts on the road, as well as three major offices, they are far superior to any other warranty "wholesaler."

Toog4me

That's what I meant to say.

Chappy

Thank you (and Rev) for your collective input.

Will CW cover AMGs?

Toog4me

Not sure. I can find out and let you know.

Toog4me

Yes, CW can cover an AMG vehicle. You would need to ask for Kenny. He is one of the AMG and "special" vehicle specialists.

Attached is the cover of the pamphlet from my dealership. This warranty is purchaseable through CW as well.

The Godfather

continental warranty is the one based outta cali (malibu) right?

Toog4me

Call Kenny @ Continental Warranty. (888) 244-0925 x2615. He'll help you out.

rays cl55

When I was at House of Imports they had some kind of extended warranty that would apply to any 55. I think it was around 5k...