jofam

We just bought a 2008 GL 450 in the SF Bay Area. and are looking for extended warranty. Is there an MB dealership that would sell them under MSRP? Any experience with non-MB extended warranty and if so , any details would be appreciated. Thank you for your help.

bigben320e

STF Search the Forum.

I have given extensive details on this, along with other members.

JimBarnhart

be careful on MB warranties, like big ben says, search around, there are a couple of very extensive posts on this.

jofam

Hello Jim:

I think I found your posts. You ended up buying Total Care ? Easy Care Warranty? What company is that from and from what dealership did you buy it? Also info on terms and pricing please.

nkole

jofam,

Would you mind posting the links you find on any deals on MB warranties? I purchased one years ago for my 01 S430 from a non local MB dealership at a substantial discount, but I believe that person has moved on.

MKW

We don't even know yet if most of our decades old legacy " Rock Of Gibraltar " life insurance companies will around in the near future in these uncertain financial times so I'd be very careful buying aftermarket extended warranties right now from even " reputable " companies , many of which seem based in legal/tax havens such as the Cayman Islands , for claims which you won't make until 4-8 years down the road .

jofam

I don't have any links.

I found one dealership in the Bay Area that offers $500 discount on MB warranties.

I left a message but have not heard from the lady at Courtesy Motors regarding any discounts on MB warranties.

Then I will call the people at Automotive Exports on Stuart, Florida to inquire about the Mercury warranties.

I am not sure how the Chrysler service contracts will be honored later in the future since MB is no longer with Chrysler and the future of Chrysler is unknown.

I have read in this website about good experiences people have with Mercury and Chrysler contracts but I don't know and am reluctant to buy any other 3rd party warranty.

LEOSOPHIE

As of tuesday Daimler still owns 10 or 15 % of Chrysler per CNBC.

jofam

So this is what I have been able to find out so far, regarding extended warranty on a new 08 GL 450:

MB warranties: $2995.00 (7 years/75,000 miles)
$3995.00 (7 years/100,000 miles)
(those prices are about $1,000 less than the quoted retail MSRP prices from MB dealerships. MB warranties have 0 deductibles.)

Chrysler warranties:$ 3,295 (7years/85,000 miles, 0 ded.)
$ 2,995 (7 years/85,000 miles, 100 ded.)

Still conflicting statements about whether MB dealerships will honor Chrysler warranties. The salesman from Chrysler Service Contracts told me I will have to bring the vehicle to a Dodge/Chrysler dealership for service. (I did not talk to Mia. She was not available.) Lisa from Courtesy Motors Chico (who quoted me the above prices) told me that MB dealerships will honor Chrysler service contracts, and that I should bring the vehicle to MB dealerships since they would know better how to service the vehicle. Whether and how those Chrysler service contracts will be honored in the future when and if Chrysler goes out of business (unlikely) or gets bought by another company (Fiat of Italy just bought a percentage in Chrysler? ) is an open question. She is still selling Chrysler service contracts left and right, and people are still buying them, since they are better priced than the MB warranties.

Coverage of both MB and Chrysler contracts is similar, I was told, and both contracts are fully refundable (minus a small processing fee) if cancelled before the expiration of the original factory warranty of 4years/50,000 miles (if the original factory warranty has already expired, a prorated portion will be refunded). Both contracts are also transferable for a small transfer fee.

(One MB dealership also quoted me $ 8,000 for the Easycare no deductible warranty 7years/100,000 miles.)

The warranty sold by Top Line Automobile is 4years/48,000 miles maximum and starts the day you buy it, so obviously should be bought only toward the end of the original factory warranty.

Prepaid maintenance contracts: $2,000 for 50,000 miles. Is this a good idea? What kind of services will be required throughout the 50,000 miles of a GL 450, and how much are the MB dealerships charging for them?

Also, I assume nobody bought the Paint and Sealant package?

nkole

Sounds like the MB warranty is the way to go. Less expensive and less risk compared to the Chysler one.

Regarding the pre-paid maintenance, figure you'll have 5 services in 50,000 miles. So your betting that those five services will average more than $400 each to make this worthwhile. Personally, I'd skip it.

Neil

scottybdiving

There is at least one very extensive topic on the MB Extended Warranty
but I will summarized a couple things you need to know about the MB warranty. This is something that many sales reps and even finance officers do not know or at least claim ignorance. If you buy a 5 yr / 100K MB warranty, what you are getting in reality is 1 more year of coverage after you surpass your factory 4 yr/50K warranty, not to exceed 100K. It is very deceiving and myself and several others have been duped by it. Read the thread if you want to know more.

dskmd

One thing I found out from a dealer was that if you sell your car to a dealer as part of a trade, you have the right to request a prorated refund if you are in your extended warranty period. I'm not sure if that applies to service contracts which are a different animal.

jofam

Additional update:
I called Chrysler Service Contracts directly and talked to Mia (referred in another thread). She quoted $4,430 for 7years/100,000 miles (after getting my VIN #). She was straightforward about not guaranteeing that MB dealerships would honor them. She agreed that MB warranties would be the preferred way.

Mercury Platinum Factory Repairs Warranty : 7years/100,000 miles is $3,400 with 0 deductible, $3275 with $100 deductible. Supersedes (?) the manufacturer's warranty, ie. effective right away. So, if you cancel within 4 years/50,000 miles, you will only get a prorated refund (about half) not a full refund as in the case with an MB warranty.

I read in another thread that the MB extended warranty does not cover electronics like COMAND. navigation or rear seat entertainment, but confirmed with the MB sales person that indeed those items are covered if part of original manufacturer equipment.

JimBarnhart

I bought the Easy Care warranty from my MB dealer in Minnesota. They stopped selling MB warranties because of the confusion with the terms. I am still under MB warranty so can't tell you how the company is to work with. It's supposed to cover almost everything, including the Comand which wasn't covered by the MB extended warranty I purchased for my ML in 2003.

I paid $2500 for a 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty. It lists the expiration as October 2012. I drive about 20,000 miles per year so wanted something to cover miles, not time. It has a deductable, I think it was $200. You really need to understand your driving patterns to maximize your money. For example, if I drive 20,000 miles per year, a 7 year 100,000 mile warranty would have cost more, but provided no more value than my 5 year/100,000 mile warranty.

JDT1

My MB dealer sold me back in Dec. "07, a 3rd party extended warranty through CNA National Warranty Corp., with coverage lasting 7 years/70,000 miles, with a $100 deductable. I bought it for a negotiated price of $2,350. I also bought for $300 each, wheel protection and body "ding" protection. These coverages last for 5 years.

jofam

That's excellent advice, thank you. I am planning to drive aroung 12,000 miles a year, and so am looking at 7yr/100,000 miles or 8yr/100,000 miles.

jofam

That sounds like a really good price. My MB dealer is offering me the same warranty (Automotive Preferred Care?) for $2750 with $200 deductible. May I have the contact person's name and number at your MB dealer? Thank you.

JimBarnhart

All extended warranties are negotiable, and they have hefty profit margins for the dealer.

When I bought my GL, I had purchased a Dodge Ram about 10 months prior. I have a deal through work where we can essentially get employee pricing on Dodge products and could get the warranty at a reduced price as well. It was a pretty large discount, I can't remember how much, but I'm thinking 30%.

I used this knowledge in negotiating on my GL.

JDT1

His name is Chris Dutton of Ewing Autohaus in Plano, Texas (near Dallas).
The dealership phone number is 972-599-0909. Whether or not he is still with the dealership, I don't know.

jofam

Thank you for the info. I called the dealership and found out that Chris Dutton does not work there anymore. A nice lady named Nathalie in the Finance department also told me that the dealership does not sell that 3rd party insurance anymore and she cannot be sure the one the dealership is selling will be honored everywhere. She did offer a $500 discount on the MB warranty.

I think I will go with the MB warranty, which is fully refundable if I cancel it before the expiration of the manufacturer 4yr/50000 miles warranty (in the event I will find a better extended warranty later.)

thegreatsatan

I recently took my E350 in for service, and had the dealership call me two days later to offer extended warranty through a third part "Fidelity". The prices were very high.
They were offering 15% off those prices. I plan on calling Lisa to see what her deals are like.

chokaay

I purchased my warranty through Lisa, and her prices are the lowest I've found in CA. To help others purchase cheap MB ELW's (or at least to comparison shop), there are 2 ways to directly contact "Lisa":


1) DIRECT LINE: (530) 230-3154. The best times to reach "Lisa" are in the evenings, 5pm-8pm PST. She also has Tuesday's off (as well as one weekend each month), so if she's not there, then call back another day. If she's busy, then call back in a few minutes. DO NOT LEAVE HER VOICEMAILS!!! She receives too many voicemails, and cannot respond to all of them! The best thing to do is to be patient, and call back in a few minutes... or use Option #2 below....


2) E-MAIL: lisal@donotspam.chicocourtesy.com <== REMOVE "donotspam." FROM THE ADDRESS! If you cannot get a hold of her using the telephone, or don't have the time or patience to call, then you can also reach her using e-mail. If you are e-mailing her, please include the following information about your Mercedes-Benz vehicle:

MB ELW YOU'RE INTERESTED IN (ie: 7yr/75K, 7yr/100K, etc)

CAR YEAR
CAR MAKE/MODEL
VIN#
# OF MILES

YOUR FULL NAME
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBER (so she can call you back)

She will respond to her e-mails as soon as she can.


NOTES:

A) All genuine Mercedes-Benz ELW's have NO DEDUCTABLE! If you're being quoted a deductable, then it's NOT a genuine MB ELW!

B) All Mercedes-Benz vehicles are eligible to purchase genuine MB ELW's if they are still under Factory Warranty! (Many dealers will tell differently, but they are lying!)

C) If your Mercedes-Benz is still within 30-days of purchase, you can purchase/add-on a genuine MB ELW with no penalty. If your Mercedes-Benz is NOT within 30-days of purchase (but still under Factory Warranty), you still can purchase a genuine MB ELW for your vehicle, but there will be a surcharge (~15% I think, but I don't know how they calculate it... ask Lisa).

D) If your Mercedes-Benz is NOT under Factory Warranty anymore, but you would still like to purchase an Extended Warranty for your vehicle, then Lisa also offers multiple 3rd-Party Warranties (just like other MB dealers as well). She probably can give you a competitive rate on these as well (doesn't hurt to ask!).

E) You can purchase your Mercedes-Benz Extended Warranty from ANY MB Dealership in the country (NOT only the dealer where you purchased your vehicle from). Many dealers will tell differently, but they are lying!

smooth_caramel

hmmm...I got the MB quotes from lisa just yesterday and they were $1000 more than what she quoted you for the same rates. Can you tell me where you those your MB quotes?

300SDLguy

I emailed Lisa a month ago, and am STILL waiting on a response. Anyone talked or corresponded with her lately?

cpais

I have been dealing with 3rd party warranty companies for a long time as a shop owner and I can tell you countless stories of rage in dealing with them from a shop point of view. I urge you to really look at what they cover and how much they will pay for each repair. Unless you get a total coverage top of the line package you are going to have problems with high dollar repairs. We finally found one company that was great to deal with so we started sending all of our customers to them and then we just started selling them ourselves.

As a shop owner these warranty companys don't want to pay your full labor rate (they usually offer $45.00/hour and hour labor rate is $126/hour), they ask you to get parts rebuilt or ask you to find salvage yard parts, they regard each seperate repair on the car as a seperate job and charge a deductible for each one (i.e. transmission, engine, suspension), they don't pay sales tax, etc. I can go on and on.

We finally found a company that pays $126/hour, full retail price on new parts, one deducatible for the entire car, pay the sales tax, pays for rental car, pays for tow, they are awesome. DON'T be afraid to spend extra money on teh warranty because you get what you pay for. Some of these dealers (especially Mercedes) mark up even the cheap warranties to outrageous prices where you think you must be getting a good one, read it carefully.

The warranty company that we deal with charges $1000.00 surcharge to us when the car is an AMG, I don't know if they all do that. We just did a CL500 and changed the ABC pump, two front shocks, 4 coils, valve cover gaskets, thrust arms, gas gauge sending unit, brake caliper, and radiator. The job cost the customer $200.00 and they had a free rental car the whole time the car was in the shop.

If you buy the right warranty it will easily pay for itself, if you don't,....... good luck.