KYBRIGGS82

I purchased a 2012 GL350 in April 2012 and have to date 5300 miles. I am considering an extended warranty for this vehicle but I don't know who is the top rated company for Mercedes. I normally keep a vehicle no longer than 4 years and I wonder if an extended warranty is even an option I should consider. Are there problems my standard manufacture warranty doesn't cover that an extended warranty would cover ? Which would be the most cost effective avenue for me ?

JimBarnhart

There's a couple of threads on this subject:

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...-warranty.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...-warranty.html

blittle

Rule of thumb: Extended warranties on vehicles such as Mercedes ( because most MB owners trade the vehicles within, or shortly thereafter, the warranty period) are usually pure profit for the seller of he warranty. When I purchased my 2011 GL450, I took the amount of money they wanted for the manufactures extended warranty and invested that in a relatively secure stock purchase....made a little on dividends, made a good bit more on stock appreciation.....now have enough to cover at least one big out of warranty repair...BUT... probably will not own the vehicle out of warranty to need it! Its a dice roll.... but always depends on how long you plan to keep the vehicle AND the odds of more than ONE big repair bill. What I have found to be of more value are the "ding and dent" insurance and the "interior repair" insurance...... I have used those! The last extended warranty I purchased was on my 07 GL..... traded it at 60K miles, never used the extended warranty.

Fourdiesel

As has been said, extended warranty is just a type of insurance - If you can 'afford' to pay for the repair, don't buy the insurance. As with any other insurance it is only as good as the company issuing the policy. Many many policies cannot be collected on because the issuing company (not the dealer) is not there when you ask them to make good. For that reason alone ONLY buy an extended warranty issued or licensed by the manufacturer of the car being insured. You can be at least reasonably sure there will be some 'official' place to get repairs done.
Second, if you sell the car yourself when you are done with it (NOT trade it in) then an extended warranty THAT IS TRANSFERABLE will make it easier to sell the car and there of greater value. This can help make the extended warranty more viable.

LEOSOPHIE

I paid cash for my 550. I can afford to repair it and buy the warranty.

KYBRIGGS82

LEOSOPHIE (DIAMONDJIM) : Great for you and not having to worry about paying for vehicle services and a warranty on your vehicle. I'm just a poor Okie Doke who's not too smart or educated and struggling to just make it by. Hence, my question about vehicle warranties and the advantages of buying one. You can see by the vehicles in my garage that I have to hold onto my older vehicles because of my limited financial situation. However, if you wouldn't mind spreading the wealth, could you forward your Amex Black Card info to me so I can breath a little easier with a paid vehicle extended warranty for my low budget 2012 GL350.
Everyone else, thank you !

aeggroup

LOL )

I'm also thinking about buying extended warranty, but I still have not decided yet for how long I will keep this vehicle. I think warranty from a company with good reputation makes a lot of sense for the vehicle like GL.

KYBRIGGS82

Thanks JimBarnhart for your reply.
I read the different posts but I found myself even more confused about the different companies and policies available. I want to purchase an extended warranty from a top rated company reviewed by forum members and a hassle free policy that my Mercedes dealership will not balk at. I would like a total wrap around policy to cover all major repairs at the best price with a reasonable deductible between $100.00 to $250.00. Any top rated companies and complete policies you could direct me to?

43221B

Consider what the total cost of ownership is for each year you own your GL. Based on data from Edmunds.com, the cost of owning a GL (diesel at least) in years 4 and 5 is more than years 2 and 3. If you purchase an extended warranty, you are adding to the cost of ownership in years 4,5+. The cost of owning the GL in year one can be dramatically reduced by incentives (USAA, MBCA, etc), good negotiating, reduced tax liability because of the trade in value, etc. making it hard to justify keeping the vehicle. Particularly if you have or have the ability to get a USAA membership, you have a good argument for replacing the vehicle at the expiration of its warranty.

Link to Edmunds True Cost to Own webpage:

http://www.edmunds.com/tco.html

JimBarnhart

My only experience has been with MB's extended warranty and TotalCare (easycare), I bought both of these from my dealership at the time of purchase.

You no doubt have read that it is deceiving for those who are mileage based warranties with MB warranties. That's the reason my dealership steered me to Easycare. I have been happy with Easycare. My warranty claims have been handled completely by my dealership.

I bought mine 5 years ago. I will be researching extended warranties soon for my 2013. I've personally felt a little better knowing I paid my dealership for the warranty. Then if something happens with the company I feel I have some leverage with the dealership versus buying independently.

KYBRIGGS82

JimBarnhart: With your experience with MBUSA and EasyCare what are the differences in cost and coverages between the two. I have the understanding I still can buy the warranty from MBUSA since my vehicle is less than a year old with 5300 miles.

JimBarnhart

My data is years old, so things might have changed, but here's my experience...

I put a lot of miles on my vehicle, averaging about 20,000 mile per year. As a result I concentrate on miles in the warranty terms.

I bought an MB extended warranty on my ML500. It came with 4 yr/50,000 and I thought I was buying an extension to 5 yr/100,000 miles. So the warranty should have expired 5 years after I bought the vehicle or 100,000 miles - whichever came first. What I really bought was a +12 month or 100,000 mile warranty - whichever came first.

Now, how this bit me. I ended up with a warranty claim at about 2.5 years of age, and 60,000 miles. So this went against my extended warranty since I was over the 50,000 limit on my base warranty. Then I had another claim at about 4 years at 80,000 miles. Since I was 4 years and 80,000 miles into my warranty I thought I was covered. I wasn't since a MB extended warranty only covered an additional year. It's confusing, but that's the way it is.

So I wasn't interested in an MB warranty on my GL, in fact my dealer wasn't selling them because of this confusion. So they sold me the Easy Care - Total Care warranty. It was a true 5 year/100,000 mile warranty. The expiration card showed 5 years from day of purchase. I went with Total Care since I didn't want to have to deal with limited coverage and that covered most everything. I had a couple claims against the extended warranty. First was an entire command unit. Repairs were $2600 and I paid my $200 deductible to the dealer. The second one was with the air suspension and again was covered. I had a shock go out that wasn't covered.

For me it was a benefit, but not by much. But I might buy one again on my 2013 for peace of mind. If I look at the TOC website for a 2007 like mine the repairs showed about $2000 per month.

supernsx

If you plan to keep the car for 6 years, it makes sense to buy the warranty. If less than that, most likely not. Btw, many of the extended warranty can be refundable prorated if it is not being used.

Just for your reference, I have a R500 and filed more than $8K worth of extended warranty claims since my factory warranty expired about two and half years ago. The transmission is start acting up the last three weeks and I heard it will cost $8K to repaired......