rbenedetti

Hi there. I am gearing up to purchase a GLE 580 next week. I ordered the car a few months ago, and it just arrived. I’m trying to rationalize whether or not it makes sense to buy an extended warranty ($6,800 for 7yrs or 75k miles), a tire and wheel warranty ($3,500 for 5yrs), and prepaid maintenance ($3,250 for 4yrs, covering 2 Service As and 2 Service Bs). I firmly believe that dealers make money on all of these types of agreements, therefore I feel like I could just bank the money and draw from it if/when something breaks, and, at the very least, I would have four years on the manufacturers warranty to confirm or deny whether or not I bought a lemon. Further, I think that I can forgo certain line items in service B to reduce the cost, i.e. maybe I replace my own windshield wipers, etc, rather than paying full price for the prepaid maintenance and having them do everything. Does anyone have any advice they can offer for me in this regard? I need to make a decision by early next week, because I’m going to buy the car on Friday. Many thanks!

TexAg91

The factory warranty is 4 yrs./50,000 miles. The 48 Volt battery and mild hybrid control electronics is covered by the emissions warranty and is 8 years/80,000 miles. So, for your $6800 you're getting another 3 years, or 25,000 miles of factory warranty -- it's not needed for the mild hybrid system. How long do you plan to keep it, and how many miles do you drive/year -- is peace of mind worth another $6800 to you -- that's a lot? Even if you curb a rim, you can get it repaired for several hundred dollars, and the soft performance tires on the 580 will wear out in 20-30K miles. Where I live, an A service is ~$400, and a B service is $800. For those prices, (another $13,550), I'd take my chances and pass...but it is your money.

rbenedetti

I am with you. I plan to keep the car for the long haul - until they outlaw gasoline engines - but will probably only put 6-8k miles per year on it, and though I love to drive, I am not the type to max the car every day. I live in NJ and was told that Service B can be up to $1,300, but that was from the guy who was trying to sell me the prepaid maintenance. He also said that the extended warranty was $10,000 but he was giving me the ‘friends and family’ discount, but I already know that dealer cost is less than $4,000, because another dealer offered me that price, but they also wanted me to wait for them to get an allocation. Whereabouts do you live? And do you get you car serviced at the MB dealership or a Euro mechanic? Thanks again for your response!

TexAg91

I live in Fredericksburg VA, and get my car serviced at Mercedes Dealer here were I purchased mine. (Huber Motorcars)

deck0702

Value of the tire warranty depends on the condition of the road you drive. I got it for 5 years for 2.5k on my gle 350. There are lots of pot holes where I drive and my wife hits the curb sometimes so we already used it once in our 10months of ownership. It was effortless. The dealership fixed a curb damage with no paperwork and no charge ofc. It was effortless. Hopefully we won’t use it again but it’s nice to have peace of mind for me

Prepaid maintenance sounds expensive even for a 580. I got mine through a dealership I did not purchase the car from. There’s an authorized benz dealership that offers a gd price. Try searching for tafelmotors on this forum. FYI - PPMs are honored at any benz service centers so you are not obligated to buy from the dealership you purchased your car from nor where you intend to get your service from.

ELW - same thing. Shop around at other dealership including tafel motors. Not all dealerships offer the same price.

rbenedetti

Hi there. Are you saying that I can buy the Extended Warranty at another dealership?

MBguy013

Yes you can. If your current dealer does not have the best rate, shop around at other dealerships. You can either buy from the other dealership or see if your current dealership will match the price. That is what I did; got a quote from another dealer and my current dealer matched it.

Vyper340vb

Exclusionary vs inclusionary policies are usually better. MB is inclusionary if memory serves. Check out Fidelity. MJourdan on this site is very helpful as well as a few others.

Several posts to search on the topic.

Btw, the Premium Fidelity Road Hazard is better than most out there based on my research and was only $2k for 7 years from date of purchase. Covered anything with no cap.

Bryce1023

Hi rbenidetti, Quite simply don’t buy any of those prepaid items. Huge profit items and cross those bridges as they arrive. We can plan on holding a vehicle for an extended period of time, however, stuff happens. BTW, buying prepaid service only makes some sense if leasing. Enjoy your new vehicle, happy holidays.

rbenedetti

That was _GREAT_ advice. Jeff Jackson @ Mercedes-Benz of Louisvllle (jjackson@mblouisville.com) quoted me a price for the 7yr / 75k extended warranty that was 1/3 of the "friends and family" price my local dealer quoted, and is low enough for me to be able to rationalize buying it (I feel pretty confident that I will end up coming out ahead at that price point). Thanks so much for the tip!

rbenedetti

Yes sir. I am going to roll the dice on maintenance ;-) Thanks!

rbenedetti

I called Fidelity Warranty Services (https://www.fidelitywarrantyservices.com/), but they told me that I had to purchase the road hazard insurance from my dealer, and I think my dealer is offering an MB version, at $3,500 for 5yrs, which is too high for my tasks. Were you able to buy the road hazard insurance through a 3rd party (i.e. not the dealer)? Thanks!

mikapen

Happy Holidays to you as well.
True they are Profit Centers for a Dealership, but that doesn't make them bad.

In every extended coverage discussion, personal needs and situations are different.
There's value on Peace of Mind, and it differs for everyone.
As an example, some people buy Whole Life policies, others find Term Life, or No Insurance might better fit their needs.

A "Don't Buy" opinion only applies to the poster.
IMO "negotiate on the price if you want it" is better advice.

The best way to negotiate additional stuff is during the vehicle negotiation, where a discounted ELW, paint protection or Maintenance Package is likely to be used as a Closing Tool. Negotiate an "Out the Door price," before you go to F&I.
Let the Dealership decide where to log their profits, and just focus on the entire cost to you. After all, that's what you're paying.

Bryce1023

Point well taken, different strokes for different folks. Some people are not very adept at negotiating when it comes to buying a car. A good rule of thumb is to determine at what price you CANNOT buy the car for and gradually work up from there. Thanks

bujjodu

Reviving this thread for some advice. Soon to get my GLE350 4matic and debating about Extended Warranty, Prepaid maintenance and tire warranty. Dealer is NJ is quoting these prices

7 years/75 - 2650PPM

2 services $1310

3 services $1800

4 services $2470

Tire/Wheel - 5 Years - $1995

When I had a quick conversation with Service Advisor, I was told Service A is in the range of $400 and Service B in the range of $800. Pre paid maintenance would be a bargain now because of increase in parts price increase and service cost increases.

Any suggestions on this please.

@rbenidetti - I see that you are also from NJ. What did you end up with for GLE 450?

rbenedetti

So sorry for my late reply. I passed on the GLE, because my wife had her heart set on an Aviator, and... well... you know how that goes.

The best price I found for a 7yr / 75k extended warranty was $2,200 from

Jeff Jackson
Financial Services
Mercedes-Benz of Louisvllle
2520 Terra Crossing Blvd
Louisville, KY 40245
502-894-6829

And the best price for a tire and wheel warranty was from mjourdan@mossymotors.com

I would not pre-pay for service, as I perceive that you can modify certain aspects of the service, i.e. like swapping in your own wiper blades, etc.

Good luck!

bujjodu

Thanks for your reply.

Jeff Jackson quoted me 2400 for 7 years/75k. Dealer matched and I went with the Dealer for Tire and Wheel, 1820 for 5 years from Mercedes. I did not buy Service contract as many other folks on this thread voted down as well.

allthesubs

Looking for some advice on whether to get the Fidelity Road Hazard warranty or the MB tire and wheel protection. The Fidelity is cheaper but with run flats on my GLE wondering if going with MB is going to be more seamless. Don't have any prior experience with fidelity network so any inputs will be helpful.

bujjodu

My Dealer was not offering Fidelity Warranty Service, I went with MB Tire and Wheel. my GLE 350 did not come with RunFlats. MB one is more seamless I guess in my opinion.

Yaoxuan Luan

I owned a GLE for two years with 40k miles, is that possible to buy the extended warranty?

Highline-Autos.com

Just for the future we offer Fidelity extended warranties and wheel and tire packages, with very competitive rates, my information is tgibson@highline-autos.com or (855) 924-1333

Highline-Autos.com

Yes sir, my contact information is above, reach out!

BlueYonder

Are they still offering the 7 yr 100,000 mile extended warranty? $3500 for a five year tire warranty sounds kind of high. At $500 per tire that's 7 tires over 5 years. I must be missing something with regards to the tire warranty.

Highline-Autos.com

Wheel and Tire protection often offers pointless dent repair, glass replacement, wheel refurbishment or complete replacement, same with tires, and that is all at OEM dealer rates... that can add up quick.