GLE Pre-Paid Maintenance - Cost and Questions
 

As the delivery date of my GLE 550e approaches, I am doing a bit of research into things like the ELW and PPM. I have read some of the other threads about the individuals who discount these plans. I have also read about folks who do not buy the PPM until after the first service visit. So some questions are:

1. The Mercedes website says that PPM must be purchased BEFORE the first service visit or 10000 miles. However,this appears to be in conflict with those who say they buy it AFTER the first interval. Does Mercedes not enforce this policy?

2. The MBUSA website lists the "estimated" cost for PPM as follows - 2 yrs/20K miles = $850; 3 yrs/30K miles = $1175; 4 yrs/40K miles = $1475.
The threads on this forum discuss who to contact about the discounted PPM (and ELW) but I don't see a lot of posts about actual prices paid on the PPM (ELW seems to get more attention). What kind of discount can I expect on the PPM if I go for it? If folks are comfortable posting actual cost paid, that would be great.

3. Since the car is a plug-in hybrid, a good percentage of my mileage will be electric, since my round-trip commute to work is 6 miles, meaning on the average workday I will use zero gas, nor will the ICE even come on for any appreciable time. Does anyone have any idea if this affects the Mercedes intervals at which I should have basic maintenance performed?

Thanks,

Darren

Please see my post here:

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

For #1, if you take your car into service just before it breaks 10K, you're probably good. I think the 10K is a hard deck that is not flexible.

I was just recently offered it AFTER my first 10k service.

I bought the prepaid maintenance with me c300. Do it. No complaints and it is great. They even include new wiper blades in those plans. All you have to worry about outside of them is brakes as tires.

I'm looking at the 4 year PPM plan. At $1,875 for the 2017 AMG GLE43 Coupe, I'm not sure if it's worth it. It covers oil changes, fluid level checks & corrections, multi-point inspections and wiper blades for the first and third years. The second and fourth years add cabin air filter replacements and brake fluid changes on top of the aforementioned services.

My question is this. Would these individual services likely be more or less expensive? This is my first MB, so I'm not familiar with the service costs. I only drive about $5,000 a year. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks!


https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servi...id_maintenance

I was offered 1400 and 1475 from two different dealerships for 4year ppm for a regular gle350. I called up my local dealer service department to ask for the actual costs -- turns out to be 1700+ for 4 years.

I purchased a 4 year extended warranty and a 4 year PPM plan with my GLE 550e. The web page showed the 4 year PPM to be $1475 and at the signing, the dealer stated the cost was $2,700 due to the vehicle being electric. I was able to negotiate an out the door price that I was satisfied with, knowing the warranty and maintenance costs ahead of time.

Best part is that I don't have much to worry about the warranty for the next 7 years and maintenance for the next 4 years. I buy and keep my vehicles for long term.

what exactly did you pay for?

The answer to your question would depend on how do you normally maintain your vehicles, or being your 1st MB, what is your plan going forward? Service light comes on, do you just drop it to the dealer to take care of? Do you take care of the easy stuff yourself (check this and that, oil change, cabin & air filter changes, brake pads) then leave the bigger items for the dealer? Or do you have an indy shop for routine service?

The PPM is a value compared to the cost of going to the dealer and having them do everything. When you compare the cost to what an indy charges, that can change the value proposition. Doing items depends on how you factor in your time but then also the peace of mind know things were done right.

I keep cars for a long time. Usually 7+ years. I'll do basic maintenance like replacing wiper blades or a cabin air filter. Other than that, I don't do my own maintenance or repairs. I prefer to have the dealer do it. The two times I've taken vehicles to indy shops both ended in disaster. One put the brakes shoes on backwards. The other used inferior third party parts for an alignment that resulted in a break down 90 miles from home. These were NOT mom & pop shops. They were established major chains. I'd rather pay the extra money and know that it's done right with OEM parts.

I can't believe MB actually charges for multi-point inspections. That's ludicrous! Every other dealer I've been to does this for free. Normally, it's fishing for additional repairs they can charge you for. Except with it still being under warranty during the first 4 years, they won't make any money off of any repairs needed.

Did you buy a PPM program? If so, did you find it to be a good value?

The 1875 number is directly off the MB website for the amg gle43 model. Depending on dealership you might be able to get a little off it. You should call the dealership you plan to use for maintenance and ask for the cost of each individual servicing. Once you add up the total for four years I would think the prepay plan would be cheaper. Since this is your first MB, whether you buy the ppm or bring it to the dealership for each maintenance there is a peace of mind letting MB do it.

For my GLC300 PPM vs pay-as-you-go (based on today's rate) is about 30% saving. Doing same services at indy is cheaper. How much? will depend on the shop. In my area Service A for my SUV is ~$300 at dealer and $120 at a good MERC indy. Service B is ~450 vs 220.

As services are 10k or 1 year from the last, low mileage is a moot point.

PPM must be purchased before the first service. Based on quote I got for GLC300 paying first service and than buying 2/3 pack is actually more expensive than 3/4 pack as discussed here.

There are many MB dealers selling PPM online (some noted in the about link). Buying online can save taxes (for non residents)...which is 8-10% saving in itself. I am not an expert in leasing but I read here that adding PPM at the time of lease produces some additional savings (also discussed in the link)

Correct. If leasing, you still have the same price of the PPM being a savings over paying as you go. But then that amount gets the same residual as the car itself so you actually pay less. If you really want to tread the line, if you're doing a 3yr 30k mile lease, then only buy the 2 service pack. Get the 10 and 20k miles services done. By the time the 30k service is due, you should be out of that car. With MBFS offering 5 month pull aheads, even on a 36k mile lease, you might only spend 2.5yrs before getting out.

If anyone plans to lease their car, absolutely buy the prepaid maintenance at the time you take delivery and capitalize it into your lease. For my new 2017 E300, the prepaid maintenance list price is $1125 but since the residual is 60%, I am only paying 40% of that amount for an A, B and another A service. That is about $13 a month. A great deal.

Picking up on "mjsbenz" comments, prepaid maintenance on a leased MERC should be a no-brainer!

I just contacted my Mercedes dealer about the cost of a B service on a 2017 GLE-350. $1247 for the B service. I talked to their finance department and they will sell me a 3yr/30.000 mile PPM for the vehicle for $1617 including the tax. With those numbers the PPM is a great deal. But come on, $1247 for a B service? My wife puts 25,000 plus miles a year on the vehicle, so that's why I bought a CPO Mercedes. Unlimited mileage for the next 4 plus years for the warranty work. My last GL450 cost over $10,000 in repairs in its second 50,000 miles under the Extended Warranty, (intake manifold, Transfer case, air-matic compressor and 3 shocks, idler arms, and more). She drives it hard. Guess I will be buying the PPM plan for this car.

You're actually doing it the right way. It has been suggested many times before that the best bang for your buck is to to pay for the 1st A service, then buy the 3 pack PPM to cover the next B, A, and another B service.

The sales rep ran the numbers & told me it would cost more to get the prepaid plan than paying cash at time of service.

Time to find a new sales rep. That makes absolutely no sense at all.

We have a '16 CPO with 3 PPM visits. Would you guys know if I can purchase another round of PPM's.
And any suggestions re. availability and cost of extending the CPO warranty past 5 years from 1st day of registration, im thinking 2 (or more??) additional years (CPO warranty offers unlimited miles, which is great).
I want to hold on too the car for a while, 100k+ depending how we do, I need a super reliable car).

I've done the PPM o the last three MB's I've bought. I remember a "B" service on my '06 E350 costing around $650 back in '07. That said, the PPM service doesn't cover all that much but shop labor is $174.99 per hour so it doesn't take long to add up. It doesn't cover alignment, injector cleaning, cleaining aircon system, etc. Basically, you get an oil change, filter change, and new wipers plus inspection.

One thing everyone is forgetting is inflation! These services, parts and labor will be much more expensive 1,2,3 or 4 years from now,
The PPM is a good hedge on inflation.
Buy PPM!
Ron

PPM after warranty
 

I bought 4 years of PPM when I first bought my GLE350 new back in 2017. The PPM ran out last year and I paid my first service B. The tech found an some engine leak and the total bill including the service was $2100. He also told me at the next service, I would have to do brake system fluid flush, replace air filter element, and replace spark plugs which would be around $1400. He told me these items would be in addition to the regular service. He mentioned PPM would cover them.... does anyone know if this is true?

You can easily cut down on some of those costs. FCP Euro carries the 3 cabin air filters and both engine air filters for ~$130 incl shipping. The cabin filters you can easily change w/o using any tools. There's YouTube videos for the engine air filters which aren't bad, but does take a lil bit to get to as you have to get to the underside of the housings. And an indy shop did the brake fluid on my GLS550 for just under $150.

I don’t think the PPM covers additional items other than things that are supposed to be done at that specific scheduled maintenance time. I was also told that that you cannot add/buy more Mercedes PPM after you have already purchased or ran out and done the next regular maintenance. It sounded like you might be looking to add more.
As the previous person has said, if you are now last PPM, I’d find a good Indy shop.
Good luck.