Great news but I'm not prepared to choose warranties.
1. The extended limited warranty, 84 mo/75000 mi, is available for $3,499.
2. The 60 mo/50000 is available for $2,592
3. MB Tire and Wheel Plus is $1549

Sorry for the last minute panic but does anyone have experience/recommendations regarding warranties?

Also, the Appearance Protection Plus is $998 and covers exterior finish, interior and removal of dents and dings. Don't know how they would accomplish that last one but there it is.
Is this Protections Plus worth the money?

Thanks for any help forum members could provide.

 

I would not be in a rush to get an extended warranty,especially if you are leasing. You have until just before standard warranty expiration to add. #2 does not seem like much of a deal for 1 year extra protection. #3 is also pretty spendy-you can replace a lot of tires and repair a lot of wheels for that, but it may pay off for some.

The complete First Class Appearance Protection is described by Mercedes as:

First Class Wheel and Tire Protection "Plus"
• All costs associated with replacement of wheels and tires due to a covered road hazard,* plus wheel repair for most scrapes, scratches and other
cosmetic damages
• Unlimited number of service visits allowed
First Class Paintless Dent Repair
• Non-invasive repair of minor dents and dings
• Unlimited number of service visits allowed
First Class Windshield Replacement
• Covers all costs associated with replacement of a front windshield due to damage from unavoidable road hazards
• Maximum total benefit $5000

I don't see anything about interior repairs. Make sure what #4 includes. If it's just paintless dent repair, again, you could get a lot of dents taken out as needed for that much. Google "paintless dent repair" if you don't know what it is - can be a very effective technique for small dents.

 

Hi Greg, thanks for the quick response. We're actually buying not leasing. As a buyer, would we be able to add just before the expiration of our standard warranty?

Actually, I screwed that up. #2 is AUTONATION VCP- Prepaid maintenance at 10,000 mi intervals.

#3 is also pretty spendy-you can replace a lot of tires and repair a lot of wheels for that, but it may pay off for some.

The complete First Class Appearance Protection is described by Mercedes as:

First Class Wheel and Tire Protection "Plus"
• All costs associated with replacement of wheels and tires due to a covered road hazard,* plus wheel repair for most scrapes, scratches and other
cosmetic damages
• Unlimited number of service visits allowed
First Class Paintless Dent Repair
• Non-invasive repair of minor dents and dings
• Unlimited number of service visits allowed
First Class Windshield Replacement
• Covers all costs associated with replacement of a front windshield due to damage from unavoidable road hazards
• Maximum total benefit $5000
Another screw up on my part. What this(#4) covers is "Paint Guard" on the exterior and "Fiber and Leather Guard" on the interior. No repair coverage at all other than the dent/ding removal.

Sorry about all the inaccuracies. This early delivery caught me really off guard. Thanks again, Greg, for responding.

 

Yes, as long as original warranty is intact you can get the extended. Only danger is that the price may go up. Also, you can shop around to any dealer for coverage - some will deal, some will not. Do a forum search.
If it's an aftermarket maintenance plan, get the detail on what it covers. There isn't much maintenance needed the first 30k. Also, make sure unused portions are refundable if the car is stolen or totalled. I shy away from these and prefer to pay as I go.

Paint sealant and upholstery protection is pretty much worthless. Dents I would deal with on an as-needed basis. You can get PDR on small dents for $75-200.

In general, hitting you with Additional Dealer Profit items on signing is standard practice, but should be considered VERY warily by the buyer.

 

Tire & Wheel insurance can save you a bundle - one wheel/tire and it's paid for. The mark-up on Tire & Wheel insurance is huge (100%). You should be able to negotiate any of these offers.

 

Just a note, all items in your list are very high profit items for the dealers and SIGNIFICANT discounts can be negotiated on them. Do a search on this forum for extended warranty prices or whatever, you will see what I mean. I don't even think that is the list price for the wheel and tire they quoted me 1395, got it for $950 on my E350 and I think I could have done better based on what I read (of course after I had the discussion).

Try it, say something like I have seen better prices on the wheel and tire, the best I'll do is $xyz. They'll say something like "we are not able to negotiate these things", say ok, thanks I can do better and continue on. Just before you sign I'll be he'll come back and say ok I'll do it for this or my boss just told me blah blah, and I can do it for this...

I got a CPO car so the ex warranties are less expensive but I have heard people getting more than $1000 off the list for them but you don't need to buy it until just before the std warranty runs out as someone mentioned earlier.

Pre paid maintenance is also overpriced I don't recommend it at all - they say it saves you 30% vs pay as you go, but their maintenance is marked up 300%. Search for pizza or "shafted on servicing" for details.

 

Are you getting your car earlier than expected?

 

That may be true for many dealers, but mine (now corporate owned chain) refuses to negotiate as a policy. Fine, there are those that will and not mind making a few less dollars, but making something.

 

The dealer I bought my car from is a large chain as well (Herb Chambers) and they claimed the exact same thing, repeatedly. Standard wording - they train them to do it. They still sold me my extended warranty, and pre-paid maintenance (which I should have never bought) at a discount. He even was pushing the Lojack at $795, I told him I could get it for $350 so no thank you. Right before I finalized the deal (everything including warranty etc) he said and I quote "I can do the lojack for what you said you could get it for". That is when i realized that I could have gotten the other add ons for a better price (which I confirmed here on MBWorld).

As long as they believe you are willing to walk they'll deal, but they will stick to their guns til the just before the end. It costs you nothing to try you have I think 10 days to change your mind either way on the wheel and Tire and 4 yrs or 50k Mi on the ex warr. You can walk out of the finance office after signing with no add ons, and then come back the next day (or the same day if you want) and say you changed your mind. They will gladly write it up again for you.

They know you have the money - you are buying a $50 -$60 thousand dollar automobile. They are hoping that you don't want to worry about it or don't really care, and they have gotten good at it. Most MB buyers don't spend the time researching this stuff and the dealers are happy to take as much money as they can get.

I know for a fact that you can get the warranty at any dealer and I believe the same for the wheel and tire. Don't take my word for it, check other posts here, or even call another dealer (anywhere in the country) and ask for the finance dept. Tell them you are bought a car and want to price out whatever add on you like. See what they say.

 

What? $3,499? No way!
This is MSRP.
7 years/75k: $2,899
6 years/75k: $2,449
You should be able to get some discount from MSRP. At least 10%. You can buy them at ANY dealer.

 

Well.. If you buy an extended warranty after 30days you buy a car, then you have to buy 15% more. And every year price would be increased. Finally, this is fully refundable. Even if you buy 3yr one and you used one yr out of three, you can still sell back to dealer for your two yrs amount.

 

Sorry, I know you are in a rush - but there is a LOT of misinformation here.

Let me answer you in a different order:

1) Prepaid maintenance : 1st - please understand that although the maintenance service for the 2013 ML350 tranny has changed from 40K miles (7G no Plus) to 70K miles (7G Plus) the prepaid maintenance pricing has NOT changed to reflect this. 2nd - Preapidf maintenance is NOT refundable 3rd -Prepaid maintenance service must be used annually, so low milers need service every 12 months, and 4th- there is no penalty to purchase and 5th - Prepaid maintenance is NOT a high dealer margin item, it is at/about 15% profit margin at time of sale.
That said best investment in prepaid maintenance is one 30K 3-service pack for $805 paid out of cash payment, not financed, when you approach 40K then buy another 3-pack at that time.

2) Extended Limited Warranty is the best extended warranty available since it is a extension of the new car warranty. If unused it is refundable ONLY up to the amount you have paid in (if financed), refundable at any time, including refundable nce used it is only refundable up to the unused (amount paid less charges - which goes quick if you get there). Transferable if sold to another private owner - no added trade-in value. There is a 15% surcharge if after 30 days from purchase, and can be purchased up to the expiration, not after, of your original new car warranty.
Since there are so many options ELW - and you were over quoted on your original ELW - I would suggest you view it by the mileage you plan to drive a year.
One most common option in my area is 5/125 and 6/125 which is $3,849 and $4,449 respectively, which can be financed with the purchase price of the car at todays rates pretty afford ably.

3) 1st Class Appearance Package - If your insurance pnly covers generic glass replacement, and if wheel scrapes are a problem for you, or door dings - then it's up to you to judge the value for yourself. If you are going to use it - then it can be a heck of a value.

Yes 2/3 coverages are Finance Department/MBFS profit line items - that's what insurance is. However, what your dealer may or may not do is in the hands of the Finance guy at the dealer -

 

I agree with much of what you are saying fabbrisd1 but I have a couple clarifying points/questions.

1) Pre-paid Maintenance - Maybe it is not a high margin item, I don't know but they negotiated with me on it (after initially stating that they wouldn't) for my E350 about 3 weeks ago. However, I don't believe it is worth it based on what they are charging for routine maintenance. I just didn't know this when I bought it.

I am curious about the second 3-pack that you mentioned, are you saying that it would be the same price as the 1st? I thought that the reason the price for the 4 year option went up so much was because the price of the 40k was much higher (not just a regular service B - I guess this would move to 70k if the tranny svc schedule changed there).

2) I can't comment on the prices on the extended limited warranties as I have a CPO car and the cpo prices are different. However, the 15% premium is clearly stated on mbusa.com, but it also says this 15% surcharge doesn't apply in a couple states where it is not legal to do this (I believe that Wisconsin and Florida are on the list but I am not sure about them all). Since you can buy this at any MB dealership at any time up to the expiration of the new car warranty it shouldn't really be a concern right? I believe that this is why the 15% surcharge is often waived if you ask. Also, to soomba's post, there is no time/mileage penalty when buying the extension. Some dealers might say that there is to get their customers to pay more, but at least according to mbusa there isn't.

3) Are you saying that the appearance package covers wheels? This is the first I've heard of that, but then again I haven't really looked in to it, plus in MA glass replacement is required for std comprehensive car insurance so the value isn't there. Tire and wheel coverage on the other hand has value - all MB wheels are expensive an it even covers aftermarket wheels and tires. Plus knicks and scrapes on wheels is a sore spot with me and the roads where I live aren't great. It cost me $150 a wheel to get mine refinished only to have it happen again in a few months. I'll use this, and the $800ish that I paid is a pretty good value.

All of this info/typing for ronf but if you are anything like me you probably already picked up the car. I know I couldn't wait, if my car was ready, I'd pick it up that day. Let us know how it works/ed for you.

 

Negotiation on prepaid maintenance normally involves the dealer moving some front-end-profit to the back-end/finance to make their numbers work.

Yes - the 40K maintenance schedule for the '13 ML/GL's has changed from '12 due to fact tranny service not required anymore at 40K, it 70K now.

The 2nd 3-pack would be charged at the 3-pack price at that time - so you know pre-paid maintenace cost on the current schedule actually went down on the 30K this last time, making that a special value so to speak - to increase the amount/# of prepaid maintenance written at time of sale.

Keep the beat !

 

What has changed with the transmission from the 2012 model that requires service at 40K with the 2013 that does not require service until 70K? I thought they were the same tranny or are they different? I'm not clear on the differences between the Plus and Non-Plus transmissions.

 

This is from official source on the 7G-Tronic Plus transmission

The 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission has been improved versus the 7G-TRONIC in the following ways:

• The converter slip has been revised
• A new torsional vibration damper enables smoother, more comfortable, vehicle operation - even at low revs

The result of these improvements:

• Noise levels are lower thanks to lower engine speeds
• Shifting is faster and smoother
• Responsiveness in all gears is improved
• The transmission oil-change interval is extended to 125,000 km
• Engine speed is reduced, without impacting comfort, and overall fuel consumption is reduced
• Enhanced driving enjoyment

 

Interesting stuff, do you know which models (I think pretty much all of them have 7 speed autos) they put the PLUS's on?