i just purchased a 2001 S430 , I was wondering if anyone knew of a Good extended warranty company they could recommend - thanks

+1

Also interested if anyone has purchased a 3rd party warranty, and what does it cover if you do have it?

Just from my experience:

Bought my 2001 S430 3 years ago with 32K miles on it. Currently have 84K miles. When purchased (from MB Dealership of Ft.Lauderdale) i also got WesternGeneral Insurance for $2000 which was good for 2 years or 30000 miles.

While i was under warranty, the only thing that i've had fixed - was airmatic pump replacement and sealing front struts (even with 3rd party insuramce coverage i had to pay like 50% of total bill).

After 70K miles on your car you should look out for motor fan assembly failure, front struts + airpump, SRS light for your front passenger seat, water leaks in the car due to clogging drains or broken sunroof, windshield washer fluid reservoir leaks

So my advice if you dont know what has been fixed on your new car and it has more than 70K miles on it - get a 3rd party insurance, just make sure you read all the details about whats covered and what is not.

FYI, my CPO warranty with MB expires in a few months and I just called my local Dealer to inquire about extending it. He said MB and many other 3rd Party Companies DO NOT cover the struts anymore.

This is due high failure rates and high cost of repair of course.

This has been cover before and I believe the chances of you finding anything worthwhile for your 10+ year old MB is very slim at best. I have an '02 CL and when my CPO warranty expired 1 1/2 years ago I did a pretty thorough search and the only coverage I found that included the ABC, the weak point of the car, was thru the dealer at a price of $11K for 3 years which is totally absurd. I decided to self insure. If you do find something of interest, be sure you fully understand what is covered and what is not. These are very expensive cars to repair and the insurance companies are finding out.

This.

That!

I was agreeing with you. 'This' is an interwebs synonym for '+1'

Oh, okay. Never saw this (lol) before.

I purchased a Fidelity Platinum warranty 2 months ago at the same time as I purchased my 05 S600...
I know for certain the warranty covers all ABC issues.
It cost me $4k for 4 years and 48k miles. I cannot speak to my experiences with Fidelity because I have not had the car in for service.

My honest opinion is to use the gentleman I purchased my warranty from.
He is very knowledgeable and honest.
brucem105@comcast.net.
Tell him Chris Casale referred you.... I simply had a great experience with him.

-Chris

Hey Chris, thanks. On the one hand, I hope your car is so reliable you never need to use the warranty. On the other hand, I hope you get to file lots of claims so that you feel like you got your money's worth out of it!

I never know what to say to someone when they buy a warranty. If I sold someone hurricane insurance on their house, should I wish a hurricane on them so they can file a claim??

Anyhow, 220 chassis MBs are great candidates for extended warranties. As some others here have said, though, finding one that covers what you want, at a fair price, from a good company that will pay claims, is the challenge. The better companies know how to rate risk, so they price accordingly, and since the risk is high the prices can get crazy on some cars, especially with high starting mileage. The worse companies, who do not know (or care) about risk, price low and then either go out of business eventually, or have to fight/deny claims to try and keep their profit on the 'back end'.

Fidelity is a great company, I can't say enough about them. They are Audi's nationwide preferred provider of extended warranty protection. When you pop for $175K for a new R8 Spyder, and want Audi Pure Platinum extended coverage, it's actually Fidelity you're buying. The downside is that their level of customer service and coverage comes at a price, which is high, especially as miles go up on high-end cars. To them, anything with over 35K or so miles, European, is high-risk and therefore expensive.

Another good company I finally signed up with after a long time of chasing them and convincing them I am an upstanding dealer is NAC. they have an excellent reputation as well. Their underwriting guidelines are more strict (no exotics, no V12 engines, etc), but those cars that they do cover, especially with higher miles, are more reasonably priced than Fidelity.

If you guys would like to email me directly at brucem105_AT_comcast.net, with your car info (year/make/model/current odometer miles), I can get you quotes.

Thanks.

Bruce
Becks Imports LLC
856-912-2600

My 04 S600 has the MBZ extended warranty the kicked in after the factory warranty ended 3 years ago. It's covered everything so far, but there are some idiosyncrasies, like the service rep will tell you that MBZ recommends ALL TPM sensors be replaced whenever one has failed, but the extended MBZ warranty will cover ONLY the one(s) that fails. On my 04 CL600, I purchased a Fidelity Ext warranty a couple of years ago because it was the only one that would cover the V12 and ABC suspension when the CPO warranty expired at 50K miles, I got the 60/60 (or something like that) for $6500. I have had a few fairly large claims replacing nearly all the convenience openers, closers, computers and pumps that run the doors, windows, mirrors, seats etc, and a fuel pump and regulator without any issue on the claims (knock wood). A friend of mine purchased a 2003 S600 with 21K miles last month, and he purchased the 60/48 plan from Fidelity for something over $6000. Seems like I need to talk to Bruce when the MBZ warranty on my 04 S600 expires.

another positive vote for Bruce...he knows his stuff

Hello Vabene7,

I hope you are well today. I'm corresponding for additional information concerning your Fidelity warranty. How many miles does your car have? I'm interested in getting the same warranty but I'm concerned about the cost. I have a 2003 CL600 with 69,000 miles.

Thanks for your help.

Anthony



QUOTE=Vabene7;4538216]I purchased a Fidelity Platinum warranty 2 months ago at the same time as I purchased my 05 S600...
I know for certain the warranty covers all ABC issues.
It cost me $4k for 4 years and 48k miles. I cannot speak to my experiences with Fidelity because I have not had the car in for service.

My honest opinion is to use the gentleman I purchased my warranty from.
He is very knowledgeable and honest.
brucem105@comcast.net.
Tell him Chris Casale referred you.... I simply had a great experience with him.

-Chris[/QUOTE]

The cost of the cl600 warranty just went way up, over $10k from bruce now

[/QUOTE]

Tusabes is right.....prices just went up at the first of the year, and jumped dramatically. I followed Bruce's advice and purchased with Bruce in late December, so I didn't get jammed up with the new pricing structure.
Best advice I can give is email Bruce and ask him for a few quotes with a few companies. Then ask his opinion on those companies and tell him your expectations.
Next most important thing........follow Bruce's advice.
He WILL NOT give you poor information.

-Chris

Hello again Gentlemen,

Thank you for all your help. I contacted Bruce and the price is over $12,000 for 48 months. Incredible number to digest! I agree with all the comments concerning Bruce. He is knowledgeable, credible, helpful, and he also sold me my wonderful 2003 CL600. At the warranty rates for this car I will just put money away for all future repairs.

Thanks again,

Anthony

Hey, thanks for the kind words everyone.

It is difficult for me to quote some of these rates. It sounds (even to me) like I am trying to rip someone off. $12K for a warranty? It just sounds utterly ridiculous.

But then look at the risk the warranty company is taking on. A CL600 starting with 69K miles, with full exclusionary coverage including ABC until 117K miles.

What are the odds that the typical 600 series Benz will do $12K in claims between 69K and 117K miles when everything is covered? I'd venture a guess it's about 50/50. And to top $10K? Over 70% that it will in my opinion.

The only difference here is that Anthony's car is not a typical 600. It had one owner prior to him, and that owner had a Fidelity Platinum warranty. The warranty paid out over $20K in claims in the 19K miles previous to him buying it. So lots of things that normally would go bad between 69K and 117K have already been replaced in his car.

So in this particular case, I think it's rational to put aside $5K-$7K for repairs and use it as needed. I think financially he'll come out ahead vs. spending $12K on a warranty. There is always a risk that something significant will happen, but with the history on his car I'd say the risk is below average.

Bruce

All I know is I should have got the Chrysler extended warranty for $3k when they were offering it... there are no more good warranties out there for high end MB