cjf_moraga

When I checked the mbusa website just last month, an extended factory warranty for an S600 was $4,800 for an additional 3 years up to 100,000 miles if purchased within the first year of ownership. In fact I was offered one for around $4,000 when I purchased the car though decided to defer until I knew I was happy with the car. That pricing also aligns with what others on this site have been charged and the prices were posted on the mbusa site. Looking at this link though the prices seem to have vanished with a "call your dealer"...

http://www.mbusa.com/care/warranty.do

Does anyone have that original list of prices? Needless to say it was quite a surprise to get this message from my dealer when I said I was ready to extend my warranty today.

"On your warranty, 7yrs or 100k miles is $7500, the AMG model is more expensive and there is a 15% surcharge for purchasing after 30 days in service, but this is included in the price. This warranty is very extensive, especially for your model and all the electrical in the vehicle, there is NO DEDUCTIBLE, which is the best part, so anytime there is a covered repair, you will come out of pocket $0."

Well an S600 is not an AMG. I am highly suspicious. Have MB quietly upped their extended warranty prices?

Chris

Red Marko

I just did (last week) 3 year extended warranty on my CL600. List price is $4,800, dealer's invoice $4,080 And that's that I paid - invoice. That warranty is available to the original owner within the first year of purchase. And it is transerable.

Chris,
I think you should be very suspicious of your dealer activity.
Comes to think of it, do you have to buy it from him? After all it is original (but extended) MBUSA warranty !!!

wman

you can or were able to buy the factory extended warranty after 1 year or 12000 miles but they do add an extra 10% after 1st year and 20% after 2 years to the 4800

trumpet1

I can't figure out why the hell it matters when you buy the extended warranty. Miles are miles and time is time. 50001 miles to 99999 miles is the same no matter when you buy the extended warranty as long as you buy the warranty just short of when the factory warranty expires.

cjf_moraga

Thanks for the feedback. I just received this from my dealer when I queried further... "This is the latest As of May 1st, all of the extended limited warranties have changed. The coverages, options and prices have all been modified. They are more expensive, but the coverage is more extensive."

...but $7,500 is one hell of an increase...

If you have bought at the $4,800 price in the past week I would certainly be interested in using that reference as leverage. I am certainly not committed to buying through my original dealer either if anyone has alternatives.

Chris

WSH

Wow....I vaguely recall hearing from a multi-store dealer owner how lucrative were his sales of extended warranties, etc for the typical one-off buyer who can barely read/count....but it sounds like your dealer is truly not seeking your repeat business....

cjf, PM me if your dealer doesn't revise this silly proposed pricing....would be happy to ask my usual MB dealer/salesman (on SF Peninsula) to see if they may be more helpful to you....

cjf_moraga

Appreciate that WSH... (A few hours ago when I posted I was in New Zealand. Now in Australia... Back in Bay Area next week!) I have asked my dealer to do the right thing... its not as if I am a one-off buyer either... I bought an E55 in 2005, an S600 in 2007... but I admit I am not in your league! I will pm if I have no luck and let the thread know...

Chris

trumpet1

I would rather take the $7500 and apply it to a new car.

vonbeeler

Amen. New car!! Something to look forward too but where do we go from here? I'm sure by the time were aproaching 50k miles there will be something newly exciting. Hopefully.

vonbeeler

Or maybe if there isn't anything new and exciting then I'll give the money to Brabus or Renntech for an extra 100 ponies and 700+lbs of torque. That should keep the interest alive. Last time I checked Renntech pkg 1 gives 620hp, 740 torque for $6400. Just cross my fingers for reliability. If she blows then I'll just buy a Mini.

Z356

Chris: Keep all of us posted as you obtain further facts re: warranty upon your return. As you know from our previous conversation, I did purchased the MB Extended Warranty last December (2007) for my 'left-over' 2007 CL600 from the selling MB dealer. It was for three additional years and up to 100K miles. So, in my case, the car is covered up to July, 2014 and its fully transferable to the new private party owner! List on it was $4,800 back then and I got it at dealer's cost as the result of my negotiations for the purchase of the car. At the time, I thought that the extended warranty was very well priced considering we are dealing here with a v12 and a car loaded with advanced technical gadgets and options that will be expensive to repair. I do believe that since I bought the car outright, not leased it, this Mercedes extended warranty will be an important thing to have when I decide to resell. It might distinguish my car from others on the block and it might sell for more money and/or more quickly. It also gave me the option to keep the car longer (past the standard 4 year US new car warranty) should I wish to do so and avoid the anxiety of having an expired warranty on such a highly complex car.

It will be good to know if the 'new' (more expensive) extended warranty from Mercedes has really better coverage than the one I have. Let us know what you find out. Regards, Z356.

Red Marko

Chris,
Check your email
Mark.

cjf_moraga

Yes I agree. The extended warranty provides us with the flexibility to sell the car whenever we want - as it will definitely make an easier sales proposition 4+ years in. Pricing the warranty more highly is one (furtive) way MB can try to force new car purchases more quickly - or encourage trade in's for new MB's under the 4 years.

I will let everyone know more when they get back to me.

Chris

Z356

Chris: Keep us posted as to the resolution of the extended warranty pricing by MBUSA. Has the pricing officially increased just recently or was this a false alarm from your dealer? As we have discussed, the suggested retail price of the one I got on my '07 CL600 just six months ago was $4,800 and it covered three additional years past the initial factory 4 year new car warranty and up to 100K miles with no deductibles. I also had never heard of a surcharge for an AMG product, although that would not have applied to me in any case (or yours). So let us know what you have found out. Thanks. Z356.

cjf_moraga

I just received an update on the new extended warranty costs.

It appears that mbusa has indeed greatly increased the cost (since May 1st) of extending a new car warranty from $4,800 to around $7,000 for 7 years and 100,000 miles for an S600/S63. (Before tax) As before MB places a higher premium on AMG's and V!2's but increased costs are applicable across the board from C to S Class. This covers everything electrical, suspension, and power train related. The only exclusion appears trim and wear and tear issues - so in that respect the same as before. I do not yet have any visibility into the dealer price/markup versus list price - and nothing is published on mbusa.com

There definitely is a major incongruity that mbusa is increasing warranty extension costs while at the same time promoting its renewed higher build quality - as if mbusa is penalizing new users for higher warranty costs incurred in the past. Of course it also further discourages owners to keep their cars as long as they might have and to buy/lease more frequently - I can get the business rationale.

There are other coverages available - 7 years and 75,000 miles would be significantly cheaper by around $1,800 apparently. (MB expecting a higher incidence of problems at $90,000+ miles)

In my particular situation my dealer has offered to honor the former price and to also compensate me for the missing Park Assist functionality in my early MY08 S600 that will cut the price dramatically again - so I am not going to be too much out of pocket. I think that is a fairly reasonable conclusion in my situation, but these greatly increased warranty extension costs for all new MB owners are a blow. Has anyone else heard this?

Chris

WSH

Interesting update, cjf...

Not at all surprised....oper profit margins of MB, etc are not remarkable; auto mfg, no matter how high-end, is a crappy business....they all suffer from weak pricing power on new cars, no matter what dollar does (e.g., look at anemic launch of SL63, despite only a 1-2% price increase vs prior yr)....MB has greater pricing power than BMW in not needing to offer the silly "free" mtce as part of its pricing; and MB's ability to sell $100K+ cars in mass vols is commendable, though VW-Bent has embarrassed MB of late by selling 10K/yr $200K cars, despite weak engineering and tacky aesthetics....biggest "black box" is really the acctg/economics of leasing these cars....majority of these cars are leased in US mkt....and awfully tempting to write "cheap" leases to incent today's sales....but losses need to be run through financials when cars return to MBF in 2-3 yrs....

As a car nut, I've been trading-in new cars every 6mos or so for roughly a decade....but know too many affluent, <40yo guys who have zero interest in cars, but also view cars as disposable, rapidly obsolescent tech commodities, to be $0-down leased for 2-3yrs max....and then dumped for a new, latest/greatest-tech car for another similar lease....much like smartphones....I suspect this mindset of past 5yrs is a secular change in product sales/financing cycle of high-end cars in US w/which mfrs are grappling...let's not forget that not many financial guys/execs w/a 3-digit IQ choose to work for any auto mfr, given their dismal pay, so it'll take a while for any auto mfr to figure how to properly price/finance/mkt their $150K+ cars.....

BTW, see today's autocar uk website?....Sounds like VW-Bent is trying to figure out how to use the Veyron motor in various future Bent commuter cars (need to max vols after all the sunk R&D costs)....am optimistic that both VW-Bent...and our pals in CA/Mideast/Russia/Chindia will force AMG/F (and VW) to keep coming up w/fresh, interesting 600hp+, V12 commuter cars....

keith100

" $0-down leased for 2-3yrs max"

I think that's called sub-prime these days.... Wonder if a NY banker will buy it......

AustinGuy

So much for gas prices putting a dent in gas guzzling vehicle sales! You would think with the way gas prices are that dealers would be throwing every incentive to lure buyers....

trumpet1

Chase Bank just offered me a 7 year/75000 additional mile warranty for $4700. What do you guys think??? They said it will be exactly like the current factory warranty all inclusive. This will keep me in warranty up to 100,000 miles.

cldriver

How did you get an offer from Chase Bank?

trumpet1

Chase financed my car.