Massive Extended Warranty Increase?
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
Last edited by cjf_moraga; May 19, 2008 at 07:12 PM.




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 !!!
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.
Last edited by trumpet1; May 19, 2008 at 10:01 PM.
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 !!!
...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
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, 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....
Chris
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...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
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
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.
Last edited by Z356; May 20, 2008 at 05:51 PM.
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.
I will let everyone know more when they get back to me.
Chris
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
Last edited by cjf_moraga; Jun 17, 2008 at 08:40 PM.
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....
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
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.





