carsnob

I just opted to buy my car after a two year lease and went for the extended warranty ($7400 -- ouch!). Almost have buyer's remorse in that perhaps the money would be better off banked or invested and take one's chances with repairs in the 3 years that follow the original factory 4 yr. warranty. Hence pay for the repairs out of the original $7400.
But the repairs on a 12 cylinder could be scary! Any comments? Thanks!

WSH

Would argue all extended warranties are for suckers

Any new car (esp one as tech-intensive as S/CL) is a disposable, obsolescent tech device, much like an iPhone or Blkberry...but with serious safety risks of decay unlike a smartphone

If trying to minimize costs and wasted time (and opportunity costs) w/mtce&repairs and maximize driving&latest tech enjoyment, would $0-down lease new 600/65 for 2-3yrs; return it at lease end; and lease another new 600/65 for 2-3yrs, timing as one prefers near new model launches/mid-cycle revisions

Stuff like airbag systems have a max 10yr lifespan....no one really knows what are perf decay curves of airbags/seatbelts/other safety sensors&systems...but suspect a 5yo 600 is a hell of a lot less safe than a 2yo version...after all, sensors&systems don't suddenly die ~10yrs post-installation...and safety/health of a typical owner/driver of a >$150K commuter car is worth a lot more than any incremental deprec costs of more frequent trade-ins

bzliteyear

i'm a big fan of quality extended warranty for MBs, esp the S-class. based on my experience, i think worst case you've lost a little interest on the money paid for warranty and you'll cap your loss at the $7400(vs. could be $15-20k+ if something big happens.
in addition, given the depreciation on the S600 over the next 4-5 yrs, i think the interest on the $7400 might be the least of your worries. you merely pre-paid for peace of mind...enjoy the car.
Patrick

CL55_Serge

You are very wrong. If you don't mind the high cost of ownership with the lease, than it's fine to go without warranty by returning the car before the factory warranty runs out. If you want to get good amount of years/miles from your car - it's a must to get an extended warranty, they pay themselves off very quickly. Let me give you some personal examples:

My second S-class coupe I ever owned, '95 S600 had the following repairs that my $2500 Western General took care of:

- sun roof rail system problems
- front end suspension - ball joints & bushing
- motor mounts failure
- transmission mounts failure
- radiator failure
- main engine harness insulation cracked and fell apart because it's routed too close to the hot intake manifold and I actually had a small electrical fire under the hood. The right bank of cylinders didn't fire the plugs, the hot catalytic converter burned the unused fuel from the cylinders escaping into the exhaust, causing the catalytic converter and parts of the exhaust system to burn/melt. It was very spectacular, I actually had a flame coming out of the right exhaust tip on the freeway.

I don't remember all repairs, but I ran the math ones and the warranty paid something like $18k in repairs. Let's say I used a private shop and had the same repairs done at 1/3 of the cost of the dealer - that would still be almost $6k+.

Now, next car - CL55 coupe. Bought Western General warranty for $2700, with ABC problems, motor/tranny mount failures, some other rear end seal issues and the command unit failure - I'd be spending easily almost 10k in repairs. Warranty took care of it all.

Guess what, when my S550 factory warranty is up, I'm getting either GE or Western General extended warranty and driving the car until the next body style comes out.

Why waste money on leases to buy the same car twice?

AHall

Wow, replace an S600 or S65 every 2-3 years!!! This guy must have cash to burn. Must be nice, good for you WSH. Someone is probably getting some nice pro-owned deals on your trade-ins.

Jan AMG

Extended warranty makes sense, that is for sure. I paid only 616EUR for 2 more years on 2008 S500 4matic. Quite a good deal considering the car was serviced few times already and the total cost was over 5k EUR.
I agree with WSH that rotating cars like he does is the best you can do if you want to maximize driving enjoyment and it is safer too. It is understood that if money is no problem for you, you should do it like this.
However, not everyone can afford it thus buying few years older model makes sense if it is a choice between new-ish Volkswagen/Toyota/Volvo or not so new-ish W221. Therefore, the above cannot be applied to everyone and extended warranty really makes sense, especially on a V12 Merc.

lungs414

I see/read your posts a lot, and it is obvious you are extremely knowledgeable about MB but I am curious about something. With all these problems with yor previous MB's did you ever consider other cars? My first MB back in 98 was a CLK 320 that was a peice of crap bought back from MB. Although they did right by me which is why I continued with their cars, my last E350 4matic again was a disaster.(Within 10k miles ball joints,tranyy prob's check engine lights, no messages in computer about check engine lights even though the light was still on Iwas told by the service advisor that $10+ K in warranty repairs.) MB told me "I already had a previous vehicle bought back and wouldn't have another 1 bought back. I still don't know what 1 car has to do with another btw, but I fell into a great deal on my present 2009 S550 4matic. $75K 1 free oil service all weather mats free car washes, tire warranty. I almost bought a BMW 750. So did you ever consider "something else?"

RajwanyS550

he is just full of it

cjf_moraga

I think you did absolutely the right thing. It is expensive, but if you intend to keep the S600 for 7 years (Say until you are a year or two into the next model) then you have now bought peace of mind and can relax. Enjoy your car for years to come without fear or worry. I did exactly the same thing as you, the sting of payment is long past, and if there is one thing I realize about my S600 - I just don't want another car. There is nothing in its class that is better.

These are fine and solid cars that looked after properly should last a long time. They are hardly disposable consumer items to be changed for an absolutely identical model every 2 years. (Crazy)

Chris

CL55_Serge

Well, I fell in love with the Mercedes coupes and stuck with Mercedes ever since. Had a few BMW cars (conv e36 M3 and a 7), nice cars - but not a huge BMW fan.

When I was 18, I bought my first Merc - a 1984 500 SEC coupe tuned by AMG before they were acquired into Mercedes. It had 32-valve AMG heads, AMG body kit, gray market car. It high mileage - I bought it with 110k miles, but it was very clean. Drove it until 250k miles, sold it for what I bought it for. At that point, I knew that the executive Mercedes coupes are the car of choice for me. My next car in that I bought in '98 was a high mileage S600 coupe - 98k miles, but a single owner car that was pretty clean. Photo attached. Next, in '03, I bought a '01 CL55 w/ 28k miles, super clean for $54k. Still have this car, it's my third S-Class coupe that I've owned in a row and I have no plans to switch :-) What I like about Mercedes that in the S-Class coupes (CLs) and sedans - they consistently put out a nice product. The car is very durable, may not be most reliable - but you can put a half million miles on the thing. BMW doesn't have such consistency - one decade they have a 6 series, next they do not, then they bring it back again, then the 8 series. This does not cater well to customers like me who want the same thing every time.

I'm really an American muscle car person at heart - late 60s to early 70s type cars - so I view the S-Class AMG coupes and sedans similar to those cars in that it's a front wheel drive, large displacement powerplant going to a big transmission and a big positive traction rear-end. Kind of like a muscle car wrapped in a luxury car's clothing.

The S550 is the first Merc sedan I've owned - I got it for my new little boy and my wife. He seems to like it a lot :-)

Here is a picture of a few olds Mercs that I've owned.

Jan AMG

Man, I love your story!

Jan AMG

Hopefully, the quality goes up so you won't be unhappy with your choice.

I used to drive BMW's prior to owning a Merc. BMW's used to be higher quality but nowadays it is comparable or even Merc does better. I gotta say, I like Merc more even though I am a BMW fan. Mercs bring more fun to driving, BMW are too aggressive for my current taste now.
So even though my 2008 S500 have been to the shop few times already (everything was solved under warranty) I'd buy another one if it'd turned out to be lemon.

lungs414

The only good part of my saga is I made a great relationship with the service writer where I bought the lemon from. He will do anything for me, I don't have to come up with reasons why for example (software upgrades need to be done etc...) I just take care of him by paying for lunch and he takes care of my car. Actually got him to give me new wipers the other day for my 09 s, I was told from the dealership I bought the car at that these basically are the only things not covered by MB. Can you beleive that, what a way to start off. I also made friends with one of the techs who does maintanence on my car using MB parts at his price for basically half in his backyard, which happens to be around the corner from me. So far so good.
Merry Christmas

Red Marko

Carsnob,
you DID the right thing. Period.
Lots of expensive things may happen to V12.
Why gamble.
Your first repair may easily exceed the initial investment.
I, myself got the extended warranty with the purchase ($4000 at that time), cjf_moraga (I believe) paid the same.
150k. at the dealer equals x 7 in parts . Think about it.
Would you live in uninsured house...or let your Family have no health ins.
Piece of mind.
I bet, you sleep tight(er) right now, right?

usctrojans1

Did you have any major mechanical problems with the car since you bought it?

cjf_moraga

No none at all. Zero. The car has been absolutely perfect for 20,000+ miles.

Chris

carsnob

Thanks Marko... Unlike WSH, most people don't opt for a new car every two years and drop huge coin as a result. While he feels that these cars deteriorate and are "unsafe" in no time, I'm sure you're still perfectly safe in a 15 yr old, 94 S class. Probably a lot safer in that than in an '09 Hyundai or Toyota. So, I'll be holdin on for a while. and btw, yes I do sleep better, thanks (now that my wife is tiring me out...)

MBZFAN55

Mercedes quality has greatly improved with the W221, but that's not to say that "parts failures" that occurred in the first 24 months on the W220 won't still occur on the W221 within a 60 month period. Check this blog and you will see countless horror stories detailing huge expenditures for all too common Mercedes repairs. Just the anticipated ABC repair could easily erode half of your warranty policy cost. If nothing else you will sleep better knowing that your downside has at least been limited.

In2MB's

Yeah, why wast money on the same car twice? Thats a very good point. I am only at about 40k miles on my 2007 S600, but I know its my first V12 and I plan to keep the car. So since the car is paid for, even though I still have 10,000 miles of factory warranty left; I went to Mercedes this morning to buy a extended warranty. Just like markopolo and cjf_moraga whom also have S600's, I paid a nice price ($3,600), but I know it will pay for itself in due time. When they told me the cost of a motor and transmission on my S600 I quickly passed over my bank card. Its better to have a than not to have.

s600ed

How did you manage to get such a deal of the ELW? When I bought my extended the lowest I could find was about $5500 and it was the 7yr/100k mile warranty from MBUSA.

In2MB's

LOL, I still don't know. It could be that the new S-class cars are out with the LED's or that my car is 3 years old now.
I went in there this morning, and told them what I wanted. I had already planned to spend about $4,000-$5,000 on a warranty because in the past people explained they had spent that much on a extended warranty for a 2007 S600. We had small talk, he told me that a extended warranty was a good idea and explained the cost of the motor etc. etc. for my car. He gave me about 3 or 4 extended warranty options and their price was beside it. When I saw the $3,600 price, I quickly paid. He gave me my papers for the warranty and I was on my way; no questions asked.

bigjets

I think you did the right thing by getting the extended warranty. That way when you have your ABC pump go out, you won't have to argue with the dealership. Or when the headlamp module goes out ($1,400) or the rear A/C module, or the O2 sensors.... but I digress.

Check out the latest noise in my '07 S600 (37,395 miles):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIob5FYiOzc

This is accompanied by a pump whirring noise with RPM. Normally, the engine is dead silent in the cabin, but now the ABC pump just whines and whirrs. Dealer says it is normal!?!?!

cjf_moraga

I am now approaching my 4-year anniversary in my MY08 S600 and will soon be entering into my 3 year extension.

So far major mechanical issues have been:

(1) An oil leak in one of the turbochargers that led to it being replaced. (via taking the engine out completely to get to it)

(2) A leak in the ABC system at around 25,000 miles. The dealer went and replaced the ABC pump anyway, so I have a newish pump.

Otherwise no problems. The V12 S-Class is very sophisticated and I have no complaints - the warranty has done its job. I have not being doing much mileage recently though and only at 33,000 miles. Lots more life in the beast yet.

My original plan was timed to change to the w222 S-Class after its first year or two "break in". Mercedes lack of commitment to a new V12 is starting to make me thing of looking elsewhere when I do replace it. At this stage I will probably just keeping running my existing S600 for the foreseeable future

Chris

ahmadkshuja

I understand that it is risky to keep a car like S600 with expired warranty. However, with only about 12k miles, I just could not justify spending ~$8000 for extended warranty. So, I guess, I am taking my chances and hoping for the best.