I bare my soul, but invite critique. I bought 2007 Designo Launch off lease, w/o warr., w/ about 55,000 miles June 2010,from a jockey.

I did not buy extended warr., nor did I try. Decided to essentially "self-insure".

Attached is a complete list of what I have spent on it, as well as mileage when done and date. Due to Word Doc. size limits, my costs are attached as two docs.

Reviewing the list, is consensus I would have been "ahead" to get an extended warr.? It'll be four yrs. of owning in June. That, likely, would have been pretty pricey. Plus, some of the costs in the list would not be warrantable.....tires, chrome wheels, extra key, plus normal maintenance and upgrades and others.

Over $900 would have been saved/not spent on new AC, had I known the programming was mucked up, when the Telematics update was performed. The computer couldn't "see" the AC. It was a cheap programming fix, ultimately. Expensive lesson, tho', as I jumped thru hoops and two indi's said I needed a new compressor, drier etc. which I bought. Bummer.

Honestly, I seek the input and opinion of this experienced owner's group. It will help me going forward and may offer insighter to other members.

Thanks.

 

I get $4900 of repairs that would have been covered under CPO, versus $4500 for the coverage. At this point it's close to a wash. You're a few hundred upside down, plus the convenience of a free loaner car. I'd say your gamble almost worked out, but now the car has to go before you take any more hits.

I've owned three S class. Two have been CPO cars and one was too old for CPO (although in better shape than either of the CPO cars) that I bought a decent aftermarket warranty for. My CPO 2006 S500 had $13,000 in warranty repairs over three years. My 2004 S430 with an EasyCare Total Care warranty had about $5,000 in covered repairs over two years, while the policy was $3,900. Had the miles not gone over I'd have kept the car, but EasyCare wanted $8,000 for two more years of coverage. My 2010 CPO has so far needed nothing, but I've only had it since August.

CPO is so much more convenient. You drop the car off, get a loaner and the service writer and MB work everything out. With the aftermarket coverage, it's always a negotiation. They don't want to pay the shop's flat rate for labor. They want the shop to find salvage or aftermarket parts. They need three days to send an adjuster out for an inspection. Every single warranty repair cost me my $500 deductible plus an hour or so of labor they didn't cover.

In short, CPO is the gold standard, followed by a reputable aftermarket company's top end product which isn't as good but better than nothing, followed by self insuring/prayer.

 

After market coverage can vary greatly. I purchased an aftermarket extended policy at the time I purchased my new vehicle to extend the warranty to seven years with no deductible. The aftermarket warranty covered everything the original factory warranty covered plus it added road hazard tire coverage. It also covered the cost of a loan car provided by the dealer. They paid for covered repairs directly to the dealer. My dealer dealt directly with them and I had to take no action. My dealer stated they made more profit doing warranty work under my after market policy than they made from the Mercedes extended warranty and the company always paid for OEM parts. My dealer told me that this policy is no longer being offered.

They paid for a little over $6000 in repairs all associated with seat air bladder failures. They did require their representative to inspect the seats to authorize the repair, but I was provided a free loan car for the entire duration including the extra day the dealer had to wait for their inspector.

My policy recently expired. Unfortunately the company I had my policy does not offer the option to extend it. I have investigated further coverage, but the price I am now finding is $3000 to $4000 per year.

Read the fine print in aftermarket policies to determine exactly what they offer. Ask your dealer if they have had any experience with any aftermarket warranty companies. They will tell you which ones are easy to work with and truly provide coverage without nitpicking.

 

Wow, your experience with aftermarket insurance company are the first I have ever heard. What company was it?

 

The original warranty was four years, so it sounds like the extended 3rd party warranty was for three years after the factory warranty expired? How much did you pay for it and who was the carrier?

Certain dealers happen to sell certain 3rd party warranties. If you buy your warranty from the same dealer who's going to be servicing the car, it will be a fairly painless experience. In my case I bought the car from a dealer two hours away. They sold EasyCare warranties and made some money on the front end. My local dealer did not sell EasyCare, although I called them before I bought the policy to make sure they'd honor it. They did, but as I stated there was always a bit of back and forth. Had I taken the car back to the selling dealer (and if anything major had failed I would have) I'm sure it would have been a smoother transaction.

Warranties are essentially insurance contracts. When the F&I guy is selling you one (for a commission) , they'll hand you a pretty little laminated brochure that's nothing more than an advertisement. Ask to see the actual policy contract. It'll be long, in a faint grey tiny font. Near the end will be a sub chapter titled "EXCLUSIONS". This is really the meat of the policy. Read that list carefully because anything in that sub chapter will not be covered.

Also remember that written contracts cannot be modified orally, so if you read something under EXCLUSIONS that isn't covered, and the F&I guy tells you they actually cover that thing all the time, it's absolutely meaningless and unenforceable legally. Likewise, the promises made in the sales brochure are not a part of the contract and mean nothing. The only way to legally modify a contract is within "the four corners" of the signed (and countersigned) document itself. In all likelihood the contract will explicitly ban modifications.

 

I was looking over prices on EmmBee's Services. Do they seem low? Ie: C and A.

Hd

 

Prices low for MB? Good observation.

To some degree, they are. I live in a non-metro, as in Milwaukee or Madison, city, in Wisconsin. Think some game called football is played here. Regardless, MB dlr. is 40 miles away. You'll note some of the fixes say "MB dlr.". The majority do not. The transmission. electric plate, for example. MB will not provide the part to anyone, but MB dlrs. Thus, the nearly 11 hundred dollars charge. I have noticed others here posting a similar cost for that repair. MB is MB.

But, my indi. He is a former head MB mechanic at the dlrshp. Some years ago, he left and opened a shop working strictly on German autos. I have used him for yrs., both due to convenience and price. Example...the contour seat parts that are certain to fail. He charges a reasonable, but stout, hourly rate, but doesn't mind my getting the parts. Bladders. I got on line from legit MB dealer in Ohio. Incredible price difference than quoted to me by local dlr. Same for the Continental DWS. Bought on line, dropped shipped to him and he removed, balanced and mounted. Rotors and pads were another example. Others things, I invite him to get from his suppliers.

He also knows how the world works. Besides being capable and eminently fair, he appreciates that I have referred to and he has more than a dozen customers, because I have been his advocate in the community and my circle of friends. Gotta respect quid pro quo.

The net? Costs for non-dlr. fixes are likely on the low side visa vis the rest of the country/world. But, repairs done by the MB dlr. are w/in dollars of any other MB dlr., I am certain.

Good question; hope this offers some insight.

 

EmBee...Offers quite a bit of Insight. Thx. You have an invaluable resource there! I had a BMW Master mechanic a while back.

Hd