BLKBENZO

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to purchase an extended warranty on my S600 and need to know what questions I need to ask and what I should consider when purchasing an extended warranty for this car. Anything you think I should know or ask is most appreciated.

DaveW68

What year is your car and what is the current mileage?

BLKBENZO

2007 S600 with 72,580

DaveW68

You likely won't be able to find anybody willing to offer coverage on an 11 year old Benz with that mileage. And if you did, the cost would be astronomical and not cover the systems that normally go bad on these cars.

superpop

Hopefully you got a smokin deal on your car because it could turn into a money pit real fast. I would concur that a warranty is probably not available or if it is, it would cost a lot more than you are prepared to pay. Best bet is to find a local german car shop and start taking it there for service and establish a rapport with them. When, not if, something expensive breaks, hopefully they will be fair with you. Unfortunately, cost of ownership on these cars does not decline like the depreciation factor on them. In fact it is the opposite, they drop like a rock in value over time and shoot up like a rocket in cost of ownership over time.

DaveW68

This statement is accurate. Buying one of these older S-classes, especially the S600 and S65 will likely bury you in repair costs. I just traded in my 2007 S600 with just 48k total miles 2 weeks ago. In the 37 months I had the car, my warranty company paid out over $24k in claims with a total of 24k miles driven in that time. And that was based on labor rates at an agreed rate lower than the regular customer walking in the door without coverage.

For reference, I purchased my car from CA with 24k miles from a gentleman in his early 70's who was the original owner. The car was fully service by MB and all services were done ahead of schedule. It seems like age more so than mileage is what drives up the repair costs on these cars. Of course, higher mileage cars will have their own special set of problems.

If you love having an S600, my advice to you would be to sell or trade in your car and purchase say a 2011 or 2012 with mileage under 50k so you can buy warranty coverage. If you have deep pockets and high repair costs are not a big deal, then just keep what you have.

BigFrizDog

Good luck finding coverage. Just for example, I was quoted $6100.00 for a 2yr/24k exclusionary policy from Carchex on a 2010 S550 4MATIC with 80k on the clock. They were the ONLY company to even offer me the exclusionary policy.

vettebk

Most warranty companies won't touch a car after ten years. You have to find a car that is 9 years old or less. My warranty cost me $5800 and was good for 4 Yr/50K miles but manages to payout only about 50% of true cost. I have spent $5K since April on my S600 V12 TT and have gotten $2.5K reimbursed.

Find a 2009 S600 or S65 and go for it. Good Luck.

onebaylock

Hello I just registered as a new user after searching for and not finding a warranty service. For the last week, I’ve been evaluating the purchase of a 2008 S600 v12. The car has a 150k miles on it. Nothing alarming came from the pre-purchase inspection. It’s only had 1 previous owner but it will be my daily driver. I’d appreciate any thoughts on this purchase since its a private seller and I wouldn’t be able to find an extended warranty of any kind. Is there any way this does not become a mistake? Most of what I’ve read speaks poorly of the car. It’s rarity is intriguing but I have no experiences with MB but saw this as an entry point.

vettebk

I love my S600. I also have an extended warranty. These cars are notorious for high cost maintenance and repair services. My experience has been very good but I have still spent a fair amount of money. My other cars are not as expensive either on maintenance or on original cost (value). Most people dump the cars when they cost a lot for repairs which is why there are so many heavily depreciated vehicles available.

If you have the financial resources to afford a car of this caliber, and you don't mind spending for maintenance and repair; I think these cars are tremendous long term platforms that will provide tons of fun for years. The alternative is to educate yourself on the needs of these cars and do it all yourself. Just my two cents. Good luck.

hyperion667

No offense but, are you mad?? As stated, unless you have a big pile of cash in waiting, I'd seriously pass on that car and find something newer. GL! BTW, this thread is two years old

auburn2

Buying any old car is a risk. I don't think an S-class is a bigger risk than anything else. Your actual losses are limited by both the price you pay for the car and the salvage value.

Absolute worst case is you car breaks after a few months and it is not worth the $$ to repair. In that case you are out the purchase price minus the salvage value. You can put a number on that and determine the actual financial risk. An S600 is going to be high in terms of price (compared to other luxury cars of a similar year), but it will also be high in salvage value.

That is the worst case scenario, a far more likely scenario is you get several years out of it trouble free or nearly trouble free.

I bought my 2007 S65 for $32k. I drove it for 5 years as a dd until an idiot in a Tahoe with no insurance rear ended me. My insurance company paid me $25k after my $1k deductable. So I paid $7k plus maintenance and gas to drive a 600hp full size V12 luxury sedan for 5 years. That is a sweet deal as far as I was concerned. If I went out and bought a brand new fully optioned Chevy Impala I would have paid about the same price to start and I would not have had to worry about any failures for the first three years. On the flip side when the insurance totaled it I would have recieved about $16k. So I would have paid $9k more to drive a much less exciting car but I would have had piece of mind for 3 years.

pillowshot

If you have the money do it.

A V12 engine is a rare thing to begin with. Going forward it will just become increasingly rare.

If you can wrench yourself you can save yourself a lot of money. If you have a decent Indy you can save money over going to the dealer. Most things that go wrong can be tackled with a jack and axle stands. Parts prices in some cases can be expensive and in others are reasonable. e.g. (the thermostat can only be replaced with the entire housing ~£400... however engine mounts only run £60 each)

One known problem with the V12s are the coil packs. Again, new parts are more reliable and there are third party options that claim to be even more durable than new from dealer parts.

I say live a little and enjoy it. I have a CL, not an S, but the car/engine combo is brilliant.