Fraser

After seeing a mint CL65 show up on an online auction this past week that had 5yrs remaining of Carmax's bump to bumper 5yr exclusionary warranty it got me thinking...

Back in the mid/late 2000s I bought a 2004 S600 and slapped a 5yr Chrysler warranty on it after the factory warranty lapsed. At the time it was *the* warranty to get as it exclusionary and covered all the expensive bits such as ABC, etc. It was one of the keys aspects to affordable ownership on what was a potentially unreliable and expensive car to maintain.

I sold that S600 many years ago after moving to NYC and no longer needing a vehicle. Circumstances have changed for me since and I may need a vehicle of my own again soon. I'd love to jump back into a W222 or similar and would certainly value a decent, exclusionary warranty. Surprisingly Carmax have a few S63s, S560s, etc. amongst their nationwide inventory and so it made me wonder if this is something I should consider?

I know it's certainly not an "enthusiast's" channel for buying a car but curious if anyone had any experience of shopping this route (issues with claims, non-coverage) or other good options besides the obvious CPO for someone looking for a warranty. As much as I love S Class ownership writing checks/swiping credit cards for four figure repairs is something to certainly sour the ownership experience.

Thanks in advance!

cfmistry

In my humble opinion the Carmax MaxCare is about as good as it gets, along with the Fidelity Platinum warranty. The Fidelity can be applied to any car but is very pricey.

SilverArrow44

I bought my 2016 S550 from Carmax in March of 2020. At the time of purchase, I naively declined to buy the Carmax extended warranty because my plan was to purchase an extended warranty from Mercedes. Since the vehicle had a few months of the factory warranty left, I assumed this would be no problem.

When it came time for the first repairs under the factory warranty, I took the car to my local dealer and spoke with a trusted service advisor who had assisted me with service on my previous Mercedes. When I told him I bought the car from Carmax, his first comment was "You bought their extended warranty too, right?" I told him no and he was shocked. He explained to me that Carmax has a great warranty program and that I could continue to have my vehicle serviced at a Mercedes dealer even under the Carmax warranty. He told that they're easy to work with and rarely offered pushback on warranty claims.

Then to make matter worse, I learned that I couldn't buy an extended warranty from Mercedes because I didn't buy the car from a Mercedes dealer and the car wasn't CPO. Moreover, Carmax wouldn't sell me an extended warranty either at that point. So far, the car has been great and a joy to own and drive. However when it comes time for that first major repair invoice, I know that I'm going to wish I had purchased the Carmax warranty when I had the chance.

PNBLWZD

I’m in a similar situation considering an S from carmax, and got info and pricing on their max care warranty. The pricing is good compared to extending the factory warranty with an ELW from Mercedes, but max care only covers 5 years with a few mileage choices. On an S which comes with 4 years BB factory warranty, max care will only add 1 year to that as the 5 years is from date sold new. So I’m trying to figure out how best to get extended coverage for longer term, as BB expires early next year and I plan to keep it longer then that.

Edit: carmax has told me on the phone that max care coverage terms begin the day you purchase the car from carmax. I will have to stop by a store and verify

Fraser

That is true. It’s from the time of purchase at Carmax

Highline-Autos.com

From the inside of the extended warranty biz, it is all about value. Price =/= value. Fidelity is expensive, deductibles are high, but their claims acceptance is one of the best in the business, the only company besides Freedom Warranty I'd suggest to MB Forum members. Freedom warranty has just as good an acceptance rate of claims (100% on all of my policies), for less money and a lower deductible. I've quoted many W222 for $4,500 5 years, up to 100k miles, accepted at all Mercedes Dealers in North America, and a labor rate of $275. text or call me at 602-909-9216 or send me an email at tgibson@highline-autos.com with warranty questions or to look at a quote and example contract.