Hi all,
looking to get your thoughts on MB Extended Warranties.

In the past I have never been one to buy extended warranties (on anything really), as I view them as insurance, and like insurance, I hope that I never need it. To be honest, all of my MBz cars have served me very well, and the running costs have been low, just typical wear and tear items, maintenance, and the occasional repair bill, but nothing significant. Also, I tend to buy off lease at 3 years old, so have a year of factory warranty, and as I don't typically keep a car more than 2 years (I get bored), I only have to worry about a year of running costs.

However, I now have a 2019 S450, that has factory warranty until May of 2023, and it currently at 46.5k miles, so I have about 3,500 miles of factory left, and I'm planning to keep it for a couple of years. I have been working from home for the last two years and manage to add about 800 miles a month running errands and playing taxi to the kids, but I've just accepted a new job which is office based and will add 1,200 miles/month as a a commute. This means that I will go through the 4 year/50,000 mile warranty in short order. Probably within the next couple of months.

Looking at the MB USA Extended Warranty, I think that I would likely go for a 100,000 mile and 2 or 3 year option (need to see the cost difference), 2 years would give me a deadline to get a new car

What experiences do you have with extended car warranties?

I'm just concerned that something electronic goes wrong and costs me a small fortune to fix. Looking at this flowchart, and sub out $600 for $1,000, Should I Get an Extended Car Warranty, my head tells me that I shouldn't, even typing all of this out makes me wonder what I am thinking!

Thanks!

 

The 222 has been generally reliable. You either self-insure or get the warranty. For that car, parts/labor are expensive even at an indy. I got the CPO wrap on my E coupe and somewhat regret it (I could prorate refund) because mechanically the car has been great. I got the CPO wrap recently on my wife's BMW Z4 because...BMW. <-- That one brings peace of mind.

 

Extended car warrantees for cars you already own are good money after bad--they are betting crap won't happen, you are betting it will.

If all you are going to do is drive the car as you have been over the next 2 years and then get another, you risk little by avoiding the warrantee.

{Ask a guy who owns a 25 YO Ferrari about warrantees.........}

 

There is a reason they sell extended warranties and it has nothing to do with the goodness of the hearts of those that sell the product.

 

@Katie22

 

I guess each person looks at it differently ...

My experience: I've had two Lexuses, two Porsches and now my second Mercedes. The first Lexus needed a head gasket at about 100k miles. No other major repairs on these six cars, just ordinary service like tires, brakes, shocks, etc and some small things here and there.

To the best of my recollection, I've never bought an extended warranty for any product. Naive perhaps, but I choose high-quality products and take good care of them and I've had very few problems.

 

I have a 2 year MB extended warranty on my 2019 S560 that I bought as a CPO in January 2021. I paid $4K for those 2 years and at the time I felt I got a pretty good deal. However, I have had a couple of minor issues with the car and when I took it into the MB dealer, I got a lot of resistance to do anything under warranty. Both times i got the same type of flak from different service people trying to avoid covering my issues. Eventually they did but it wasn't pleasant. One of the service managers even explained that MB USA was very tough on reimbursing dealers for warranty work. So, I have to wonder whether more serious problems will cause even more resistance. I don't know and hope I don't have to find out. I owned my last S class....a 2012 S550 for 5 years and never had a warranty issue so I don't know if times have changed with MB USA or I would have had similar negative dealer experiences with warranty service. Having said all of this, I still would want to be covered. Just in case. There are a lot of things that can go wrong that will cost much more than the warranty. My advice is to get the extended warranty and try hard to negotiate the best price for it.

 

I purchased 7/100k, 5k miles into my 2018 car purchase, from MB. Cost me $4k. I did it for peace of mind. I have 2 years / 45k miles left. Really depends on your tolerance for potential unexpected costs.

 

Hey @will_atl here is some extended warranty information from both of our providers to consider. Fidelity and Freedom Warranty are accepted at all Mercedes-Benz dealers and licensed independents in the country, 100% claims acceptance between both providers for all Highline Autos customers. My contact information is tgibson@highline-autos.com or (855) 924-1333 if you have any questions and would like to see example contracts that explains coverage. There is some skepticism in the comments above, but look at the following numbers from Freedom Warranty and ask your self "how many repairs at the dealer over X amount of years would I need for this to make sense, 3?4?"

2019 Mercedes-Benz S450 w/ 46.5k miles

Freedom Warranty Complete Manufactures Extension:

36 months / up to 100k miles
$0 deductible
-$4,370
$100 deductible
-$4,220

48 months / up to 100k miles
$0 deductible
-$4,480
$100 deductible
-$4,330

60 months / up to 100k miles
$0 deductible
-$4,645
$100 deductible
-$4,495

0% Financing is available / up to 125k miles available for only $400 more

Fidelity Platinum:

36 months / additional 36k miles:
$100 deductible
-$9,660
$250 deductible
-$8,322
$500 deductible
-$6,900

48 months / additional 48k miles:
$100 deductible
-$12,682
$250 deductible
-$10,807
$500 deductible
-$8,781

60 months / additional 60k miles:
$100 deductible
-$14,666
$250 deductible
-$12,423
$500 deductible
-$10,004

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to see different terms!

 

It is all about risk tolerance. Kind of like going to Vegas, they did not build all of those fancy buildings with Christian fellowship, they understand that far more people will leave money behind than will leave with substantially more. It is exactly the same. You hear the occasional horror story from someone having a blown engine out of warranty but those are the rare exception. You also tend to hear about more issues on forums because people tend to get on these forums to discuss car issues. I have owned several S classes over the years and I have yet to have a major problem that would have made the ELW money well spent. Take the 4-6K and put it in the bank and use it for repairs if needed but I am guessing you will have several thousand dollars left at the end of the potential warranty period. Where I think a warranty might make sense is on an older model with higher mileage, say above 70K but those are very expensive because the odds of a major problem are much higher. YMMV.

 

We do not reap the benefits of high depreciation for the reputation of reliability and low cost to repair.

 

Spoken like a person who sells warranties for a living.

 

Fidelity Platinum has always been very easy to work with as a service advisor.
The car needs something that is covered ? A phone call has an approval and the client is back on the road with a deductible.
For pattern failures there is rarely an inspection required. Speeds it up.
I have worked with many other aftermarket warranties and none of them have been as good as Fidelity Platinum.
I don’t sell aftermarket warranties.

 

I think it depends if I would drive it minimum 5 years and cover more than 20K miles per year why not .

 

I’ve had two S class and one C class. Chrysler warranty on S500 (not CPO) and MB on S560 (CPO).

I’m not trying to be funny but I see extended warranty as insurance. I wouldn’t say “I’ll never have an accident so I’ll drive uninsured.” These are not Toyotas we are buying.

 

I am an old **** financial guy, so I look at cost/benefit. When I bought my 15 S550 it only had 6,200 miles, but it was 4.5 yrs old, and my first S. We have other vehicles, so I drive the S550 6,000+/- miles per year. I spent $4,000 for a Fidelity Platinum 8 yr/80,000 mi, $250 deductible warranty when I bought the car. I have used it once for about an $1,800 repair and the local MB dealer handled claim. It is also transferable should I sell the car.

However, looking at the Fidelity pricing above, I would not purchase the extended warranty. It's going to require significant repairs to break even on the purchase.

 

@TNS550 Before the S Class I had a Porsche Cayenne, and on the Porsche forums everyone is all over the Fidelity warranty, but as you say, the pricing above means that significant repairs will be required.

I realize that these guys are in the business of making money, and as @Mitch Alsup said 'they are betting crap won't happen, you are betting it will.' The difference being that they have the data to play the odds in their favor, I just have the internet, and a bunch of like minded S Class owners

Just doing a search, I found this: https://www.searsimports.com/finance...ited-warranty/

• Reading through that wonderful pricing chart, with no shopping around, a Merceds Benz Extended Warranty can be had for:
  • Tier 3 | S-Class, SL-Class, CLS, Diesel, R-Class
    • $2,950 (5 yrs/75)
    • $3,600 (5yrs/100k)
    • $3,450 (6yrs/75k)
    • $4,100 (6yrs/100k) **
    • $4,250 (7yrs/75k)
    • $5,000 (7yrs/100k)

Based on my projections of my mileage over the next two years, I will be putting on 2,000 miles a month, which will take me towards 100,000 miles in two years, and that gives me pause for thought, and is why I was even entertaining this idea. I've never had an extended warranty before, but I have never taken a Mercedes anywhere close to 100,000 before, and for $4,100 would I have some peace of mind, or do I just say screw it and put $200 aside every month, and then put that $4,800 towards my new car in two years time

 

@TNS550 The Fidelity pricing difference all depends on milage of the vehicle, here are the pricing tiers, obviously coverage on your vehicle will be thousands cheaper than Will's because of the 40k milage difference. Freedom Warranty really comes into their own on providing value for high milage vehicles, as a provider of both policies, I was in a miller situation with a 40K milage vehicle, and went with Freedom, zero issues having my water pump at the dealership before it failed.

These are the Fidelity pricing tiers:
<10k
10,001-25k
25,001-35k
35,001-45k
45,001-60k
60,001-75k
75,001-90k
90,001-105k (this tier depends on the age of the vehicle to qualify)

 

• Reading through that wonderful pricing chart, with no shopping around, a Merceds Benz Extended Warranty can be had for:
  • Tier 3 | S-Class, SL-Class, CLS, Diesel, R-Class
    • $2,950 (5 yrs/75)
    • $3,600 (5yrs/100k)
    • $3,450 (6yrs/75k)
    • $4,100 (6yrs/100k) **
    • $4,250 (7yrs/75k)
    • $5,000 (7yrs/100k)

/QUOTE]

I would be skeptical as to how accurate this graphic is, on they same page, they list pricing for vehicles like the CL, R-cLass, ML, vehicles that have been our of production for a long time. Also on the graph lists G-class, I know Mercedes does not offer extended warranties on the G wagons because I have worked with a number of MB stores on providing coverage for their G customers.

 

Just someone who has owned two used S-Class vehicles and an E-Class AMG, also the extended warranties are a complementary product we offer, but Highline-Autos, nor do I, make a living off warranty sales. Check out www.highline-autos.com to learn more!

 

For the record, I have been driving since 1967, and am close to 1,000,000 miles of accumulated driving miles.
A list of cars I have had that would be called "problematic"
{ null }
A list of cars I have had that would be called "reliable" in approximately the order of acquisition::
1974 FIAT x1/9
1976 FIAT x1/9
1979 FIAT 124 Spyder
1964 Dodge Dart V8
1982 BMW 320S
1980 Toyota Pickup truck
1953 Ford 1½ ton
1989 Ford Taurus
1991 Peugeot Mi16
1995 Toyota Camry
1995 Infinity Q45
1995 Ferrari F355
1996 Toyota 4Runner
2006 Toyota 4Runner
2015 Mercedes S-600
2017 Mercedes GLS 450

So, overall, I have owned more than a "few" cars with doggy reputations and never had a problem with any of them--including the 3 FIATs !

I have come to the conclusion that it is not by accident this record has been accumulated.

 

​​​​Dang ​@Mitch Alsup, that's a lot of miles, and longer that I have been on this earth, and I'm no youngster! When posting, I knew that this topic would provoke some conversation, and bring to light some great facts

 

Just to close this out, I ended up buying a 6yr/100k MB ELW. I bought it from Jeff Jackson, MB Louisville, as recommended on another forum in this site, and he gave me a great price, 20% less than the $4,100 I posted above. $4,100 was the standard price I received from GA dealers.
One thing to note it that some dealers wouldn’t touch me as I didn’t but the car from a MB dealer, but others didn’t have a problem with it.

My SA told me that he will work to get my moneys worth, I best take him a Christmas gift when it goes in for a 50k service next week!

 

So reading through these comments, Mercedes-Benz will not sell an extended warranty on the 2024 G63?

 

CPO I believe.. but nothing beyond that, correct.