Hi all..
I wasn’t able to chase down an existing thread on extended warranties, but apologize if this rehashes an old topic.
I am considering purchase of my very first extended warranty.
2015 S550 4matic…69,745 miles. Clear car fax with 26 dealership service records over ten years.
No issues at this time.
I average about 7000 miles/year..At this pace it will be 4 years or so to reach 100k
Got it January last year. I’m 77 yo and am looking to this being my last car. Who know how long I’ll live, let alone drive!
My Indy has a lot of experience with warranty companies.
I won’t go through his list of things to look for in a policy, but standard stuff.
He says that Endurance and Fidelity are good.
He doesn’t recall dealing with Premier.
His take on Car Shield is that they consistently deny claims.
I am finding mixed reviews on all three of them and have no basis to separate the wheat from the chaff
So, what advice can anyone offer?
Length of coverage and mileage limits?
Other good warranty companies?
Thank you everybody…
Chuck
Seattle

 

Your Indy is giving good advice. Fidelity is top-tier and highly recommended, but pricey. Endurance is solid. Car Shield is terrible avoid.
At 77, consider a solid 4-year/100k-mile plan that matches your driving pace. Stick with the company your Indy recommends, as their relationship can smooth claims.

 

Wonderful advice Alexie.
yes..my Indy also said that Car Shield is horrible
Thank you so much!

 

I have the Fidelity Platinum on my 2019 S63. I paid around 4800 for it around a year and a half ago when my car had around 37K miles on the clock. Fidelity has paid out around 14K in claims so far to fix my rear main seal and alternator, so it was definitely worth the cost. As to Fidelity, they have been reasonable but you end up turning into a hostage negotiator between Fidelity and the dealer if you opt for an MB dealer to do the work. Not sure how it would be with an indy. Based on the age and mileage of your car, a warranty is going to be pretty expensive and I am not sure if Fidelity would even underwrite a policy for this old of a car. Based on the age and mileage I would probably not buy a warranty, the car is probably worth around 20K and I would guess a credible, exclusionary warranty is going to be 8-10K or more. I could be totally off base here but you are going to be better off finding a good independent mechanic and having them go through the car and fix any leaks, check the cam phaser harnesses for oil and go from there. I had a 2015 S550 4Matic from 2017 to 2021 and put over 40K trouble free miles on that car. It was very reliable with the exception of one front strut that made a slight noise so I just preemptively replaced it. Other than that it was tires and oil changes. The M278 engine is fairly reliable with good maintenance and the bore scoring issues seemed to have been worked out by 2015. As mentioned above, the cam phasers have a harness that can let oil get into the cars wiring harness. This is the beginning of the end of the car if not addressed because the oil goes everywhere and destroys very expensive components. There are plugs you can buy though for a few bucks to prevent this from happening and they are very easy to install. Save your money and assume you will probably have at least one big surprise bill but I doubt it will exceed the cost of any decent warranty you will be able to purchase. The primary reason these cars depreciate so bad is because they are very expensive to maintain and a lot of folks just lease them from new and then flip to another new one every few years. It used to be that when you purchased a top tier Mercedes, it lasted forever and was fairly easy to fix, not anymore. An 11 year old S Class can become a money pit very fast, that is why the warranty is so expensive but a good indy can typically fix most problems for a reasonable price.

 

Reach out to @Highline-Autos.com who is a sponsor here. They broker Fidelity and another brand, which I forget.

I have both Endurance and Fidelity on my two cars. I cannot recommend Endurance. At one time they were pretty good, but have gotten difficult to work with over the last several years. They tried to deny a claim I had for a broken seat motor because I had winter tires on my car in January. (The tires, by the way, were as specified in the Owner’s Manual.) They finally paid after about a month of back and forth. There was also a recent YouTube video about Endurance pulling the same crap on a car with a transmission or engine problem. Their MO seems to be deny, deny, deny unless you push back. They even threatened to cancel my policy until I told them to go read their own fine print in the contract. The ONLY basis for cancellation is failure to pay the premium. Mine was pre-paid.

Fidelity, on the other hand, has been easy to work with.

 

Thank you! Right after getting the car I installed the short wire harnesses to prevent oil wicking into the main harness.
I truly appreciate your insight and advice.
Chuck

 

Looking forward to what Trent @Highline-Autos.com has to offer you for a warranty.

 

[QUOTE=carlosinseattle;9250677]Looking forward to what Trent @Highline-Autos.com has to offer you for a warranty.[/QUOTE
will let you know what I find out
thanks Carlos

 

I purchased our 2015 S550 with 3500 miles on it, with one owner, in March of 2024 and my indy shop did my pre-purchase inspection. My indy deals with Car Shield so I did purchase a 7 Year 100,000 mile Platinum Policy with Car Shield for $4400 and you are correct that they challenge everything. My deductable is $100. However they have paid all my claims so far for over $25,000 in repairs. S550 ownership is expensive! Car Shield always sends their adjuster,which takes 2 or 3 days, but so far so good. I hope I am not jinxing myself for this post. I am also 77 and do not wrench on my cars very much any more. Back surgery took that away from me. I did have all the fluids replaced and new tires put on when I made the purchase even though the dealer had all the receipts that they had already completed a full service. Good luck with your purchase.

 

Thank you MBOcala..
Was mileage actually 3500?
I appreciate your input.
I’m starting to get dizzy from all of people’s experiences!

 

Actually 3458 miles. I rounded up to 3500.

 

I am sure he meant 35,000 miles. I have one from Trent from Freedom, and I would recommend buying from him as he was able to help me with the first claim that was denied, as they said I couldn't prove I had one regular maintenance. WTF I had a broken AC Compressor and motor mounts, but said denied due to not proving one oil change in 2022. I had it at the dealership as I didn't want my indy to deal with the AC Compressor and because there was a chance that MB would cover it (extended warranty on hybrid but they refused to cover it due to no codes, BS!). Initially, the dealership service writer called me and said "Your claim is denied, repairs are 10,000, do you agree to do them?" which I immediately blew up. I got Trend on the line (called him he picked right up) and he ensured they saw all my maintenance receipts and then finally sent an adjuster. They covered the AC and motor mounts and denied valve cover gasgets and agreed to monitor those. Bottom line is, they all don't want to cover anything unless you push them hard, but having a shop that knows how to navigate these guys is huge. I had a good shop that got a major repair on my Nissan SUV that was over $2,500 for a policy that cost $1100.

I would never buy from Freedom again as they were jerks but trent was great. You can only get a warranty up to 100k (at least from what I saw) but that said these cars start need lots of attention sealing after 35k miles so may be worth it provided your willing to deal with them and force them to fix stuff.

 

No. Actual milage was 3458 and I rounded to 3500 miles.

 

thank you
good info and avice
is Freedom the same as Fidelity?
I had sent Trent an email 10 minutes before reading your response.
take care

 

HOLY COW! That averages about 375 miles per year!
Whats the story behind it?

 

Car was originally purchased in Arizona and then moved to their residence in Florida. Car was sold at auction in Florida a few weeks before I found it for sale. Still had original tires that looked great but I was not going to have 10 year old tires. I also questioned the mileage until I put a scanner on it and verified milage and any codes it its system. I asked for my indy to do a pre-purchase inspection and they agreed. I covered the cost of moving the car to my indy for inspection. The car looked flawless but just like everyone on the forum I was not convinced until the inspection. My indy had told me not to buy any S class older than 2016 when my search found this one. So far has been more than I expected. Our last Mercedes was a 2000 E430 4-matic that had 89000 miles and had been maintained by my indy shop. I really have great faith in their opinion after almost 20 years of relationship.

 

No. Go with Fidelity.

 

Amazing find! Once in a lifetime.
what colors inside and out?
loaded?

 

Thanks for the clarification

 

I have a 2015 S-600 that has only had 10 services (maybe 11).
I have to wonder why the car went to service every 2680 miles ?!?
You would have to read the service reports to know.

I am 73 (in a month) and I, also, am hoping the S-600 is the last car I have to buy. I am averaging less than 5000 miles per year. Many long distance trips.

 

The fidelity one was more and I wish that I had gone with them, but after Trent was involved they finally paid and I know the valve covers were probably the dealership trying to do stuff that really didn't need to be done!!

 

I have the CarFax with the service history. All at the MB near me.Very well maintained. primarily preventive maintenance, Lower control bars, timing cover gasket were the only two repairs. Regular oil changes, new plugs at 45K, Trans service at 40K, rotors and pads around 50K..brake system bleeds every 10K.
These are great cars to maybe be our last.
Thanks!

 

Re-reading my post I need to edit "my indy said do not buy any S class NEWER than 2016". It only has the base package and I was not looking for a lot of electronic options. I'll pull out the information on its options tomorrow and reply with the option package. We do love the way it drives and rides.

 

What was his rationale for saying don't buy a newer S-Class?

 

Hi All
I just signed up with Endurance for an extended warranty. Very pleased with terms and cost
2015 S550 4matic. 69,222miles.
4 year 130,000 mile contract.
No down pymt.
$169/month for 30 mo.. $5070 total
$100 deductible
the last 18 months no charge.
30 day wait period
The amount that I drive projects to be at 100k at the end of the 4 years.
I can renew for another 4 years and get credit for unused miles.
the guy I worked with at Endurance was great!
message me if you would like more details and contact info for the rep I worked with.