uttexs55

Great info. How much should I expect to pay for extended warranty?

BVLDARI

hard to say, depends on length and mileage. Chrysler warranty runs a bit less than $3k for about 4/5 years. The CPO 2 year extension is about $4k. EasyCare is about $4400 retail for a 4 year/50k. I know you can get discounts on easycare tough.

all of the above refer to the "best" coverage warranties.

Zax63

The CPO extension is about 4k and gives you an extra 2years on top of the intial 1 year extension, but you need to first find a CPO'd car. The total cost of CPOing the car is about 5400 (I think its approximately 1495 for the first year, 3995 for the additional 2 years) plus whatever the car needs to get to CPO status. When you find a CPO'd car, it has 1 year of coverage in the price and has already had all "worn" parts replaced. You also have to buy the car from the dealer to get CPO, or find a dealer that is willing to CPO your car, but be warned... they replace everything that is more than 50% worn at full retail. That means you are paying full retail for tires, brakes, etc that you likely could get cheaper elsewhere. And tires are almost always 50% worn by 8 or 9k miles. The rears even sooner.

Also, if you are buying a car from a non-dealer, it is worth having a dealer inspect it to make sure it hasn't been "flagged" by MB, which they may do if the car has been modded and it has been discovered. If the car has been flagged, expect a warranty claim fight (or outright denial) on any warranty work that needs to get done. Also, many cars are not CPO-able, for reasons such as extensive collision damage. There may be other exclusions that I am unaware of, but it's worth doing your homework. A dealer is not supposed to CPO a car that has aftermarket rims on it, for example, though I have found more than one car on a CPO lot with non factory rims. The dealers explanation: "it came like that." Yeah, from auction, but not the factory. This is relevant because factory rims are insanely expensive.

I wanted a CPO car, so I found the car I wanted, had it inspected by a MB dealer close to the car, and then had a dealer with whom I have a strong relationship with (read I buy a bunch of cars from him and refer lots of business) buy it for me, charge me a nominal markup, and sell me a CPO. This is a very expensive way to get a CPO, since you can buy a Chrysler aftermarket warranty for 3k as stated above, whereas my overall process probably cost closer to 7400 including replacement parts, markup, and warranty. But I get the peace of mind that the Warranty company is MB, it is transferable (but only to another retail customer, not on trade-in) and I will always go to the dealer for service and not have to fight billing collection. I also think there may be a mild resale advantage of having a MB certified car, but that could all be in my mind. Once again, just my two cents.

uttexs55

Nothing beats the education of hard knocks...

I will take my car to the dealer for "flags" regardless of the warranty route. It will be nice to see if the dealer can discover any secret past of the car before I put a used car through it's paces.

Seems like the common denominator of all recommendations is knowing the service technicians in the sense that they're on your holiday mailing, and the circumstances dictate you car's coverage. The right plan at the right dealer with the right relationship will be the ultimate insurance policy for your wallet.

Going to get a gift certificate for the local steakhouse now.

BTW - I've come full circle based on everyone's input. I have a bid out on a E63, blk with almost every factory option. Looking at Carlsson 1/11s and trying to shield my eyes from mod-candy...possibly ECU that I can flash to factory and headers.

Thanks everyone and I'm happy to get you a beer next time you're in Austin.

rondocap

Good luck with the search and let us know what you choose when it's complete!

It's a really difficult decision, each AMG seems offer different incentives for you to choose them. Did you give up on the CLS? That's a beautiful car in AMG trim, I think even more than the CL65 in the older body style, or the E AMG's.

More people seem to have the E AMG's, so that's a good route in terms of support - a lot more people will have experience and issues to talk about versus something rarer like a CL65.

Zax63

I gotta tell you, I love my E63 and will miss it. If I weren't 6' 6", I'd keep it. My height makes it a three passenger car. It's a lotta car for the money, but he's right above that when the TT5.5 comes to the car, the old body E63's will probably take an even bigger hit...