Is it Worth Extending Mercedes Warranty?

[Phil 1]

Hi All,
I've just bought my first Merc, a 2005 SLK 200K. It's come with 12 months tier 1 warranty and MB are offering a further 12 Months for £653. Would those you more experienced with SLKs etc recommend extending the warranty at that price?
To get the £653 price I need to pay now. If I choose to extend the warranty later in the year MB tell me it'll cost ~950.

I'd be grateful for any advice!
Cheers

 

[Micman]

No - don't do it. Save the £653. (or give it to me to look after for you)

 

[discoking]

Hi All,
I've just bought my first Merc, a 2005 SLK 200K. It's come with 12 months tier 1 warranty and MB are offering a further 12 Months for £653. Would those you more experienced with SLKs etc recommend extending the warranty at that price?
To get the £653 price I need to pay now. If I choose to extend the warranty later in the year MB tell me it'll cost ~950.

I'd be grateful for any advice!
Cheers

To give you some idea of the mark up involved I give 3 months away with every car I sell and offer an extension to 6 months for £70 and 12 months for £100.

The warranties I provide are underwritten by the same people that underwrite many,many main dealer warranties and I pay £65 for 3 months,£75 for 6 months and £95 for 12 months.At £700 you can see just how expensive that MB warranty is.

 

[discoking]

I'll also add that a warranty is only for mechanical failure and things will only be covered if the part is deemed to have failed when it shouldn't.If a part is just worn out then it wont be covered which unfortunately is what happens to 90% of parts.

Also read the warranty to see what exactly is covered,things like exhausts,clutches,brake pads and discs,spark plugs oil etc are never covered as they are classed as a service item.

If your SLK has done more than average miles then In my experiance a lot of what may go wrong will be put down to fair and wear and tear for the age and mileage.

I'd keep the £700 and bank it for future repairs unless MB warranties are so very different to normal warranties(which I doubt).

 

[Alex M Grieve]

I'd keep the £700 and bank it for future repairs unless MB warranties are so very different to normal warranties(which I doubt).

I believe that is the best advice discoking. There are other threads on the forum in which warranties have been debated up hill and down dale. The OP could try Search.

What it boils down to is two groups of people - those who want the assurance of a warranty, and those like you and I who are happy to "self insure" - and two groups of cars, those which don't malfunction (so warranty not needed) and those which do and it is ascribed to fair wear and tear (so warranty not helpful).

So for many people, just keep the cash and fix anything that goes wrong, if, as and when it goes wrong is the most pragmatic approach.

Some members delight in telling us about the thousands of pounds worth of work done for them "free" on the warranties they have had, either as a condition of sale, or purchased from/through the vendor. I think they have either been fortunate that the warranty coughed up, or unlucky in their choice of car.

 

[Cole@MBS]

That's all well and good advice!

As a ex MB tech, of a lot of years, and owning 2 c.class, both bought with tier 1 warranties, i have to disagree!

Ok, £700 is a lot of money!

One Cat, and you have your money back, gearbox goes bonkers, you have your money back,

There's nothing on any MB which is cheap, OK, you can use cheaper parts, and people like me to fit them, but are you saving money in the long run???

On my first c.class, the radio kept turning off and all sorts, put in into a well known south dealer, it was replaced, cost to me, zero!

Knocking on the front, both drop links replaced and a service recall carried out, again, cost to me, zero!

Tier 1 covers pretty much everything apart from wear and tear items, i would,nt own a merc (even knowing what i know) without it!

That only my thoughts on it!!

 

[discoking]

I believe that is the best advice discoking. There are other threads on the forum in which warranties have been debated up hill and down dale. The OP could try Search.

What it boils down to is two groups of people - those who want the assurance of a warranty, and those like you and I who are happy to "self insure" - and two groups of cars, those which don't malfunction (so warranty not needed) and those which do and it is ascribed to fair wear and tear (so warranty not helpful).

So for many people, just keep the cash and fix anything that goes wrong, if, as and when it goes wrong is the most pragmatic approach.

Some members delight in telling us about the thousands of pounds worth of work done for them "free" on the warranties they have had, either as a condition of sale, or purchased from/through the vendor. I think they have either been fortunate that the warranty coughed up, or unlucky in their choice of car.

I'm lucky or my warranty company is lucky whichever way you look at it as they get circa £50-60k a year from me which puts me in a very strong position.I have automatic authorisation from them so basically if a customer has a problem and it's a part covered(just about everything mechanical or electrical)then I get the work done and bill the warranty company.Hassle free for the customer,hassle free for me.

The problems people get from warranty claims is that most garages use them as another tool for profit and as such they wont seel one with every car,more like 1 in 5 I reckon which often leaves the garage and the customer in the hands of the claim team which like any insurance company will use everything in thier power to avoid paying out on claims.

I've used the same comapny for 10yrs now and haven't had a claim refused and the day I do is the day some other company get the money and some lucky rep earns 10k a year from me

 

[discoking]

That's all well and good advice!

As a ex MB tech, of a lot of years, and owning 2 c.class, both bought with tier 1 warranties, i have to disagree!

Ok, £700 is a lot of money!

One Cat, and you have your money back, gearbox goes bonkers, you have your money back,

There's nothing on any MB which is cheap, OK, you can use cheaper parts, and people like me to fit them, but are you saving money in the long run???

On my first c.class, the radio kept turning off and all sorts, put in into a well known south dealer, it was replaced, cost to me, zero!

Knocking on the front, both drop links replaced and a service recall carried out, again, cost to me, zero!

Tier 1 covers pretty much everything apart from wear and tear items, i would,nt own a merc (even knowing what i know) without it!

That only my thoughts on it!!

Like I mentioned I dont have personal experiance with MB warranty but the warranties I supply and sell will replace a gearbox,engine,will do head gaskets/skimming and most other big nast expensive jobs all for £600 less then MB is charging.

My friend bought a 3yr old Range Rover and instead of paying £1100 for a 2 yr warranty from the dealer I sold him one for £265 which had claim limit upto value of car(£30k)and has already sorted him a new starter,no questions aked,but then it was thru me which I've already explained about in above post

 

[Alex M Grieve]

That's all well and good advice!

As a ex MB tech, of a lot of years, and owning 2 c.class, both bought with tier 1 warranties, i have to disagree!

Ok, £700 is a lot of money!

One Cat, and you have your money back, gearbox goes bonkers, you have your money back,

There's nothing on any MB which is cheap, OK, you can use cheaper parts, and people like me to fit them, but are you saving money in the long run???

On my first c.class, the radio kept turning off and all sorts, put in into a well known south dealer, it was replaced, cost to me, zero!

Knocking on the front, both drop links replaced and a service recall carried out, again, cost to me, zero!

Tier 1 covers pretty much everything apart from wear and tear items, i would,nt own a merc (even knowing what i know) without it!

That only my thoughts on it!!

I think that demonstrates the nature of the lottery SAM. I have clearly been more fortunate in that I once had a fault repaired on the warranty provided in "signature" (tier 1?), but I saw that as just a general sale of goods act type repair (sender from the fuel tank faulty on a W202).

Other than that, I guess I must be one of the lucky guys who have no faults (or don't notice them!), thereby keeping the average down and making the warranties more affordable. After all, with any insurance scheme, it depends on the majority not claiming, otherwise, if everyone had to claim, the premium would be the cost of the repair + the cost of administering the scheme + the guarantors profit.

I just back my luck on being one of those not to have problems and not to have to claim.

 

[Phil 1]

Cheers for your thoughts so far, still not sure what I'll do yet though!

 

[discoking]

Cheers for your thoughts so far, still not sure what I'll do yet though!

I would ask to see the warranty book and anything else relevant and ask if you can take it home to read(I often give customers this opportunity).Make sure you fully understand what is and isn't covered and make sure you understand how to keep it valid.. and read the small print aswell.

Theres a very good chance that the salesman doesn't know squat about the warranty procedure as they don't deal with anything like that so taking home the documentation is probs the best bet.

 

[hawk20]

Well I agree with SAM. Most warranties cover very little -as numerous threads testify- and that is why they are cheap. Obviouly any warranty that costs only a couple of hundred or less cannot cover much.

The MB tier 1 warranty covers a heck of a lot -virtually like the 3 year manufacturers warranty- and many have found it invaluable. If you want peace of mind and to avoid the risk of an unlucky but large bill, it is worth the money. If you don't mind risk, and can afford a big bill if you get one, then you may prefer to keep the money and gamble.

 

[ricky s]

I am in agreement with Sam and Hawk on this, in fact took a tier 1 warrenty out on mine very recently, expenscive, yes, but for me it was peace of mind, and worth it. But its a personal choice

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

where do I start on this......

I can not recommend taking up the warranty enough. However, I strongly suggest you take out the Service Plus plan. This covers ANY part that goes that isn't through wear and tear. In one year this saved me the best part of £5000.00

It really does cover just about everything except things like break pads/disks and tyres. I know this because I claimed on LOADS.

Search my previous threads on this.

This is not "some bloke in the pub" advice (btw, I'm not suggesting any of the other replies were), this is "this has ALL happened to me". You would not believe how expensive some things can be on a Merc when they go wrong. When things do start going wrong you'll wish you had it.

I had 1 cat go in my C240 AFTER the Service plus plan ran out and Kwik Fit wanted £2000.00 for a new one!!

Do not heistate, bite their hand off and take the warrantee.

If you have any questions, please PM me.

 

[hawk20]

where do I start on this......

I can not recommend taking up the warranty enough. However, I strongly suggest you take out the Service Plus plan. This covers ANY part that goes that isn't through wear and tear. In one year this saved me the best part of £5000.00

It really does cover just about everything except things like break pads/disks and tyres. I know this because I claimed on LOADS.

Search my previous threads on this.

This is not "some bloke in the pub" advice (btw, I'm not suggesting any of the other replies were), this is "this has ALL happened to me". You would not believe how expensive some things can be on a Merc when they go wrong. When things do start going wrong you'll wish you had it.

I had 1 cat go in my C240 AFTER the Service plus plan ran out and Kwik Fit wanted £2000.00 for a new one!!

Do not heistate, bite their hand off and take the warrantee.

If you have any questions, please PM me.

Or better still PM someone who knows that Service Plus does not cover all those things any more. In fact it no longer exists.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Blimey, that went quick. I only sold the Merc 3 months ago. I guess they were losing money on it because of how unreliable Mercs are. Ho hum.

 

[Rory]

I
I've used the same comapny for 10yrs now and haven't had a claim refused

They sound very good - which warranty company is it?

 

[teddycatkin]

2 years warranty?

By doing my sums you are getting 12 months in with the price deal?
So divide the £650 by 24 months--you have 2 years cover for that price --it seems a good deal and you will have peace of mind ? -it is a good policy.

 

[thebandit]

That's all well and good advice!

As a ex MB tech, of a lot of years, and owning 2 c.class, both bought with tier 1 warranties, i have to disagree!

Ok, £700 is a lot of money!

One Cat, and you have your money back, gearbox goes bonkers, you have your money back,

There's nothing on any MB which is cheap, OK, you can use cheaper parts, and people like me to fit them, but are you saving money in the long run???

On my first c.class, the radio kept turning off and all sorts, put in into a well known south dealer, it was replaced, cost to me, zero!

Knocking on the front, both drop links replaced and a service recall carried out, again, cost to me, zero!

Tier 1 covers pretty much everything apart from wear and tear items, i would,nt own a merc (even knowing what i know) without it!

That only my thoughts on it!!

Hi Cole,

The Tier1 included as part of the Approved Used Scheme on my MY09 W211 is due to expire shortly. Just wondering since you last posted on this thread if you still agree with your thoughts?

I've had a Tier1 on our previous W169 which over three years did cost us more than actual repairs but as you say it only takes one big ticket item to go wrong and suddenly it's a good deal.

I bought the facelift W211 for improved reliability over the previous model but accept nothing is guaranteed here! Would appreciate your comments.

The Bandit.

 

[The Pan Man]

Bandit, I have also just bought an approved E211 with tier 1 warranty, and reading that warranty it says that you will be contacted 28 days before expiery to have a chance of renewal. I think the you have to pay for the extension now is a dealer ploy. Someone might know better or different. As an aside I had no cover at all when my blocked cat on the E211 270CDi bit the dust. £1700 at a well known indie of the day I would have been happy to pay the £595, but luck of the draw. Yes I know its a very old thread.