Warranty

[Grandad]

I am getting a W203 saloon '04 54, auto, Command, with 41k from MB main dealer. Have been offered second year warranty for £600+. Question is-is it worth it? [that is without the gift of hindsight] Any weak points to wonder about, how about the command unit? I know main dealer repairs are pricey, can anyone give me a few examples? Helpful comments ,advice etc most welcome.

 

[David Nock]

Would you like to search under 'service contract plus' and look at the post under tpt's login about transfer of warranty. There's a lot a benefits (I think) in service contract plus.

 

[Grandad]

Many thanks David, off to have a look.

 

[jberks]

Agreed - service plus is the way to go and provided your mileage is normal, should work out cheaper than the warranty by the time the servicing is accounted for.
Generally, yes a warranty is worth having and that one will probably be "the covers everything..." except variety.
Avoid the ones that list only what is covered.
FYI - my ESP failed 2 weeks out of warranty. Probably not an expensive fix but I paid my £600 so don't care!

 

[Grandad]

Thank for the advice jberks, reading all the posts and beginning to digest it.

Also as mobilolife is included with servicing I assume the £90+ I pay the AA can be discontinued and set against annual costs?

 

[jberks]

in a word - yes.

 

[hawk20]

Service plus is as good as it says on the tin. Good value and great peace of mind. Covers you to the sixth anniversary of first registration, or 120,000 miles whichever comes first.

 

[Rory]

Service plus is as good as it says on the tin. Good value and great peace of mind. Covers you to the sixth anniversary of first registration, or 120,000 miles whichever comes first.

Actually it's stupidly awkward in respect of age - you can only do it for whole years and you can't go beyond the cars 6th birthday. Therefore if you buy used, and you time the start of ServicePlus wrongly, you could end up being unable to cover almost all of the cars 6th year.

 

[Grandad]

Thanks for all the replies and help.
The service+ official blurb states that you are covered for all wear n tear repairs, or anything else that might be considered normal wear n tear.

However if the Command unit failed, or the turbo for example, would this be considered 'wear n tear', or might it be considered something else?

Great forum, very interesting posts and Hi to every one.

 

[television]

Thanks for all the replies and help.
The service+ official blurb states that you are covered for all wear n tear repairs, or anything else that might be considered normal wear n tear.

However if the Command unit failed, or the turbo for example, would this be considered 'wear n tear', or might it be considered something else?

Great forum, very interesting posts and Hi to every one.

You must live near me grandad

 

[Grandad]

Not a million miles from Butlins
Geoff

 

[Rory]

Thanks for all the replies and help.
The service+ official blurb states that you are covered for all wear n tear repairs, or anything else that might be considered normal wear n tear.

However if the Command unit failed, or the turbo for example, would this be considered 'wear n tear', or might it be considered something else?

That question has been the subject of much discussion!

There's no doubt in my mind that what Mercedes intended was that ServicePlus would cover normal servcing, plus wear and tear items like brake pads and bulbs. The blurb mentions these items, but then almost casually says "major units"!

There are forum members who have written to Mercedes and been told that electrical items would be covered. Mercedes do seem to have been fairly generous with ServicePlus so far - although there are rumours that the scheme will be changed and tightened up early next year.

Meanwhile, if yo have a problem with the car, I think it's important to say the COMAND unit or the turbo has "worn out", not that it's broken!

If you do take it out, take if for as long as you can - the price is fixed and you can cancel with a maximum (depends how much they've shelled out) 3mths penalty if you sell the car (annoyingly it isn't transferable - it would be a great selling feature).

 

[hawk20]

That question has been the subject of much discussion!

There's no doubt in my mind that what Mercedes intended was that ServicePlus would cover normal servcing, plus wear and tear items like brake pads and bulbs. The blurb mentions these items, but then almost casually says "major units"!

There are forum members who have written to Mercedes and been told that electrical items would be covered. Mercedes do seem to have been fairly generous with ServicePlus so far - although there are rumours that the scheme will be changed and tightened up early next year.

Meanwhile, if yo have a problem with the car, I think it's important to say the COMAND unit or the turbo has "worn out", not that it's broken!

If you do take it out, take if for as long as you can - the price is fixed and you can cancel with a maximum (depends how much they've shelled out) 3mths penalty if you sell the car (annoyingly it isn't transferable - it would be a great selling feature).

No, No, No, this is quite wrong. The Service contracts are meant to cover normal wear and tear like pads and discs. SERVICE PLUS as its name implies -and as all the literature makes clear, and numerous threads do too- quite clearly covers much more than just normal wear and tear. If you push a scaffold pole through the COMAND system that is accidental damage -Service Plus will not pay; talk to your insurance company. If you get angry and smash your COMAND with a hammer that is wilful damage- Service Plus will not pay; you must. BUT if COMAND stops working, or fails, for any other reason then Service Plus covers it. And the paperwork says so. And so does the correspondence from Mercedes posted on websites. The auto box is also covered. And the radio and steering and suspension and on and on and on. All covered. Terrific.

 

[hawk20]

SERVICE PLUS Below is what someone posted

This is a response I had (and previously posted) from MB:
I can confirm to you that yes, the service contract covers you for all
electrical and mechanical breakdown, replacement and repair due to normal
wear and tear. This is why we request the multi-point check and insist that
all faults/repairs detected at the time are rectified before going onto
contract because after the start of the contract we will be responsible for
all of the repairs.

I have also clarified with Ian King, who is one of the claims assessors
that the electronic gubbins would be covered under Service Plus.

This basically means that any electrical or mechanical item that is
standard fit from factory will be covered if it fails through normal wear
and tear. We will not cover any damage whether accidental or deliberate.

I hope this clarifies matters, you are welcome to keep this email for your
records. I apologise that you have been receiving conflicting messages, you
are welcome to ask anyone who is giving conflicting information to ring us
here and we will confirm what is and isn't covered.


You will notice the line about mechanical BREAKDOWN from wear and tear. My understanding is (and I believe this e-mail bears this out) that if it is a standard fitted part of the car and it breaks without you physically hitting it with something then it's covered.

 

[hawk20]

THREADS ON SERVICE PLUS

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=29948


http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=18621

 

[hawk20]

Actually it's stupidly awkward in respect of age - you can only do it for whole years and you can't go beyond the cars 6th birthday. Therefore if you buy used, and you time the start of ServicePlus wrongly, you could end up being unable to cover almost all of the cars 6th year.

I completely agree with you on this one. Have written to a director at Mercedes about it and have been told that they are considering whether or not they can improve it to deal with this problem. Like you I hope they do.

 

[Grandad]

Well what a great reply, that is just what I wanted to hear, I will find out the cost from MB tomorrow when I pick up the car.

Every one has been most helpful, thanks a bunch.

 

[David Nock]

Interestingly no one, that I know of, has posted on here saying "Service Contract Plus is a xxmmer because it didn't cover me for any particular breakdown or failure" (other than accident damage). Does anyone know of such a case? Or are we all waiting and hoping that all will be covered as we expect?

 

[hawk20]

Interestingly no one, that I know of, has posted on here saying "Service Contract Plus is a xxmmer because it didn't cover me for any particular breakdown or failure" (other than accident damage). Does anyone know of such a case? Or are we all waiting and hoping that all will be covered as we expect?

I agree, whichever threads or forums you go to, the overwhelming view is that it does just what it says on the tin.

 

[Rory]

No, No, No, this is quite wrong. The Service contracts are meant to cover normal wear and tear like pads and discs. SERVICE PLUS as its name implies -and as all the literature makes clear, and numerous threads do too- quite clearly covers much more than just normal wear and tear.

No, No, No, - what you've written is quite wrong.

Service covers routine servicing only.

ServicePlus covers Service plus (can you see what they did there?) wear and tear items such as brake pads etc.

From the MB website:
"Mercedes Service
With Mercedes Service, you’re covered for all the routine maintenance recommended in the relevant service schedule for your
Mercedes-Benz. That includes all the labour, parts and lubricants. You’re also covered for your annual MOT test fee.

Mercedes Service Plus
This is the ultimate in peace of mind. As well as the service
cover described above, Mercedes Service Plus covers you for all wear and tear repairs including those arising from your annual MOT test. This means you can relax about having to replace items such as bulbs, brake pads, discs and clutch assemblies or anything else that might be considered normal wear and tear."

Now I accept the Mercedes seem to have been extremely generous in their application of ServicePlus (and it was that apparent generosity which persuaded me to buy it) but the terms of the contract don't appear to mandate that they have to pay for anything other than normal wear and tear.
My belief is, that if push came to shove, and my autobox "broke" at say 4.5yrs old and Mb said it wasn't wear and tear then I would expect MB to replace it free anyway. If they didn't, I would sue them in the small claims court and expect to win under the Sales of Goods act as no-one would expect an auto box on a quality car like a Mercedes to fail at 4.5yrs.