Warranty and Service Plan - Am I mad or sensible?

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SeeSixty3

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Jan 7, 2011
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I have a 2009 C63 which has a warranty and service pack - I pay about £200pcm - £2400 per annum.

Would I be better off just throwing this in a slush fund?

I am concerned that a warranty offers peace of mind - a few friends have, in the last year, had eye watering bills due to engine issues in both Merc and BM's (M Cars).

What do you think?:wallbash:
 
Who's the warranty with? If it's a decent one I'd keep paying it. £2400 a year won't seem expensive if something serious needs fixing.
 
Service plan and warranty are two different things.

And the consideration on whether to keep it or not is very different.....
 
A used M156 engine is from about 4.5k on ebay + fitting etc. A 722.9 gearbox from about £3.5k.

Frankly at the prices you're paying for a warranty and service plan, i'd be inclined to self-insure and work with a good independant to keep maintenance up to where it should be. Ask yourself, how much has the warranty paid out since you've owned the car?. I'd say that the car is old enough such that you're in the bottom of the bathtub curve - all early life failures have probably happened, and things have settled down, but it isn't yet wearing out.

Peace of mind is very expensive when bought from an insurance company. Stick the premium in an ISA and have a holiday after three years when you've sold the car instead :)

Regards,
Alex
 
SeeSixty3 said:
Would I be better off just throwing this in a slush fund?:

As far as the warranty is concerned yes or give me your £.
 
In answer to the questions.

It's an MB tier 1 warranty with no excess.

I'm aware of the difference between the service plan and the warranty!


I have had c. £3k work last year (at mb prices) and my main concern is engine, tranny and electronics issues.

I have two other cars (older BMW m cars) that i fix out of the dealer network and it's easy as the cars can be worked on by me and parts are cheap enough.... but my main concern is finding some reliable indies for the c63.

Give you an example- people like Wayne Gates and MSL etc are not cheap when it comes to servicing (when compared with the service plan) so don't see a huge saving on that element.

I think the MB tier 1 warranty is the one I am hesitant on just due to potential issues should I not have one. So perhaps I have answered my question.
 
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I was paying £45 per month on my C63 for a 2 year service contract with MB, it was a 2011 reg though?
 
Are MSL expensive? I doubt it, compared to MB.

I'm amazed you're happy to pay £2400 a year on the warranty if you are looking for cheap servicing. Why not save the money on the warranty and invest in the maintenance?

My experience with the C63 (2 of them. A 60 plate and a 62) has been fault free and I've pushed both cars hard. You have to be incredibly unlucky to incur a large bill with these cars, even at MB rates. The C63 really is a cheap car to own once you've got past the initial purchase. Just service it well and apply mechanical sympathy where necessary. It'll serve you well.
 
Just to be clear - I have the warranty and service plan - so I have paid for the two services through the plan. So it's not just the warranty that this cost is applied to.
I do understand what you're saying and I am still considering my options!
 
So your warranty is around £155 per month that doesn't seem too bad, what does the engine number end in?

Anything ending lower than 60658 had the dodgy batch of bolts
 
Yeah just rose to £140 after the rate rise and the service plan is £45 so actually it's £185, less than my statement above.

The last 5 digits of my engine number are 39196 so it appears mine could be affected.


Thing is I always mention this when leaving the car with dealerships and they always state the campaigns are up to date with no outstanding issues outstanding.
 
SeeSixty3 said:
Yeah just rose to £140 after the rate rise and the service plan is £45 so actually it's £185, less than my statement above. The last 5 digits of my engine number are 39196 so it appears mine could be affected. Thing is I always mention this when leaving the car with dealerships and they always state the campaigns are up to date with no outstanding issues outstanding.

Thousands COULD be affected, very few are.
 
Personally mate I think for piece of mind that is not a bad price and when you come to sell a full dealer history is always going to help plus if there's any warranty left even better
 

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