Should I purchase extended warranty protection for CL600 (and a couple of other q's)?

[IwanttobuyaCL]

Hi all,

I have a 2007 CL600 which I bought last July. I bought with c35k miles on it and it now has 40k miles. I bought from a MB dealer so got the usual UsedApproved 12 month warranty. Since that time, I have got a major service (spark plugs changed etc).

In my time of ownership it has been very reliable (noting I do not put up significant mileage). Three problems did arise being: (1) rear parking sensor failed, (2) the Comand system wheel had to be replaced (I only noticed it had a fault as the automatic rear blind was not working, took some time for the garage to find the cause of that fault as they thought it was the motor, this resulted in two trips to the garage annoyingly), and (3) a small problem with a sensor (I think) in the engine which required a part replacement (cost of part £20 I was told). The latter repair did take several man hours to fix as did the rear parking sensor since the bumper had to come off. Clearly these man hours (at MB Chelsea) would have been expensive ...all repairs were covered under the warranty I received.

I am somewhat risk averse (perhaps mainly because of expensive repairs I've read about for the CL, albeit for earlier iterations) and wondered whether members here, in my position, would purchase extended warranty insurance for a further 12 months. I have been quoted by MB (online only) £1,420 based on a £250 excess. Clearly the car has done very modest mileage but it was the age more than anything else that has me considering. What do you guys think?

Couple of other things:

1. Anyone know the cost of replacing the Mercedes emblem at the front grille of a W216? Mine has discolouration and I wouldn't mind replacing if not v expensive

2. Anyone know of a way to avoid that green moss buildup along the rubber window seals? It is unsightly and, I assume, bad for the rubber over time. Garaging the car is not an option sadly.

I look forward to your views.

 

[Lennox]

Merc warranty??? If you can afford to yes. I'm no expert (so ignore me) but I would be scared something happened.. I have had a few BMWs with extended warranties and it was the best thing I did. In fact just about to buy another!!

 

[Yugguy]

Not the MB warranty, but I upgraded the Mercland warranty from 6 months to 2 years when I bought my car in March. Just for piece of mind, and when they're up I will look at someone like Warrantywise to continue it.

 

[Lennox]

I've not had good experience from the aftermarket ones.... Guess it better than nothing. I use a BMW specialist and they say if you have a warranty they deal with the company directly as there is less opportunity for them to play silly buggers

 

[whitenemesis]

MB deal directly with Warranty Direct, via online portal, no paperwork and no hassle

 

[IwanttobuyaCL]

Thanks for the responses. I have not sought quotes from non-MB providers. A quick scan of Trustpilot shows some pretty unhappy customers of both companies mentioned (and the positive reviews seem to follow a template if you know what I mean), of course this could be skewed as happy customers are less likely to post. Does anyone know if there is flexibility in the quotes MB provides? I will ask of course but always useful to know if there is flex in the quote.

Thanks again.

 

[Ditch]

I had an extended merc warranty on my jeep (when they were part of the group)

For a multitude of reasons I also went for a service plan. They also chucked in MOT fail insurance.

Overall I was very pleased with the whole package and it served well. I didn't quite break even but I can write off the difference for peace of mind.

 

[wywywywy]

The mileage on my S is too high for extended warranty, but if they did offer me £1420, I would have bought it. The repairs are just too expensive.

 

[IwanttobuyaCL]

Just by way of follow up I called MB to see if I could get a better deal on 12 months Tier 1 warranty - they offered me £880 with not much pushing - a far better deal than the online offer of £1,420 which just goes to show it is always worth calling. As a result, I purchased the cover.

Thanks for earlier replies.

 

[Rory]

I use a BMW specialist and they say if you have a warranty they deal with the company directly as there is less opportunity for them to play silly buggers

Certainly Warranty Direct require the garage to contact them either by phone or via the industry 1-Link system, to get authorisation.

I imagine they're all the same. They do have a reputation for trying to put words into the garages mouth - suggesting that faults may be due to corrosion, for example, so the garage has to be aware to say the right thing.

The main advantage of Warranty Direct is that they do cover wear and tear - most don't. I got a year's premium worth of repairs just getting the front suspension arms replaced.

However WD changed ownership recently and I just had a very bad experience getting the policy renewed - they jacked up the price massively and sneakily deleted a lot of exceptions I had (no excess, no betterment reduction etc).

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

1) Green moss. Apart from the obvious comment about "just clean it," a good detailer will make your gorgeous expensive car look like new AND provide it with a coating to protect it from being stored outside.
Detailing isn't just cleaning, you have layers of protection that make the nasties just slide off for months afterwards

2) Maintenance. It's worth tracking down an MB Specialist to do minor repairs outside warranty.
You seem to be local, so I'd recommend AMC in Garrett Lane, SW18.
All Mercedes trained, but without the overheads, so essentially half price.

3) That bonnet badge shouldn't have discoloured in 9 years - a thorough clean / protect might pay off, but
if not, any body shop can change it for less than £100.

Still enjoying that V12 ? I'm sorely tempted to buy one to replace my E500 estate.

 

[IwanttobuyaCL]

1) Green moss. Apart from the obvious comment about "just clean it," a good detailer will make your gorgeous expensive car look like new AND provide it with a coating to protect it from being stored outside.
Detailing isn't just cleaning, you have layers of protection that make the nasties just slide off for months afterwards

2) Maintenance. It's worth tracking down an MB Specialist to do minor repairs outside warranty.
You seem to be local, so I'd recommend AMC in Garrett Lane, SW18.
All Mercedes trained, but without the overheads, so essentially half price.

3) That bonnet badge shouldn't have discoloured in 9 years - a thorough clean / protect might pay off, but
if not, any body shop can change it for less than £100.

Still enjoying that V12 ? I'm sorely tempted to buy one to replace my E500 estate.

Thanks for the tips, very helpful. Yes, loving the V12. I had planned to buy the CL500 and test drove one through a private dealer...but on discussing the CL in general he slightly slipped by saying "that having driven the 500, 63, and 600, that the 600 is the one to go for" so I waited until I found one. No downsides to owning it yet save being on first name terms with everyone in the Shell garage.