Warranty Extension - Worth It??

[abulsara]

Hi Guys,

I have a CLK 270CDI on a 53 plate. My warranty is due to expire and I'm wondering whether it is worth extending via MB. The costs I have been quoted are: £547 for 12 months, or £1067 for 24 months.

Having had the car for a few months I have already had the motor mechanism etc. replaced for the electric seats and the CD changer swapped out under warranty recently - I'm sure that would have been quite expensive otherwise.

I'm thinking extending is a good idea but I'd appreciate your advice before I do!

Thanks.

 

[BTB 500]

What mileage is the car? I'm sure someone will comment on specific issues that might crop up (other than rust ).

But basically it's like any insurance policy - you are buying peace of mind. Statistically you'd be better off keeping the money, otherwise they'd never sell the warranties in the first place.

 

[abulsara]

Mileage

The car is approaching 50,000 miles and I do average mileage each year (12k).

 

[Alfie]

Hi Guys,

I have a CLK 270CDI on a 53 plate. My warranty is due to expire and I'm wondering whether it is worth extending via MB. The costs I have been quoted are: £547 for 12 months, or £1067 for 24 months.

Having had the car for a few months I have already had the motor mechanism etc. replaced for the electric seats and the CD changer swapped out under warranty recently - I'm sure that would have been quite expensive otherwise.

I'm thinking extending is a good idea but I'd appreciate your advice before I do!

Thanks.

I had my warranty extended when they offered it to me. A couple of weeks back my car went in to have the easy entry seats fixed, window alignment fixed and some worn knuckle joints looked at. Bill came to almost £3,000 which the warranty picked up £2,650 of! So, I would say it was worth it!

 

[glojo]

I go along with the 'peace of mind'. If you can afford it, and don't mind buying it. Go for it.

Hind sight can be a real pain in the back side. If something goes wrong, I would hate to say..."If only...."

If nothing goes wrong then does your cover include servicing?? If not do a search on this forum for warranties, numerous members have a policy that covers everything apart from I believe tyres??

Regards,
John

 

[jonm]

Hmmm, my own recent experience says , get the warranty...could have used it at 3years + 3 weeks, although I have to say that I haven't checked the small print. With saying that when the alternator did fail at said time DC did pay 50% parts/labour.

So, if you haven't had a new alternator yet (seems to be a common failure) warranty could be a good idea.

Jon

 

[DieselE]

If you intend having your car serviced by MB dealers, it will pay you to look at the Service Plus scheme. Details are on the Mercedes website. It's more than a warranty extension as you get servicing and replacement of wearing parts thrown in.


I've signed up for it so obviously I think it's a good scheme but at least look at it and see if it's right for you.

 

[Flash]

If nothing major has gone wrong recently apart from what you have stated then I would personally not take out the extended warranty.

 

[glojo]

If you intend having your car serviced by MB dealers, it will pay you to look at the Service Plus scheme. Details are on the Mercedes website.

Hopefully this is the site!

Regards,
John

 

[BTB 500]

In general ... extended warranties make money out of the fact that once manufacturing defects & problems have been ironed out (under the standard warranty), you normally get a period of very good reliability until age / wear & tear become an issue. Sounds like that point could be 3 years / 50k miles for the W209 though, in which case I'd take it!

I didn't bother with the extended warranty I was offered on my R129. If I had taken it I'd have been £850 or so out of pocket, because nothing did go wrong. Calculated risk.

 

[glojo]

I didn't bother with the extended warranty I was offered on my R129. If I had taken it I'd have been £850 or so out of pocket, because nothing did go wrong. Calculated risk.

Hi Bill,
How much did your service cost and were you quoted for the Service Plus option. I totally agree with everyone that states these warranties are designed to make money as opposed to loosing it.

Regards,
John

 

[abulsara]

Thanks for the info. I contacted MB as you suggested as I want to maintain MBFSH. It looks like the Service + is the option to go for and would cost around £730 per year which would cover MOT also. I think I'll do some sums this weekend to try to work out which is the better deal.

Can anyone suggest what the average cost of a service is - which I'll need to factor in?

Thanks for all your help!

If you intend having your car serviced by MB dealers, it will pay you to look at the Service Plus scheme. Details are on the Mercedes website. It's more than a warranty extension as you get servicing and replacement of wearing parts thrown in.


I've signed up for it so obviously I think it's a good scheme but at least look at it and see if it's right for you.

 

[BTB 500]

were you quoted for the Service Plus option.

I think my R129 is too old - doesn't Service Plus stop at 6 years?

 

[BTB 500]

Can anyone suggest what the average cost of a service is - which I'll need to factor in?

Suggest you ring round a few dealers in your area, and ask for quotes for lube / mechanical services on your specific vehicle.

Rates vary quite a bit - dealers are free to set their own prices and / or offer discount schemes. For example I get 40% off labour and 10% off parts from my local dealer (plus free MOTs), because the car is over 6 years old.

 

[glojo]

I think my R129 is too old - doesn't Service Plus stop at 6 years?

Yup!! Six years or I believe 120,000 miles.

Hopefully you can see the point of my question. £730 for the warranty but that will include the cost of service plus the MOT??


Regards
John

 

[Shude]

Yup!! Six years or I believe 120,000 miles.

Hopefully you can see the point of my question. £730 for the warranty but that will include the cost of service plus the MOT??

At 12k per year you're only looking at one service per year. An A-service is probably about £200ish and B-service double that. Obviously get quotes as stated earlier!

 

[glojo]

At 12k per year you're only looking at one service per year. An A-service is probably about £200ish and B-service double that. Obviously get quotes as stated earlier!

Totally agree but it might make the warranty more attractive to those that are considering it?

John

 

[SilverSaloon]

i had the chance of paying £2000 to renew my warranty. I declined. a week or so later the Active cruise control failed. Cost = £2,600

luckly a claim to bmw saw them pay £2000 of this as a good-will gesture.

i now have my fingers crossed for the future lol

 

[Shude]

i had the chance of paying £2000 to renew my warranty. I declined. a week or so later the Active cruise control failed. Cost = £2,600

luckly a claim to bmw saw them pay £2000 of this as a good-will gesture.

i now have my fingers crossed for the future lol

I think a tip for anyone with outstanding months of warranty on anything is to check that everything works perfectly before it runs out

 

[BTB 500]

Hopefully you can see the point of my question. £730 for the warranty but that will include the cost of service plus the MOT??

Yup I do see the point. I get MOTs for free though, and the most expensive service I've had on my R129 was a "C", which IIRC came to a little over £600 ... but that included a few extras like fitting a new radio mast and replacing some dashboard bulbs. The minor service this year was about £250 I think (total bill was £411, but that included supplying a set of locking wheel bolts, and replacing the headlamp washer check valve).

I've not needed anything else doing in the last couple of years, so if Service Plus had been available at £730 a year, I'd have been about £500 worse off by taking it!