extended warranty - 98 E300TD - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

barkford · #1 08-28-2002, 03:51 PM

Need advice.

My 98 E300 starmark warr expires soon. Am considering a "Diamond" warranty from the dealer - 2 add'l years or 24k add'l miles, whichever comes first. Covers most major engine components (except glow plugs). Doesn't cover most items inside the car. Is $2900 too much for this coverage? Better providers out there?

jcyuhn · #2 08-28-2002, 06:37 PM

I'd shop around before accepting that offer. I bought an extended warranty for my '98 E300 last August - a year ago. I went with warranty direct - http://www.warrantydirect.com It was $2K and runs until the car reaches 100K miles or until August 2008, whichever comes first. It's an exclusionary warranty, which is a fancy way of saying that it covers everything on the entire car, except for things which are specifically listed as not covered. Stuff which isn't covered falls along the lines of paint & trim, consumables like brake pads & rotors, fan belts, that kind of thing.

barkford · #3 08-28-2002, 09:55 PM

Thanks for the info. Tried warrantydirect and they will only cover cars less than 60k miles.
I've looked up "Vikingwarranty" but they want more than the dealer for 2 yr/24k miles. "Warrantywizard" is cheap but who knows anything about them?

unkl300d · #4 08-28-2002, 10:22 PM

What has gone wrong with your car so far?

What are you afraid of to justify a mere 2 yr add on?

Is your car probematic ????

barkford · #5 08-28-2002, 10:28 PM

Car has been extremely reliable. I don't anticipate issues but seems like one big repair in the future could justify the warranty. I'm only looking at 2 years because I'll probably want to get something else. I may just decide heck with it. I take good care of my vehicles and I'm more likely to need just "wear and tear" repairs like fuel filter, gaskets, brakes, etc......

P.E.Haiges · #6 08-29-2002, 12:25 PM

Barkford,

You would be better off to keep your money and pay for your repairs yourself. It is unlikely you will get a repair bill of $2900 in 2 years. I have my 300SD bought used 12 years and 120,000+ miles ago and I haven't spend anything near $2900 on it.

The reason that people sell these warrantys is not to help the public out of the goodness of their heart, but to make money. And who is it they are making money on? Its the people like you who are afraid they will have an expensive repair when it probably won't happen. The odds are in your favor.

If you wonder why there are so many rich insurance companies, its from collecting premiums, not from paying claims that they try to weasel out of.

P E H

ATLD · #7 08-29-2002, 12:52 PM

With waranties and insurance (big $$) companies you are betting that your car will fail, while the company is betting that it won't (and they have huge teams of mathematicians and engineers on their side) so who do you think has more info on your car's reliability? The only way you can get your money (and then some) if if your car suffers some catastrofic failure (unlikely) like replacement trans or engine or whole electrical system etc., so I say forget it.

Just my $.02

ATLD

P.E.Haiges · #8 08-29-2002, 01:59 PM

ALTD,

I'm glad to see that someone agrees with me about insurance.

BTW is that red MB 540K (or whatever) in the picture yours?

P E H

ATLD · #9 08-29-2002, 03:08 PM

I wish! But yes,it's a 540k.

ATLD

unkl300d · #10 08-31-2002, 02:07 AM

Barker, some years ago I decided to not get an exteneded
warranty for my C280. It was just short of factory warranty expiration.
That was about 3 years ago Good call. Nothing major or minor wrong with it.
I was fearing the wiring harness Bogey and head gasket Bogey
that seems indemic with this model.
So far so good.

One thing you can do is go to AAA or other auto club and get an
oil analysis done and maybe a car systems analysis.
This is an inexpensive service that may give you some emperical
data to base your fears on.

Yeah, keep your money for your honey!

virtualdoc07 · #11 08-31-2002, 07:12 AM

I suggest you try Aldata (http://www.alldata.com) for your car year and model. This will tell you about all of the Full Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) and recalls thay have been done on this vehicle. I think it is something like $19.95 for each car.

I use it alot for my GM cars, saves me from asking them to fix things I know will go wrong. Much of the information is mandated by govnemerment and unless it is safety related the dealers don't inform you.