I'm thinking of buying a 2003 c320 4matic with 28000 miles. The warranty will expire in jan of 07. Could someone recommend a good extended warranty as close as possible to mercedes manufacturer's warrnaty. Thank you in advance for your help

 

There isn't a better aftermarket warranty for a Mercedes than the one offered by Mercedes. It used to be called Starmark.
In my opinion, the world of aftermarket car warranties is worthless.

 

I got an 05 C230 in January. Went to a Mercedes dealer and they said I couldn't get a Mercedes extended warranty, but I got the 'aftermarket' one the dealer was selling. It's called 'Complete Care' and it's done by a company called 'Universal Underwriters'.

Is it any good/worth it? No idea, it will be a couple more years before the Mercedes warranty runs out. Ideally, I won't get the opportunity to find out even then.

 

recently I bought a MB and the dealership offered me a warranty for 3 years for $1500 approx. It covers some major parts and most important - MB labor. I declined that offer and now I feel really sorry.

Parts for MB is not so expensive. You will be surprised comparing to other cars. But labor..... ouch.

Next time I would consider a warranty which covers labor. Approx labor at MB - $124-149/hour.

 

Exactly right. And if you spend some time looking, you can find knowlegable mechanics that charge half as much as the dealer.
I found an old-timer from Germany who has worked on MB his whole life. He knows more about Mercedes than most MB mechanics, is honest and charges significantly less than the dealer. Go to MB enthusiast web sites, and search in the "repair" forums for good indendent mechanics in your area. That's where I found mine.
BTW, I purchased an extended warranty from my dealer for $2,300. I took it because I knew I had 30 days to cancel. After researching the pros and cons of extended warranties, I canceled. The problem I found was many of them have loop holes not to pay a claim. Also, in the policy I had, the wording said, "will not pay on parts that fail due to usage over time." or some such language. Duh, those are exactly the parts I wanted covered!
good luck

 

Thank you for your comments. I called the MB dealer in my area and they told me that I can only get the MB warranty if I bought a car from them. Is this true? The other problem with the Starmark warranty is that it only covers one more year.

 

Yes and no. What I mean - if you call to other dealership they will tell almost the same - "if you buy a car from us we will give you a warranty..." In other words - each dealer can give you a deal and warranty. Your question should be - what do I get EXACTLY when I buy that warranty? What is covered. Be awary - how it was highlighted above - sometimes warranty doesn't cover parts that failed due normal usage.

I strongly reccomend you to do a little work online and do research for waranties what cover MB labor. If you find something for $600-900 for 1-3 years - I think that's a great deal. I would consider it.

 

Question - where is the best place to buy a Starmark warranty? My local MB wants to charge me a mother load. I know with other cars, you can buy the warranty from any dealership aroun the country.

Is this the policy with MB? Suggestions on friendly dealerships?

Thanks.

 

If you are still interested in the warranty, Here is my experience.... 2005 c240 4MATIC 43,000 miles I was recently cast into the extended warranty conundrum due to my misinterpretation of the 4 yr/ 50 k . I bought the car with 14k and was led to believe it was covered till 40k. Any how! @ 40 000 miles I began my exhaustive search for a B2B warranty and found that there are many shady outfits out there looking to pull the wool over unsuspecting eyes. My advice is to do google search on any co.'s you now have in mind, check the better business bureau for complaints and their abilities to honor the warrantees. after all was said for me my choice was through AAA. check them out. 0$ deduct. payment 4 36 months. Hope this helps

 

Cool. Thanks. I got a car that was CPO'd till 2010 (and 100K miles, but who cares!!? I'm not going to be driving it till that many miles..). I'll look into AAA afterwards if I want to continue it.
I'm a AAA+ member and love the 4 free tows a year...