Has anyone bought an aftermarket comprehensive extended warranty on a used car/ If so, what was your experience? How do they work? Would you recommend them for a car that is expensive to repair like the 1999 S320 LWB?
Please give me some solid advise as I can get an 84month/100,000 for $2500 on an 99 S320LWB with 33K miles on it.
Thanks!

ANYONE?

From what I've learned about them, if they are not issued by the automaker they are not worth anything. If you buy a Benz, you want to make sure it is a warranty FROM benz, and NOT from some "insurance" company. The after market places suck.

Really? That pretty much means that I will have to scratch the S320 of the list. Now its between the new RX-8 and the new C230 Sport supercharged. Both are 2005 BTW (unless someone has a different opinion than yours .....I really liked the s320

I"m pretty sure you can still buy an extended warranty on the car if it is used.

I was thinking about going with this company's PLATINUM COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE for 84/100K which would cost me $2500. Please take a look and tell me what you think. www.warrantywarehouse.com
It has an excellent BBB record
Thanks

I don't buy warranties, but then again I fix everything myself and try to do my own detailed pre-purchase inspection whenever possible. My coworker had an aftermarket warranty and the company went bankrupt. He ended up paying a lot for nothing. If the company has a good and lengthy BBB record, it should be safer.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

I wonder if they give you any hassle when or if your car goes in for repairs.

You mean because I worked on it? I haven't had a chance to experience that (thankfully) because I've never had a warranty claim. Usually I read in owner's manuals that manufacturer's warranty cannot be denied simply because the vehicle wasn't maitained by an authorized dealer. I don't know how it is with aftermarket warranties, but like I said in the other warranty thread, always read the fine print.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

I had an extended warranty on my Buick - similar to that web site you mentioned. I used it a few times, and never had any problems - company was very helpful, and repairs were dealt with on a professional level.

I guess you need to look at how much you can set aside per month in the "rainy day repair fund". If you can set aside a good chunk, then maybe the warranty would be superfluous. However, if you don't have a ton of $$ to spend on repairs, an extended warranty might be the way to go as many major components are covered . Just be sure you read the formulary and know EXACTLY what's covered and what's not.

-Michael

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+AMDG+
2005 W203
Running as fast as I can to stay behind!!

Given their list of exclusions, just what do you think will be covered?

LOL doesn't that list describe...um...a car.

Sounds like every possible wear-and-tear item is excluded which is reasonable. What seems to be covered is sudden powertrain breakdowns for no apparent reasons. But most problems with vehicles are wear-and-tear issues, which is another reason why I don't buy warranties.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

A friend of mine had a warranty for a used car he bought from a dealer (warranty from third party). The transmission went bad, but he never could get it fixed. The place he took the car to be "assessed" said he did not "maintain" the tranny as the fluid level was low, and the fluid and filter were not changed every 15000 miles as required. I think it is all a scram, just like the tire warranty I got from a well-known store. The excessive tire wear was not covered because I did not rotate the tires , and allign them at the specific milage: .