bought a 2000 S500
 

I am very happy to have just purchased my first Mercedes. I have some questions and would appreciate any input. The car has California emissions control equipment listed as an option. Is this a big negative, hampering performance, or is it common on most US Mercedes?
The car came with the 12 mo. Starmark extended warranty and the car was placed in service in Aug, 1999, so this warranty will be gone Sept 2004. I can buy up an additional 12 or 24 mos. They kept the price shhet-oops, but the 12 mo was 1700, 24 mo 2700 or 2900 I think.
Should I buy this up or get it refunded ($895) and go out and buy a long warranty on my own? Please advise. Thank you

Well, the general consensus of participants of this forum is to get the best and longest warranty you can afford.

It's not that these cars are unreliable, it's just that there are a lot of very expensive components that could go out, and if just one does, it will surely cost more than cost of the warranty.