Starmark Warranty Running Out - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

95benzman · #1 06-10-2004, 03:24 PM

Hi Tech Guys/Gals
My starmark warranty is expirating in July. My 95E320Cabriolet only has 63k on the clock. I had the wiring harness and head gaskets replaced at 60k at no cost to me.
What do you suggest I have my tech check and fix before my warranty runs out? thanks. Happy driving.

joe moon

mcdill · #2 06-10-2004, 05:03 PM

Throttle actuator.

blackmercedes · #3 06-10-2004, 05:17 PM

I am at 159,600km's. My warranty expires at 160,000. Last week I took my car into the dealer and told them "suspension sounds" and they poured over the entire suspension. Since the car has nearly 100K-miles on it, they found lots of "worn" front suspension parts and replaced the front shocks, sway bar bushings and lower ball joints. The rear suspension stuff all looked brand new, so there was nothing they could do there.

I also pointed out the LCD panel on the ACC control was faded, and they installed a new unit.

They kept the car for four days pouring over it and replacing everything that was still covered under warranty and making a list of things that were not. They ended up doing the suspenion work and the ACC panel, finding no other possible warranty work. They found nothing for me to do, not a leak, nada.

On the Friday when I picked up the car, there was no bill. It's my last one on the C230 like that. My dealer is AWESOME when it comes to warranty work, but unfortunately when your car is there on your dime, they act like you have MB Canada's budget.

If Mercedes sold a further warranty, I'd probably buy it, but there is none. Under the $1300 extended Signature Warranty, here's the work I've had done...

1. One axle seal sweating, replaced all three final drive seals. $600.00
2. Replaced entire transmission unit, ETC and torque converter. $8000.
3. Replaced ACC panel $1800.
4. Replaced front shocks, sway bar bushings and lower ball joints $1500.
5. Replaced Poly-V belt tensioner and shock $300.

Okay, if the car had not been under warranty, I would have left the axle seal as it was only sweating a tiny bit. I also would have left the ACC panel as it was working and visible, just a little faded on one LCD segment. The front suspension components were worn a bit, but had lots of life left.

I would have had to repair the transmission, and that would have been about $2000. I also would have had to replace the belt tensioner and shock for $300. So, in reality I came out about $1000 ahead on the warranty, which is not bad. But, I also now have a car with 160K and lots of new parts, including the updated 722.6 which should be good for many many moons now.

I notice that the cost of W202 Signature warranties has gone up to $2000 now. With MB's liberal warranty policies, I can see why. They could have opted to repair my transmission, but thought the better route for me was to replace the entire unit with the updated version. That decision alone cost them more than my warranty premium.

When filing all my paperwork, I pulled the files on the other new cars we've owned over the years, including an Acura, Honda, and Mazda. All of those required much more warranty work during their terms, and post warranty repairs were more as well. Service costs for the Acura were staggering, nearly as bad for the Honda, and much lower for the Mazda. The ease of DIY for the C230 has meant the lowest overall service costs of any car we've owned.

If the dealer is not up to just pouring over your car, spend a couple hours of labour cost to have them go through it, checking warranty-covered items. It's probably worth it if they find anything, and even if they don't, you know the car is in tip-top shape.